The Lost Duke

by Kristen Gupton

  Though Garhan hated himself for admitting it, having Mari instead of Stepan was the preferred state of affairs. His guilt compounded even more, and he hung his head.

  Keiran could feel his brother’s emotions, and he reached out to pat his shoulder before standing up. There was nothing he could do about it, and only time would allow Garhan to sort his feelings out. For now, Keiran’s only priority was to get them to safety.

  “I’ll take care of Stepan. I know it’s tradition for you to wait until morning for burials, but the sun will be up soon, and I’d rather not have Mari out here. Why don’t you get her to the inn?” Keiran asked, already walking toward the dead guard.

  Something about that struck Garhan wrong. He looked down at Mari. “Will you be all right for a little while? I need to help Keiran.”

  Mari, still in a trance-like daze, gave a slow nod. Though she was having trouble readjusting to being in her body, she understood what was going on around her well enough to know that Stepan was dead.

  “I’ll rest here while you do what you need to,” she whispered, her voice dry.

  Appeased on some level, Garhan carefully placed her down where he’d been trying to rest earlier. With her taken care of, he went and got to the sad task of burying his dead friend with Keiran’s help.

  * * *

  Adira lived in a state of paranoia following the escape of the Tordanians. By the time she reached her palace again, however, she’d begun to relax. Surely, if Athan was going to come back and confront her about the old Tordanian guard being injured, he would have done so immediately after.

  Perhaps the old man hadn’t died, despite the number of arrows he’d taken. She wished she’d been able to dispatch men onto the Ibianese side of the border to verify it or not, but the Ibianese weren’t in a particularly charitable mood toward her for the time being. She hadn’t dared to have the gates reopened until she was safely out of the area in case the Ibianese decided to make something out of her small misstep into their territory.

  The moment she returned to the palace, she’d ordered a payoff dispatched to the Ibianese government. Money had always been a convenient negotiation tool for their neighbor, and she had no reason to believe it wouldn’t work as effectively this time as it always had.

  With her nerves starting to unwind after returning, she found herself wandering the halls of the palace as night started to fall. After a time, she ended up in the room that had once belonged to her sister, Ilana.

  Adira moved to the window and looked down at the palace grounds below, searching for any way someone could enter and successfully exit the room. However, the window was three stories up from the ground, and the wall below was smooth stone. There weren’t any trees close enough to offer a possible means of escape. However, it was entirely possible there had been a tree or the like all those years before. Her memory reaching that far back wasn’t as keen as she would have liked, so she couldn’t be certain.

  With her head resting forward against the glass, she gazed out and let her mind begin to drift. She wondered if Keiran would dare try to make her suffer any consequence for what had happened, or if Garhan would someday return to try and have his revenge. Keiran’s country was in no position to take on a nation as strong as hers, though, and Garhan… Well, he’d never been much of a threat at all.

  Her musings were abruptly cut off when the door to the room closed audibly behind her.

  Adira spun around, expecting to see Mikale there or perhaps a maid. The glow of the setting sun illuminated the room well enough for her to see that neither of her assumptions were true, regrettably.

  Athan stood in the middle of the empty room, his hands clasped together before him. His expression was neutral, though his mouth perked up into a small grin upon feeling the fear that immediately washed over Adira.

  “How did you get in here?” she asked, tipping her chin upward in an attempt to hide her budding terror. “I’ve had the number of guards doubled within the palace!”

  “They can’t stop what they can’t see, Adira,” he replied, taking a single step forward. There were still several yards separating them, the room large. “You have convinced yourself that everything I have done is a trick, but it is not. I know you’ve lived in a fairly isolated world, with a false sense of security, but reality doesn’t cease being reality just because you’re too narrow-minded to comprehend it.”

  Afraid or not, she was insulted, and her eyes narrowed as they turned toward the door. She parted her lips to scream out for the guards, but just as in the carriage, her voice was gone.

  He laughed and shook his head as a small, ineffectual squeak managed out of the queen. Athan took another step forward, allowing his hands to fall to his sides. “Don’t bother. They can’t get in anyway, and I’d really hate for our conversation to be overshadowed by their useless banging on the door.”

  The tightness in her throat eased up enough so she could draw in a proper breath, the color beginning to drain from her complexion. It didn’t ultimately matter how he’d gotten into the room; he was there. Trick or not, if he was really who he claimed, she’d witnessed the guards trying to get into this same room when she was a child, unable to enter. One of her hands came up to her neck and rubbed at her throat.

  “What is it you need to talk to me about, then?” she asked, her voice still hushed from the momentary crushing pressure that had been applied to her larynx.

  “Right,” Athan looked down at the floor and shook his head. “So, I told you before that I wanted the Tordanians and Garhan left alone when they exited the country. Now, I know you have your pride, and you still felt the need to act against someone in the group by going after that woman, but your plan was flawed. Even when you saw your archers shots all go astray the first time, you pushed them onward.”

  “But it wasn’t my intention to have anyone else hit!” she said, though her voice cracked on the words and didn’t achieve the level of volume she’d intended to put behind them.

  “And yet you didn’t order them to stop after the old man was struck, resulting in him being hit multiple times, Adira.” Athan rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. “I know pride can be one hell of a thing to put aside, but we had a deal.”

  “Did that old guard die?” she asked, a brow quirking. “Did Mari die?”

  “I know having her killed was your grand intent, so telling you she’s alive is going to make you rather depressed, I’d imagine.” His smile widened. “As for that muscle-bound old fool, he survived as well. Though, it must be rough suffering four arrow wounds at his age.”

  Hearing about Mari’s survival caused Adira to hang her head forward, her lips tensing down into a tight frown. The shot that hit her had looked so promising, but it had been relatively far off. She filled with bitter disappointment, momentarily shoving aside some of her fear. “That horrible little wretch!”

  “Realizing you didn’t achieve any of your goals and having it backfire so completely must be rather disheartening,” Athan said before drawing in a dramatic sigh, “but I really hoped you’d not let it cloud your judgment to such an extent. I know how hard it can be to keep from getting caught up in the passion of the moment when people aren’t cooperating with your desires, but that doesn’t excuse it.”

  There was a coldness settling into his tone that caused goose bumps to break across Adira’s skin, her eyes slowly rising toward the vampire. The level of absolute authority he assumed over her was unwelcomed.

  Her throat wanted to tighten against her words again, though it wasn’t due to any of Athan’s magic. “So, what do you intend to do about it now? I can’t go and change the past.”

  There was a hint of amusement in him upon hearing what he’d said himself just a few nights before. “No, you can’t, nor do you have the means to make me take back what I’d threatened before.”

  “So, you’re going to kill me, then?” she asked, forcing some defiance into her voice, though it wasn’t genuine.

  There was a t
witch below Athan’s left eye, and he gave a single bob of his head. “How can I not? After seeing what happened here, I know you’re mentally ill on a level that isn’t acceptable for a ruler. I can’t trust you not to do something else foolish once I leave. You’ve ruled long enough, Adira. Besides, I do need to focus on keeping my plans and promises once they’re made.”

  Her lower lip quivered and tears immediately appeared in her eyes. Adira looked around the room, seeing that her only possible escape would be to jump out of the window. She pressed her back up against the wall, not ready to go to that length yet, knowing it would be fatal.

  Athan didn’t move forward for several moments, enjoying the fear and regret roiling out of the woman. She’d gone from the most powerful person she honestly thought existed to utterly helpless in only a few seconds. There was no pity within him for her, however.

  She’d broken their deal.

  Adira didn’t know what else to do. She thought about trying to scream for her guards again, but the idea of having her throat and words pinched off yet again wasn’t appealing, and it wouldn’t help her out of the situation. Keeping him engaged in conversation was the only way to delay him.

  “Will you do me one small thing first? If I’m going to die, there’s no reason not to tell me something,” she said, trying to hold onto the last threads of her dignity.

  The corners of the vampire’s mouth lifted up in amusement at her delaying tactic. He looked into her mind and already knew the question before she asked it, but he opted to indulge her and drag out the fun a bit. “What is it you want to know?”

  “What really happened to my sister once she left for Tordania?” Adira asked, her eyes shifting to the side. “Obviously, she had Keiran, but did she really die in child birth? She’d had no complications with Garhan. Part of me always suspected that wretch, Turis Lee, simply had her murdered.”

  He took a few steps closer toward her, his brows rising up. “And that isn’t a completely unjustified thought, given the fact he did, most certainly, have his first wife killed.”

  Adira inched along the wall away from him as he advanced, but she was soon in the corner of the room with nowhere to go. “But what of Ilana?”

  “Turis Lee didn’t play any part in her death,” he replied, stopping directly in front of her. The adrenaline in her blood was leeching out into her sweat and easy for him to pick up. “He wasn’t even in the room, but I’m more than happy to let you know exactly how it went for her.”

  She braced herself back against the corner, eyes glancing toward the window. Her life-long fear of vampires surged to the forefront, and she debated whether it would be better to throw herself to her death rather than let Athan touch her.

  He picked up her thoughts and outstretched his arms to the walls flanking her, leaning forward slightly. “Your sister did legitimately fall ill to the Mother’s Plague, and while Keiran was able to survive within her, she didn’t have the strength to properly give birth to him. Fortunately, I was there at the time and I could sense the child was beginning to suffer from Ilana’s inability to expel him. I told Turis Lee his son would die if action wasn’t taken, and he gave me permission.”

  Adira met Athan’s unnerving gaze and gave up a small nod. While she was tall enough to be eye level with him, he seemed to loom over her further as he spoke. “Permission?”

  “Permission to save his last chance at an heir, Adira,” Athan replied, his lips pulling back into a sneer, his fangs present. “While I had little direct contact with Ilana over the years in Tordania, I had to overcome my own insecurities about being close to her in order to save Keiran.”

  “You were afraid of her?” she asked, her eyes settling on his pointed fangs.

  “Your sister had a particular strength,” he said, his right hand slowly dragging down the wall beside her. “By the time I dismissed her midwives and entered her room, however, she was far, far beyond being any threat to me. Getting the child out of her was all that really mattered.”

  Adira parted her lips to reply, but in a flash, everything changed.

  Athan moved with a speed she couldn’t comprehend. His left hand clamped down over her mouth, and there was a sudden tearing pain all the way across her lower abdomen.

  Athan allowed the small knife he’d torn her stomach open with to slide from his grip, the smell of her blood being spilled instantly assailing his senses and making him almost drunk. He stared down into her terror-filled eyes, noticing the tears streaming back from the corners of them.

  “Just like that, I took Keiran out,” he whispered, his chest pressed against hers. “As you can probably tell, Adira, that sort of wound takes hours, if not days to die from. I’m not that cruel, though.”

  Her ears began to ring and a tingle raced across her skin. Her blood pressure dropped sharply, making her head swim. Other than the birth of her own children, Adira had never really experienced much physical pain, and nothing compared to what she now felt.

  Though Athan let his hand move away from her mouth slowly, she couldn’t draw in a proper breath. Begging gasps escaped her lips, but no one but Athan could hear her pleas.

  Athan’s wicked smile grew wider, his hand coming up to grip her chin, so her focus was forced to remain on him. “With Keiran out, it was simply time for me to put an end to her. I had no more use for Ilana other than to sate my thirst.”

  Adira’s hands came up to try and push Athan away, but it did no good. She didn’t budge him in the least. Her eyes strained to the side, giving one final look toward the window. Adira did her best to focus on it to sway her mind from the agony she felt and the horror of what was happening to her.

  Athan allowed her to turn her head toward the window, his eyes landing on the exposed side of her neck.

  She felt his fangs and teeth puncture the side of her throat, the deep pain it elicited driving her mind away from the wound to her abdomen. There was a hot, wet torrent running down her chest and across the front of her dress that she was glad she couldn’t see. She could feel Athan drawing the blood from her; quiet, pleasured sounds escaping him in the process.

  Her death still didn’t come for several more moments, the woman proving to be a tougher kill than Athan had anticipated. Adira’s hands continued to try and push him back for a while until they settled onto his shoulders as she resigned to her fate.

  As her vision began to fade out, she remained focused on the setting sun outside of the window. Her final thought was simply that she should have jumped.

  Chapter 11

  She knew it had only been a few weeks since Keiran and the others had left, but it had felt far too long. With her own trip into the Sador Empire for reference, Thana knew it could take a while for them to have gotten to Aleria, spent some time there, and then come back. Knowing that didn’t make it any easier, however.

  There was an unsettled feeling within her. Whether it was from the thought of something going wrong for Keiran or the drama that had taken place following his departure, she couldn’t tell. All she could do was wait to find out.

  She’d spent much of her time with Father Beezle as he fought to recover from the injuries he’d sustained. Once he’d been brought to the castle and placed under Laron’s care, Thana had made it her personal mission to help tend to him. His wound wasn’t healing, however, and his medical care had now become little more than hospice.

  Throughout it all and despite the pain he was in, Father Beezle never lost his kindness. His one request to Thana had been simple—all he wanted was for her to read to him as he was too weak to sit up and hold a book on his own.

  Thana had readily agreed, spending countless hours reading to him from a multitude of books from the castle library. The old tales of Tordania when it was still ruled by tribes and the legends around that age intrigued him the most. Even when she knew he’d fallen asleep, she would keep on reading.

  She’d even dared to pull out her antique book of legends written in the old language and read stories from it. R
andall had been impressed with her level of comprehension while she read from that particular book. Thana had taken the compliment with grace, pleased she no longer had to live in fear for knowing the old language.

  Her greatest honor, however, was simply being with Father Beezle. During his stronger moments of clarity, they spoke at length. The elderly man was determined to give her the best education about the royal family and the country’s history as he could in the time he had left. As the new queen, there was much she still had to learn. Her memory was exquisite though, and when he’d test her, Thana’s answers had come back accurate and concise.

  She’d left the medic’s quarters where Father Beezle was being kept as time came around for his dressings to be changed. Thana first headed down into the kitchen to find something to eat. Her pregnancy caused her stomach to waver between ravenously hungry and nauseated.

  Corina, Magretha, and the others had already prepared the midday meal for the guards and other servants in the castle. As such, there were a variety of dishes sitting on the center island, and Thana took a small venison pie before leaving the room.

  Wandering around as she nibbled away at her lunch, she eventually entered the throne room and stood in the middle of it. The few advisors Keiran had kept around were absent, undoubtedly off eating in the communal servants’ dining room. Her shoulders rounded as she looked toward the empty throne where Keiran could usually be found during working hours.

  She tipped her head up toward the ceiling, her hand clutched to her chest still clinging onto her lunch. “I wish you’d hurry home. After the troubles the last time you left…”

  “After the troubles the last time I left, I’m surprised you didn’t forbid me from leaving here ever again.”

  Thana dropped the pie and spun around, startled. Her eyes were wide as they landed upon Keiran. “Keir!”