"We'll see how long that lasts," Victoria said. "The royals haven't exactly been the most peaceful lately."
"But Nicolae Blake is dead, isn't he?" Adrian cut in. "Isn't it all over now."
"I have the bad feeling that he was only a piece of this game." Victoria looked over to Alex, who had remained silent the entire time. "What's on your mind?"
He sighed. "None of this would have happened if I had been able to protect you. It's my fault you got hurt in the first place."
"Alex, you can't honestly believe that to be true?" Raduta asked him.
"It is. I failed you."
"Alex," Victoria began. He frowned. "Alexander." She patted the leftover space on her hospital bed and Alex gave out a huff. Victoria gave him a look and he sat down next to her. As he settled down, she covered him with the blankets, too. Now that three of them were in the bed, Albert and Adrian looked at each other before sitting down at the remaining space at the foot of the bed.
"How friendly," Alex said giving her a grin. She gripped his jaw making his mouth squish together.
"Just listen. You did not fail me. No one could have anticipated that I was going to be kidnapped in my own home. There is no way in all of Terrarum that you could ever fail me." She released Alex's face and turned to the rest of them. "The same goes for the rest of you. We're more than friends, we're family. For as long as the stars shine in the night sky, we will always be family."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
A Little Violence Goes a Long Way
Victoria begged her mother not to make her go back to D.A.R.C. She had even brought herself to tears saying that she couldn't bare the idea of holding a weapon in her hands for at least a while. Still, her mother had refused, which was why she was sitting to the side of the room refusing to take part in any of the activities.
Raduta walked up to her with two swords in her hand trying to hand one of them off to her. Victoria gave her pleading eyes and Raduta lowered the sword. "You're gonna have to pick one up again sometime," she said.
"I know, I just—" she hadn't yet talked to anyone yet about the fights in the arena. Nicolae had turned her into something she wasn't yet ready to face. It had been different in the Underground. The only thing she had ever thought about was survival. Up here, up on the surface, that kind of a beast would have a harder time blending in. "I'm not ready to fight anyone, yet. I think it would also be in others best interest if I didn't fight anyone."
"Why?"
"I don't know how much control I'll have over myself when I start."
"Victoria," the professor called her over. "I'm glad to see you back. You should know that we're in the middle of our final examinations. I have assigned each student an opponent to fight against. You will be participating for a grade."
"If you don't mind," Victoria said. "I'd prefer to sit this one out."
Her professor frowned at her. "I'm very sorry for what happened to you, Victoria." She resisted the urge to snarl at his condescending tone. "But you still need to pass this class to move on. I'm sympathetic to what happened and realize that the last time you practiced your fighting skills must have been months ago." Victoria snorted. "That is the reason why I'll go easy on you for your fight."
Victoria just blinked at him in quiet rage as he motioned for the smallest and apparently the weakest fighter to come up to the mat. Her limbs looked like tree branches and she could barely hold up the weight of the sword as she got into position.
"It's not that I'm weak," she said unable to keep the bite out of her voice. "I just don't care to have any more blades pointed at me."
"You think battles are fair?" he asked her.
"I know they're not."
"Then fight."
Victoria swallowed as she approached the rack of weapons. Compared to the ones in the Underground, these were pristine, beautiful even. Her words came ringing back into her head. Ugly swords kill just as well as pretty ones. Now, that was an unfair fight. She looked at the hammer and tensed as Nicolae's bloody and battered face came into her vision. She squeezed her eyes shut trying to block out the memory. They had beaten each other halfway to hell that night.
"At your leisure, Miss Speranta," her buffoon of a professor called to her. Rage filled her vision and it was with malice that she picked up a hammer again. It seemed she had only lived to kill another day.
He balked at her. "A hammer? How medieval."
Too similar. The words that their instructor spoke were too similar to the ones that Nicolae had said when he mocked her in the arena for choosing the very same weapon. With stiff, anxious movements, Victoria walked up to the center mat and looked at her opponent with ferocity. "I'm sorry you have to go up against me, but blood and broken bones go a long way in forging strength."
No one said anything at that. Even her professor seemed to be growing a little uneasy at the blood lust in her eyes. It was Victoria that growled like a savage beast, especially when the gong sounded. Its sound ricocheted through the air of the arena and Victoria was back in the Underground covered in the blood of her enemies with that black war paint on her face. The girl launched herself at her, wobbly and uneasy, like a newborn lamb.
Victoria bared her teeth and moved with the swiftness that had brought assassins and monsters to their knees. She too easily dodged the girls swing and slammed that hammer into the side of her head hearing bone crunch. She whirled to face the next attack, but there was none. The girl had been knocked unconscious and blood poured out of her nose and mouth as she lay limp on the floor. No one spoke realizing Victoria had won with only a single swing. The girl had been the weakest of them, but she was the weakest among a strong people. Still, Victoria knew that even if she had fought against the best of them, the results would have been the same. Victoria whipped the hammer in the air and blood sprayed off.
"I think someone should get her to a healer," she said as she placed the hammer back onto the weapons rack and stalked out of class.
Ω
"So," Victoria's mother said. She stood in the doorway of her dorm. Both Raduta and Blair were in class for their abilities leaving Victoria by herself. "I heard you almost killed a girl the other night."
Victoria scoffed. "I did not almost kill her. Had I known she was so weak, I wouldn't have swung so hard." She paused what she was doing and turned to look at her mother. "I did warn that idiot of an instructor that I didn't want to fight. He should have listened."
Her mother approached and sat at the end of her bed. "There are people who were at the fights telling stories of what you did in the arena." Victoria froze. "I'm sure some of it's true and some are lies. After what you did to the girl, tonight, I'm sure there will be more rumors going around."
"I suppose you're here to scold me. Tell me that I've made quite the mess for you and father to clean up now. Well, I'm sorry to tell you that whatever you've heard about what I did down there is probably true, especially the worst parts of it, and I won't apologize for doing what I had to do to survive."
The two of them were silent as Victoria moved around her room, picking up various objects. Some she returned back to their place. Most of them went into a bag that was on top of her bed.
"What are you doing?" her mother finally asked.
Victoria sighed. She had been busy putting together a bag of her old things to drop off at donation stations later on. "I suppose I just needed a change of pace."
After a few more moments of silence, Victoria was about to ask her to leave, but then her mother said, "I wasn't going to scold you."
"What?"
"I can't believe that I've been such a horrible mother to you that you assume I'm going to scold you after what you endured." Her mother turned sad eyes to her, the same eyes she had. "I remember the things I once had to do on a battlefield. I butchered many for the Speranta family before I ever thought I would become one myself. My soldiers and I did a great many terrible things to survive. After many decades of doing what we did, we all had this empty look in o
ur eyes. The kind of look that only those who have killed a lot of people have. I see that same look in your eyes now." The queen shook her head and tears streamed down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry for making you endure everything alone. I thought that if I shielded you and buried myself in my work that you would be saved from the same fate as Antonius, but now I see that you've only been rotting away before my eyes. I tried to justify it, but there's no way to justify how your father and I abandoned you all these years.
"Never once have I ever been ashamed of you," she continued. "I have always been so proud of you, and I am very proud that you survived the worst this world had to offer and came out stronger."
She didn't know the half of it.
"I thought…" Victoria felt ashamed, ashamed of these emotions, ashamed of these fears that she'd been harboring for seven years. "I thought you hated me."
She watched her mother's face fall at the words. Evidently, she never knew the true extent of the pain she had suffered all those years being alone.
"Victoria," she choked out. Those electric blue eyes were shiny in the moonlight. "I've never hated you. Never, in all my life, have I ever hated you." She sucked in a breath as she said, "Can this world forgive me for wanting to keep my daughter safe?
"When I became pregnant with you and your brother, my mother once told me that I would soon be surprised at the lengths I would go to in order to keep my children safe. I just shrugged it off. I thought I understood what she meant, but I would never have thought…" her words died off as if her voice was beginning to fail her. "But then, I held you in my arms. You and your brother," she laughed. "I'm sure I've never seen anything more spectacular in my life than the time I first saw you two.
"But then that night… I could only watch as one of my beautiful children was taken away from me. Ever since then, I've always felt a piece of myself missing."
Victoria knew what she meant. She'd felt it, too.
"I told myself that I would never let that happen to you. I'd die for you. I'd even let you hate me if that's what it took. Every night, I told myself that it was all okay. As long as you were safe, it was all okay. But, I see now, I can't do that anymore. You have a life you need to live. A reputation to uphold. I can't lock you away anymore. As much as I don't want to share you, if there's anything I've learned recently, it is that you are far too special to hide away."
For the first time in Victoria's entire life, she saw her mother bow her head as tears poured from her eyes. "I've been selfish, Victoria, so very selfish. Can you forgive me? Can you forgive me for wanting to do everything in my power to keep you safe?"
Then, the tears were trickling down from Victoria's eyes as well.
"Of course," she cried as they hugged each other for all of the years that they had missed.
When they at last pulled apart, Victoria sighed. "It seems the Speranta curse lives on."
Alina shook her head. "The monarchs of Sangera have always been targeted by others in a way that was more aggressive than what other monarchs experience. There is no curse. Only a price to be paid for some of the decisions your father and I made a long time ago."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Wolves and Sheep
Victoria and Ceto had survived an ordeal. In fact, everyone had, and it was for that reason that the royals decided to declare a time of peace and get together to set some new rules. Victoria wasn't nervous anymore. She remembered that trip to Teren City when all she could do was tremble in fear at the idea of seeing some of these people and standing as an eyewitness. Now, she was herself and stronger than ever, and she would cower before no one.
"Your calm," Alex said to her. She looked up from where she had been reading one of the old texts of Sangeran history.
"Am I?"
"Compared to your usual self, compared to anyone actually, you are quite calm. I haven't had to hold your hand once," he replied with a wry smile. Victoria frowned. "You've been acting different, too. You're more sure of yourself. You have what I've heard of as the killing calm. Assassins train for years to get it."
Victoria looked back at the book and began rifling through more of the pages. So far, she had read that a vampire could only have domain over one ability. You could either be a fire-breather or a shadow-bringer, not both. "What are you asking, Alex?"
"Nothing you don't feel comfortable telling me. Just don't feel like you have to bear the weight of the world alone."
Victoria sighed. "I went through hell and stared the devil in the face with my own two eyes. I suppose it's only fitting that death wouldn't scare me anymore, and that after being in the darkness for so long that I would have taken some of it back with me." She looked up at him and he held out his hand with that same wry smile as before. She shook her head but smiled back at him before taking his hand. He wouldn't push her, and she loved him for that. She was close with the others, of course. They were all her family, but it was only with Alex that she could be especially real. "Thank you."
"For what?"
She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes breathing in the scent of the salty sea he always seemed to carry with him. "For just being you."
Ω
Victoria walked into Regula Palace with her parents, their bodyguards, and Alex. A shrill scream sounded and Victoria tensed as Alex threw himself between her and whatever danger was coming her way. She immediately relaxed when she saw Ceto release Kai's hand and fly past Alex wrapping her arms around her.
"Victoria!" she cried. "You're so beautiful and strong. I'm so happy to see you again."
Victoria clung onto the siren with an equal amount of strength and began to laugh with joy. "Ceto!" They pulled back from each other and hooked arms walking to where their chairs were around the table.
"Now, that won't do," Ceto said motioning to the chairs. The seats designated for Mancator were next the ones for Frumos and on the other side of the table from Sangera which were next to the Underground. "Someone's idea of a sick joke, no doubt." She shook her head and switched the chairs for her kingdom with the chairs for the Underground. "Much better."
The two royal women sat down next to each other. Victoria glanced over to where Kai was talking to Alex.
"Any news you'd like to update me on," Victoria asked her. "You and Kai seemed pretty close when we walked in."
Ceto gave a sheepish smile. "Before I was kidnapped, I was so afraid of moving on. I couldn't stand the idea of replacing Kamalani. Now I realize that I'm not replacing him. You're right, Victoria. I believe that my husband would want me to be happy." She sighed. "When I was down there, I just couldn't believe that I was going to die before telling Kai how I felt. When I got back, he was one of the first people I talked to."
"And I see that went pretty well."
Ceto laughed. "I hadn't even realized that my other generals were in the room."
"Aw, how romantic."
"I'm afraid that we might not be nearly as cute or cliche as you and your bodyguard over there."
Victoria laughed. "No, Alex and I aren't like that. He's my best friend, but that's all. I'm afraid I've been spoken for since birth."
"That's right. You and that young lord with the two different colored eyes." She gave Victoria a knowing look. "Arranged?"
"Of course," Victoria shrugged.
Ceto just shook her head. "If you're happy, then I'm happy."
"I am happy," Victoria surprised herself by saying, and, for the first time in a long time, she truly was.
The two continued to gossip like old friends when Alex and Kai came over to them. Kai kissed Ceto on the cheek with such love and sincerity, Victoria could have cried. "You two are cute. It's disgusting," she joked.
Kai laughed a deep and hearty laugh and Ceto had stars in her eyes. Yes, she looked way different than she did when Victoria had seen her years ago. She had seemed stiff and stuck-up. Victoria knew now that she had to learn how to play those games as someone who wasn't born into the monarchy, but she was far happier now. She
seemed even more prepared to take on the world with Kai by her side.
A dark, silent wind blew into the palace and Victoria could almost taste the malice on her tongue like copper. A low growl escaped her as the king of the Underground passed by and gave her a withering glare. She gave one right back lest he forget about that beast he unleashed in his arena.
"He was there, wasn't he?" Ceto whispered. "He knew full well what kind of slaves he kept in that arena."
Victoria nodded. "And what a dark day it was for him when he realized that I am no one’s slave."
The other royals meandered in at their leisure. After Azazel, King Cernunnos and Queen Madremonte, high fae of Zana, arrived looking just as wealthy and haughty as ever. Ceto rolled her eyes. "Never liked them. They've always believed themselves to be above rabble like me."
Afterwards arrived the ghost queen Hecate of Fantoma, then the dwarf king Pitic of Parvolus, and the werewolf king Skoll along with his brother Hati from Adraxia.
"Vlad! Alina!" a man cried as he entered the palace. Victoria saw Bruce Remington roll his eyes behind them as he slunk into the room.
"Artur," Victoria's father said clasping forearms with the man. King Artur Dalca looked like sunshine given form. He had dark brown skin, like many gargoyles, and golden blond hair. Victoria noticed several tattoos on him that were similar to Alex's and that they wore clothes of a similar fashion.
And if the king was sunshine incarnate, then his wife was surely fire. Anastasia Dalca's hair was a deep red and her skin was a golden bronze. She was stunning. Even Ceto's breath was taken away in the presence of such an ancient and powerful woman. "Now, that's a queen," she said.
"I'm very sorry for your loss," Alina Speranta said as she embraced the gargoyle queen.
The queen shrugged but there was a sad kind of darkness in her eyes. "My son was an evil man, and he hurt your daughter. There was no saving him anymore."
"Son?" Victoria asked Ceto
The Hunger of Wolves Page 17
