Author: Archer, Simon
Date: 2020-08-09

Monster Girl Defense Force

Book 1

Simon Archer

Contents

Prologue

1. Christoff

2. Christoff

3. Rozmarin

4. Rozmarin

5. Christoff

6. Christoff

7. Sahar

8. Rozmarin

9. Christoff

10. Rozmarin

11. Christoff

12. Rachel

13. Sahar

14. Christoff

15. Christoff

16. Christoff

17. Rachel

18. Rozmarin

19. Christoff

20. Christoff

21. Rozmarin

22. Christoff

23. Christoff

24. Rozmarin

25. Sahar

26. Rozmarin

27. Christoff

28. Rozmarin

29. Rozmarin

30. Anix

31. Rachel

32. Christoff

33. Christoff

34. Rozmarin

35. Rozmarin

36. Christoff

37. Rozmarin

38. Anix

39. Rozmarin

40. Aerywin

41. Christoff

42. Rozmarin

43. Christoff

44. Christoff

Author’s Note

Prologue

Darkness settled over the village, and puffs of gray smoke billowed from the little chimneys of each house. This house, in particular, looked more like a run-down shack with a slouching, patchwork roof, but a soft and warm light emanated from the windows.

That light spilled out into the darkness as a woman opened the front door. She looked around, confused until she noticed the bundle at her feet. A sharp gasp escaped her, and she quickly scooped the thing up into her arms, cradling it.

It was a baby boy.

The woman peered into the night, looking up and down the street for any sign of who might have left this poor child on her doorstep, but she saw and heard nothing.

She looked down at this boy in her arms, instinctively rocking him side to side and cooing sweet nothings down to him. She kissed his forehead and smiled at the bundled baby, tears falling from her eyes.

Another figure appeared in the doorway, a man, and he stood next to the woman, wrapping a large arm around her shoulder.

“What is it?” He asked, and then he saw the baby in his wife’s arms.

“The gods have answered our prayers,” she replied, never taking her eyes off the baby.

The man pulled the blanket from the baby’s head, getting a better look at this strange child who had appeared outside his door. His big, rough hand, with surprising care, cupped the tiny boy’s head, and he rubbed the wisps of hair with his large thumb. Tears welled up in the man’s eyes and rolled down his cheeks.

“What shall we call him?” he asked the woman.

And as if she had this name pre-selected for her first son or if the name had magically formed in her thoughts, she replied, “Christoff. His name is Christoff.”

1

Christoff

Get in and get out.

That’s what I told myself as I shoved my arms through the holes of the oversized servant’s uniform. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the material was comfortable and breathable. The color was nice too, blue and silver with gold stitching.

Maybe I should consider becoming a Queen’s servant. The pay had to be better than pickpocketing and thievery, not to mention safer.

I shook my head, clearing the ridiculous thoughts from my mind. Of course, I couldn’t become a servant of the Queen. Humans rarely ever landed jobs in the castle at all. Still, I hoped that no one would question the average-looking man with questionable intentions soon to be roaming the halls of the Vampire Queen’s castle.

I sighed and looked into the dirty mirror of an abandoned public restroom that was less than a ten-minute walk from the castle’s entrance. Heavy bags sat beneath my hazel eyes, which betrayed my serious lack of sleep over the past year. Even though I was only twenty-two, I had become the sole provider for my adopted family. My father had passed away and left me to take care of my two younger siblings and a barely functional mother all by myself. Not long after my father died, my mother grew sick and was unable to do more than sleep and cuddle up around the fireplace in our tiny, depressingly run-down cottage that we could barely afford.

Smoothing down my wavy, light brown hair before it stuck up all over the place, I checked my appearance in the mirror one more time, straightening out my stolen uniform on my five-foot nine-inch frame. The blue and silver material hung loosely on my shoulders, the sleeves reaching a little too close to my elbow to be short-sleeved. The skin around my eyes was tight with tension and worry.

“If you smile, you can trick even yourself into being happy,” my mother used to say. Sometimes I caught her in front of the mirror in our sorry excuse of a bathroom, doing just that since my dad passed, though the brittle, desperate smile never quite reached her eyes.

I smiled at myself in the mirror to see if the tension would ease. It did not. I sighed and walked out the door without another glance.

Just another day on the job.

As I approached the western entrance to the castle, I marveled at its beauty. While massive security precautions protected the castles of the Medieval times like moats filled with dangerous, man-eating creatures, barbed wire fences, and stone walls, the security for the castle of the Queen of Constanta was far less… extravagant. Not because of a lack of resources, but because it was simply unnecessary. Not many dared pose a threat within the castle walls for fear of the Vampire Queen’s wrath.

Instead, most of the security effort was concentrated on the outskirts of the kingdom where a giant wall separated us from the rest of the world… and the zombies.

During history classes in school, we had learned of the virus that infected only humans. It made their flesh rot and fall off their bones before turning them into mindless, man-eating zombies with a hankering for human brains. The virus had wiped out well over half of the entire human population all across the globe, only slowing when the mysterious, gorgeous vampire, now known as the Vampire Queen, led the war against zombies with her war general, the Doom Bringer, at her side, and won.

While not all of the zombies were destroyed during the Great Purge, we humans who weren’t moaning, cannibalistic drama queens managed to form our own kingdoms, or kingdoms, as others called it, alongside our supernatural neighbors who had made their way out of the shadows after the fall of the Old World, and away from the beasts. Hence, the giant thirty-foot wall on the outskirts of the kingdom that very few humans or supernaturals dared to venture outside of.

The Queen’s castle sat atop a hill, surrounded sparsely by evergreen trees.

As I got closer, the uniform gray walls and blue roof became an intricate work of art, so proudly and carefully put together. During the spring and summer, vines grew along the castle’s walls, and color bloomed all throughout the kingdom.

The snow had begun to melt two full moons ago, so I didn’t have to bring an extra jacket to wear over my servant’s uniform. The toughest of the foliage had already begun to bloom, scattered among the courtyard and on the sodden ground. Soon, greenery would be bursting from every nook and cranny in the castle, over the trellises, and even over the rooftops. By winter, the foliage would fade, replaced by damp moss and cold stone.

I slipped through a heavy wooden door, supported by a cobblestone arch on the west end of the castle. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I heard no voices in the stairwell, but I still made sure to keep my head down, afraid to risk looking up.

After careful consideration, I chose midday for this mission because most of the servants would be in the Great Hall for lunch, including the few guards left to guard the castle, leaving my path clear. Red velvet covered the marble floor, and I briefly wished that I wasn’t wearing shoes so that I could feel the softness against my bare feet. When I made my way to the staircase, I finally looked up and froze in place. While the outside of the castle wasn’t unimpressive by any means, the inside was spectacular.

Oil lanterns lit the staircase well, and color and art covered the walls as if someone went on a massive, manic artistic spree. Some were paintings, some were drawings, and others were carvings. Most were clearly not professional works. Some looked like a five-year-old child drew them, and others were the creations of talented amateurs.

Warmth flooded my chest as I took a closer look at one of the childish drawings depicting the castle. One of the kingdom’s young subjects had signed it, and still, it was framed and displayed proudly on the wall as if Da Vinci himself painted it. This stairwell was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

And this was only the ground floor.

I slowly traced my fingers along the stone ridges, committing every detail to memory. Lost in an appreciative trance, the click of a door opening behind me made me look over my shoulder. What I found was a small, purple-skinned fairy with dainty, green, see-through wings fluttering out of the room. Her outfit was a twin to mine, and she returned my nervous smile with a polite nod of her own before fluttering up the staircase ahead of me without a second glance, her tiny feet never hitting the stairs.

When the faerie was out of sight, I breathed a sigh of relief and continued up the steps, running through the plan in my head once more. Get to the gallery on the fourth floor, steal the art piece, and get out, unnoticed and unscathed.

Yup, that was pretty much the extent of it. It was a dangerous mission, one that would probably cost me my life if I were to get caught, but I didn’t have a choice. My family was counting on me, and we desperately needed the money. While I didn’t enjoy stealing, I was good at it, and it put food on the table.

One of the West Village’s gallery owners was one of the few remaining members of an original native tribe who had settled in northern America long before my own ancestors, thousands of years ago. He was willing to pay a solid lump sum upfront if I could get back an old carving that his own ancestors had made long before the zombie virus was a flicker of a thought in anyone’s mind.

The problem was that the carving now hung in the Queen’s castle, and no one, no one, stole from the Queen. Still, the money that the old tribe member was willing to pay would feed my family for months, though not much more. Even that small sum was worth the risk.

That’s how I ended up alone in the Vampire Queen’s castle, a human thief hiding among the Queen’s loyal servants. I soothed my conscience by telling myself that it was technically not stealing since the carving belonged to the tribe in the first place.

Rumors had it that the Queen loved to collect art, that her art gallery was more akin to a museum than a gallery, and that it boasted artifacts from the Old World, before zombies, before walls and kingdoms separated by miles of zombie-infested land, and fear. Now, after the destruction that took place over the past seventy years, those relics were utterly priceless, a reminder of a different world.

I made my way up the spiraling stone steps and kept my head down. Up and up I went, past three landings until I found myself before the door to the fourth floor where I knew the Queen’s art gallery would be. With one last deep breath, I cracked the heavy wooden door open just enough to see if the hallway was clear.

Once again, the sheer beauty I witnessed blew me away. This time, a midnight blue velvet carpet ran along the giant hall. Tens of doors stood on either side. Only one of them, the fourth door to the right, had two guards stationed outside of it.

Of course, that was the door to the art gallery.

I rolled my eyes. The Queen sure loved her art.

While I was used to seeing supernatural creatures, I still balked at the impressive size of the two gargoyles standing outside of the gallery. While they weren’t fully armored, swords hung at their sides, and I knew they had to have other weapons hidden away in their midnight blue and silver guard uniforms.

Gargoyles were natural-born fighters and protectors. While not all of them became soldiers or guards in the Queen’s force, most did. It is said that long ago, humans carved them from stone to protect their people and to cast away evil, but as time went by, the people began to forsake them for their grotesque faces and demon-like forms until they were all but forgotten. When the angels fell from the sky, they brought those forsaken gargoyles to life as giant winged creatures with the choice to choose for themselves who and what they were willing to protect.

As my brain scrambled for some sort of distraction, my hand slipped on the door handle, and it made the smallest jangling sound. A human wouldn’t have heard a single thing, but those guards weren’t human. They were gargoyles, and they were made to defend and protect. Both of the giant’s heads whipped up at the same moment, and I knew there was no way I was making it out of here if I started to run now.

So, I did the only thing I could think of.

I burst through the door, the panic on my face not entirely forced. “Guards! Guards! Someone has gone after the Queen, hurry!” I yelled, praying to whoever was listening that this would work.

My prayers were answered. Without a single word, the two gargoyles immediately sprinted past me, their post forgotten.

Well, that was easy.

Satisfied with the small victory, I looked up and down the hall once more to check for more guards and found it empty. All clear. I tip-toed to the entrance of the art gallery and marveled at the giant door.

The entryway was an art piece in itself. The door boasted intricate carvings, which created a storyboard of history. It seemed to have different eras in time carved into it. The top sections represented the Old World. There were carvings representing the Medieval era of kings and knights and castles, to hunting scenes with native folk and children playing in fields of wildflowers.

The middle section looked like the twentieth century and early twenty-first, just before the virus took over with images of skyscrapers. And below that, carvings of mass destruction. Zombies and death and mutilated bodies littered the third and final section of the door. I couldn’t help but wonder why the Queen chose to leave out the current times, after the Great Purge. Perhaps they ran out of room.

I shrugged, pushing the thought aside. Now was not the time to question the Queen’s choice of decor.

I gave the door a try. To no surprise of mine, it was locked. I pulled out a metal pin that I kept hidden in my shoe and bent down to get a better angle on the lock. When you’re in the business of thievery long enough, you learn to pick a lock… fast.

Four and a half seconds later, the lock clicked. Dang. Half a second slower than my personal record.

I turned the handle and pushed. The door swung open silently, so I slipped in and closed it behind me. I flinched as the door loudly clicked shut, and after a moment of tense listening for alarmed voices or rushed footsteps down the hall, I heard nothing.

My shoulders relaxed.

As I turned to observe the room, the sweet smell of magic hung in the air, and my chest constricted. It smelled like incense and flowers. I hadn’t considered the possibility that the artifact might be protected by magic. Not that I hadn’t ever stolen artifacts that were magically protected before, but this was the Vampire Queen. She would have the very best sorcerers at her disposal to protect her treasure. I would need to be very careful.

Then, my breath hitched for a different reason. This wasn’t just a room. It was more like a great hall. I recalled all the rumors about the Queen having a museum in her castle, and none of those rumors did this gallery justice.

Thousands of pieces of art and artifacts from varying eras were displayed proudly on the walls and in display cases, and some hung from the ceiling. It was a grand assortment: swords, whole suits of armor, paintings, carvings, and even entire skeletons of extinct species.

I reached out to run my fingers over a steel helmet. I jerked my hand back as if the helmet were on fire, and I backed away from the display.

Focus, Chris. You need to find the carving.

I scanned the displays, moving deeper into the room until I found the piece I was looking for. It was a wooden carving formed into the shape of the sun with an elderly face in the middle, the nostrils of the wide nose flaring slightly. The chipped red and black paint glinting in the light beneath the glass case it sat in.

It was beautiful. Primitive. Ancient. Our people rarely ever made art like this anymore. The taste in art had changed over the generations, and wood was scarce.

This was truly a relic, and its people wanted it back.

I cocked my head at an angle so I could assess the display case. A standard iron lock held the case shut. The tightness in my chest loosened slightly. Maybe magic didn’t protect this one. Could I have gotten that lucky?

My hand shook as I reached into my shoe again to pull the metal pin from my sock, and I willed it to be steady as I lowered it to the lock. The pin slid in without any issues, and I relaxed a little. With a few moments of work, the lock clicked, and the lid of the glass case loosened.

A little more tension eased from my chest. I might actually be able to pull this off. The sack, tucked safely into my uniform, rustled as I pulled it out to hold the artifact. My hand lifted to open the display case, the glass cool against my skin, and praying the Queen had not placed traps, I lifted the carving from the case. I held it up in a moment of triumph, amazed I had actually pulled it off, but as I slipped the artifact into the bag, I realized I still needed to escape the castle.

This would be fun.

2

Christoff

I opened the giant wooden door, and the two gargoyles from earlier were nowhere to be seen. It looked like my luck hadn’t quite run out yet. I closed the heavy door behind me, as softly as I could, and quickly tucked the sack that now held my prize under my clothes.

Something moved in the shadows beyond the hall, and I stood as still as one of the statues in the gallery, holding my breath. A group of faeries passed by, chatting happily, not noticing me, the thief in their midst. I left the hall and quickly descended the stairs, doing my best to hurry, but also to look as inconspicuous as possible, which was harder than it looked with my heart racing a mile a minute.

Aw, crap.

The two gargoyles from before were coming up the steps in front of me. They looked identical with yellow cat-like eyes, horns on their large heads, and giant wings folded up behind them. Terror froze me in place as the guards neared, but I inhaled a deep breath, steadying myself and continued walking, keeping my eyes on the stairs below me.

Just as I passed, letting out my breath, one of the guards yelled, “Hey!”

I thought about running, but instead, I whirled around to face the twin gargoyles and tried to act natural.

“Stay out of trouble, you,” the one on the right called, and the other slapped her on the back, laughing.

I smiled and nodded, afraid that if I spoke, my shaking voice would betray me. Damn gargoyles.

I continued my escape, body tingling with fear and adrenaline. I knew I had made it to the lower floors now, and as I continued down another hall, I saw more figures approaching. One was definitely another gargoyle, the behemoth form unmistakable even in the darkness of the hall, but the other looked more human than anything.

The pair were speaking in hushed voices, and as I neared them, I could make out only a few sentences. I looked up for the briefest of moments and met the eyes of a woman.

And that’s when the realization hit me. The irresistible yet distant silver eyes. The dark, tousled flowing hair, and the commanding voice. The unmistakable aura of power that she kept bound tightly around her. This was the Vampire Queen.

She had a slight accent that I wouldn’t have known where to begin to guess where it originated from. Likely, it was from another time, when giant walls and miles of land filled with roaming zombie hordes didn’t separate kingdoms and cities.

Her raven-colored hair touched past her shoulders, and she had bangs that curled at the ends and fell into her brilliant, shining silver eyes. Long, black lashes the same color as her hair blinked curiously at me. Though her skin had the pale undertone that most vampires had, it was obvious that she had spent time in the sun before she changed.

Somehow, she had maintained her tan through her vampirification process. Go figure.

Her lips were full but drawn into a tight, grim line at the moment. My eyes traced her sharp jawline and cream-colored throat that was still even as she spoke. She was speaking right then, I realized, but I heard nothing. I was too busy running my eyes up and down the length of her body.

The dress she wore was clearly tailored to fit her perfectly, and she boasted the colors of her kingdom in a dark blue bodice corset. Silver stitched swirling patterns embroidered the arm-length sleeves of her dress like tattoos. Below her waist, the dress flared out in soft silver fabric that barely brushed against the ground and gave hints at dark midnight heels that must have cost half a year’s worth of my own earnings. She did not wear a crown. And yet, the power rolling off the Queen in waves was like no other I’d ever felt before. It was… intoxicating. Beautiful. Sacred. Terrifying.

I shook my head. Where the hell did that thought come from? I needed to get out of this castle, and fast.

Once I passed the Queen and her guard, I picked up my pace, almost jogging now.

Fear, true, unadulterated fear pierced my heart, then. What if the Queen realized I was an intruder? I would never see my family again. My mother and my two younger siblings would have to fend for themselves. How would they survive without me? While my younger brother, the middle sibling, Tyrion, was a master at tattoo work, he could scarcely get enough clients for all three of them to live off of. At least the advance my client had given me for this job would hold them over for a short time, but then what?

I squeezed my eyes shut tight and choked down the panic rising in my throat. No, I wouldn’t be caught. I was almost out of this vampire castle. I rounded a corner into another hall similar to the fourth floor. More amateur artwork cluttered the walls. Doors lined either side of the hall, some closed and some left ajar. Voices echoed out from some of the rooms. Some were happy and amused, and others were mild chattering voices. It sounded like the halls of a large household or a busy inn. It was all so… normal. Mundane.

I couldn’t help the warmth that ran through me at the sight of it, even as I ran for my life.

As I passed one of the doors, I saw a beautiful faerie with brilliant green eyes nursing an infant with shiny, barely there hair in a rocking chair. That went on the entire way down the hall. I passed rooms filled with guests of all species, everything from two-foot-tall elves dripping in fine jewelry to brawny, ill-tempered werewolves. Just as I was about to reach the end of the hallway, two tiny furry figures came darting out of one of the last rooms, jumping and yipping excitedly.

“MARIA! CHASTITY! GET BACK IN HERE RIGHT NOW!” a loud voice bellowed through the halls, making me jump. My temper flared, but I had no time to retaliate before a large, dark-skinned man came barreling out of the room the two pups had come out of.

“My apologies. The twins are in their terrible two’s. Bloody nightmares, the both of them,” the large man said before continuing his pursuit of the two rascals.

I just nodded, and quickened my pace down the hall, eager to be far away from this place with the artifact. I finally emerged into the ground level of the castle, and without looking back or making any more eye contact with the castle inhabitants, I rushed out of the great doors into the blinding sunlight. Yet again, I released the breath I didn’t know I had been holding and took in the fresh air.

Still not out of the woods yet, I hurried along the path that led away from the castle grounds, and when I felt far enough away, I broke into a sprint, running as fast as I could away from that place, towards my home in the West Village.

When I finally reached my destination, the West Village gallery, I panted and wiped the sweat from my face with my stolen guard uniform. The gallery owner came out to greet me.

“Christoff, my lad, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Henry chuckled as he clapped a giant hand on my shoulder.

“It’s not the ghosts that scare me. It’s the vampires. I saw the Queen,” I replied, still catching my breath.

“She’s a fierce one, that’s for sure. Good thing she didn’t turn you to stone.”

“Can she do that?” I asked, a shiver running through me.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” the gallery owner laughed, and I shot him an annoyed look. He obviously had no idea how terrifying the Queen and her castle was, especially for a thief.

“Here’s your carving,” I said as I pulled the now sweat-drenched sack from under my tunic. “Sorry about the… sweat.”

Henry pulled the artifact from the sack, and as he held it out before him, eyeing it, his eyes glossed over with emotion.

“Thank you, Christoff,” he managed to choke out. “You don’t know what this means to me.” He handed me a large sack of coins and thanked me one last time before sending me on my way.

The hefty weight and musical jingle of the sack of money dangled from my hand as I walked home, a huge smile plastered on my face. I can't believe I had actually pulled it off. Not only did I return a precious relic to where it truly belonged, but I had secured a decent sum of money for my family that would provide us food and medicine, at least for a little while.

I walked down the dusty lane to my humble house. It wasn't much, but everyone that I cared most about lived there. As I neared the front door, it swung open, and my younger sister Theia burst out, wrapping her arms around me.

"Christoff, I was so worried you'd be captured, or even worse," she cried. I wiped the tears from her face.

"Have a little faith in your dear old brother, why don't ya," I teased.

Having heard my voice, Tyrion ran out the door and hugged me from the side.

"Guess who I saw?" I said as I jostled my younger brother’s messy blonde hair. My siblings looked at me with wide, curious eyes. "I saw the Vampire Queen! I looked her right in the eyes and walked right past her!" I laughed, now able to look back on the situation without fear, without realizing how close I had come to the Vampire Queen, a woman who most surely would have bitten my head off had she known who I truly was.

3

Rozmarin

Sweat clung to my brow as the ringing of steel meeting steel echoed in the courtyard near the side entrance of the castle. Anix, the Doom Bringer, gargoyle war general, and my closest friend, saw an opening and took it. She swung her sword low across my torso, and I parried it away just in time.

Anix was far better with a sword than I, but I was faster and had other abilities to my advantage as the Vampire Queen of Constanta. The next moment, the weight shifted between my shoulder blades as I summoned my wings. As they spread wide, they cast a giant shadow across the body of my opponent. A flap of my giant, onyx-colored wings, and I was behind her, my sword poised at the base of her neck.

“Cheater,” Anix muttered mildly.

The corner of my mouth lifted a fraction, and I lowered my weapon before we reset and began again. I needed time to think after today’s events, to work off some steam. The boy I had seen earlier in the castle was not just human. Of that, I was certain. I’d had over two-hundred years to master the art of identifying other supernatural creatures, and he was the first to stump me in a century. He seemed to glow from within, the subtlest hint of golden light permeating from his skin. His power, his light, called to mine, even as our eyes briefly met in the hallway. Definitely not human. But if not human, then what? And why was he in the castle?

My closest friends knew that I loved puzzles, and at the moment, this seemingly chance encounter was the most interesting puzzle I had come across in ages. Ever since we managed to push the zombies far enough away from human civilization to create a kingdom, almost all of my subjects worshiped at my feet, never questioning me or my decisions. It grew tiresome.

The only exceptions were the members of my council, my closest friends.

“You seem distracted,” Anix commented as I dodged another one of her powerful blows. The gargoyle had at least a foot on me, but that never stopped me. I spun around, my sword arcing high above my head before it came down, only to meet more steel. “Could this be about the boy?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, dancing away from another blow. “He. Seems. Different.” I punctuated each word by smashing my sword against hers. A flicker of surprise flitted across the commander’s face.

“This frustrates you?” she asked. She blocked every blow from pure instinct, too distracted by her piqued interest in my frustration to return the strikes.

“I am his Queen,” I responded, and Anix tossed me a look that said ‘bullshit’ before her sword twisted around mine, making me lose my grip on the handle. My sword went flying across the grass and skidded to a stop ten feet away.

“Point taken.” I retrieved my sword, and we took our stances once more.

“I do not understand why this human is troubling you so much,” she mused. “He seemed like any other human boy to me.”

“I can sense something… inhuman about him,” I explained. “I must find out what he is. If there is another unexpected virus, I want to know about it. It is like nothing I’ve seen in all my years.”

That piqued Anix’s attention. It was then that I realized we never started fighting again after taking our stances. I lowered my weapon, too distracted by our current conversation to strategize a new strike. The general followed suit, her gray forehead wrinkling as her brows drew low over her inky black eyes.

“You think he may be infected?” she asked, something like fear entering her voice.

I didn’t blame her. We had endured the horrors of the apocalypse together, first hand, and at the front lines. She had led my army against them. It was horrible. Bloody, and wretched, and hopeless. After all, how do you kill something that’s already dead? While the virus only affected humans, and human brains seemed to be the only thing on their menu, the infected were stronger and faster than humans, and they had no issues killing supernatural creatures if they were in the way.

I shook my head. “It’s not like the virus, but I don’t know what it is.” That reminded me. I owed my head sorceress and alchemist a visit, and perhaps when might know who this strange man was. I looked up at my friend, her expression a little more relaxed. “Care to take a walk?”

“Sure,” she shrugged.

Anix and I walked in comfortable silence through the hallways of the ground floor until we reached a door to the stairwell. The same familiar rush of warmth and comfort flooded my body as we passed all of the artwork that the children of the kingdom had created and gifted to the castle.

Receiving gifts and riches from my people for saving them from the zombie hordes had made me extremely uncomfortable at first. While I was used to attention because of my appearance, I wasn’t used to that level of fame. It had taken me some years to get used to it. However, receiving art from my people, especially the children, was one of my greatest honors. I made sure to make it clear that every piece I received was framed and hung proudly on the interior walls of the castle.

The stairwell darkened as the war general, and I descended into the lower levels of the castle, below ground. Like always, Sahar, my incomparable alchemist, sensed my presence before I was even in view of the door to the alchemist’s lab. The door flung open as Anix and I approached, and we both shared a knowing look.

Sahar was an Israeli charmer, an invaluable asset, and a brilliant alchemist who somehow ended up in the northern American continent when Constanta’s borders were closed off to the world. Like most of the rest of us, she never talked about her life before the apocalypse. It had changed all of us survivors, molded us into something… else. I had no clue how old she truly was, but I was willing to bet her age wasn’t far off from my own.

“Your Highness. Anix. What a pleasure.” Sahar’s ageless voice trickled through the threshold as we entered the lab, and I scanned the room for her golden tunic, long dark hair, and sparkling headpiece. I found her in the corner of the room, already pouring three cups of tea. The golden beads and rings woven into her braids glinted beneath the dim lantern and candlelight of the lab. “I was wondering when you would come to me about the boy you found... admiring the gallery.”

My eyebrows crept up to my hairline, and my mouth opened to question where she had gotten this information from. Before I could get a word out, we heard a commotion as two gargoyles burst through the door. It was Lauren and Lorelia, both looking out of breath and upset.

“There you are, my Queen,” Lorelia breathed.

“We have bad news,” Lauren continued for her sister.

I glanced at Sahar and saw the knowing look on her face.

“Let me guess,” I responded, “Is something missing from my gallery?”

The gargoyles glanced at each other and simply nodded. “We saw a strange human wandering around the halls.”

“Yes, so did I.” A new curiosity flashed through me. Not only was this human… something else, but he was also a thief. “Thank you, Lauren, Lorelia. You can return to your posts.” I waved the gargoyles off.

Sahar turned around, holding a tray with our tea. Anix moved forward to assist her with it, but she waved her off and gestured for us to take a seat on the opposite corner.

Sahar’s alchemy lab was a busy place. The low-lying ceiling forced Anix to duck her head so it wouldn’t brush against the stone. It was a large space, but the long tables that ran across the room were all littered with cauldrons, books, scales, test tubes, and potions. The walls hosted built-in shelves, which held more potions and unfamiliar items. Her staff bustled around the large room, some hunched over cauldrons or measuring out ingredients. I gave the head sorceress a meaningful look, and she got the message.

Sahar turned to her team of alchemists. “Leave us,” she ordered.

Twenty seconds later, it was just Sahar, Anix, and me. The silence was deafening. The alchemist turned to us and gestured for us to take a seat in the corner where a couple of love seats and wooden chairs were shoved against the stone wall. Sahar was the first to sit in a wooden chair, her posture perfect. I sat down next to her in a red velvet love seat, and Anix stood beside my chair, arms folded over her chest.

After we each took our first sip of the fragrant herbal tea, I decided to get on with it.

“What do you know of this thief?” I asked, deciding directness with the mysterious sorceress was the best path to take. While I trusted her with her job as head sorceress and alchemist of my castle, she almost never divulged everything she knew, and she tended to speak in riddles, leaving me more confused than I was before. It was why I liked her so much.

Sahar smiled at me, a cat’s smile that said she knew more about me than I did. Her dark eyes shone in the light of the oil lantern, casting gold light across her high cheekbones.

“What do you want to know?”

Oh, how I hated these games and loved them all the same.

“Is he infected with the virus?” I asked, deciding on the most important question first. His body hadn’t smelled of rotting flesh and death like the others, but I had to be sure. We couldn’t afford an outbreak within the kingdom. It would destroy us all.

“His blood is untainted by the virus,” Sahar replied cryptically as she shook her head. Her fingers traced the rim of her teacup as she gazed at me curiously, an alluring smile on her face.

My eyebrows pulled low over my eyes, my own cup forgotten in my hands. “Is his blood tainted by something else? Another virus?”

“Only blood tests will tell.” Sahar folded her hands neatly in her lap.

I twisted a bit of my hair between my fingers that had fallen over my shoulder. “I have never seen or sensed a power like his before. I want to know what he is as soon as possible.” I should have been grateful that I was still capable of growing hair after my transformation, but sometimes it was more annoying than I cared to admit.

“Of course,” Sahar replied, bowing her head.

“We should arrest the thief,” Anix spoke out.

Sahar and I swung our heads to look at the guard beside me. Anix had been so silent over the past few minutes, and I had almost forgotten she was there.

“Yes, we could go charging into the West Village and arrest him, but I believe it’s better if he came to the castle willingly,” I mused.

“But is the boy a danger to the kingdom?” Anix asked.

Sahar’s face broke into a brilliant smile, her perfectly straight white teeth gleaming in the firelight. Was Anix... blushing?

“Quite the contrary, Doom Bringer,” Sahar replied, using the nickname Anix had earned in the Great Purge when she’d slain thousands of the man-eaters on the battlefield.

That caught me off guard, my previous observation forgotten. My head swung back over to the alchemist, but she was already standing, placing her teacup on a short wooden table beside her chair.

“I have neglected the potions long enough,” she explained. “They’ll be boiling over soon. It’s time for us to get back to work. Is there anything else I can do for you, Your Highness?”

I stood up alongside her and gulped down the last of my now cold tea. I wanted to press the issue further, but I knew that Sahar had finished indulging my desire for information. With that, there was no convincing her to divulge more or even provide more clarity than she had. I once tried by threatening her with my power as Queen. It had not ended well for me.

So, for now, I would take what wisdom I could get. She was still an asset, despite being a pain in my rump.

“We will make a deal with the thief,” I replied, “And then you can do all the blood tests you want on the boy. Thank you, Sahar,” I replied. Just as Anix and I reached the threshold, Sahar spoke.

“Have you any word from dear Aerywin?” she asked.

Aerywin was an emissary and diplomat on the Queen’s council. She was a faerie who was as brave to the point of lunacy and often went on missions to other kingdoms for diplomatic purposes. She also used it as an opportunity to track the hordes’ numbers, always returning with a count to give us.

I shook my head, confused. “She should arrive from the south by full dark tomorrow.”

Sahar nodded, concern written across her face. When her eyes met mine, I stiffened at the warning in them.

“Expect worrisome news, Your Highness, and be warned. Peace does not come without a price.”

And with that, Sahar called her assistants back, and we were no longer alone. Anix and I shared a frustrated look before we took our leave. As we climbed the stone steps to the ground floor, I ran through the newly gathered information in my head. What worrisome news could Aerywin have for us? Was she okay? Could it have to do with the southern lands?

Theory after troublesome theory swirled in my head. Soon, my thoughts went to the little thief. The boy wasn’t infected by the virus. That was a minor victory. I didn’t know what I would have done if he had been. We hadn’t had a case in Constanta since we’d sealed off our walls, thankfully. It was a relief to know that the zombies hadn’t breached the barrier.

Then, Sahar’s answer to Anix’s question about the boy being a danger to the kingdom ran through my head.

Quite the contrary, Doom Bringer.

Did that mean that he was not only not a danger to the kingdom, but an asset to it? How could that be? A common thief, an asset to the kingdom? It made no sense.

4

Rozmarin

The following day, Anix and I decided to fly to the West Village, where Sahar informed us the boy called Christoff resided. It had been too long since I’d felt the rush of the biting wind against my face, and I actually looked forward to the flight. The meeting with the boy… Christoff, not so much. Still, the trip was most enjoyable until we came upon the outskirts of the West Village. I knew the state of it was terrible, but witnessing the rundown look of the rooftops and the barren streets from above had failure tightening my chest.

Since the beginning of Constanta, after the Great Purge, the West Village always had the tensest relations with the crown. It had the highest number of humans by far, and not all of them were able to accept the reality of the New World. Even as generations went by, that feeling of discontent with the crown, with the fall of humanity, still lingered. It was why I had little involvement with the village… because they did not want me.

When we finally made it to the outskirts of the West Village, along a row of houses in very close proximity to each other, I spotted a tiny little cottage with a patchy, slouching roof. It was more like a frumpy shack than a house.

My jaw worked as I imagined a hazel-eyed boy working the streets, risking his life every day just to come home to… this. At least the chimney seemed to be working, and smoke billowed upward. It wasn’t terribly chilly today, and I wondered why they would waste the logs on a fire when it was unnecessary.

When we landed in the tiny front yard, Anix and I shared a look. The grass of the yard was patchy and muddy from the rainfall the previous night. The tilt of the house was more prominent now that we were at ground level. The wooden logs that made up the house were rotted, and as we climbed the steps, I had to step over one that was practically missing. There was nothing on the porch, save for a lone wooden rocking chair. There was one small window on either side of the door, the curtains drawn closed, making it impossible to see inside.

With one last glance at the gargoyle at my side, I knocked on the door. I could hear hushed muttering from somewhere inside, and soon, footsteps approached. I cleared my throat and took a step back, waiting for the door to open.

When it did, a young boy who couldn’t have been older than Christoff appeared, the brother, I assumed, and the first thing I noticed was that he lacked the glow Christoff had.

So, his family did not possess his same… powers?

The boy was shorter than his brother by a few inches and a little rounder in the face. He wore an artfully knitted sweater and faded jeans. On his feet were a pair of knitted socks with holes in them. Plain blonde hair fell into blue eyes. A hand, paler than Christoff’s but dark enough to give away his mixed heritage, came up to swipe the hair from his face.

Despite some surface similarities, I could not see any resemblance between him and Christoff. The boy held the door open just enough so I could see him, but nothing further.

“What do you want?” It was more of a command than a question. His sharp eyes narrowed in on my own.

I straightened a little at his tone, unused to being spoken to in such a manner. Anix stepped forward, so she was at my back.

“This is the Queen of Constanta--”

“I know who she is,” the boy interrupted, his eyes sliding from mine to the gargoyle’s only briefly before returning to settle on me again. “That’s not what I asked. What do you want?”

Anix stiffened beside me, and I put on my sternest face without trying to come off as too scary. I could scare the boy into submission, but that was not the purpose of this trip. They would want to hear what I had to say, after all, so I steeled myself and took a deep breath.

“We must speak with your brother, Christoff,” I said, my voice tight.

“No.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and tried to keep my temper at bay. “Do not test my patience, boy. I imagine you and your family would like to hear what I have to say.”

The boy's eyes widened a fraction, and he rocked back on his heels. Then, a weak, feminine voice spoke up behind him.

“My Chris? What do you want with my Chris? Let her in, Tyrion. Please,” the frail voice begged.

Tyrion turned to look at his mother for a few moments before turning back to face Anix and me. He glared at us outright now, though I saw hope and fear swimming in the depths of his eyes. Slowly, he took a step back and then another, eventually opening the door until there was enough space for us to pass through.

Anix and I both had to duck through the threshold to avoid knocking our heads. The cabin was tiny. A single ratty old couch and loveseat sat before the fireplace. To the right of the entrance, a tiny kitchen broke off from the living area, and further back on the left was a door that I assumed led to the only bedroom in this house. I couldn’t imagine there being more than one bedroom in the tiny cottage.

Christoff’s mother sat curled up on the couch, a blanket thrown over her shoulders and a cup of tea in her hands. She looked sickly, with sagging skin beneath her eyes and the sharpness of her collarbones and shoulders jutted out from beneath the blanket. Her hair was the same golden color as Tyrion’s, but it had dulled over the years. She couldn’t have been more than fifty-five, but she looked like she was on the last legs of her life. I could smell the sickness seeping from her skin. That explained the use of the fireplace. The woman was so frail, and she had to always be cold.

Beside her sat a girl who couldn’t have been older than sixteen. She cowered beside her mother, her wide eyes terrified as she took in the presence of my general and me. I tried to look at the situation through her eyes and found myself incapable of blaming her. Though she was sitting down, she looked to be the tallest and leanest of the women in her family. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a bun, and even the smallest movements she made reminded me of old theater ballet dancers.

“Please, come in.” The mother offered me a soft smile, her brown eyes shining in the light of the fireplace. “Tell me what business you have with my hardworking baby boy.”

Something tugged in my chest at the love in this mother’s eyes for her son.

I walked up to the couch, and Tyrion breezed past me to stand behind his mother, resting his palms on the woman’s shoulders. He obviously still didn’t trust my intentions. Fair enough.

“I am Tanya,” the woman gestured to herself, then her two children, “and these are my children, Tyrion and Theia. Please, tell us what you want with our family.”

I sighed and moved to stand near the fireplace, still taking in the small, sad interior of the cabin. If this were the Old World, there would have been pictures of the family covering every inch of the wall and standing up proudly atop the mantle above the fireplace. Instead, the walls were bare, and the only decorations were surviving glass bottles from old soda and alcohol brands lined up along the window sills. I had to admit, they were a nice touch to an otherwise drab looking home. Finally, I met the woman’s eyes.

“Your son, Christoff, stole an artifact from my gallery,” I began, and my words made each of the humans freeze, their eyes widening in shock and fear.

“If you are here to collect payment, we have nothing to offer you.” Tanya pulled Theia closer to her protectively and placed a hand on Tyrion’s hand that rested on her shoulder. Her eyes burned with fear and protectiveness, and I knew that this woman would die trying to protect her children before she would let me lay a finger on either of them.

I held up my hand. “That is not why I am here. You are not in trouble, and neither is your son.”

Christoff’s family stood in silence, surprised by this news.

“But why?” Theia was the first to recover, her shy voice uncertain. “Why is he not in trouble?”

“Because I would have him work for me before imprisoning him or having him back on the streets.” Or back here, but I did not say that.

Tyrion’s eyes bulged almost comically at my words. “You want him to work for you? Doing what? Stealing from your own people?” This boy was all straightforward bullheadedness.

Tanya hushed her son, her eyes flicking to mine to gauge my reaction. Smart woman. I ground my teeth together to keep from lashing out.

“No,” I got out, my voice taking on a roughness that betrayed my rising temper. “He will work with my head alchemist in the lab most days. He will be fed and have a room of his own in my castle as long as he is willing and working.”

I had considered telling the family the real reason why I wanted Christoff at the castle, that he was special, but with one look at these people and their depressing living situation, I knew that they couldn’t have a clue as to what Christoff was or where he’d gotten his… glow from. I was not even sure that they’d noticed anything special about him at all.

“Chris is not an alchemist. He has shown no affiliation to the arts,” argued Tyrion, his tone softening some while still holding a healthy amount of skepticism.

I chewed over my next words for a moment before answering. “Your son has demonstrated particular… gifts that I believe could be useful to the crown.”

Tyrion and Theia both looked to their mother, who gazed at me, a million questions behind those soft brown eyes.

“Perhaps, this is for the best.” Tanya looked at her two children. “I always hoped that you all would make it out of this wretched village. We would be fools to deny your brother such an opportunity.” Her wistful tone was already mourning the loss of her child, knowing that she wouldn’t likely see him before she passed.

All mothers think their children are special, but perhaps Tanya had some inkling of his power.

“I knew when I first held that boy in my arms all those years ago that he wouldn’t be mine forever.” She wiped away tears rolling down her cheek. “I’ve always felt we were only meant to care for him for a short while. Now he’s been caring for us, and I feel his fate is here now.”

I regarded this frail human in a new light, imagining all the emotions this mother must be feeling.

“There is another part of the deal,” I blurted out, a plan forming in my head as I spoke. As soon as the thought entered my head, I knew that it was the right thing to do. “As I realize that you are also sacrificing much for the circumstances, I will also provide for and take care of your family.”

A beat of shocked silence passed as all three of them froze in their spots. Slowly, their heads turned to face each other. More tears dripped from Tanya’s eyes, and Tyrion handed her a ratty old rag to wipe her face. Unsure of what to say, I looked back at Anix, who hovered near the door, looking as uncomfortable as I felt. Though both of us had seen more death than most people could imagine, women’s tears still had the power to make us want to curl in on ourselves.

For the first time, Tyrion looked at me without disdain. “Thank you,” was all he said.

Tanya swatted at her youngest son’s arm, encouraging him to help her up off the couch. Theia stood up first, gently pulling her mother to her feet so she could make her way to stand in front of me.

She looked even smaller standing up somehow as she hobbled towards me. Theia supported her, never looking up to meet my gaze. When they stopped a couple of feet in front of me, the woman’s cloudy gaze met my own, tears still welling in them.

“I don’t know what it is that you truly want with my son, but I can only hope it is better than I can offer him here. You take care of my baby boy. Give him a better life than I could. If you do, I will be forever in your debt.”

What else could I say to that? Anix and I left the women with a large pouch of coins with a promise that someone would arrive in a few days to bring more and to help pack what little they had and relocate them out of the West Village. It was the least I could do, and the compensation I offered them was more than enough to purchase their own land in the East Village and live comfortably.

Theia thanked me shyly, unable to meet my eyes, and Tyrion nodded at me, still skeptical but unwilling to question my generosity for fear that I would rescind my offer.

“Now, to find the thief,” I said. And then I heard a voice from the doorway.

“Has the Vampire Queen come to steal back what she stole in the first place?”

I turned around to see the same man who had locked eyes with me in the castle hallway. Christoff stood in the doorway to his shabby house, covered in dirt, a fierce look on his face. If he were afraid of me, he certainly didn’t show it.

What a feisty little thief.

5

Christoff

I had been out, working an odd job with a neighbor, when I returned to my house and realized something was off. I heard strange voices coming from inside, but the curtains were drawn so I couldn’t see who was paying my family a visit.

I stepped closer to the door, listening, and then all the hair on my body stood on end as that deep, silken voice spoke. “Now, to find the thief.”

I opened the door to find the Vampire Queen of Constanta and a giant gargoyle standing in my living room with my family. Relief filled me as I noticed none of my family had been hurt, but I cursed myself for getting my family involved. I steeled myself, trying to appear braver than I felt.

“Has the Vampire Queen come to steal back what she stole in the first place?”

She turned around, and I met the Queen’s eyes then, something I had dreaded since I first saw her in the castle. Her expression was somewhere between mild amusement and curiosity as she gestured for me to enter into my own home.

Lifting my head a fraction as bitterness and guilt twisted in my gut, I marched through the open doorway, hugging my family, and asking if they were all alright. They nodded, and a whispered observation floated over to me.

“He does not seem so special to me.” The almost guttural voice belonged to the guard at the Queen’s side.

“I heard that, Doom Bringer.” Again, my voice held more bravado than I felt. Silence met my admonition, and then a whoosh of air.

One second, I was several feet away from the Queen and her general, and the next, the Vampire Queen was right in front of me, glowering down at me. The flash of onyx, leathery skin was all I saw of wings. But how did she hide them? There was no bulge beneath her dress. They had just vanished.

“Forgive me.” The Queen’s tone held restrained anger, and I backed away a step for some distance and reached out my arms, shielding my family.

“But, if I recall correctly, you are the thief who attempted to steal from me. Do you care to explain why I am the one receiving such poor manners from you?” She cocked her head to the side, a predator eyeing her prey.

My temper flared, and I whipped my head up to look into the Queen’s silvery pools.

“Did you purchase that carving?” I asked, my tone as sharp as talons.

It clearly threw the vampire for a loop. Her eyebrows pulled down, and a little crinkle formed between them.

“I saved it in the war, like many of the pieces in my gallery. They would have been destroyed if I hadn’t collected them.” She seemed genuinely convinced that she was doing the right thing by holding onto them.

I experienced a brief moment of insanity where I thought I might attack this vampire, coming in my house and threatening me, but I knew one step towards the Queen, and either she or the Doom Bringer would kill me where I stood.

“Do you know the origins of the carving?” I asked.

“Of course.” The Queen bristled, and indignation filled her response. “It came from one of the local tribes in the area. It’s a representation of one of the gods from their creation story.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I make it a point to know where all of my pieces come from. They are invaluable relics of the history of the kingdom.”

I lifted a brow. “And it never occurred to you that the surviving members of the tribe that the carving originally belonged to would want it back?” The Queen’s indignant expression slackened, and her shoulders stiffened, but I wasn’t finished just yet. “It looks to me like you’re just as guilty of thievery as I am, Your Highness.” The last two words were filled with such mockery, such disdain, that any other Queen likely would have executed me on the spot.

But this Queen did not. Her features shifted from anger to thoughtfulness, and then she shook her head.

“This is not why we are here.” She stepped back, diffusing the growing tension plaguing the room. “I’ve already spoken to your family, and they’ve agreed.”

I looked from my mother to my brother to my little sister, and all of them wore the same hopefully expression, and then I was truly curious. “What, you’ll agree not to kill me if we all become your slaves?” I couldn’t help the vitriol that rolled off my tongue.

The Doom Bringer gave a loud snort.

“I wish to make a deal with you,” the Queen continued. “Come work for me in the castle. You will have a place to live, and your family will be well provided for.”

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. I had stolen from the Vampire Queen, and now she was offering me a job? Maybe it was some kind of trick.

“Christoff,” my mother’s soft voice broke through my defenses, “Go with them. Fulfill your destiny.” Her brown eyes bore into me. She had always spoken to me of things like fate and destiny, things I’m not sure I believed in.

But as I looked at my family, and the dingy shack we called home, I realized this could be the opportunity of a lifetime, or maybe the only way to keep my family alive.

“Okay,” I spoke in a firm voice. “We have a deal.”

6

Christoff

After agreeing to the Queen's deal, I traveled back to the castle with her and the Doom Bringer. I still had my suspicions that this was all a trick, but I felt I had no other choice than to agree with the fierce Queen. She assured me I was not a prisoner and could explore the castle as I pleased. To top it all off, her guards even escorted me to a nice guest room.

My eyes widened as I took in the giant room before me. The first thing I noticed was the giant wooden four-poster bed on the wall to my right. It was intricately carved with swirling, silver designs similar to the patterns on the Queen’s sleeves. The bed cover was that familiar midnight blue. Another door sat in the far corner behind the bed that I suspected led to a bathing room, and between the door and the bed stood a simple, wooden wardrobe.

To my left were a fireplace, a poker, and some wooden logs. The mantle held a few small sculptures, and more artwork hung on the walls. A large desk sat against the wall to my left near the fireplace and a quill, ink, and a stack of blank papers sat atop it.

While it wasn’t ridiculously fancy, it was bigger than my tiny room at home, and it certainly wasn’t a prison cell. For that, I was grateful.

Days passed, and I refused to leave my room since it was the one place I felt safe and locked away from the Queen and her secretive plans I hadn’t fully come to trust yet. A gargoyle named Adriana, and the twin gargoyles who I had so easily tricked, brought food up to my room for each meal.

One day, I decided to have a little fun with the pair. I turned toward the guard, taking her in for the first time as she placed the plate on the table in my room. Her cat-like eyes were calm and kind, unlike her sister’s wildfire personality.

“And what might your name be, Guard-goyle?” I asked, using my new favorite nickname for the guards. Her lips turned down at the corners, not amused.

“Lorelia,” she answered before gesturing to her sister on my other side. “And this is my sister, Lauren.”

My head swung around to look at Lauren, my tone casual. “How d'you end up with the lame name? Sounds like you got the short end of the stick.” I looked up and down her large frame in distaste for emphasis.

Lauren stiffened beside me, and I could physically hear her jaw working as she ground her teeth together. I briefly thought about warning her of the dangers of teeth grinding, but I figured I had pushed my luck far enough.

During those days, the Queen did not visit me, but others did. Alchemists and doctors performed all kinds of tests, from checking my vision and heart rate to drawing blood. I had no idea what the purpose was, and nobody had answers when I asked. Still, I thought it best to go along with it aside from the occasional snarky remark, of course.

On my third day of solitude, while I sat on my bed staring at the wall, the Queen’s lead alchemist appeared in my room. She was beautiful with flawless dark chocolate skin, braided locks of hair that reached her rear, a wrapped golden headpiece that glinted with jewels, and a golden silk tunic that touched the floor.

“Hello, little thief,” the beautiful sorceress cooed, her dark eyes shining.

“Word sure gets around. To what do I owe the pleasure?” I stood from my spot on the bed, unsure of the woman’s intentions.

“My name is Sahar, head alchemist of the Queen. What is your name, little thief?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. Even the little movement was done with such unnatural grace that it startled me.

Avoiding her question altogether, I countered it with one of my own. “What are you doing here?”

Sahar grinned then, and it was a cat’s smile. “Asking you to share your name.”

Ah, a fellow smartass. Fabulous. I sighed.

“It’s Christoff. I'd say don’t ask for my family name, but you all seem to know it already,” I replied, eyeing her sideways.

To my surprise, her expression softened. “You wish to save your family from the Queen’s wrath.” I nodded, but she continued to speak. “I understand your concern, but you need not fear such things. The Queen would not punish your family for your choices.” Another cock of her head, swift and instinctually curious.

“I’m not so sure she would punish you for your own,” she tacked on cryptically.

My palms started to sweat, and my heart raced. I felt as if I was under a microscope.

Sahar sighed dramatically before crossing the room to the far wall and inspecting the mantle pieces above the fireplace. I took a moment while she was looking away to inspect her, trying to decipher her meaning.

She was the most mysteriously beautiful woman I had ever seen. She glided more than walked, and her silk tunic flowed elegantly around her, her dark braids swaying at her waist. Gold beads and rings were woven into her braids, accentuating the darkness of her hair and complexion, and more beads and rings were woven into her head wrap.

I cleared my throat, feeling a bit awkward when she didn’t leave, but instead, she moved further into the room, inspecting the items on the mantle like they were the most fascinating things she’d ever seen. Then, a thought occurred to me, and I stood up straighter.

“Did the Queen send you here?”

Sahar looked over her shoulder, an insulted look on her face like I should have known better. “I come of my own accord.”

“Then why…?” The sorceress turned around to face me again as I spoke, and my voice trailed off at the look in her eyes. Something in them had changed.

“I have come to see where the future of the kingdom is headed. I have come to witness the Light-Bearer.” Her dark eyes roamed up and down my body then, and I got the overwhelming urge to cross my arms over my chest. There was something about her eyes at that moment that made me feel entirely too vulnerable, and the way she moved, that was… unnatural. Too graceful. Too wise and all-knowing. Like she knew something or a lot of things that nobody else did. Things that were impossible to know. Like she was waiting for the punchline of a joke that was centuries away from being revealed.

“What do you mean?” I asked, not understanding her cryptic language but desperately wanting to. “What’s a light-bearer?”

Sahar blinked then, the odd look cleared from her eyes, and she gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry. Sometimes my premonitions can be a bit…”

“Off-putting?” I finished the sentence for her, and she rewarded me with a brilliant smile. This one was kind. Human. It softened the tension in my body just a bit.

“Yes, precisely. I hope I haven’t scared you off. I really did want to meet you and, truth be told, the Queen did ask me to get to know you.” Then, a mischievous smile broke across her face, exposing perfectly white teeth. “You seem to have the Queen’s underpants in a twist.”

She looked so hopeful and… friendly. I couldn’t find it in myself to kick her out after her odd behavior, mere seconds prior. It had been days since I had seen a friendly face.

I shrugged. “Good.”

She licked her lips then, like a panther stalking prey as she walked around my form, eyeing me up and down.

I could not deny the sexual attraction I felt towards this mysterious woman, nor could I deny that she was gorgeous.

She seemed to sense this as she stood before me once again and looked at me with hooded eyes, “Something on your mind?”

I swallowed hard and decided to just go for it as I stepped forward, wrapped an arm around her waist, and dipped her with a searing kiss.

One that she returned as her hands dug into my scalp as she grabbed my hair.

The undeniable tension exploded as I pressed my body against hers. Every part of me now rock hard and bristling with pure lust. Being the sole provider of my family left little time for romance, and being in a castle full of vampires and other attractive supernaturals definitely had gotten me… aroused more times than I cared to admit.

The seductive sorceress, undeniably a master of sensuality, kissed my neck as her long, dark fingers worked at unbuttoning my shirt. I followed her lead and slipped her tunic off, one shoulder at a time, letting the gold garment fall to the floor around her feet.

I pulled away from her warm kisses, just for a second to marvel at her body, her flawless skin, and curvaceous frame. I swooped back in, wrapping my arms around her bare bottom, picking her up and kissing the space between her breasts. I carried the sorceress to my four-poster bed and gently laid her down.

“I love a strong man that knows how to treat a lady,” she whispered in my ear before nibbling on it, and that really got me going. I kissed her hard and let my hands run up and down the length of her body, feeling her soft and feminine form against me.

Her fingers now played at my pants, expertly unfastening them. I slid them off, my lips never leaving hers, and then I felt myself slide into her. Pure ecstasy wracked my body, and I felt powerful as I thrust into her, causing slight moans to escape her plump, pink lips.

Sweat dripped down me, matting my hair which Sahar's fingers were tangled in. With each thrust, her moans got louder until she screamed my name and pulled my hair, putting me on the brink of pure elation. Our bodies sped up, fitting each other so perfectly, and I let out a loud groan as my orgasm shook my whole being.

I rolled onto the bed next to the gorgeous sorceress. “Well, that was quite the welcome to the castle,” I said as seriously as I could muster.

Sahar gave me a sideways look before smacking my bare chest. Then she got up, slipped on her gold tunic, but not before giving me one last smirk.

7

Sahar

I had smirked at Christoff as I was leaving his room, but as I did, I decided to invite him to the lab. Now was as good a time as any to start our tests on him, and I had some ideas to try that might help us discover what strange powers lay hidden within him.

“How about I show you my lab,” I called over to him where he still lay naked on his bed.

“Sure,” was all he said, but he eagerly got up and dressed.

He followed me silently through the halls, still marveling at all the pictures Rozmarin kept on display. I enjoyed his silent presence, his hidden power that softly flowed from his golden skin, and I was sure he was glad to be out of his lonely room finally, and with some good company to keep him entertained and feeling safe in a castle full of vampires and other supernaturals.

For the first hour or so, Christoff quietly sat in the lab as my alchemists poked and prodded at him. In his boredom, he asked them questions about what they were doing and about the various potions they brewed, and I found he actually had some interest in alchemy. The different combinations of potions, herbs, and many strange items were fascinating to him, and he even had quite the knack for it.

“Wanting to be an alchemist?” I asked him as I came over to check on how the tests were going.

“I have nothing better to do.” He grinned at me, and I didn’t deny my attraction I felt toward him, especially after our initial greeting.

The more tests we ran, the more we learned, and I soon discovered my inclinations about his blood were correct. He definitely held some power in that glowing, muscled body of his. The alchemists continued running other tests on his blood, but I wandered over to where he sat.

“Well, Light-Bearer, it seems you hold some power in you,” I told him.

“Oh yeah? What kind of power,” he asked as he grinned up at me suggestively.

“We aren’t entirely sure yet, but I’d like to try something with you.” I reached a jeweled hand out to him and pulled him up. “What do you know about magic, Christoff?”

He scratched his head, which was both cute and funny. “Honestly, not much at all.”

“I don’t know how similar your power is to my magic, or to Rozmarin’s power, but I’d like to think they all might work on the same level.” My tone had lost much of its seductiveness as I spoke, and I let Christoff see another side of me.

“I want you to try to summon up those powers, whatever it is that sleeps in your blood,” I instructed him.

“And how would I go about doing that,” he asked me, not even knowing where to begin.

I gave him a soft, friendly smile. “Have you ever spent time alone, just with your own thoughts?”

“Growing up, I never had much time to myself. My first few days here, I had plenty of it, though, but those thoughts were mostly chaotic,” he told me, which I understood.

A lot had changed for this human from the West Village. He went from being a lowly thief to a guest in the Queen’s castle, and now he sat with me, a sorceress, and had alchemists testing him because we told him he held some kind of power. That was definitely a change that would affect anyone.

“Using magic requires an understanding of yourself. You have to dig deep down into hidden parts of you and pull it up, out of your core,” I informed him.

“Hmm, sounds difficult,” he admitted.

“Just close your eyes, and steady yourself.”

He did as I asked. Well, he closed his eyes, anyway, and tried to calm all the thoughts that whizzed through his head, but I could sense all his thoughts about the potions, about me, about Rozmarin, about his future here at the castle. He shooed those images away and focused back on himself and his blood, but after a minute, he gave up.

“I don’t know, Sahar. This seems pointless,” he confessed with a resigned sigh.

“We’ll keep working at it. I have another idea.”

I grabbed both of his hands in mine and instructed him to close his eyes again. This time, I let him feel my magic. It entered him through our clasped hands, where we touched, and it flowed up his arms until it rippled through his body. Then, I pressed my soft lips against his, and I felt an explosion of light shoot through both of us. My eyes snapped open to see his handsome, smiling face inches from mine.

“How did that feel?” I wondered with a gleam in my eyes.

“Um, amazing,” he chuckled.

“That is what magic feels like. It’s all-consuming and truly powerful. We just need to work on getting yours out of you without my help.”

His brown crumpled in confusion as he looked at me with his big hazel eyes. “You mean that light was my power?”

I nodded at him, and a giant grin opened on his face. He looked down at his hands and flipped them over as he marveled at the power he hadn’t really believed he possessed.

“We’re going to have to keep practicing. And we probably should keep running tests. That means I want to see you every day.” I let the suggestive smirk creep back onto my lips, and he looked up from where he was studying his hands.

“Oh yeah? I think I can manage that,” he said with a grin.

“I have another idea to make sure you work as hard as possible,” I added as the thought formed in my mind.

Christoff looked at me with an interested gleam in his eyes, wondering what idea I could possibly have.

“Each time you manage to use your powers is a half-hour with me,” I began.

“I already am going to be spending tons of time with you, Sahar,” he interrupted. “That’s not much of an incentive.”

“What I mean,” I continued, “is that you get to spend a half-an-hour with me, naked.”

His brown eyes widened, and his small smirk turned into a giant grin that completely lit up his face.

“Deal,” he blurted out, and we both laughed.

I led him over to my area of the lab and coaxed him to take a seat while I brewed us some tea, a much-needed reward after a long yet productive day. He flipped through a book about potions while I made some notes, and when the tea was ready, I brought him a cup and sat next to him.

“So, Christoff, how are you finding your time in the castle, so far,” I asked him, genuinely concerned about his well-being.

“I guess it’s getting better as the days go on. I get to spend more time with you now, and I like annoying Adriana,” he chuckled.

“So I’ve heard,” I replied and sipped the soothing tea. “What do you think about the Queen?”

He was silent for a minute as he thought about what to say and took a drink of the warm tea. “I’m not entirely sure yet. I’ll admit I never thought very highly of her as a Westsider, but now that I’ve met her, I see a different side to the Vampire Queen.”

I sensed the conflict within him and could understand how those who grew up in the West Village might think the Queen didn’t care for them, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

“The Queen has sacrificed much for the good of the people in Constanta, though she would never boast about such things. She is the heart of the kingdom, adored by many and protected by the strongest army on the continent,” I told him, hoping he would believe my words.

As I spoke, I shifted, and Christoff looked up from his tea and stared at me intently as I spoke about Rozmarin.

“I have all the faith in the Queen that she will rise to the occasion and protect the people once more. It is her destiny,” I added.

All my words were true, and as I spoke, I felt a presence outside the door and glanced out to see Rozmarin peeking in. Our eyes met, but I turned back to Christoff as Rozmarin walked away.

“I guess I hadn’t thought about how hard ruling a kingdom could be,” he mused.

I simply nodded and let him finish his tea. When he was done, I sent him back to his room.

8

Rozmarin

“The horde’s numbers have been rising exponentially, particularly in the east. Numbers have increased to over two-thousand per horde in the abandoned cities here, here, and here.” On a map laid out on the wooden table before us in my study, Aerywin pointed to central cities from the Old World. The labels over the lands read, New York, Philadelphia, and Miami. “Others are quickly catching up. If they keep growing at this rate, their numbers will have tripled in as many moons.” The map indicated that a major kingdom or enclave was located less than twenty miles from each of those growing hordes.

The red-headed faerie emissary had just returned from the scouting and diplomacy trip to the eastern kingdoms. She still wore her traveling attire of leather riding boots, plain dark trousers, and a lighter undershirt with a cloak that allowed her delicate white wings to pop through two holes in the back. The cloak boasted the color of the kingdom. The bulk of it was our signature midnight blue, but it had a silk trim and glistening silver stitching along the edges, including the hood. A silver button held it together at her neck with Constanta’s insignia carved into it: a crescent moon and just below the tip of the top curve, a single droplet.

I closed my eyes in defeat. It was happening again. The virus was spreading, and if the zombie population rose enough again, they would breach the kingdom's borders, and there would be another war. It seemed inevitable.

“We must find a cure,” I said, and it came out as more of a plea than an observation. Restless anxiety filled me as I looked up at my council before me, at my closest companions.

My eyes fell on Aerywin’s tall, slim figure as she gazed thoughtfully at her map. My emissary and fearless companion. We met not long before the Great Purge, when I was traveling to other nations with Anix, attempting to assist them in battling their own zombie hordes while also secretly tracking and mapping the massive swarms to the best of my ability.

Anix and I met Aerywin in the southern lands, at one of the few still-running bars, mapping something out in the far corner of the dark pub. She’d spotted us first, having heard of the infamous Vampire Queen and her zombie-slaying gargoyle, and approached us at our own table. She offered us her services as a mapmaker and emissary. I took one look at her impressive mapmaking skills, comparing her brilliant work to my pathetic scribbles, and hired her on the spot. She had been with us ever since: a good friend and an exceptional mapmaker.

My gaze slid to Anix then. She stared back, unblinking.

War general, commander of the Queen’s armies and, most famously, the Doom Bringer. Unsurprisingly, we met in battle, not long after zombie hordes overran the city of Seattle. I, and hundreds of other surviving supernaturals and humans, had been fighting the eastern hordes for weeks, but we were losing ground. They had nearly pushed us all the way into the old Elliott Bay when the sky darkened, casting shadows over the blood-sodden battlefield. Hundreds of gargoyles flew in from overseas, teeth and talons bared, ready for war. I had heard of the small army before then, how they traveled the continent, saving entire villages in the nick of time. Anix, the commander of the army at the time, and I fought side by side until we pushed the horde from the Seattle city limits once more.

It was then that she and I joined forces, and suddenly, the gargoyle army was mine to command. That was how we earned our reputations as Vampire Queen and Doom Bringer. My strategy and drive to protect those who could not protect themselves combined with Anix’s unmatched skill as a commander of armies, and that was enough for us to take over pockets of land that would become kingdoms for humans and supernaturals to live peacefully within their walls.

Lastly, my gaze moved to the vampire at my right. Rachel was my second-in-command and the closest thing I had to family. In the year 1900, when I was twenty-four, a pair of rogue vampires killed my family and left me for dead. Rachel smelled the blood from miles away and came to investigate. She picked me up and brought me to her home, staying with me through the entire transformation. Then, when I was ready and strong enough, she helped me track down the monsters who murdered my family, and we tore them apart, limb from limb. Well, all except one. Their leader. All I saw of her before I turned was a flash of red hair. It was not enough to track her once she realized her coven was being hunted.

Still, it was not my proudest moment.

From then on, Rachel was my closest companion. Once I learned to take care of myself, we lived separately, but we always kept in touch through letters, visits, and even phone calls once such things were invented. She was the epitome of goth and grunge, in black silk pants, platform boots, and a leather jacket. Of Korean descent, her pale skin contrasted with her dark eyes. She wore her black hair down, her bangs dyed purple. While the rest of us preferred more traditional attire, Rachel’s preferences stayed with those from the later centuries, even though she was the oldest of us. She was the first to speak after my desperate admonition, her sultry voice echoing through my study.

“You must push the sorceress for the cure. If she does not find it before the hordes triple, many will suffer.”

One could never say that Rachel didn’t tell it like it was.

“I have Sahar investigating the thief’s bloodline. She claims that the boy will be an asset to the kingdom.” I rubbed my temples, closing my eyes at the ache that was beginning to form there.

Rachel rested her hands on the table, her tiny fingers splayed across the wood. Delicate brows pulled low over lidded eyes in confusion. “He will be an asset to the kingdom how?”

If only I knew.

Rachel took my silence for what it was. Ignorance. I braced myself for a scolding about letting the sorcerer keep me in the dark, but none came. I looked up at her, and her expression was thoughtful.

“Perhaps the sorceress sees the boy as the key to the war,” Rachel mused. “But how?”

We looked around at the table then, and both Aerywin and Anix looked as stumped and confused as I felt.

“If only you could force the sorceress to tell you what the future holds,” Aerywin mused pointedly, and I looked at her with a raised brow.

“If only,” I replied dryly.

Anix’s slit pupils slid to meet my own silver eyes. “If the sorceress can see the boy allying with us in the war, perhaps we should do as Sahar suggests and include the thief in our efforts. We would do well to do as the seer says. After all, the sorceress has long since earned our trust.”

Despite the increasing secret looks and longing gazes that she’d been sending Sahar’s way, Anix truly believed the alchemist was an invaluable asset to the kingdom and a trustworthy seer.

Aerywin grimaced as she looked up at the scarred Doom Bringer, at least a head and a half above her own.

“She has said herself that she serves only the gods of sorcery and alchemy,” the faerie countered. “The good of the kingdom and survival of its subjects has never been her first priority.”

Anix nodded, listening attentively. That's what I loved about my council. While we all had different opinions, we cared for and respected each other enough to bring our heads and hearts together to have productive conversations in decision making. Together, we were stronger. Together we ruled the kingdom.

“I agree, but I do not believe that she would forsake our kingdom for her gods. She does maintain morals.” Anix’s response was calm and flat, but I didn’t miss the slight tightness of the skin around her eyes. She didn’t like listening to others speak poorly of the sorceress. Interesting.

“I suppose you have a point. I’d rather have her as an ally than an enemy,” Aerywin conceded. She was nothing if not practical.

“What could be so special about the boy?” Rachel asked, more of an outwardly spoken thought than an actual question.

Still, I gave her the only response I could think of. “Only time will tell.”

An hour later, after the council meeting had ended, I found myself wandering down to the armory. It was located on the same level as the alchemist’s lab.

As I passed by the lab, I noticed that the door was slightly cracked open, and voices echoed into the hallway. Sahar’s smooth voice reached my ear, and I almost continued onward, but then I heard the voice of the person she was speaking to, and I paused, moving closer to the door. The voice was rougher than Sahar’s sultry tones. It was the little thief. I didn’t catch it in time to make out what he was saying, but I was able to hear Sahar’s response.

“The Queen has sacrificed much for the good of the people in Constanta, though she would never boast about such things. She is the heart of the kingdom, adored by many and protected by the strongest army on the continent.”

Sahar shifted in her seat, and the thief stayed silent, listening intently to the alchemist’s words. He looked so… focused. Fascinated, I shook my head, returning my attention to Sahar.

“I have all the faith in the Queen that she will rise to the occasion and protect the people once more. It is her destiny.”

I hadn’t realized that I had even moved towards the pair to peek through the small gap between the door and the frame until Sahar’s dark eyes lifted to meet mine, her expression pointed. As quickly as her eyes met mine, she turned her attention back to the thief. They sat in the same area where Anix and I had visited her, and they seemed to share a pot of tea.

The thief did not look my way. Slightly ashamed at having been caught eavesdropping by the sorceress, I backed away from the door and continued on to the armory once more, eager to work off some steam from the past few days. As I warmed up in the armory, Sahar’s words echoed in my head.

I have all the faith in the Queen that she will rise to the occasion and protect the people once more. It is her destiny.

What had she meant by that? Was I a part of some prophecy of the future of the kingdom? I ran through the motions of my sword warm-up, repeatedly, swiftly, acting on pure muscle memory. Soon, sweat was dripping from my brow, and my harsh breaths echoed throughout the armory.

“Thought I would find you here,” Anix said from the entryway. I didn’t pause my movements, sword arcing in the same pattern over and over again.

“Just needed to clear my head. I have much to think about.” Up, step, cut, repeat, switching directions every time. My accuracy perfect, my sword unwavering.

“What will you do about the boy?” Anix asked, walking further into the armory but not going for the weapons as I had predicted.

“Continue to have Sahar look into him. If he is to be an asset to the kingdom in the next war against the zombies, I would like to know exactly how. If he is to serve as a weapon…” My voice trailed off, letting the implications weigh heavily in the surrounding room. For a few moments, my breathing and the swish of air around my sword were the only sounds in the room.

“So you believe Sahar’s prophecy? That the boy will be an asset to the kingdom in the war?” The gargoyle’s tone was not so much skeptical as it was hesitant. Maybe even hopeful.

“I think I would be ill-advised not to,” I replied, still moving and still focused. A brief silence ensued, and for the first time, I took a moment in the middle of my routine to glance at the general.

“Say it,” I said, sensing that she had something to say. A moment passed while she pondered her next words.

“Do you plan to speak to the boy?” she asked.

I looked at her sideways, still not pausing my movements. “Why would I?”

The general’s eyes slid to her boots for only a moment. “He has affected you. You have been avoiding him.” She definitely didn’t beat around the bush.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” I replied, my movements becoming a bit more swift, cleaner. Sharper.

Anix sighed dramatically before I saw two forms walk up from behind her out of the corner of my eye. One was short and wore all black and the other, taller, more elegant. I finally paused in my routine, lowering my sword to rest a hand on my hip while attempting to catch my breath.

Rachel and Aerywin stood beside the Doom Bringer. Oh no.

“Is this an intervention?” I asked, and my tone was half-horror and half-amusement.

The three shared a look. That was not encouraging.

“Speak,” I said with a sigh. While I wasn’t in the mood, it was my mission to ensure that I would always take the time to hear my council. Despite contrary beliefs, one woman could not run a kingdom alone. So, I rested my hands on the palms of my sword handle, blade down, and waited for them to speak.

“The boy has been locked away in his quarters for days,” Rachel said, her dark, hooded eyes unblinking. “None of us, apart from Anix, has seen him.”

“On the contrary, he is in Sahar’s company in the alchemist lab this very instant,” I countered, unable to keep the childish quip to myself.

Ignoring my response, Rachel continued, her only sign of irritation hidden in the stiffness around her small, plump red lips. “It would be wise to keep the boy close, not push him away because he intimidates you.”

Ouch. I narrowed my gaze on her. She did not flinch.

“He does not--” I paused. I was about to deny the fact that I was avoiding the little thief, but saying it wouldn’t help my case. Arguing the point would only make me look more guilty.

“If the boy is to be a weapon, we might consider keeping him close.” This came from Anix, ever the Queen’s war commander and strategist.

“Then, what do you propose I do?” I asked, the question aimed at all three of the council members who stood before me, my closest companions. While my voice held an edge, the question was a genuine one. They were the Queen’s council for a reason, after all. If I could not trust them to offer me useful advice and call me out on my own bullshit, why else would I have formed one?

The three council members looked at each other before turning to face me again. Aerywin was the one to speak.

“Invite him for dinner. Tonight.”

9

Christoff

The sun was going to set soon, and I knew that a knock would sound at the door not long after full dark. After that, Adriana or the twins would enter with a full plate of food. I had grown used to their presence outside of my room over the past few days. What was different about today was that I had spent most of it with the mysterious, beautiful alchemist who had shown up in my room. After our odd and sensual introductions, she escorted me down to her alchemy lab, giving me a welcome reprieve from the lonely solitude of my room.

The alchemy lab was a busy, fascinating, and surprisingly comforting space. The lab buzzed with busy energy as Sahar’s alchemy assistants constantly read or created or tested something. Though she claimed that she spent time with me of her own accord, I knew better than to assume that she didn’t report to the Queen. They continued to run tests on me, testing my physical and mental abilities in the comfort of the lab. At first, it was unnerving and frustrating to be kept in the dark about what they were doing with me, but it slowly became routine.

I sat at my desk, thinking of how Sahar spoke about the Queen and her connections to the history of Constanta. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was doing so for my own benefit. Why? I had no clue.

A knock sounded at the door, and my head whipped up from the desk to look at who would appear. It wasn’t even fully dark yet, so dinner couldn’t have been served already. Adriana’s familiar form entered through the door, and I relaxed a bit.

I let a smirk tug at the edges of my lips, not wanting my previous relief at her presence to show. “Well, if it isn’t my royal bodyguard. It isn’t even dinner time yet. Did you get lonely out there? Need some company?”

Adriana ignored my taunting words, her eyes guarded and shoulders tense. “The Queen requests your presence at dinner in her private dining quarters tonight.” The smirk fell from my face, and my teeth ground together. “Be ready for me to escort you to dinner by full dark.”

“I think I’ll take a rain check,” I said, not moving from my seat at the desk. Adriana turned toward the door, but my words gave her pause. When she turned around, it surprised me to see that she now wore a smirk on her gray face.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” she replied vaguely.

I narrowed my eyes at her, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning back in my chair. While I wanted to stand up and confront her, I didn’t want her to know how much she intimidated me. Plus, she was far larger than I was. Standing would only emphasize our great difference in size.

“Why’s that?” I asked, my tone a little too sharp.

She smiled at me then, a full toothy grin, her yellow cat-like eyes shadowed beneath her bushy brows. It was slightly unnerving.

“If you refuse to attend, I have direct orders to ensure that you do.”

It shouldn’t have shocked me, but it did. I hid it with a scowl.

“Fine, but it better be a delicious feast. And she better not expect me to wear anything fancy.”

Sahar had a few extra outfits sent up to my room earlier today after realizing I had been wearing the same clothes every day since I’d come to live in the castle. They were all comfortable and casual for men, a pleasant surprise considering I had only ever seen her in elegant, expensive silk tunics.

Adriana rolled her eyes, an oddly human gesture for such a beastly creature, and left the room without another word. Once the door clicked shut, and I was alone, I finally stood up from my chair at the desk and let the apprehension wash over me in waves.

What did the Queen want from me? Was she finally going to punish me for my thievery? Or had she stewed long enough in my bold accusations that she finally snapped and decided to execute me for that?

I kicked myself for my short temper and sharp tongue. While I had always lived on the edge of the law, this was, by far, the direst situation I had gotten myself into. After all, vampires lived here. Creatures that could easily kill me if they wanted.

I stood there, frozen, letting all of the crippling thoughts pour through me. If I died, what would happen to my family? How had they fared since I had been gone? Were they looking for me? Would they be able to find another source of income without me?

I gazed into the oval-shaped mirror above the stone sink and barely recognized the person I saw. My tousled light brown hair was limp, and my usually darker complexion had paled slightly after staying indoors since I had been at the castle.

Most noticeably different, though, were my eyes. The hazel orbs were endless wells of mistrust, pain, and loneliness. I tried to smile in the mirror like my mother had taught me to see if it would make a difference, but the smile just looked fake, and frankly, pretty sad.

I gave myself five minutes. Five minutes to get out all the hurt and anxiety over the uncertainties. All the loneliness and frustration that came with being responsible for the well-being of my family only to be ripped away after a desperate attempt to do well by them. I yelled and screamed at my reflection in the mirror until my five minutes were up. When they were, I stood up once more, rinsed my face again, this time without looking at my reflection, and returned to the main room.

I changed into one of the fresh outfits that Sahar had left. I decided on black riding pants and a blue, form-fitting shirt. I laced up my knee-high boots, and as if on cue, there was a knock on the door, and Adriana entered. She looked me up and down once and gave a stiff nod of approval.

“The Queen’s council awaits your presence.”

I stiffened in my seat on the bed. She hadn’t said anything about the Queen’s council, just the Queen.

“The Queen’s council? You said that the Queen asked for my presence, not her council.” My voice was strained, anxious. I hated it.

To my surprise, the gargoyle’s harsh eyes softened at the sudden panic in my expression. “The Queen often eats dinner with her counsel. She prefers their company, and they have much to accomplish.”

I nodded, but her words didn’t do much to ease my worries. I still had no idea what to expect, and I was about to be at the mercy of not just the Queen, but her council as well. Before my time spent with Sahar earlier, I would have thought that they followed her blindly, catering to her every whim, but the sorceress had told me otherwise. She hadn’t spoken much about the Queen’s three closest friends, but Sahar seemed to have positive feelings towards them. Not that that meant much for me.

I sighed. One step at a time. Right now, all I needed to think about was surviving tonight’s dinner and finding out what the Queen really wanted from me.

“Right. Let’s get this over with.”

Adriana led me upstairs to an unfamiliar floor. When we stepped out of the stairwell, I realized it was the Queen’s floor. The Queen’s guards dotted the place, stationed all along the hallway at different doors. Adriana nodded, respectfully at each of them as we passed by. When we reached the fourth door on the left, the guard stepped aside, and Adriana led me into a standard-sized dining room.

A long table stretched across most of the room, and floor-to-ceiling windows made up the far wall. Embers burned low in the fireplace in the far left corner of the room. A few chairs and loveseats sat out around it, and a table was positioned in front of it, which held a plate with a teapot and a few cups on top of it. On the wall to the left of the entryway was a giant map of the kingdom, pinned to a corkboard. Below it was a basket of rolled-up maps. The Queen sure loved her maps. It was then that I realized I hadn’t spotted the Queen yet, nor any of her council for that matter.

To my right, someone cleared their throat, making me jump. I whipped my head around to come face to face with the Vampire Queen herself. Behind her stood three figures whom I assumed were her council. I recognized one of them at once.

The Doom Bringer stood to the Queen’s right side. To the left of the Queen stood a very small Asian goth chick with a serious case of resting bitch face. Her pale undertone and tiny fangs tipped me off to the fact that she was a vampire.

To the right of the goth girl stood a tall, beautiful red-headed faerie with a calculating look in her eye. Though she wore elegant purple silks and lace, I knew a brilliant mind when I saw one. My gaze slid lower, and the calluses on her delicate hands gave me reason to believe she was some sort of scholar or artist, someone who uses a pen or brush a lot.

“Thank you, Adriana. You may take your leave. I will have someone fetch you when we’re finished here,” the Vampire Queen said.

“Your Highness,” Adriana replied, before bowing and exiting the room.

When the door clicked shut, the Queen’s gaze fell on me. She took a step forward, and I stood my ground, despite the spike in my pulse. The Queen stopped a foot away, but I still had to lean my neck down a little to meet her unreadable eyes. Her lips opened to speak, and I braced myself for the worst.

“I visited Henry.”

Wait. What? “Uh… what?” I asked, trying to catch up with what just happened, hoping to the gods she hadn't killed the man and taken back the carving.

The Queen’s lips twitched at the corners, increasing my confusion even further.

“I apologized for holding onto the sun carving,” she clarified, restrained amusement coloring her tone.

Snickering came from behind her, and the Queen turned around to glare at the goth chick who was no longer sporting a resting bitch face, but the amusement of an older sister watching her younger sister court a boy unsuccessfully.

What the hell was going on? Had I hit my head on the way down? Had I been led to another dimension where a thief could question… no, insult a Queen, and the Queen would actually listen and do what was right? I blinked up at her silver eyes, dumbly.

“You apologized to Henry?”

The Queen nodded as a feminine voice from behind her spoke. It was a soft, tinkling sound filled with honest confusion, no judgment, and it came from the red-headed faerie.

“He doesn’t seem too intelligent. Are you sure Sahar has the right boy?”

The Queen cocked her head at me, her gaze filled with intense curiosity and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“Can’t you see the faint glow around him?” The Queen waved her hands around my head as she spoke, and I failed to hold back a flinch. The Queen’s hands stilled and dropped to her sides, hanging loosely. “We do not hit men or women here.” Her voice was brittle like I had offended her. “You have no reason to flinch around me.”

“R-right.” I stuttered a bit before catching myself and taking a deep breath. “Why am I here?” Not even two beats went by before the Queen responded.

“Because you tried to steal something from me.”

I gave her a look that said, ‘you know that’s not what I meant.’ “Why am I here in this room?”

“We made a deal, remember,” the Queen replied. I deflated, feeling the last of my hope slip away.

"I know you all think I look dumb, or whatever," I waved my hand at the council, "But I'm not dumb enough to believe that the Vampire Queen would simply allow a thief to go free and then… live happily ever after in her castle."

The Queen smiled at me, and it was a genuine and gorgeous smile, making me blush slightly.

“I’ve looked into your history. Your father died in the war, and you’ve been taking care of your mother and your two younger siblings ever since.” I stiffened at the mention of my family, the only people in the whole world I cared about, but the Queen kept going. “As we already discussed, I am prepared to have your family taken care of financially while you’re here. They will live more comfortably than most. Your middle brother can even start his own tattooing practice.”

I blinked once. Twice. A third time.

“I think he is going into shock,” the other vampire said from behind the Queen looming over me.

The observation had me snapping out of the dumbfounded silence. I stepped back, creating a little more distance between the Vampire Queen and me. I crossed my arms over my chest, the fog of the shock finally fading away.

“That’s a lot of money--”

“Not to me.”

Right. Rich Vampire Queen. Besides, hadn’t I just recently resented her in my head for living such a lavish life within the castle walls while my family and people like us starved in the village? It was an opportunity for my family that I would not pass up.

“Well, it is for me. Obviously. What will I have to do in return for that to happen? What do you really want?” I asked, my arms still folded over my chest. My gaze flicked to the three figures behind the Queen. “And why are they here?”

The Queen was unaffected by my bluntness, putting me even further on edge. She stepped back and turned to face her companions.

“This is my council, the Queen’s council.”

I had gathered that, but for once, I said nothing. She gestured to each of them, individually, introducing them, starting from my left with the Doom Bringer.

“This is Anix, but you probably know her as the Doom Bringer. She is the commander of my armies. I’m sure she needs no further introduction than that.”

The giant, strong yet strangely adorable looking gargoyle gave me a small nod of her head, the small horns above the edge of her brows glinting in the lantern light. I didn’t know what else to do, so I nodded back.

The Queen gestured to the goth chick in the middle, and her tone softened ever so slightly, leading me to believe she really cared about the woman. Perhaps a lover?

“The other vampire is Rachel. She is my second in command.” I cocked my head at that, unable to hide my curiosity. The Queen did not miss the small action. “I’ve known her since I transitioned nearly two hundred years ago.” A pause and a ghost of a smile lit up her lips. “A story for another time, perhaps.”

The purple-haired goth and I shared a nod, and just like that, she was moving on, introducing the last person, the red-headed faerie.

“And, finally, this is my mapmaker, Aerywin.” She looked back at the faerie with a small smile before turning back to me. “As beautiful as she is, she is even more brilliant.”

That earned her a bright, straight toothed smile from the mapmaker. She really was beautiful, and her pale blue-grey eyes were soft and kind while taking in every detail of the scene silently. They all had that same look, I realized. All of them were quiet, restrained like they were afraid of spooking me.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” I said hesitantly before turning back to look at the Queen. “But you still haven’t told me why I’m here or what you want from me.”

The Queen gestured to the long table where plates, silverware, and napkins were already set out. She and the other three members of the council slowly drifted towards the table to their designated seats near the fireplace.

“Shall we sit and discuss it over dinner?”

Full dark had set in by now, and I suspected that dinner was being served down in the Great Hall this very moment. I briefly wondered if the Queen ate the same meals as everyone else in the castle or if she had the chefs in the kitchen make her and her council special meals. She probably even had her own personal chef. I stared at the long dining table like it was going to come alive suddenly and attack me. The Queen chuckled, a low but light sound, looking back at me over my shoulder.

“We won’t bite.”

“Speak for yourself.” The deadpanned comment came from Rachel.

Deciding to ignore her, I took the seat next to hers. Her dark, charcoal-lined eyes met mine, and there was surprise along with something like pride in them. She and the Queen shared a look, and it reminded me of the gargoyle twins I had met on my first day here, Lauren and Lorelia. It was the kind of look that only siblings who were close enough to speak without words shared.

A pang of nostalgia and bitterness coursed through me. My two younger siblings often shared that same look. I missed them terribly, but perhaps the best I could do for them at the moment was to solidify this bargain. That was, as long as these supernatural’s intentions were true.

I lifted my gaze and took in the four others at the table. Across from me sat the red-headed faerie, Aerywin. To her left sat the Doom Bringer, and to her left, my right, the Queen sat at the end of the table with her back to the fireplace.

“The servants should be up any minute with dinner,” the Queen began, her steady gaze meeting mine. “Like I said, we brought you here to further discuss why you're here.”

I watched the vampire and the other women staring at me around the room, still wondering if I would soon become their prey.

“The sorceress believes your blood to be… special.” This came from the Doom Bringer, and her guttural voice rumbled in my gut. It was an oddly soothing feeling, but I shook it off.

“Special? What does that mean? My blood isn’t special. I am human,” I finished, my tone insistent.

The Doom Bringer shrugged, and it was such an oddly human gesture on such a deadly creature that it was almost comical. Aerywin spoke up next.

“The sorceress seems to think otherwise,” the faerie said, her tone matter of fact. “You see, she is not only a sorceress and an alchemist but a seer as well.”

After the day I spent with her yesterday, this did not surprise me. I nodded slowly, sitting up straighter. “So she sees the future? What has she seen?”

The four shared a meaningful look. “We only know what she has told us. That your blood is special and that it is best to keep you here,” the Queen said at last.

“Like a prisoner?” I stiffened and held my breath.

The Queen looked insulted at my words. “Of course not. You've been free to roam the castle. We can send an escort with you if you would feel safer, and you are even free to go back to your village. But you would live here for the foreseeable future, and like I said, I will take care of your family, and you as well. Much like any other worker in the castle.”

I looked up at her then, surprised. “Do you take care of the families of your servants as well?”

The Queen shrugged again, a nonchalant gesture. “I make sure that they make a livable wage and have suitable housing. We encourage most to live within the castle walls. It breeds trust and unity, but I do not deny those who prefer to live separately. I still pay them a livable wage.”

I was surprised at her openness. And generosity. I had no idea she took such good care of her workers. It comforted me to know going into the deal, but something else ate at me that I couldn’t ignore.

“Why don’t you hire more humans? Almost everyone in the castle is a supernatural, living a comfortable life while the humans in the kingdom starve, barely making ends meet.”

A slow tension rose amongst the five of us, and I immediately regretted my words, but once again, my pride got the best of me. I held my ground, my jaw tight, and my chin lifted. Beside me, Rachel scoffed, and I looked at her in confusion.

“If humans would get off their high horses and actually apply to such jobs, perhaps they would get hired.”

That threw me for a loop. “Why would we apply for jobs that we know we won’t be hired for in the first place?” I countered, my voice a little too sharp.

“We haven’t had a human applicant for the royal castle in years. They would rather die with their pride than work for the vampire who saved them,” Aerywin said. Her small voice was technical and, as I have grown to expect, without judgment.

“That can’t be true,” I said in disbelief. “We are as desperate for jobs as everyone else. We are just not the favored species amongst the royals.”

“The Queen has hired you, has she not?” Rachel’s impatient tone cut through my denial.

I had nothing to say to that. There was no way of denying it. A pregnant silence ensued before the Queen spoke up again, her voice still tight from the restrained frustration.

"Whatever our differences, just know you are not a prisoner here. You're free to do as you please, but for the sake of Constanta, it would be wise to continue with our plans. Anyway, let's eat."

Just then, as if they had been waiting for the cue, a line of servants entered the room, carrying covered silver plate after covered silver plate. They placed them carefully in the middle of the table in front of us.

My mouth watered as the waiters lifted the covers to reveal stuffed bird, roasted veggies, a pot of soup, a mix of grains, and buttered rolls. I had expected for there to be some sort of thanks or prayer before we would start eating, but Anix and Aerywin began digging in immediately.

As I opened the pot of soup, I remembered who I was eating with. I looked at the two vampires at the table and saw that they only had bowls in front of them, and they watched me with silent amusement as I stared into the pot of soup, or more accurately, blood.

Oh. Oh.

I closed the lid, my stomach curling. “I think I’ll pass on the soup.”

Another pause. Then, laughter. All four of the supernaturals threw their heads back and laughed, full-bellied and joyous laughs. The Queen, her second in command, and even the Doom Bringer exposed their fangs. I sat in shocked silence as their laughter died down. The Queen’s second in command was the first to speak.

“You didn’t tell me he was so funny, Rozmarin,” Rachel said, a smile still lingering on her small, plump mouth as she ladled the bloody soup into her bowl.

“I was as privy to the fact as you were,” the Queen responded, but I was still looking at Rachel in surprise. She had called the Queen by her name. Not Your Highness or Queen Rozmarin. Just Rozmarin. I had never heard anyone call the Queen by her first name, even when people referenced her on the streets.

“What is it?” the Queen asked, having noticed my curious look, her face still light with amusement.

I didn’t know how to point it out, nor did I want Rachel to be punished for the slip up if it indeed was one. Still, I decided to try, if only to clarify the established relationships amongst the group. I cleared my throat and, for some reason, warmth spread across my cheeks.

“I… I just have never heard anyone call you by your first name, without the title.”

That earned me another round of chuckles throughout the table. Rachel now sported a devilish grin.

“She wishes I’d call her by her title,” she said, teasingly, then shook her head, her expression sobering. “We are all equals here. Rozmarin’s title is just that: a title. The duty of the council is to guide the Queen as she rules Constanta. We all have our roles to play, including yourself.”

I let her words sink in for a moment, my vision of the council before me, molding and reshaping in my head.

We are all equals here.

We all have our roles to play here, including yourself.

My gaze drifted towards the Queen’s, and a smile lit up my face for the first time since entering the room. It wasn’t the soft or blissful smile of a grateful thief or a wistful dreamer. It was all teeth. A grin with an edge, a secret. A challenge.

“Does that mean I am allowed to call you Rozmarin?”

10

Rozmarin

Something tugged inside my chest where my now-still heart once used to beat at the way Christoff said my name. A warm feeling flooded me, and I shoved it down hard, hiding it with a wicked grin.

“Of course, my lord.” A small tilt of my head had his eyes widening and his jaw going slack in surprise, yet he recovered quickly. Perhaps this boy would be an asset to the council. He certainly had a very convincing game face.

“Chris. My name is Christoff, but my family calls me Chris,” he said, his soft voice drifting towards my ears like a lute. My wicked grin softened as I filed away the little piece of information in my brain. Chris. Tanya had said it before, and even then, I thought it was the cutest damn name I’d ever heard, and now, I saw how fitting it was for the little thief.

“Very well, Chris,” I said slowly, testing the name out on my tongue like a centuries-old fine wine.

The rest of the dinner went by far better than expected. All three other members of the council took to Chris right away, most of all, Rachel. I had known, even before the two met, that Rachel would like the sharp-witted human. I had been a little worried about Aerywin’s shy and matter-of-fact nature clashing with the boy’s, but they spent a good chunk of the evening’s dinner raving about a particular author whom they were both big fans of. I tucked that little piece of information away as well, taking good care to catch every word that came from the boy’s… Chris’s mouth.

Rachel shared the history of how she and I met, sparing Christoff the gory, depressing details. I looked away at the sympathy in his eyes when Rachel informed him of the state she’d found me in, and that of my family as well.

“I had no idea vampires killed your family. That must have been… difficult,” Christoff said. I realized that there was something other than pity in his eyes as he spoke, and it took a moment for me to figure out what it was. Then it registered in my brain. It was respect, grudging but growing respect.

The corner of my mouth tipped up in a self-deprecating smile as I held Chris’s gaze. “We have all been dealt with our own share of misery and hardships, my lord. Some more than others. The future lies with those who are brave enough to overcome them.”

That night, in the wee hours of the morning, I found myself on the sixth floor, standing alone outside of Christoff’s room. I had relieved Adriana of her duties as thief babysitter after dinner, figuring that he no longer needed a guard, now that he was no longer a prisoner in the castle.

I had no idea how I had gotten there or why, but the memory of the boy’s sweet scent had me twisting and turning in my sheets until I finally gave up and made my way to his door. Thanks to my supernatural sense of smell, I could detect his scent seeping out from under the door. The faint spice of cinnamon and roses filled my nose, and I inhaled deeply, an unfamiliar hunger fogging my thoughts.

It wasn’t the hunger I had known and gained control of for well over a century. It wasn’t the fast, pounding need for blood that drummed in my head when I hadn’t drained a blood bag in a few days. No, this was a different hunger, deep, steady, and ever-growing.

It scared the living hell out of me. I took one last deep breath of the intoxicating scent before tearing myself away from the door and slowly backing away from Chris’s room. As I sunk into the shadows with a promise to myself that I would not repeat the actions of tonight, I prayed that when I woke up in the morning, the odd yearning in my gut would be gone.

It was not. Every night, when sleep refused to take me, whether it was the stresses of ruling a kingdom on the brink of another zombie invasion or just the thoughts of the man in the last room at the end of the hall on the sixth floor, I showed up at his door every single night for three consecutive nights.

The days were busy as always, filled with planning for an upcoming trip to the eastern kingdoms while Sahar kept Christoff busy in the alchemy lab. I noticed that the sorceress had taken a liking to him as well, but whether it was because of the boy’s mysterious destiny or because she genuinely liked Christoff, I wasn’t sure. I still had Adriana check in with him now and then, just to make sure he was adjusting well.

On the final day before my trip, I headed to the alchemy lab before dawn, knowing that the head alchemist would already be there for me to inform her.

“Sahar, Christoff will not be available for the day,” I told her.

Before I could say more, the seer only gave me a secret smile and nodded her gold-rimmed head toward the exit. “Better awaken the boy, then. You both have much to accomplish today.”

Trying to ignore Sahar’s cryptic words, I sent Adriana to awaken Christoff and request that he join me for breakfast in the Great Hall. I normally ate breakfast alone or with whoever of the council cared for the company in my room, but I decided that today, the council would eat together in the presence of my subjects.

It was a political strategy of sorts to set a precedent and let it be known that Christoff was one of us. Though he had been mistaken in thinking that we intentionally refused to hire humans, there was no denying that Christoff was one of very few who worked for the crown, let alone lived in the castle. I needed it to be known to subjects everywhere, especially within the castle, that this human, and every human, was respected and protected. That the crown would welcome them as they were.

But mostly, it was for Christoff’s benefit. While he seemed like the type to abhor such political power moves, I found it necessary to make his time at the castle feel safe and inclusive, especially while I was away. I needed the court to know not to mess with the newly freed human male, and that they needed to respect him the same as the rest of the council.

A knock sounded at my bedroom door just as I finished closing the last pearl button of my dress.

“Come in,” I called.

The door opened, and the now-familiar scent of cinnamon and roses teased my nostrils. That newly familiar hunger clawed at my gut, and I stomped it down with a firm shake of my head. When I looked up, Adriana, and Christoff, standing closely behind the gargoyle, hovered at the door.

“Ah, you’re awake,” I said as I threw my midnight blue dress shawl over my shoulders in one swift movement. The familiar weight of it soothed the vulnerability I felt whenever the human and I were in the same room.

“Thanks to you,” Christoff mumbled, his voice still rough from sleep.

I took a good look at him then, taking in his appearance and started a bit. I had expected him rumpled and messy due to the grumpy sleepiness in his tone, but I was very surprised to find reality to be quite the contrary.

For the first time since he entered the castle, Christoff wore a suit. While that was shocking enough in itself, that wasn’t the real reason I started. The long-sleeved, midnight blue velvet and silver stitched suit looked like the perfect match to my own dress. The blue velvet showed off his muscles in all the right places, and the tight-fitting pants showed a bulge that had my mouth watering for a taste. He had gelled and smoothed down his light brown hair, and it accentuated his high cheekbones and regal forehead.

I blinked once. Oops. I’d been staring.

“My lord,” I said, my voice suddenly as rough as his had been, but instead of sleepiness, the source was something else entirely. “The colors of Constanta suit you.”

He smirked slightly as he bowed his head and mumbled, “Thank you.”

I cleared my throat and pasted a smile on my face, showing my fangs. He didn’t seem to take much notice of them, I noted gratefully. Sometimes, the sharp canines tended to… unnerve humans. Understandably, of course. I had used them as weapons to kill them in the past. Of course, we had better, more humane ways of collecting blood now, through donors and willing participants. The act of drinking blood from a person’s most vulnerable areas could be a highly pleasurable and even sexual experience.

“Why do you look like you’re about to eat me?” Christoff’s hesitant tone cut through my increasingly disturbing thoughts.

Oh, for the love of all that’s holy. Could I not be in the same room as the man without losing all sense of reality? “Just a little parched. Let’s eat.”

We walked in silence down several flights of stairs before we reached the Great Hall on the second floor, Adriana trailing quietly behind us. I took a deep breath, already knowing what to expect, Christoff in the matching suit to my dress standing next to me.

I opened the impressive double doors to the Great Hall. As I had predicted, all heads turned to face us. Servants and guests stopped in their tracks to witness the Queen’s entry, their eyes soaking in the scene before them, greedily. Christoff stiffened beside me, realizing that all eyes were on us. I reached over to grab his arm gently and linked mine through his, tilting up to speak so only he could hear. Power rippled down my spine and echoed throughout the room as I spoke.

“Keep your head high. Meet the eyes of anyone who dares to meet yours and do not look away first. Don’t let them sense your fear. Do not stumble. Do not falter.”

He looked at me then, really looked at me, and the room fell away. Every possible emotion flickered in his hazel eyes as they searched my own silver ones: surprise, fear, sadness, anger, pride. Finally, he landed on determination before turning to face the no-longer silent crowd. Whispers and muttering echoed throughout the Great Hall as the crowd took in the sight before them.

A mere flare of my normally hidden wings was enough to quiet the rising murmur. Christoff hid his surprise at the sight of it well. Until now, I had kept my wings out of sight while he was around, despite the fact that he likely already knew I had them. I simply kept them hidden often. Not every vampire possessed the ability to transform, and mine was a very peculiar and rare gift that allowed me to bring them into or banish them from existence as I pleased. Rachel had no such ability.

My gaze fell to the dais and the line of chairs, including my throne at the far end of the room below the stained glass windows. The rest of the Queen’s council had already taken their seats at the table that stretched across the raised floor. As we made our way down the aisle, people bowed and curtsied while sneaking curious glances at the human at my side. The tension and curiosity were so palpable, and I was glad to have Adriana at my back.

Thankfully, we made it to the end of the room, up the steps, and behind the table without any issues. The entire council, including Christoff and me, now stood to face the crowd who also rose, facing the stage. I let out a long breath, slow and steady. Then, I raised my arms palms down and slowly lowered my hands from the tip of my head to my navel, until the entire room was seated, save for myself. Even Christoff had taken the cue and lowered himself to his seat.

I had considered addressing the crowd before I’d even asked him to join us, but after a brief discussion with the council, we decided it best to keep the little thief’s uncertain destiny to ourselves. While most of the public weren’t blind to the rising numbers of zombies, I knew that most were unaware of the extent of the issue.

The knowledge of some evils was best left to burden a select few. Likewise, the knowledge of potential hope was best kept with whom it would not provide false hope.

So I stayed silent, my only vocal command, the order to commence the morning meal. A rising chatter slowly filled the tense silence in the Great Hall. Everyone at the Queen’s table’s shoulders relaxed a bit, and we began to eat, the food already set out before us.

Once Christoff filled his plate to his desire beside me, I turned to face him, a silver goblet filled with crimson liquid hovering at my lips. “Do you find the food in the castle to your liking?”

He turned to face me mid-bite at the sound of my voice. “It’s delicious,” he replied, mouth full.

I took a sip from my goblet, the warm liquid soothing the growing ache in my throat. “I informed Sahar that you would not be doing tests today.”

“Why?” Christoff startled, his eyes wide when he turned to me again. “What would you have me do instead?”

I held his gaze, one corner of my mouth quirking up at the edge. “I have a few tasks I must accomplish today, and the rest of the council is busy. I would greatly appreciate your presence.”

I braced myself for him to argue or make a snarky remark, but he just looked thoughtful for a moment as my request sunk in before his gaze focused on me again, and he offered me a small smile.

“Okay.”

An hour later, Christoff and I were being escorted by Adriana down the halls of the castle to his room, so he could freshen up before we left the grounds. It would be the first time he had left the castle since we captured him as a thief a week prior. We stopped just outside his door, the newly familiar scent that was Christoff wafting out from the room. The memory of the past three nights standing outside of his door ran through my head, and that same conflicted feeling rose in my chest once more. Part need, part obsession, and part… something else.

“Adriana will escort you to the ground floor in half an hour where I will meet you,” I said, my voice soft, gentle. Foreign.

Christoff’s mouth turned down into a small frown. “I don’t need an escort, you know. I wouldn’t run after I already promised to stay.”

“I know,” I said. “The escort is more for your safety than a security precaution.”

His frown didn’t waver. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know.” The right side of my mouth quirked up. “Humor me.”

Thankfully, he conceded, but not before he asked, “Why aren’t you constantly guarded? You’re the Queen, after all.” His hazel eyes were intense as he inspected my own for any sign that I was bluffing.

My answer was simple as I let a small sliver of power ripple from my core so that my wings flickered in and out of existence. I knew the effect was intimidating, maybe even menacing.

“Because I do not need protection.”

I didn’t need to explain further after that.

11

Christoff

Because I do not need protection.

Rozmarin’s words echoed in my head as I grabbed a satchel that hung in my closet, stuffing in everything I thought I might need for a day out of the castle. I knew the Queen was strong, even for a vampire, but her show of power in the Great Hall this morning and again outside of my room made me realize just how much power she had. Something told me that I hadn’t even seen her scratch the surface of the well of power that she truly held.

A shudder wracked my body at the thought of taking on the Vampire Queen and the Doom Bringer together on the battlefield, all fangs and blood and steel and death. It was not a pleasant mental picture. But, then again, the picture of her gentle expression as she stood outside of my quarters after walking me to my room entered my head. The contrast of the two images was enough to have me very conflicted. She was strong and brutal, yet gorgeous and kind.

I decided to stay in the dark blue and silver velvet suit, even though it was the perfect match for the Queen's outfit. Or perhaps, it was because of it.

I didn’t entertain that thought for too long.

As Rozmarin informed me, Adriana knocked on my door at half past the hour and escorted me down the six flights of stairs to the ground floor. We had grown accustomed to each other in the time when she had been guarding my door, enough so that we could walk in silence together without awkwardness invading the space between us. Adriana wasn’t much of a talker, and that was just as well to me. I had grown to enjoy or silent walks together.

Rozmarin stood waiting out in the grassy courtyard. I noticed that she wore the same dress she had been in for the morning meal, and I relaxed a bit, grateful that I hadn’t decided to change either.

The moment Adriana and I stepped into the courtyard, a slight breeze rustled my hair and suit jacket, and Rozmarin turned around, her nostrils flaring ever so slightly.

“Adriana. Christoff.” Rozmarin nodded at the gargoyle and me as a way of greeting.

“Your Highness,” Adriana lowered her head as we approached. “Will you need an escort today?”

Once we reached Rozmarin, the Queen’s gaze settled on the gargoyle at my side. “No. That’ll be all, Adriana. Thank you.”

With another lowering of her head, Adriana turned and walked away, fading into the shadows of the castle. Once Adriana was out of sight, I turned to face the Queen.

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” I asked.

Rozmarin gazed up at me, and her eyes lit up with restrained excitement. It made something ease and something else tighten in my chest all at once.

“Have you been to the east market?” she asked.

My head naturally cocked, in confusion, the skin between my brows puckering.

“No, I grew up on the west side.” I didn’t need to explain any further than that. The west side was, by far, the poorest district of the kingdom. Most of us who were born there never got the opportunity to leave.

The Queen frowned before she hid it with a tight smile. “We will go there first. Then, to my favorite baker’s shop.”

“I haven’t been to a fresh bakery in years.” My eyes lit up.

The area around Rozmarin’s eyes tightened at my admission, and her smile froze in place. I blinked, and the expression vanished, replaced with an easy, charming smile.

“Let us begin the journey, then,” she said as she offered her arm to me.

Hooking her arm with mine, Rozmarin led me toward the tree line at the edge of the courtyard where a plain wooden carriage awaited our arrival. Two beautiful horses, one white and one black, stood in front of the carriage, their eyes half-closed as if they were about to drift to sleep any second. I resisted the urge to move toward them and stroke their shiny coats.

I shifted my gaze to the figure in front of the carriage. A tall, wiry-looking male faerie, who I assumed was the driver, bowed when we approached, his curious purple gaze flicking to me before looking away. He looked to be in his mid-forties, and wire-rimmed glasses framed his small face. His skin had a grayish-green tint to it, as did the four delicate wings on his back.

“Your Highness. My lord,” he said, his voice surprisingly low for his mousy frame.

The Queen smiled kindly at the man. “Good morning, Markus. How are the wife and your new baby boy doing?” Genuine care colored her tone as she waited for the man to answer. Markus smiled brightly at the Queen, his eyes lit up with adoration and love.

“Oh, they’re doing very well, Your Majesty. Nala has been very busy taking care of the three kids, along with her maid duties. I’ve no clue how she does it.”

The Queen’s gaze softened. “That is very good to hear, indeed. Do encourage her to use the nursery at the castle if she finds herself overwhelmed with her duties.”

“Of course. I will be sure to mention it to her.” Markus lowered his head in gratitude. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

He held the carriage door open while I helped haul Rozmarin into the giant wooden box. Once we sat down on the cream-colored cushions, I let my eyes wander to the Queen’s face. Not even two full seconds went by before she sensed my gaze, and her silver eyes shifted to meet mine. They were expectant, and I realized that she was waiting for me to say something, so I did.

“You’re kinda nice,” I admitted awkwardly, slowly, the words taking shape on my tongue before I could stop them. It came out sounding more like a question than an observation. Her expression shifted, but instead of insult or anger taking shape like I’d expected, she gave a short laugh.

“Don’t sound so surprised, my lord,” she said, giving me a meaningful look. “I am the Queen, after all. It is my duty to get to know my people, especially the ones who serve me so readily and frequently.”

What did that mean? Was she trying to get to know me? I shook off that thought. It didn’t matter. She was the Queen. Like she said, it was her duty to get to know her people.

I eyed her sideways. “I just meant--” I paused, stuttering over my own words. “You’re not as terrible as I thought you were.” I cringed and looked away at hearing my own words come out of my mouth.

Smooth, Chris. Real smooth.

The Queen barked out another startled laugh. “Well, then. Let us hope that your opinion of me continues to improve throughout the day’s events.”

“Why?” I asked, desperate to move on from my previous embarrassing moment. She looked at me in confusion, and when she didn’t answer, I realized she needed a further explanation. “Why do you care about improving my opinion of you, I mean?” I averted my gaze to look down at my lap once the words were out.

“Why wouldn’t I?” the Queen asked, simply.

I shrugged, suddenly feeling shy. “I just didn’t think it mattered.”

The Queen looked thoughtful for a moment, and the silence lasted for so long, I thought that she wasn’t going to answer. But then, her eyes cleared, and she spoke again.

“I do not expect all of my people to like me. I do not even expect most of them to like me. But it is important that they, at the very least, trust me to run the kingdom of Constanta, to protect and to serve them.”

So much genuine care and passion filled her words that it startled me. Gone was the cold, distant vampire Queen that I had met on my first day here. Today, a just and kind ruler who would do anything to protect her people replaced that woman. The skin between her brows puckered in concentration, plump pink lips pursed as well, and she sat up straight in the carriage. Passion rang true in every word she spoke.

I hadn’t realized I was staring at her until her lips quirked up at the corners, and something warm and bright entered her gaze. I looked away embarrassed, but I could feel Rozmarin’s gaze still on my face, only serving to heat my cheeks even further until they felt like they might melt right off my face. I hadn’t meant to think about how kissable the Queen was. That had not been something I thought I would ever think about, and yet I swore it seemed like the Queen could read my thoughts as she stared at me, though she said nothing.

We rode in silence for the rest of the way to the east market. Nearly half an hour passed on a path through a tunnel of evergreen trees, and the woodsy scent of pine and moss and dirt offered a special kind of comfort in the silence of the forest. All I could hear was the sound of the horses' heavy breathing and the clanking of the wooden carriage over roots and dirt, save for the occasional merchant traveling back and forth between the castle and the East Village. We remained inside the carriage for the entire ride, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that the Queen was inside.

Eventually, the tree line opened up, and the sun filtered into the carriage once more. When I looked out the tiny window carved from the wood, I saw cluster tile rooftops with overgrown vines atop them and smoking chimneys at the bottom of the hill. As we got closer, the cluster turned into a maze when the alleyways became visible.

It didn’t take long before we made it to the bottom of the hill, and the chattering of village people and the clanking of horse carriages got closer and closer. Then we were in the midst of it.

As I stared out the tiny window, it amazed me to find how well the condition of the streets, the buildings, and, most of all, the people were in. It was the polar opposite of what the west side looked like. Here, the roads were well maintained, and businesses used almost all the buildings, even the older ones that had been relics of the old world. Best of all, rather than recycling the materials of the old world as they were, the East Village had painted over the rebuilt structures and turned the abandoned mess into colorful pieces of art that were just as, if not more, structurally sound. The people, humans and supernaturals alike, were lively and friendly and didn’t look like they were a day away from dying of starvation.

It was completely foreign to me, much like the atmosphere of the castle.

“Wow,” was all I could conjure from my vocabulary as we made our way toward the open field where the east market was held.

Rozmarin turned to face me from her own window, having heard my outward exclaim. “What is it?”

Feelings of giddiness and wonder warred with conflicting feelings of bitterness and jealousy of those that got to grow up in a place like this where everything was beautiful and functional, and no one had to worry about getting attacked while walking down the street for a bit of coin. In my eyes, it was like a utopia.

I mulled over my words before I spoke, trying to find an accurate description of what I was feeling.

“It’s just… I’ve never seen such a… nice village.” I knew my tone sounded off and awkward, but I didn’t know how to say it without making it sound like I grew up in a garbage can.

Of course, compared to her, I probably had.

Sympathy entered her eyes as she watched my expression. “Most people who are born into the west side find themselves unable to leave,” she said, surprising me as her thoughts mirrored my own from earlier.

I sighed and nodded. “We never had the funding to leave the West Village for a visit east, let alone to completely up and move villages.”

It felt oddly nerve-wracking yet simultaneously good to be speaking to the Queen about what it was like to grow up on the rough side of the kingdom. Maybe it was just because it was relieving to get off my chest, or perhaps it was something more. Perhaps a spark of hope lit up inside me that told me if I spoke to her about it, she would put more resources into making the west side a better place to live. She could fix the crime problems. She could feed those who couldn’t afford to eat.

Something like anger entered her gaze at my odd admission, throwing me completely off-guard and making my own defenses rise.

“What?” I asked, my voice tight. What had I said that made her so upset? Her lips formed a frown then, her jaw working.

“Your mother should have better supported you and your siblings. It was wrong of her to rely on you so heavily to bring in money for your family.”

My hackles rose further at that, and my temper flared. Who did she think she was, judging my family without knowing anything of our struggles?

“Excuse me?” My voice was low and dangerous.

She seemed thrown off by my anger, her brows drawing low over her eyes, but she didn’t back down. “I said, your mother should never have--” She didn’t have time to get the words out a second time before I cut her off.

“No, I heard what you said.”

“Then why--”

“My mother is sick,” that gave her pause, her eyes widening in surprise, “and my father is dead. We couldn’t very well afford to pay for my mother’s medication so that she can get better and work while I was busy trying to make sure we didn’t starve, now could we?”

Rozmarin’s jaw slackened a bit before she recovered, her expression darkening as the shadows beneath her eyes grew. The temperature in the carriage dipped, and a chill went over my spine. I shivered at the cold, and just like that, the chill disappeared along with her darkened expression. She dipped her head to me, and this time it was my turn to be surprised.

“You’re right. My apologies, my lord. I meant no offense. Clearly, I was misinformed.” There was an edge to her tone that I didn’t understand, but I ignored it, too busy working to calm my own temper. I considered pushing the issue about the west side, but I knew that it would only disrupt the delicate peace we seemed to have formed.

We rode in tense silence for the rest of the way to the market, after that. When we arrived, Rozmarin made to step out of the carriage, but I reached to grab her arm, halting her. Her head whipped around, surprised that I had touched her. I yanked my hand back, embarrassed at my unconsciously bold move.

“Don’t you need a disguise? I mean, won’t people freak out if they see you?”

The Queen tossed me an easy smile, the last of the tension from our previous conversation melting away. “I make it a point to show up in the village often to avoid that sort of scenario.”

I nodded, impressed. She’d really thought this through. “Alright, let’s do this.”

The scent of fresh herbs and bread invaded my nose, making my mouth water as I took Rozmarin’s hand and helped her step out of the carriage. When I looked around, I realized that we were in a giant grassy field on the outskirts of the East Village. Wagons, carts, and temporary tent structures of all different sizes and colors littered the field, and beneath them were merchants selling their goods. Some sold jewelry and clothes and weapons, while others sold food, fresh herbs, and flowers.

I had never seen so much merchandise in my life. In the West Village, no one would dare to bring so much nice merchandise for fear of it setting a target on their back and getting robbed. An event like this in the West Village would simply be asking for trouble. Live music filled the air, and when I followed the sound with my eyes, I found a small tent with four tiny elves dancing along to their own music.

“What do you think, my lord?” Rozmarin asked, breaking me out of my inner comparisons.

I turned to face her in time to see her slip Markus something and mutter an order that I couldn’t hear. Then, she strode up to my side and faced me expectantly, still waiting for an answer.

“I think it’s beautiful,” I breathed truthfully.

“You do?” The Queen tossed me a curious glance then looked out at the field then as if she was trying to see what I was seeing, trying to see the beauty in a simple market.

I nodded, a small smile forming on my lips. “I’ve never seen so many pretty things in one place before.” After hearing my own words leave my mouth, I turned to face her. “Just to be clear, when I was living in the West Village, I only stole to survive. So… you know, you don’t need to worry about… that,” I managed to get out, awkwardly, my voice cracking on the last word.

When her eyes met mine again, they were serious, almost fierce, and without a hint of humor in them.

“I know.”

12

Rachel

I watched from my secret perch at a window high up in the castle as Rozmarin and the boy… Christoff linked arms and wandered through the courtyard toward the trees. I smirked at the pair, still dressed in their matching outfits from earlier. I had to admit, they looked good together, even though Christoff had far less decorum than my elegant, stunning friend, but what did I expect from a human thief from the West Village?

A carriage awaited them, and Rozmarin, as she always did, exchanged words with Markus. The vampire had always been soft, too soft I said, but her people loved her, that much was true, so I only ever teased her light-heartedly about her compassionate nature. It was probably good that I was only part of her council and not the Queen as I had little patience for, well, almost anything. Rozmarin did the job well, though, and I couldn’t complain since she valued my advice highly. Whatever else I felt, the one certain thing was that I would never lead my dear friend astray, at least not intentionally.

I nodded my approval of the boy as he helped Rozmarin into the carriage, almost cautiously like he was afraid to hurt her, and that made me laugh out loud. Rozmarin could bite his scrawny neck and kill him in an instant if she wanted to. Maybe his delicate handling of her was more out of fear. I guess he realized how easily she could end his life.

Good.

The carriage disappeared into the trees, and I reluctantly left my hideout, wishing I could continue spying on the two. I wandered through the hallways, but my thoughts were still with them. A day or so earlier, Rozmarin had mentioned to me that she wanted to take the thief to the East Village, and I reacted about how she’d expected me to.

“Why the hell do you want to do that?” I had questioned her, but I basically already knew the answer, even if I hadn’t consciously put together all the hints yet.

She had smiled at me with that soft look of hers, so delicate and even innocent. As if she could fool me. She was my closest friend. We had spent the last two hundred years together, helping each other, holding each other through thick and thin. I knew what was on her mind, even if she hadn’t fully admitted it to herself yet. I think most of the council already knew the thoughts and feelings creeping into her undead body, and Christoff, well, he was simple to read.

During the council meeting, I could practically smell the emotions rolling off of him. His fear, his intrigue, but most of all, his clear attraction to Rozmarin. She made him nervous. Whenever she spoke to him and especially when their eyes met, his cheeks turned a faint pink, and his temperature rose considerably. I even think he tried to make his voice sound deeper, more… manly.

I let another loud laugh echo through the hall, and a pair of werewolves that had been walking ahead of me turned around. When they saw it was me, the scary, dark vampire, their eyes popped open wide, and they quickly turned back around and sped up their pace. Even as I narrowed my eyes at them, I couldn’t help the grin curl around my lips. I loved the effect I had on people.

I had that effect on Christoff too, my new plaything as I saw it. Rozmarin could have all the fun she wanted with the boy. It’s not like she wanted to complete the mating bond with him, and neither would I. Still, as I aimlessly walked through the castle, I thought about what we had discussed during that first council meeting with him. Sahar thought his blood was special, that he held some strange power, whatever all that meant. To me, though, he seemed like a pretty mundane, although handsome human. Whatever Sahar saw, she wouldn’t fully tell us, which annoyed me to no end, but there was nothing I could do about it.

One thing was certain, though, something that made me give some credit to Sahar’s beliefs, and that was the boy practically glowed at times.

Ever since Rozmarin had first passed Christoff in the hall as he snuck through the castle with that stolen artifact, before she even knew he was a thief, she’d changed. I saw it and felt it. She had seemed more distant and thoughtful, and I realized it was because she had sensed that strange power in him, noticed the way his skin glowed faintly. From that moment, the strange boy was always there in the back of her mind, like a fly buzzing through her brain that she couldn’t escape, even if she had wanted to.

And now that he was here at the castle, she always seemed anxious, like there was some itch she wanted to scratch. But for whatever reason, she couldn’t, or she wouldn’t. When I noticed this at first, I didn’t understand what was troubling my dear friend, but after I saw the two together at the meeting, I realized what was going on. Whether she was attracted to his power or to him, I wasn’t completely sure.

He was nice to look at, I would admit. His messy brown hair, earthy eyes, and that delicious tanned skin worked together with his snark to make him weirdly charming, but could this little thief from the West Village really captivate Rozmarin, the Vampire Queen, so fully?

The rest of the council whispered and giggled about this strapping young man, as Sahar had called him, and I figured the charming sorceress would try to have her fun with him, but I think all of us, whether we wanted to admit it or not, sensed that something in him. Even I couldn’t deny it.

But what I wanted to know more than anything was who was he? Who was this boy called the Light-Bearer?

I found myself standing outside of the door to the thief’s room. I hadn’t quite realized where my feet were taking me, but it made sense. Rozmarin’s growing obsession had now become my own, especially after finally meeting him face to face. I didn’t fully trust him yet, but there were few who I could say I completely trusted, so I figured I would have a snoop around his room, just to be sure Rozmarin was safe around him.

I turned the handle, and the door swung open with a faint creaking noise, but it seemed far too loud in the quiet hallway. I peeked around, but no one was there, so I quickly darted into his room. He had very few items out, only a few pieces of clothing, and I picked up a shirt from the ground and brought it up to my nose. The strong scent of roses and cinnamon filled me as I breathed in deeply, closing my eyes.

The smell was almost irresistible, but I willed myself to drop the shirt and made my way over to his half-open wardrobe. Like the rest of the room, it was sparse save for some outfits that looked new, probably provided for him by someone in the castle. He really had very little, and a part of me felt a spark of sympathy for the human. Growing up in the West Village couldn’t have been easy, and now, he was living in a castle dealing with strange people and coming to terms with his destiny or whatever.

I closed the wardrobe halfway, making sure to leave no signs of my presence, and after one more deep inhale of his scent, I slipped out of his room.

13

Sahar

I tuned out the busy sounds of clinking glass and bubbling cauldrons of my lab as the alchemists started their work for the day. I had my hot tea waiting for me, and that was usually all I needed to start my mornings. Something about how the herbal drink warmed me as it ran down my throat calmed me and hushed all the voices and troubles and sounds that continuously bounced through my head.

Being a sorceress and the head alchemist in Constanta was a lot of work, but I would have chosen nothing else in life. Rozmarin was a good Queen. No, she was a great Queen, and she cared for her people above all else. That and my work kept me bound here and to her, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

There were certain things I kept from her and the rest of the council. Of course, I did. It was trouble enough for me to keep my worries at bay with all the things I saw and heard. I gave Rozmarin enough. I gave the vampire what I knew she could handle, and I worried about the rest.

Usually, it was simple for me to determine what to divulge to her, and what to keep in my own head, but this time, I wasn’t sure when or if I should tell her this latest piece of information.

I brought my warm tea to my lips and sipped, letting the soothing drink warm my mouth, then throat, then trickle into my stomach. My golden bracelets fell down my arms as I raised the cup to my mouth, and I inhaled deeply, calling on all my powers of insight that I possessed.

Rozmarin needed to know, especially since she would soon be taking a trip to the east. The council already didn’t want her going, and with just Anix by her side, the two would find themselves in the midst of trouble. The Doom Bringer was a formidable fighter, but even she would not be able to stop what was coming.

I brought my cup of tea to my favorite spot in the corner of my workspace and lowered myself onto the loveseat with a sigh. I loved my job, but it was stressful. Living in this world full of zombies was stressful. I took another drink and felt the soothing effects of the tea and thought back to just a few days prior when I had been lost in my meditations, seeing what I could see in the chaotic world.

And what I had discovered made me tremble.

Zombies. Hordes of zombies in the east, where Rozmarin and Anix were planning to go. I saw them overrun the eastern kingdoms. I saw the leaders call for aid. The hordes swarmed them, and more came, and more, and more. And then they were moving this way, toward Constanta. I hadn’t seen such a swarm since the Great Purge. How were there so many?

I dived deeper into my trance, pushing into the unknown with my magic. I searched for any clues to the increase in zombie numbers until a crystal thought materialized in my mind. As clear as a streaming beam of sunlight, I understood what was happening.

Someone was building an army.

That much, I deciphered, was true. But who would do such a thing? I fell back into my thoughts, letting the cool and dark of my mind wash around me like a pool of water. I submerged myself fully and used my magic to press out into the vast world for answers. I sent waves of thought off in all directions, but when the ripples flowed back to me, they were devoid of any answers.

I took a few deep breaths to steady myself, to let myself sink as deep as I could into the void, and with all the force I could muster, I sent my magic back out to search for something, any clues to who was creating a zombie army. Once again, I came up empty-handed.

Of course, I wasn’t omniscient, so there were many times I attempted to search for knowledge of things unseen and found nothing or very little, but this time was different. Instead of stumbling through the darkness and feeling my hands swim through emptiness, the usual sensation when my divinations came up with nothing, it was like I came upon a wall or some kind of barrier. The magical waters that rushed out of me slammed into something and came rushing back to me.

My vision was being blocked.

Whoever was building this undead army was also blocking me from seeing them. Either that or they had another sorceress on their side. Regardless of the method, the end result was the same. Our foes knew about me and my abilities, and they desperately did not want me or the council to know their plans. This was troubling news, and Rozmarin needed to be warned.

I took another sip of my tea and let the flowery fragrances dance on my tongue. I had faced many challenges in my long years of life, and I had faced many of them with Rozmarin, but this would prove to be one of the most difficult obstacles yet. I had seen enough to know we would be up for a tough fight, but even with my vision and all my magic, I couldn’t see the outcome, and that frightened me.

As I held my tea and sifted through all these thoughts, Christoff’s glowing face appeared, the one I now knew as the Light-Bearer. What that title meant exactly, I wasn’t entirely sure, but what I did know was that the fate of this man and the destiny that now laid before Constanta were wholly intertwined. I recalled our intimate… meeting and how I had felt that power coursing within him.

Everything before me was so mysterious, and that frustrated me. There were so many puzzle pieces to fit together, and so many moving parts. This must be what the others felt like when I only related bits of information to them.

Well, this time, I would tell them all I knew because even I could not fully discern our coming future.

14

Christoff

Like she’d said, we did not get swamped by a bunch of excitable citizens when we entered the market. Instead, the humans and supernatural of every kind that strolled by offered us a wide berth, bowing and curtsying as we passed to join the market. I got a few odd glances, friendly and unfriendly alike, at first, but as the crowd got used to our presence, they slowly became less and less frequent throughout the day. Soon, the crowd closed in around us, and it was like we were just another human and vampire participating in the market.

It was wonderful. The market was my new favorite place to visit. Everything from the delicious smelling food to the shiny jewelry and the masterful art pieces and colorful flower arrangements made me feel like I was in a new, magical world where anything was possible.

Rozmarin bought me anything I touched or so much as breathed in the direction of. I tried to argue, but she would only dismiss my protests with a wave of her hand, and the words, “It is my pleasure, my lord.”

Who was I to deny the Queen the simple pleasures of life?

When we finally returned to the carriage, sometime around midday, Rozmarin had bought me two new outfits, multiple snacks which we both devoured, and a bouquet of roses, though how she knew I loved roses and had wanted to gift her the boutique, I had no idea. But, my favorite gift by far was a long silver blade with the most beautiful detailing I’d ever seen.

It was an eight-inch straight blade with a single swirling design down the length of it. The color of the hilt was, of course, midnight blue, and it was shaped like a serpent, winding around the bottom of the blade, creating a handle from its body. The serpent’s head made up the pommel with two moonstones for the eyes. At the blade-edge of the handle, the serpent’s tail split in two, creating an arching cross-guard. When I tried to explain to her that I already knew how to wield a blade, she bought it for me, then promised to teach me how to use it better with more skill and precision from her time on the battlefield.

We chatted excitedly in the carriage on the way to Rozmarin’s favorite bakery that was supposedly on the north end of the East Village, just down the hill from the tree line. She told me of drunken nights that she, Anix, Rachel, and Aerywin had spent in the bars and on the streets, especially after the war, when the kingdom had finally been established, and non-zombies were free to roam without fear of being eaten or mindlessly attacked on the streets.

After the morning’s tense conversation in the carriage, we avoided the topic of my mom. I told her about my siblings. Of how my youngest sister, Theia, loved to dance in her free time, and my middle brother, Tyrion, was a gifted tattoo artist. I tried not to think about how much I missed them, but I couldn’t stop the lump in my throat from forming as I explained how Tyrion once sketched out tattoo designs for all three of us one summer because he wanted something to bond us as a family. Or as I recalled the time when Theia performed a dance routine in the moonlight on the street for us when we ran out of oil for our lanterns.

I talked and talked until Rozmarin’s hand reached up to touch my cheek. My mouth froze mid-sentence, and her hand came away wet. I hadn’t even realized I’d been crying, though I was unsurprised when I recognized the ache in my chest for what it was: homesickness. Not so much for the West Village or our house, but homesick for my family.

“You miss them deeply.” Rozmarin’s words were a statement, not a question. I nodded, swiping at the wetness on my cheeks and offering her a sheepish smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to kill the mood. I really am having a good time,” I said, feeling silly for letting my emotions get the best of me.

Rozmarin offered me a sad smile and a small shake of her head. “You need not apologize, my lord, for anything. You are doing me and the kingdom a great deed by staying at the castle. I cannot guarantee that you will see your family anytime soon, but I can promise to do everything in my power to make sure they are well taken care of while you are away.”

“Thank you,” I whispered sincerely. Though her words did nothing to ease my homesickness, it was a good reminder about why I was doing all of this in the first place. The stealing, the deal with the Queen, it was all for my family. So they could thrive while I survived.

Then, a thought entered my head, completely out of left field, and the tears stopped flowing.

“How old are you?” I blurted out before I realized what I’d asked. Rozmarin leaned back, probably from whiplash from the change of subject. “Do you mind my asking? It’s just-- You always call me ‘my lord.’ Isn’t that like a super ancient term?”

For the love of Constanta, someone needed to stop me.

The Vampire Queen threw her head back and let out a laugh. Not a raspy chuckle or a startled bark of a laugh. A real laugh, like how I’d seen her do with her friends on the Queen’s council. I stared in amazement at the joy lightening her silver eyes.

“My lord, your questions never seem to disappoint.”

A blush crawled up my cheeks at the statement, and I stared at my hands in my lap as they stretched and flexed, anxiously. When I looked back up, her expression had sobered a bit. Then, she began to speak.

“I was born in 1876. As you know, vampires attacked my family in our own home, killing them and leaving me to die. I was twenty-four at the time.” Her tone was distant, but I could still sense despair in it. I couldn’t even imagine having to watch my family die right before my eyes. It would destroy me. Hell, I’d just been weeping like a baby because I missed them, and they weren’t even dead, just in another village.

I did the math in my head and whipped my head up to look at her. She seemed startled at my sudden movement. “Your anniversary is coming up.”

Her expression turned perplexed as she looked down at me from the seat beside me. “Pardon? What anniversary?”

“It’s 2099. Next year will mark two-hundred years that you’ve been a vampire,” I clarified.

Was that an odd thing to point out? Perhaps, when you’d lived as long as she had, things as trivial as anniversaries of big life events didn’t matter anymore. Rozmarin’s brows did a little jump when my words registered, the only sign that I had surprised her with my words.

“I suppose you're right.” A tiny frown pulled at the edges of her mouth, making a dimple in her chin that I hadn’t noticed until then. I wanted to poke it, but I resisted.

Then, another thought hit me, and it tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it.

“I guess it’s not the happiest of anniversaries,” I said, sympathetically.

When I looked back up at her face, I expected to see despair or anger at my mention of it, but instead, she looked… tired.

Right then, the carriage stopped, and Markus announced that we’d made it to the Queen’s favorite bakery. We climbed out into the street and ducked into the shop. As I looked around the small room, I realized that the entire space was completely pink. They’d even painted the outside pink. I looked up at the vampire Queen beside me and found her smiling fondly at the old lady behind the counter. She had short, white hair and wore a pink apron over a plain white shirt that stopped several inches above her wrist. My breath hitched when I realized that she was human.

“Rozmarin, my girl!” The old lady crooned from behind the counter. She was currently packing a delicious-looking pastry into a bag for a tree bark-skinned faerie that stood in front of her. “I’ll be with you in a minute. Just let me finish helping Mr. Joer here.”

“Take your time, Beatrice.” Rozmarin beamed at the woman before she gestured to me at her side. “I’m just here to show this young man the glory of the best baked goods in the kingdom.”

The old lady waved her hand at Rozmarin dismissively. “Oh, you stop that, you charming girl.” But I didn’t miss the adoration in her eyes. Nor did I miss the curious flick of her gaze to my face or the meaningful look she sent Rozmarin’s way.

This was yet another whole new side of Rozmarin that I hadn’t seen before. Beatrice had put it perfectly: the charming girl. I wasn’t sure if it was just the atmosphere of the shop or the youthful energy that Rozmarin was emitting, but she somehow managed to look younger in the midday light of the bakery. An easy smile graced her lips, and for once, her face was free of lines caused by worry or anger or confusion.

When the faerie in front of us finished getting rung up, he bowed to the Queen and me before ducking out the exit. Then, it was just us and Beatrice. Rozmarin led me up to the counter, and my pulse kicked up a notch. For some reason, I wanted the old lady to like me. I didn’t want to mess up my first impression.

“And who might this be?” the old lady asked, her sharp, pale blue eyes settling on my face. They were kind yet calculative. This was a woman who did not miss a single thing that went on around her, even if she led you to believe that she did.

Rozmarin smiled up at me before returning her attention to Beatrice. “This is Christoff. He is… a new hire at the castle. He has never been to this end of the kingdom, so I thought we would take the day to get him acquainted with the East Village.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed in confusion before widening in sympathy. To my surprise, her wrinkled hand stretched across the counter to rest on my own. “You’re from the West Village.”

I only nodded in response, unsure of what to say.

“Well, you are welcome to the East Village and my bakery anytime, son. I trust that the Queen has offered you fair compensation for your services?” It came out as more of a question than a statement as she eyed Rozmarin sternly, and I immediately decided that I liked the old woman. After all, anyone who dared to stand up to the vampire Queen in favor of ensuring fair treatment of a west sider was a legend in my book.

I smiled gratefully and nodded at the old woman, my gaze flicking to Rozmarin’s face for the briefest of moments.

“Yes, miss. The Queen has been quite generous,” I answered vaguely.

Beatrice waved her hand dismissively again, and I was beginning to recognize it as a signature mannerism of the woman. “I haven’t been a ‘miss’ in years. You can call me Beatrice.”

The woman extended her hand across the counter to me, and I took it firmly but gently before giving it a small shake.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Beatrice,” I said, smiling genuinely at the woman.

When we released each other’s hands, Beatrice clapped hers together in front of her, linking her fingers. “Well, I already know what Rozmarin’s order will be. What shall I get for the handsome Christoff?”

Rozmarin looked up at me and smiled. “What will it be, my lord?”

“What do you recommend?”

“Everything.”

I turned to face Beatrice. “What do you have that’s chocolate?”

15

Christoff

When we arrived back at the castle, the sun hung low in the sky, and the temperature had begun to drop. Markus dropped us off in front of the castle, and I saw Rozmarin hand him a small pouch before he rode off to take care of the horses. Though it was still light out, it seemed fairly quiet around the castle.

“Will you be in the Great Hall for dinner?” I asked Rozmarin when she strode up to me after seeing off the driver. We slowly made our way across the courtyard to the entrance of the castle.

She offered me a small, regretful smile and shook her head. “I’m afraid not, my lord. I must prepare for my trip to the eastern side of the continent.”

That piqued my interest. My curious gaze found hers.

“Oh. What brings you to the eastern side of the continent?” I asked, fighting the disappointment at the thought of her leaving for an extended amount of time.

She hesitated, and it occurred to me for the first time that she may not be able to talk about it. She was the Queen of Constanta after all, and therefore, she likely held many, many secrets. It could be a breach of security to share such information with a commoner.

“Sorry,” I said, sheepishly, when she didn’t answer right away. “You don’t have to tell me. It’s probably sensitive information or something…” My voice trailed off awkwardly, as we made our way through the side entrance of the castle.

Rozmarin stood up a little straighter at that. “The matter of the trip is something I would prefer kept within my circle. Besides, with any luck, I will have nothing terribly noteworthy to report.”

I nodded in understanding, trying not to let the fact that her circle definitely did not include myself get to me. Not that I cared. Who wanted to be on the Queen’s council, anyway?

“Right, of course,” I replied and looked down at my feet, at the stone steps that we were slowly climbing.

Rozmarin looked at me from the corner of her eyes, seeming to contemplate something, but whatever it was, she must have decided against sharing it because she said nothing further.

We climbed up the castle steps in silence until we reached the sixth floor. I half expected Rozmarin to bid me farewell and keep climbing to her own floor, but she didn’t. Instead, she opened the stairwell door for me, and we both strode down the hall until we stopped outside my door.

For some reason, when I turned to face Rozmarin outside my room, I felt my pulse spike, and an odd sort of restlessness coursed through me. An odd picture that I had seen from the Old World flashed in my head of a young couple on the doorstep of a house. The girl had been looking at her feet, a shy smile playing at her lips. The boy had extended to the girl’s face, a gentle look, as if to brush a strand of hair from her eyes. He looked at the girl as if she was the string that held him to this world.

I blinked, and the image faded away, replaced by the vampire Queen’s uncertain expression. She looked like she wanted to say something again, but couldn’t find the right words. Feeling the tension rising, I scrambled for something to say to ease the awkwardness.

“So, when do you leave?” I asked, my fingers flexing and stretching at my sides.

“I leave at dawn,” she answered.

I rocked back on my heels, taken aback. I hadn’t expected her trip to be so soon. Was that why she had decided to take the day trip to the East Village today?

“So soon.” My voice came out in a volume that was just above a whisper. “When will you be back?” As soon as the question was out of my mouth, I immediately wanted to snatch the words back and shove them right back down my throat.

A smug grin lit up Rozmarin’s face, and I knew what was coming. I’d practically invited it. “If I didn’t know any better, my lord, I’d think that you were going to miss me.”

I forced my lips into a smirk that mirrored the Queen’s and crossed my arms over my chest, feeling entirely too vulnerable.

“You wish. I’m just worried about you keeping your promise to teach me how to better practice with the dagger you bought me,” I said, nodding to the bag in her hand that held my new gifts. It wasn’t a total lie. I did really want to learn how to wield the dagger with skills that Rozmarin must have gained from slaying zombie hordes.

The Queen’s gaze softened at my excuse. Her eyes drifted for a moment as she seemed to contemplate something before they focused on me once more.

“Meet me in the armory after tonight’s meal. Adriana can escort you if need be. Eat light for your meal and wear something comfortable,” she ordered. And, with that, she left, striding down the hall and disappearing into the shadows.

I made sure to eat light that evening, settling for a plate of fruit, cheese, and bread. I opted to eat in my room after receiving multiple curious looks and whisperings, just as I stood in line to have my plate filled. I threw on a pair of loose, comfortable joggers and another loose short-sleeved top that had magically shown up in my closet while I was gone.

Sahar. I wasn’t sure how she knew I’d be needing them, but I was certain that she did, and I was glad for it.

When I opened my door to go searching for the armory, Adriana was already standing there, in her usual guard uniform and the same serious expression that she always wore.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite bodyguard,” I greeted her, teasingly. Knowing she would say nothing in return, I continued to speak. “Are you here to escort me to the armory?”

The gargoyle nodded once, before tipping her head in the direction of the staircase with a silent question.

“Just let me grab my bag.”

I grabbed the small sack that held a towel, my dagger, and an extra pair of clothes just in case before yanking the door open once more to find Adriana in the same exact position as she had been when I first opened the door. Typical Adriana. Strong, silent, and steady as a mountain.

As we made our descent down the stairs, I resumed my favorite game that entailed saying the most ridiculous things in the hopes of making the serious guard-goyle smile.

In the first few days at the castle, while she had been my own personal prison guard, I had made it my new mission to do everything in my power to break Adriana’s grim expression by making her laugh. So far, I’d only succeeded in drawing a simple lip twitch from her when I’d tripped and landed on my rear-end one day while walking down the stairs, and I was lucky to have caught her expression out of the corner of my eye.

Adriana was still giving me a look that said, ‘Seriously?’ after I delivered the punchline of a particularly bad joke when we entered through the heavy doors of the armory. It surprised me to find that it was right down the hall from the alchemist lab. Even better. I tucked that bit of information away for when the Queen left, and I would be practicing the moves that she taught me alone.

I looked up, taking in the armory for the first time. Oil lanterns were mounted on the stone walls everywhere that there weren't weapons, and a giant chandelier, holding more lanterns, hung from the middle of the ceiling above a big open space that I assumed was for sparring practice. A few miscellaneous chairs sat against the wall and around the open space, and at the far end was another door that I assumed led to the real armory. The weapons that hung on the wall couldn’t have been everything they had.

When my eyes landed on Rozmarin, who now stood against the wall near the entrance, I paused, soaking in the view of her. Sweat dripped from her dark hair, and her white shirt clung to her breasts and chiseled stomach, showing each labored breath. She wiped her face with a rag as she registered our presence.

“My lord, what have you said to make Adriana look so sorely offended?” Rozmarin asked teasingly, her voice barely sounding the slightest bit breathless.

I looked back at the gargoyle behind me and shrugged, suddenly realizing that my mouth felt entirely too dry and my stomach a little too fluttery. “A bad joke. It’s kind of our thing.”

Adriana gave Rozmarin a long, suffering look before the Queen dismissed her with a promise to gift her with a muzzle next time that she asked her to escort me somewhere. When Adriana was out of sight, Rozmarin turned to me expectantly, then gave me a curious look.

“What is it?” she asked, genuine curiosity in her tone as she gave herself a once-over.

“Hmm?” I replied distractedly.

“You’re staring at me. Have I got something on my shirt?” She swiped at the sweat-ridden material.

Oh, for the love of Constanta. Had the vampire Queen just caught me staring at her impressive six-pack and large chest? I couldn’t tell if she was letting me off the hook by calling me out so indirectly, or if she really had no idea how beautiful she was.

I cleared my throat. “Uh, no. I mean, yes.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly through my teeth. “I’ve just never seen a vampire… sweat before.”

Thankfully, she seemed to buy it. It wasn’t a lie, but it certainly wasn’t the main reason I’d been staring. Rozmarin nodded, understanding. “It doesn’t happen so easily with vampires as it does humans, and the longer you’ve been undead, the harder it is to sweat.” I didn’t miss the tiny hint of sadness in her tone like she resented the fact.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Sweating isn’t exactly one of the better parts of being a human,” I said, slowly making my way towards the selection of weapons that hung on the wall and stuffed in a large storage trunk. I looked over my shoulder and saw that a ghost of a smile had appeared on Rozmarin’s face.

“I suppose not,” she admitted, “but it’s one of the few human experiences I am still able to enjoy.”

I got it, then. Rozmarin missed being human, her old life before the traumatic day her entire family had been murdered, and she was forced to turn into the very thing that killed them.

“Do you miss it?” I asked, quietly, as I slowly made my way across the floor to where she stood, all thoughts of weapons and dagger lessons forgotten.

Rozmarin’s eyebrows pulled together for the briefest of moments before they smoothed out again, the shadows of her brows hiding her eyes. Then she dipped her head.

“Every damned day.” She punctuated each word with such pain, such hollow loneliness, that I knew she wasn’t just talking about being human.

Rozmarin showed me how to hold the dagger she bought me without stabbing myself. Though she quickly realized I didn’t need basic training. I already knew how to fight, although my fighting was the scrappy style taught to me by other Westsiders. She, however, showed me the proper fighting stances that would allow for the best balance to prevent me from tripping over my own feet or losing my weapon. Her teaching rapidly showed me the hundred-plus years of combat experience she had, and she went deeper into how the stances would hold up against an enemy. She showed me where to strike to do the most damage, even to armored guards.

“If you stick it just beneath the chest piece in between the little gap here,” She demonstrated positioning the dagger, so it hovered above her ribs. “Then shove upward between the fourth and fifth rib. You will probably puncture the heart.”

She handed the dagger to me to try my hand at it, and I did my best to copy the movement. It was easier for me since I already had some skill with a dagger and sword. She made some minor adjustments before we moved on to another drill. This time, she taught me a multi-step exercise.

She started in one of the stances she had just taught me with her legs spread apart, right foot forward, and her dagger positioned out in front of her. Then she slid her left foot up and around and swung her dagger behind her so that she spun around, but as she turned, she tossed her dagger to her left hand for a quick forward jab.

I tried to mimic her steps, but each time I went for the toss, I stupidly dropped my dagger.

“That’s okay, you’ll get it,” she comforted me with a pleasant smile.

No matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t manage to get all the steps, or for the love of me, catch my damn dagger, but I did improve considerably. I knew that if I practiced more, I’d get it.

Eventually, she called it a day, and by the end of the session, sweat dripped down my back and stuck my matted hair to my face, and my muscles were sore from moving and holding the dagger in different positions throughout the drills.

“You did well today. You are stronger than most humans, and you are a quick learner, though that does not surprise me,” Rozmarin said, matter-of-factly, as we both wiped our sweaty faces with our towels.

“Thanks,” I replied, not bothering to hide the blush that was creeping up my throat since I was probably red in the face from exertion, anyway. I bent down to retie my boots, my fingers shaking from gripping the dagger. “You’re a good teacher.”

When she didn’t respond, I looked up to find her already looking at me with an odd expression.

“What?” I asked, feeling self-conscious. “Is there something on my shirt?” I asked, repeating the same words she had said to me earlier.

My words seemed to make her snap out of it, and she blinked rapidly, coming back to the present. “No, my lord. You look… fine.”

“Gee, don’t get too crazy with the flattery. It might make my head swell.”

A spark entered her eyes, and the smug Queen was back. “I’ll try not to, my lord.”

I saw that spark, and I knew what it was. Desire. Desire for me… and I felt desire for her as well.

I stood up slowly, gazing into those silvery pools, feeling my body ripple with excitement. It felt like time slowed to a standstill, or maybe it was just me wanting to savor every moment I could with the beautiful woman before me. My heart pounded so loud I’m sure she could hear it. Unable to stand it any longer, I touched my lips to hers in a fiery kiss, and heat coursed through my body. All the tension and desire that had been building between us pumped blood through my veins.

Rozmarin felt it too. She leaned into the fiery passion now unlocked between us. She kissed me softly at first, and our mouths worked together. I tasted the sweet flavor of her lips and pulled her body closer to mine.

16

Christoff

Rozmarin disappeared out of the armory, and as I watched her go with her black hair flailing behind her, I couldn’t help but smile. I had just made out with the Vampire Queen herself, and what’s more, I still had all my limbs attached.

Better still, our little make-out session proved to me that she had been holding in the same feelings I had for her. Ever since I’d laid eyes on the Vampire Queen in the hallway while I was smuggling out the artifact, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Even when I was back in the West Village, I continued to see her beautiful face with her silver eyes and long dark hair.

During our times together, I was sure I picked up on all the hints she was giving, all the flirting, and then, she had paraded me in front of her people and taken me out to the East Village on an impromptu date.

Not that I was an expert on women or vampires, but our trip was the final nail in the coffin, so to speak, proving that she definitely liked me. And there’s no way she hadn’t felt that passion unlocked between us in the armory even though we hadn’t done more than kiss.

Still drenched in sweat and with my towel hanging over my neck, I made my way back through the castle halls to my own room, still lost in dreamy thoughts about Rozmarin.

I entered my room and threw my sack down before going into the bathing room to wash up. I splashed cold water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror. My happy face stared back at me, but that’s not what I noticed most.

Maybe it was just from the intense work out of dagger practice, but my skin held a faint glow, more than normal. My mother always used to tell me about my glow, and I assumed it was just from me always being out in the sun, but I couldn’t deny the noticeable radiance.

Sahar and I had been practicing more with my powers, so maybe that’s what caused it, but I thought it was entirely possible that it was a reflection of my feelings for Rozmarin and the experience we had just shared.

I finished washing all the sweat from me, and with only a towel wrapped around my waist, I walked back into my room toward the wardrobe when a sultry voice startled me.

“I sensed you might be in need of my services after your practice with the Queen,” the voice said.

I whipped around and saw Sahar standing in front of the closed door. The charmer wore a purple silken top that exposed most of her stomach and flowing silk pants that still showed off her alluring curves. She stood with one hip jutting out to the side, and both hands placed on each hip.

“Services?” I asked. “What? Like more training?”

Sahar slinked toward me, and her hips swayed back and forth in a mesmerizing way. She bit her bottom lip as she looked at my half-naked body up and down and approached me with that wicked grin of hers.

She placed a warm hand on my abdomen and whispered in my ear, “I was thinking about some... other services.”

Her arms wrapped around my neck, and she pressed her soft, luscious lips to mine. All that passion I had felt for Rozmarin in the armory returned and rushed into my body, almost making me dizzy, but it coursed through me in a frenzied fire. I put my hands on Sahar’s waist and pulled her up onto me. As the sorceress wrapped her legs around my waist, I spun her around and slammed her back into the wardrobe. There was no denying Sahar was a sensual being, and her kissing was more than lustful. This woman wanted to devour me, and I was more than ready to feel her body against mine.

With my hands grabbing at her fleshy bottom, I walked us over to the bed and threw her down. She giggled with that smirk on her face and burning desire in her eyes. Since our first intimate meeting, I saw Sahar almost every day as her alchemists continued to run tests on me and we practiced with my powers, and that meant the sorceress, and I had plenty of time to enjoy each other’s company... and bodies, but I still could not get enough of the dark-skinned, seductive woman. I thought maybe she had put some kind of spell on me to make me so attracted to her, but I let that stupid thought go. Sahar was simply gorgeous.

I unwrapped the towel from my waist, and a gleam passed through her dark eyes. The sorceress crawled toward me and looked up at me with big, dreamy eyes that drove me crazy. She grabbed my pulsing cock, sending shivers through my body, and then she wrapped her warm, velvety mouth over it. I reached a hand out and grabbed one of the poles of my four-poster bed to keep my balance as Sahar’s mouth and tongue massaged me.

One of her hands was still wrapped around my cock, and she worked it in tandem with her mouth, and the other played up and down my abs, which she apparently couldn't get enough of. After several satisfying minutes, I pulled myself out of her mouth, pushed her back on the bed, then eagerly crawled on top of her. She pulled her tiny blouse over her head, exposing perfect breasts, which I hungrily kissed as we pulled her pants off.

She grabbed my cock and guided me into her with a satisfying shudder, and then our bodies, glistening with sweat, moved so flawlessly together. She arched her back up, making me fill her even deeper, and as she clawed her long nails into my back, I thrust myself into her, harder, spurred on by the soft moans she breathed into my ear.

“Do you want it?” I asked.

“Yes,” she moaned.

Those moans turned to screams as I plunged myself into her, deeper, harder, faster, and she scratched at me and pulled my hair until she shrieked and squirmed beneath me. Sahar pushed herself up into me, full of desire and need for my body, for me to please her and fill her. I grabbed both her arms and held them above her head as I pressed into her until her brown eyes rolled back and she let out a scream of exhilaration. Her trembling body and pure pleasure made me explode, and my body wracked with its own satisfied shivers.

I rolled off of the sexy sorceress and lay beside her. We laughed through heavy breaths and linked our fingers together.

“That was just what I needed,” I panted.

“I know,” she replied.

After we laid there for a few minutes, feeling the pure ecstasy course its way through our tired limbs, Sahar sat up and adjusted her headpiece. She pulled her hair around over her shoulder and exposed her soft back. I drew my hand along her flawless, chocolatey skin. Everything about her was perfection.

She stood up and turned to smirk at me as she pulled on her pants and slid her shirt back over her head. “Until next time.”

17

Rachel

I didn’t understand my actions, just like I didn’t understand Rozmarin’s terrible obsession with Christoff, but I decided to pay him a visit, just to check up with him and see how he was doing. Rozmarin had told me they were going to the armory for dagger practice, so I figured I’d ask him how it went, and maybe offer him my expertise as well. I didn’t fight with a dagger all that much, but I still was an expert warrior that could offer him my knowledge.

After the two had returned from the East Village, I had asked Rozmarin about the trip. She smiled with that silly, cute smile of hers, and I think I even saw her blush as she talked about her day. Christoff had been the perfect gentleman which surprised me as much as it did her. I guess that sarcastic boy had enough manners to impress the Queen and to keep her sufficiently entertained the whole day.

“And guess what he likes,” Rozmarin had asked me with a gleaming smile across her lips as we walked around the castle grounds. “Chocolate!”

The Queen let out a loud, musical laugh, and I couldn’t help but join in with her. It was wonderful to see her so happy, almost back to her normal self, even with all the worrying news we seemed to receive daily now. I had to admit, having Christoff in the castle, even with all the mystery surrounding him, was a fun diversion for us all. Even the stoic Adriana couldn’t help smirking when we mentioned him.

I knew Rozmarin and Christoff were done with their practice because I had seen her leave the armory first. I wondered if something had happened because the Queen almost ran through the halls back to her royal chambers with a huge, childlike smile. I’d ask her about it tomorrow, but first, I watched Christoff wander out of the armory, back to his room. He also seemed to be lost in thought, so I decided to stay in the shadows of my hiding place for a little longer and give him some time before I visited.

I waited in a hallway near the armory, and as I gazed out a window into the now darkened sky, I wondered what the hell I was really doing. I knew Rozmarin stalked to Christoff’s door at night, standing outside sniffing in his intoxicating scent. Even though she wanted it to be one, her stalking wasn’t much of a secret anymore among the council, but why was I stalking him from the darkened hallways?

After I had visited his room earlier in the day after he and Rozmarin had left the castle, I couldn’t get his smell off my mind. I had other things to do while Rozmarin and Christoff messed around in the East Village, but even as I went about my various duties, filling in while Rozmarin was away, the smell of cinnamon and roses kept wafting back into my mind as if Christoff were standing only a few feet away. No matter how many times I refocused myself, the scent swirled around me.

A light drizzle began to pelt the windowpane as I looked at my distorted reflection. Enough time had passed since Christoff had left the armory, so I slowly made my way through the dark and quiet halls, soon to be back at his door where I had been only a few hours earlier. Anyone I did pass in the halls steered clear of me, the brooding vampire which I was used to. They could love Rozmarin and fear me. I didn’t care.

As I ascended the stairs to his floor, I ran through a script of what I would say to Christoff, but even as I tried to sound nice and interested in my head, I knew I would come off sounding cold and uncaring like a normally did. It wasn’t that I meant to come off that way, I just did.

Hey, Christoff, how was the practice?

Was that too casual? We hadn’t really gotten to know each other outside of council meetings.

Good evening, Christoff. Rozmarin bid me check on you after your practice.

Shit. Too formal, and it was a lie, anyway. Why was I so bad at this? Why did I even care about the human, anyway?

“Ughhh,” I groaned out loud as I stepped onto the landing to his floor.

As I slowly approached that familiar doorway, a slight and strange nervousness vibrated through me that I wasn’t used to. As I got near his room, his smell hit me like a wall, and I almost staggered backward with how powerful it was. Roses and cinnamon floated around my head. It smelled nice. I breathed it all in as I moved closer to the door. But there was another scent mixed with his. What was it?

I sniffed some more and smelled incense and magic, the scent of Sahar.

I crept closer to the door and pressed my ear against it. Sahar’s muffled voice floated out. “I was thinking about some... other services.” Then I heard a loud bang and soon the unmistakable sounds of him and Sahar kissing and then… moaning. They were having sex.

Without understanding why, I stayed with my ear pressed against the door and listened to them. My skin started to crawl but in a good way. If I had a heart, it would have been loudly beating in my chest. I started to sweat and breathe heavier, and as I listened to Christoff and Sahar, I felt that burning passion awaken in me, something I hadn’t felt in some time.

It scared me and excited me. I ripped my ear from the door and stumbled away from his room, back through the hallways to my own room. I was more than roused. I was filled with a fiery lust for Christoff, and I wanted to devour that scent and him wholly. I wanted to be in that room with him, hell, even with Sahar, but I didn’t have the courage to enter. I barely even had the courage to speak to him or to admit to myself that I’d had these feelings for him, probably the same ones Rozmarin, and obviously, Sahar had for him.

Of course, the sorceress was confident enough to take what she wanted, and I realized how much time the two spent together every day and a knowing smirk spread across my face as I thought about Christoff and Sahar tangled up in each other’s arms. A satisfying shiver ran through my body even as I sat alone in my own dark room with the smell of cinnamon and roses rolling over me.

18

Rozmarin

After returning to my room from dagger practice with Christoff in the armory, I quickly bathed and then packed my travel bag. I had wasted enough time frolicking around with the human, and as pleasurable as it had been, I needed to catch up on the last-minute details of the trip before I left at dawn. I hadn’t told Christoff the true reason I would be flying to the east. In truth, when Aerywin returned from her trip to the eastern edge of the continent, she returned with news that the hordes were moving in on the kingdoms. Every day, they closed in further and further, and Aerywin anticipated an attack on the southernmost kingdom in the east. Soon. Anix insisted on accompanying me, claiming it was her honor and duty as the Queen’s general. Try as I did to talk her out of it, there was no changing the Doom Bringer’s mind once she’d made it up.

I packed only a couple of things, aiming to travel light. I would be flying after all. The stops of non-zombie infested land would be few and far between. I was packing the last of my minimal blood supply in the side pocket of my bag when a knock sounded at my bedroom door.

“You may enter,” I called, not bothering to scent who it might be. The door swung open hesitantly, and a worried-looking Aerywin in her preferred silks entered the room.

The shadows in my quarters darkened her pale eyes, and she had a crease between her perfectly groomed brows, betraying the stress she was feeling about me leaving for this trip. When my gaze fell to her delicate hands, I noticed the long, reddish-brown cylinder she held in them, a map holder.

“It’s the updated map of the numbers and zombie horde locations. I spent all day working on finishing it before your trip.”

Something in my chest tightened, and I looked up to meet her worried expression.

“Thank you, Aerywin,” I said, sincerely. It would make my travel much easier, knowing where to anticipate the hordes. “I will be sure to return with a further update on their numbers and locations.”

A long pause ensued while we stood there, and I got the feeling that she had something to say.

“What is it?” I asked, my head cocked ever so slightly to the side as I searched her face.

“Just promise me you’ll be careful,” she said, looking down at her hands. When she raised her head again to meet my eyes, I made sure that she could see the confidence in my gaze. I did not want her, or anyone that I would be leaving behind in the morning, to have a single shred of doubt that I would be coming back unharmed.

“I swear it.”

“Good.” She nodded once, then without another word, turned on her heel and strode out.

Soon, I was packed, cleaned, dressed, and fed. Hell, I’d even managed a few hours of restless sleep. I had tossed and turned until I finally gave up.

I was now standing in front of Christoff’s familiar doorway, drinking in his scent. I couldn’t explain the constant, ridiculous need to be close to him, but I knew that, besides the stress of leaving my kingdom to run without me, the anticipation of leaving and being away from Christoff for any amount of time was the cause of my restless sleep. The pull to be near him was only growing more and more every day. The thought of it stumped me. It was a completely unfamiliar experience.

I reluctantly backed away from Christoff’s door, savoring his scent, made for the eastern stairwell, and slowly made my descent to the floor below ground. I had one more stop to make before Anix and I met in the courtyard. When I got to the alchemist lab, Sahar sat in the lounging corner with a tea set laid out before her.

She stood up and offered me a curtsy. “Good morning, Your Highness,” Sahar’s dark eyes twinkled with a certain kind of mischief.

“You look as if you already know why I am here,” I said, ignoring her greeting and striding over to take the extra cup she had already poured. We both took our seats, lowering ourselves onto the plush velvet cushions with ease. The sorceress was so unnaturally graceful that she put even my own supernatural agility in question.

A single, delicate shoulder lifted in a half shrug, and she eyed me sternly. “I could feel your unease all the way from down here.”

I couldn’t stop the grimace that graced my face at her callout.

“My apologies, my lady,” I said, sincerely, with a small dip of my head.

She smiled at me, her eyes soft, and her straight, white teeth winked in the lantern light. “All is forgiven, Your Highness.”

The sun was far from rising, but she seemed completely lucid and awake. The eerily inhuman sorceress was nowhere in her eyes. It was all Sahar. I angled my head as I searched her kind eyes, a question suddenly rising to my tongue.

“Do you ever sleep, Sahar?”

She only gave me a look that said, ‘Why would you assume that?’ in return.

“I do not often see you away from the alchemy lab these days, and I wager that if I chose an odd time of night, like right this moment, that I could find you down here, in this very room. Am I wrong?”

Sahar looked away at my rambling, and I knew I was on to something. “It is not that I do not sleep. I do.” She paused, seeming to mull over her next words, and I stayed silent, giving her the space to do so. When she met my eyes once again, I witnessed emotions warring within them. Fear. Grief. Kindness. Love. Wisdom. She knew something that she was not telling us, and it weighed on her. Heavily. “I fear that a war is near. I fear that… that we cannot stop the hordes this time.”

I sat up straighter at her words. While I knew that Sahar didn’t often divulge the information she gained through her abilities, something about keeping the balance, I could sense that she desperately wanted to tell me something.

“What can you tell me?”

“It would be better if you brought the council here,” she said after a long pause. “That way, I will not have to tell it twice.”

“Very well,” I said with a nod as I moved to summon the others.

It didn’t take long for Anix, Rachel, and Aerywin to join Sahar and me in the lounge corner of the alchemy lab. Sahar and I sat in our same seats, and Rachel and Aerywin had pulled up a couple of wooden chairs while Anix had opted to stand, to no one’s surprise.

The seer had warned me against leaving the kingdom for an extended amount of time like I had planned. She said that I was drawn to ‘the Light-Bearer’ for a reason and that, if I felt poorly about leaving the human, that I should listen to the feeling.

“The risk of leaving your kingdom without a ruler to protect it is too great. I have foreseen a great danger heading this way from the east,” she had said.

“I have only just returned from the east,” Aerywin said, still in her sleeping gown after being dragged out of bed by Rachel. The alchemists had yet to awaken and get to work. “The numbers were certainly growing at an alarming rate, but the eastern kingdoms could surely use assistance.”

The seer’s eyes fell on the faerie. “Precisely.” Sahar turned to me then. “There is no time for you to make the trip east and back with only the Doom Bringer.”

“Speak frankly, Sorceress,” Rachel ordered, impatience coating her tone. She really was not much of a morning person. “We’ve no time for your riddles.”

Sahar sighed, but she did not argue. “You will receive an SOS from the eastern kingdoms. The hordes will start moving in on them, and the zombies will outnumber their troops.”

“Which one?” Rachel pushed.

“All of them.”

Stunned silence echoed through the room, far louder than any amount of noise. It rang painfully through my skull. If I had still been human, I wager I would have been able to feel my own erratic heart beating in my chest.

“All of them?” Aerywin whispered, fear and disbelief coloring her tone.

The seer nodded solemnly. “I am afraid so.”

“But- how? How are the numbers rising so quickly and moving so…” Aerywin searched for the right word but was unable to come up with one to describe the movement of the hordes, so I finished the sentence for her.

“Strategically?”

Another moment of silence before Anix broke it, speaking for the first time since greeting Sahar when she’d first entered. “Someone is building an army of zombies.”

I heard a breath hitch beside me and found Aerywin, wide-eyed and terrified. Yes, that was exactly what was happening. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized it before then. The visualization that Aerywin’s map provided had made it clear that they were closing in on the kingdoms. However, after experiencing firsthand the gory and unorganized massacre that was The Great Purge of 2050, we just couldn’t fathom the thought that the hordes could work in any sort of organized manner, let alone as an army.

Fear, cold and awful, slivered up my spine for the first time in… years. Decades. I had felt other things during that time. Worry, yes. Nervousness, yes. Frustration, certainly. It all came with being the ruler of a kingdom that you built from the ashes of the Old World. But fear? For the safety of my people, my friends? That was a feeling that had not been familiar to me since 2050.

And so, as I’d done with fear before, I clung to it and used it. I used it by molding it into something else. Focus.

I ran a pale hand through my dark hair, my face drawn tight with exhaustion, and took a deep breath. It was time to plan.

By the time we’d finished strategizing what our next move would be, the sun was well above the horizon. We had moved to my study when Sahar’s alchemists had started filtering in. We all currently stood, hovering over my desk or, more importantly, Aerywin’s most updated map, which I used to illustrate the plan. I had multiple figurines spread across the map, representing each of my players, my resources.

“So, just to run through it one more time,” I said, pointing to the north of the kingdom, just outside the wall, and dragging my finger in a wide circle, arching eastward, around the wall. “Anix and I will scout around the kingdom to see where the closest hordes are to the walls and determine if they look to be moving in anytime soon. Depending on what we see, we will start increasing the troops training and wait for the first SOS’s to come in.”

I looked around the desk for any questioning glances but found only focused determination. The gods only knew how much time we had, but fate was not in our favor. I didn’t say that, though. Instead, I moved on. I pointed to the eastern end of the wall and dragged it all the way across the continent to the Old World’s New York City.

“Once we’ve scouted, prepared the troops for travel, and secured the kingdom within the wall, the first SOS will probably have come in already. We will send as many troops as we can spare to the northeastern kingdoms first, and then the troops will make their way south. Those who can fly will scout for hordes and lead the troops through the least infested terrain.”

I looked to my right and up at the menacing gargoyle who had been my friend through so many years.

“Will you lead the troops to the eastern kingdoms?” I asked, already knowing what her answer would be. While humans and most supernaturals alike, generally avoided all-out war and violence, gargoyles were different. They lived and breathed to fight and protect what was theirs, no matter the odds. They were the ultimate warriors. And my friend, the Doom Bringer, was no different.

Anix ducked her head once, her tone soft, yet guttural. “It would be my honor, Your Highness.”

I nodded my approval, still facing her. “Work with Adriana today to make a plan for training the troops. We have a limited time to whip them into shape,” I said as I thought about how everything would be so much easier if we just had more time.

I tilted my head to look across the table to Sahar, who had been fairly silent through most of the planning.

“Have you any more information on who might be creating and leading the army of zombies?” I asked, feeling the weight of the world weigh down on my shoulders.

Sahar shook her head solemnly. “I’m afraid not, Your Highness. It is like…” A pause, while she mulled over her words. “It is like something or someone is… blocking my vision.”

Rachel balked at the sorceress, her expression incredulous. “Someone’s blocking your vision? How is that possible?”

“I think whoever it is, has another sorceress at their side. It is the only thing that explains the blind spot blocking my vision of their leader.” Sahar’s gold bangles jingled on her wrist as her hand came up to flick a gold-ringed braid over her shoulder.

“And we’re just supposed to believe you?” Rachel said. It was not the first time the vampire had expressed her distrust of the sorceress during this strategy meeting, and I could tell that her attitude was wearing thin on Sahar.

Sahar turned her entire body to face the much smaller, gothic vampire. “I speak the truth, vampire. If you do not believe me, then send your Queen to the eastern kingdoms with only her war general at her side. See what happens.”

The smaller vampire backed down after that, unwilling to take the chance and knowing that I would have overruled her decision, anyway. I caught Rachel’s eyes. “I trust the sorceress to speak the truth. If I didn’t, she wouldn’t have such an important position in my castle. You know this.”

Rachel narrowed her eyes at me but wisely stayed silent. Rachel may have been the oldest one in the room, and she had certainly earned every ounce of respect she’d gained, but Sahar was… otherworldly and, by far, the most powerful and useful asset I had at the moment.

Once I was confident that neither of the women was going to tear out each other’s throats, I put my head back down and ran through the plan again.

19

Christoff

Sahar wasn’t in the alchemist lab this morning. Though it wasn’t completely unheard of, it wasn’t normal either. At least since I had been there, I could always find Sahar in the alchemist lab. I wondered where she could have gone. Could it have to do with the trip Rozmarin was on? Did she go with her? I shook my head. She was probably just somewhere else in the castle. Besides, it was none of my business if the Queen took the sorceress with her on her trips.

As I wandered the halls of the castle after my daily tests in the lab, I considered what I was going to do today. Maybe I would go down to the armory and practice more with the dagger Rozmarin had bought me. As soon as I had the thought, I began to make my way up to my quarters to change. Some quality time alone with my new blade was exactly what I needed to work off this anxiety in my chest that had slowly been rising since the Queen and I had said our goodbyes the night prior.

After changing into more comfortable clothes and boots and stuffing a rag and my dagger into a sack, I made my way downstairs. I popped my head into the alchemy lab as I passed it, just to make sure that Sahar still wasn’t in there, but she wasn’t, so I continued on to the armory. It was a surprisingly beautiful day outside, though you wouldn’t know it with how dark it was underground, beneath the castle. The armory would have been pitch black, had I not taken a lantern from the hallway outside the room to navigate my way through the darkness until I found the first lantern, and I transferred the flame from my already lit lantern to the one hanging on the wall.

As soon as most of the lanterns in the room were lit, I made my way to the center of the room to do some warm-ups and stretches that Rozmarin showed me last night. I tried to shake away the other things she taught me last night, wanting to focus on training.

Once I felt warm and limber, I pulled my dagger from the sack I’d dropped near the door and got to work, repeating the same drills from the night prior, over and over again, until my muscles failed to repeat them any more. As frustrated as I was that I couldn’t get down the exercise Rozmarin had taught me, I used that anger at myself to fuel my motions through each step. I started with my right foot forward, dagger held out in front of me, just like Rozmarin had done. I slowly drew my forward foot back and to the right, spinning my body around, and then to the left. I tossed the dagger and went to catch it in my left arm, but like I had done every time before, I dropped it.

I let out a frustrated yell that echoed through the room. If Sahar were in her lab, she probably would have heard me. As I thought about the soothing sorceress, I remembered our time in her lab when she tried to teach me how to use my power. Maybe if I used her technique, I would be able to better focus on the exercise. It was worth a try.

I closed my eyes and calmed myself with a deep breath, clearing my head of all thoughts, including my annoyance at myself. When I opened my eyes, I felt more centered and ready to tackle the task at hand. Positioning myself in the starting stance, with my right foot forward, I stretched my gleaming dagger out in front of me, and let the blade become an extension of my arm.

As I had done so many times before, I slid my foot back and spun around. I tossed my dagger and reached my left hand for it, and the dagger hit my hand with a satisfying smack. I finished out the exercise with a quick left-hand jab and a sigh of relief. I’d done it! Now, to perfect the movement.

By the time I finished, nearly three hours later, every muscle in my body was screaming, and sweat matted my hair to my face. I had gotten into such a zone that the time had flown by oddly quickly. Even though it was only my second practice with the new weapon, I could already feel my hands forming new calluses, the grip molding and shaping to fit my palm and fingers perfectly. Though my muscles grew tired throughout the drills, my aim became more accurate, the sharp-edged blade, cutting through the air with more and more precision with every strike, and I mastered that damn exercise. I felt an attachment to the blade like it was my closest connection to the Queen and my only companion while she was away.

When I finally ascended the stairs to the sixth floor, calf muscles burning from the exertion, sunset was only an hour off, and I briefly wondered how the day had flown by so quickly. I had half expected it to drag on in a haze of boredom, but my new dagger had offered me a well-needed distraction. The endorphin high was still rushing through my veins when I heard the echo of soft voices drifting down the stairwell, and I slowed, my ears perking up. I knew I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but old habits die hard.

“The head alchemist is still locked up in the Queen’s study with the Queen and her council. They’ve been holed up in there all day,” a soft, young feminine voice said in a hushed tone.

What? Rozmarin hadn’t left for her trip this morning? That explained why none of the council, including Sahar, was nowhere to be seen. Something sad and lonely tugged in my chest at the knowledge that they were all up there… without me. It was ridiculous, I knew, to feel left out after only being here for just over a week. But, no matter how much I reasoned with myself that I wasn’t one of them, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I belonged in that room with them.

“No kidding?” an older, yet still feminine voice said. “So, the Queen never left for her trip this morning? I heard that she was flying to the eastern kingdoms just this morning. And so soon after her emissary got back, it must have been an emergency.”

Was there an emergency? Had something bad happened that prevented Rozmarin from leaving? Question after question filled my head until I felt like I was ready to explode.

After squeezing my eyes shut tight and shaking my head, I raced up the steps, certain to make as much noise as possible to alert the two gossipers that they weren’t alone. Sure enough, the hushed voices came to a halt, and when I reached the fourth floor, I saw the backs of two wraiths retreating down the hall, the door closing shut behind them. I walked up to my room, pausing at the door to the hallway and debated whether to continue to the seventh floor, where I knew I would find the Queen and her council. Instead, I pushed through the door that led to the hallway and marched to my bedroom door, closing it a little more firmly than was necessary.

My room looked the same as I’d left it, my closet door, half-open with clothes piling out of it, and my satchel hung on the wall next to the closet. The coals from last night's fire burned low in the hearth, and I’d scattered papers filled with half-written letters to my family across my desk. At least I’d made my bed.

Discarding the sack, which I dubbed my workout sack, on my bed, I started stripping off my sweat-soaked clothes as I lumbered toward the bathing room. I started running the bathwater. I didn’t know how, but the water always seemed to come out the perfect temperature that I desired. I chalked it up to the work of Sahar. In the time I had spent with her over the past few days since I’d been here and gotten to know her, I had come to realize how truly crucial her magic was to the functionality of the castle. Her magic often provided what our lack of technology couldn’t, like hot water.

I soaked in the bath for far longer than I needed to, the warm water soothing my aching muscles. Finally, once my body was squeaky clean and my skin pruny, I grudgingly stepped out of the bath with a final longing look. The chill that washed over me as I stepped out caused my aching muscles to seize up, and I rushed to wipe myself dry with a towel I left by the tub.

When I finished dressing in a dark blue dress shirt and black dress pants, it was nearly full dark and, after the workout that I’d just had, I was absolutely starving, but instead of heading down to the Great Hall for dinner, I decided to stop somewhere else first. Checking myself in the mirror by my dresser one more time, I left my room before I could change my mind.

Two minutes later, I was on the floor above mine, standing just outside of the Queen’s study, fist raised to knock on the heavy door. But, before I could knock even once, the door swung open to reveal an exhausted, yet still somehow gorgeous Rozmarin. When I took in her expression, I saw lips and eyes drawn tight with exhaustion and something else. Stress, maybe?

I had a passing thought that it was utterly unfair how beautiful she was, especially for a two-hundred-and-twenty-three-year-old vampire. Still, her dark, inky hair, curly at the ends her bangs now hung in her eyes, making the silver pools somehow shine even further with the contrast. The skin beneath her eyes was darkened by bruising from a lack of sleep, and probably blood, and her mouth was pulled down in a tiny frown.

One hand came up to run through her long flowing hair as she took in my dark outfit, and a searing expression washed over her face before she recovered and shut it down, closing her eyes and inhaling through her nose. When her eyes opened again, they were a little clearer. She probably hadn’t breathed a breath of fresh air all day if she was truly holed up in her study the entire time.

Suddenly, all thoughts of petty jealousy and frustration fled my mind as worry for Rozmarin’s well-being came to the forefront of my mind, taking place front and center. My eyes fell to below her shoulders, taking in the rest of her body for the first time. She was leaning against the frame, hunched over a bit, and she still wore what looked to be travel attire, all wrinkled and disheveled.

“Christoff,” was all she said as a greeting.

“Have you left your study at all today?” My words came out a bit sharper than I meant it to, but even I could hear the concern in my voice.

“No,” she answered truthfully. A moment of awkward silence went by where neither of us seemed to know what to say, but neither were we willing to walk away, so we sort of just stood there… hovering.

“Perhaps, a lap around the courtyard and some fresh air would do Your Highness some good,” I said, and surprise flickered in Rozmarin’s eyes at hearing me call her ‘Your Highness’ for the first time without a single ounce of resentment.

Rozmarin looked over her shoulder, and the door opened further so that I could see everyone inside. I squinted, my eyes adjusting to see into the dimly lit room.

When my vision cleared, I could see Sahar, Anix, Rachel, and Aerywin all strewn around the room in various positions. Anix and Aerywin hovered over the Queen’s desk, a map laid out atop it as they spoke in hushed tones and pointed to something on the map. Sahar smiled at me tiredly while Rachel only glared at the sorceress. They all looked a little worse for wear. Whatever was going on with them, I had no doubt that it was important, and they looked like they had all worked themselves to the bone all day long. When I spoke, my voice was loud enough for each of them to hear.

“You guys look like you could use a break. Have any of you eaten anything today?” I asked.

Each of them shook their heads silently, like ghosts. Of course not. I returned my attention back to Rozmarin and put my hands on my hips.

“Should you really work your council this hard? There should really be labor laws about that,” I joked, trying to ease the tension that I could feel seeping out of the room. When none of them laughed, my smile died, and my arms fell limp at my sides.

To my surprise, it was Sahar that spoke next, closer now since she had apparently stood up from her seat and made her way towards the door. She took her place behind the Queen and put a single dark, slender hand on the Queen’s shoulder.

“We’ve received some troubling information about the situation in the east.” Her eyes flicked to the Queen’s before she backed up, pulling Rozmarin with her to let me in. “I think it is time to inform Chris of the upcoming battle.”

“Battle?” I asked, thrown completely off-guard. “What battle?”

“Very well.” Rozmarin sighed and opened the door further. “Come in, my lord. We have much to discuss.”

“Fine,” I said as I entered the room. “But only if she,” I jerked my thumb at Rozmarin, “Order you all something to eat.”

20

Christoff

It was well past the nighttime meal. In fact, it was well past midnight. Once Rozmarin led me into the room, she spoke. Not just her, though, but the rest of the council, as well. They took turns explaining the recent news that Sahar had filled them in on from each of their perspectives, and then, they talked strategy. They told me that they had spent all day mapping out their next courses of action, predicting when we would likely get the first SOS from the eastern kingdoms, how many troops we were able to sacrifice to send eastward for reinforcements, how Rozmarin and Anix were planning to scout around the kingdom’s border for zombie hordes and get a feel for their next moves.

I currently stood hunched over the table as they showed me dozens of different pathways from our kingdom to the northeastern kingdom that served as potential routes for the troops to take on their way to the eastern side of the continent. Someone had strewn maps all around the room in a sort of chaotic order that served to allow us to visualize the hordes’ patterns of movement throughout the years that Rozmarin and Aerywin had been mapping them. I dragged my pointer finger along one pathway that ran the furthest to the north.

“The zombies seem to be attacking the southern regions first, and the numbers are higher there. This northern path will pose the least amount of zombie threat. There’s a small horde here,” I pointed to a small circle that Aery drew to represent a zombie horde, just above the route. “And one down here.” I then pointed to a larger circle just below the line. The line that represented the troop’s potential route ran right in between the two circles that represented the zombie hordes.

“If these hordes continue to follow the same pattern as the southern ones, they will probably begin to move south as well. It would be a good idea to just direct the troops above both of those hordes and avoid them altogether while they are in that area. That way, they won’t run the risk of getting trapped and attacked from both sides. It is further north, but spring has already begun to set in. By the time they get there, the weather won’t be an issue.”

Rachel looked up at me from my left, newfound respect in those charcoal lined eyes. “You know much of strategy, human. Where did you learn such things?”

My gaze fell to the map in front of me once more, and an overwhelming feeling of imposter syndrome washed through me. I wasn’t supposed to be here. I had no business telling the Queen where to lead her troops on their way to defend another kingdom. I was just a smart thief from the wrong side of the tracks who was only here because he bit off more than he could chew. I stepped away from the desk, keeping my eyes lowered.

“I didn’t, I mean, I don’t know much about strategy, that is.” I sighed. “I just… know how to survive, that’s all,” I replied lamely as I recalled all of the tricks I’d used to steal from other people just so my family and I could eat that night.

“That is not true,” Sahar argued, her tone was fierce, and her gaze steely as her dark eyes seemed to pierce into my soul. “You are in this room for a reason. If the Queen did not think your opinion was valuable, you would not be in here, plotting to save this kingdom from imminent doom.”

“Alright, alright, there’s no need for dramatics,” I said, waving off the growing awkwardness in the room. “I’m just saying, I don’t have training. I’d never even left the West Village until I came here, so I might not be the most qualified person to map out the pathway for your troops.” My cheeks reddened deeply as I spoke, and I was suddenly grateful for the dim lighting in the Queen’s study.

“Now who is being dramatic? You do not strike me as one for false modesty, my lord.” This came from Rozmarin. When I turned to face her, she was smiling up at me, a flicker of challenge lighting up her eyes, despite the ever-deepening bruises beneath them. I felt my mouth curve up in a smirk as I remembered our steamy dagger practice from the other night. I shook the thought from my head.

“You guys still haven’t left the room all day.” I looked out the window, at the moon that now hung low in the sky. The sun would be rising soon. “It’s nearly sunrise. We should all catch some sleep for a few hours before you start to set things in motion.” I gave Rozmarin a stern look. “You’re no good if you become zombified like the hordes because you refused to sleep or eat.”

Rozmarin blinked, and I thought her eyes might not open again until, about three seconds after they closed, she seemed to drag them back open by sheer force. I did the calculations in my head since I last saw her, and I reckoned that she hadn’t gotten more than a few hours of shuteye in the past forty-eight hours, if not more.

“Chris is right,” Aerywin said. “I am running on fumes.” Her normally perfectly voluminous red hair was sticking up at odd angles around her as if she’d nodded off on the couch a couple of times through the night. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had.

Anix just nodded her head in agreement, her shoulders hunched over in exhaustion, and Rachel merely sat back in the chair she had taken up residence in.

“Go.” Rozmarin looked around the room at each of our faces and sighed. “Get some rest, please.” Then, she turned to Anix as they all started to stand up and stretch their limbs. “Come find me when you awaken. We will begin scouting after a mid-morning meal.”

Anix nodded her confirmation before heading out the door, Aerywin and Rachel following closely behind her. Sahar hung back a little longer before turning to face Rozmarin on her way to the door.

“You should listen to Chris, Your Highness. You are no good to us worn down and exhausted.” Then, she turned to me, and a small smile lifted the corners of her full lips. She looked every bit the enchanting sorceress that she was at that moment. “Perhaps you should tell the Queen of your dagger training this evening while she walks you to your room. I’m sure she would love to hear about it.” With one last meaningful look at the Vampire Queen, she made her exit, and the gold beads glinting off her dark hair was the last thing I saw before the door quietly clicked shut behind her.

I turned to face Rozmarin once more, realizing that we were alone. Suddenly, I felt awkward and nervous, the room feeling too small despite the newly freed up space since everyone had left.

“Well… I better get to bed, and so should you,” I said as I backed away from Rozmarin and started heading towards the door.

“Wait,” she called, just before my fingers reached for the handle. When I turned back, her gaze was curious. “Did you not hear the sorceress? I am to walk you to your quarters. Plus… she was right in another regard. I would very much like to hear about your dagger practice this evening.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her, even as exhaustion set in and threatened to shut my body down. “I think I might just be giving you a run for your money on the battlefield,” I joked, and her own lips twisted in amusement.

She grabbed her shawl that hung near the door and opened it for us to enter into the hallway. At this time of night, the halls were dark and silent, the lanterns blown out for the night until the next sunset. Rozmarin grabbed a lantern from her room before she closed the door behind us.

“I have no doubt that you will have me running for much more than just money, my lord,” she flirted. “Now, tell me about dagger practice.”

As we happily wandered through the dark halls with only Rozmarin’s lantern light to guide us, I told her how I had finally managed to lock down that exercise.

“That’s amazing, my lord,” she beamed at me. “Though I’m not surprised by how hard you seem to have worked at it.”

“I think I’m ready for some more difficult exercises,” I offered.

“We can most certainly do that,” Rozmarin agreed.

We chatted and flirted as we walked to my room, and when we got to my door, I stopped and turned to look at her. She looked beautiful, as always, but the way the shadows danced across her face made her look even more bewitching.

“Well, goodnight, Your Highness,” I hesitated, not wanting her to leave.

I expected her to say goodnight and then watch as her figure disappeared down the hall, but she stepped closer to me until we were inches apart. She lifted herself up on her toes and kissed me.

“Goodnight, Christoff,” she breathed and left me at my door.

21

Rozmarin

When I awoke the next morning, the sun was too high in the sky for my liking. I wanted to stay in my dreams, where my mind replayed the kiss with Christoff. Unfortunately, I had a lot of queenly duties to take care of.

The morning meal had to be served already. I threw my midnight blue sheets aside and padded over to my closet with a sigh, running through the day’s plan in my head as I dressed on autopilot. I meant to wake up after only a few hours of sleep, but apparently, my undead body had something else in mind. After walking Christoff to his room last night, I had reluctantly dragged my feet up the steps to my own quarters and collapsed onto my bed. I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

Heavy footsteps sounded from down the hall and got closer and closer until they stopped outside of my room. I waited, despite already knowing who it was. A knock sounded at my door as I buttoned up a fresh shirt after discarding the old one that I hadn’t changed out of in the past two days.

“You may enter,” I called over my shoulder.

The door handle twisted, and Anix stepped in, looking slightly more rested than she had last night. She dipped her head in a humble bow.  I hated that she still did that. She was my closest friend besides Rachel, yet she always insisted on calling me by my formal title, claiming it was an honor to do so, that the title was just as much a part of my identity as my birth name. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that particular argument, especially after the nights we shared together.

“Good, you are here. Are you well-rested?” I asked, still buttoning up my shirt.

Anix’s giant grey wings were tucked in tight behind her. The talon tips that curled inward above her head shone in the sunlight that filtered through my windows, unlike my inky black wings that seemed to swallow sunlight into its darkness. She dipped her head again, this time in confirmation of my question.

“I am. You look better than I expected.” A tiny twitch at the corner of her mouth, so subtle that a human would have missed it. “Did you have a nice talk with Chris last night?”

The cheeky bitch. Anix’s towering figure often had most people shying away from her, but she was one of the best women I knew. Though she wasn’t the most friendly or outgoing, she was as loyal as a friend could get, and she had an oddly subtle and dry sense of humor. It was the kind of humor that only those closest to her, those who weren’t afraid to search her expression for a hint of humor, could recognize.

I eyed her in the mirror I stood in front of, my chin lifting a fraction of an inch. “I merely escorted him.”

“Uh-huh, I fully believe you just escorted him.” A single brow rose, slowly, until it was almost to her hairline.

“Have you eaten yet?” I asked, ignoring her knowing look as I straightened out my collar.

“Not yet.” In the mirror, I saw her shrug.

“Good,” I said before she could make some bullshit excuse about not needing to waste time. “Neither have I. We shall stop by the kitchens on the way out. I am parched.”

Anix and I flew all day long. For hours, we scouted for miles and miles outside of the kingdom’s walls for zombie hordes and stragglers. By nightfall, we had scouted and mapped the abandoned territory ten miles outside of the wall for the entire area that surrounded the northeast section of the kingdom. Not but a few stragglers were left within those boundaries. I wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or even more paranoid about that particular discovery.

For the next three days, we did the same thing, mapping each section like a pie in a ten-mile radius around the kingdom’s walls. On those days, we woke up at dawn, ate breakfast together with the council as we adapted our strategy with the new updates that came with the day’s course of action. Christoff ate with us as well, before going to the alchemy lab with Sahar for the day. Then, Anix and I would scout and map until dusk when we would return home in time for another council meeting and strategy session while we ate our nighttime meal in my study. By the end of those sessions, the moon would be high in the sky, and we were all bleary-eyed with exhaustion.

In the meantime, while Anix and I scouted, Adriana worked on the troops, running them through skills and drills that Anix assigned to her. When we would leave in the morning, the troops of every species would already be out in the courtyards, practicing their drills. Some days, they would be on horses, shooting arrows into moving targets, and other days, they would be on foot, running through drills with swords, spears, knives, and other various weapons.

Even the alchemists worked more ferociously on their cure and other defensive and offensive potions to stock up for battle. Sorcerers and sorceresses lined up in the back of the castle daily to test their battle spells, even forming circles as they sparred with one another.

Once word got out that the troops were preparing for battle, productive energy buzzed through the castle, spurring everyone into action. Though it was under potentially horrific circumstances, it was oddly beautiful to witness a community combine their strengths. It brought me back to the days after the Great Purge, back to when the community, led by my council and me, built this new kingdom from the ashes of the Old World. It set an example for the rest of the territories where we had fought the hordes off enough to form other pockets of safe spaces that became Kingdoms themselves. Slowly, all of the species had come together for the greater good, to build a new world, a better world.

And now, we were about to be drawn back together again by a larger threat, to defend the New World we built. It had taken us years, no, decades, to shape the kingdom into what it was today, and now it was all threatening to crumble at our feet. At my feet.

I closed my eyes at the growing panic in my chest that made it feel like the world was closing in on me, everything crumbling and slipping through my fingers.

These were the thoughts that threatened to creep in during those few minutes of reprieve during my busy days, preparing for war. So, as if it were a choice, I stayed busy for every waking second of my days, doing everything in my power to prevent my kingdom from being overthrown by a couple hundred thousand smelly man-eaters.

The day after we finished scouting the outer territories, Anix immediately began working with the troops in person. With Adriana at her side, she ran the troops on an even more intense schedule than she had when we were scouting. We also began taking more recruits, figuring that it couldn’t hurt to increase our fighting numbers. I lifted my gaze to meet hers. To anyone else, she would look as she always does: Menacing and bored. But I didn’t miss the tightness around her eyes or the grim line that her mouth was set in.

One day, during one of the troops’ meal breaks, Anix found me in my study with Aery, her map laid out before us. “The troops are in better shape than I expected, but our numbers are still not what I would like them to be if we are going to be sending some of them to the east.”

I exhaled, long and steady as I leaned against my desk in front of me. Beside me, Aerywin shifted on her feet.

“Word of recruitment isn’t raising the numbers like I thought they would,” I noted. “We must think up a new recruitment strategy.”

“Perhaps a higher incentive?” Aerywin suggested, but I was already shaking my head.

“The incentive is already higher than most positions in the kingdom. Perhaps we simply aren’t getting the word out quickly enough.”

“Or maybe,” a male voice said from the doorway to my study, “you just aren’t recruiting in the right places.” When I looked up, Christoff stood beneath the threshold.

I felt one side of my mouth crook up into a crooked smile. “Please elaborate, my lord.”

22

Christoff

Ever since the night I found the Queen and her council holed up in the Queen’s study, running on fumes, desperately trying to strategize Constanta’s way out of catastrophe, the days had flown by in a blur. I spent more and more hours of my days in the alchemy lab with Sahar as she worked on the cure for the virus. I slowly, subconsciously, began to pick up on the alchemist’s jargon and chemistry terms. Soon, I could name most of the ingredients that lined the shelves and even got an idea for how they reacted with one another. Sahar and her fellow alchemists explained everything they were doing in front of me, at my request, until I could list off what they were doing on my own.

When I asked Sahar if she thought she could figure out the formula in time, she always responded with, “If I could see such things, Light-Bearer, the Queen would not need an army at all.”

I spent my evenings in the armory by myself, training with the dagger I had grown used to carrying with me. At some point, I discovered a hip holster in my closet that magically appeared there one day after running through drills in the armory alone. I chalked it up to Sahar again, like most other things that had somehow just appeared there when I needed them. From that day on, I wore my dagger on my belt every day, wherever I went, even to the nighttime meal in the Great Hall.

One day, after Sahar cut a lock from my hair for an experiment, I made my way up to the Queen’s study, intending to update her on the alchemist’s progress, but as I approached the door, I heard voices inside speaking, and I couldn’t keep myself from stepping a little closer and listening.

“Word of recruitment isn’t raising the numbers like I thought they would. We must think up a new recruitment strategy,” I heard Rozmarin say, her words muffled by the closed door between us. Were they speaking of recruiting troops to the army?

“Perhaps a higher incentive?” said another female voice. Judging by the shy, yet calculative lilt of the voice, I guessed it was Aerywin.

My hand reached out to open the door just as Rozmarin responded, and I pushed the door open, hovering in the threshold. Rozmarin and Aerywin stood at Rozmarin’s desk while Anix hovered near the doorway in front of me. “The incentive is already higher than most positions in the kingdom. Perhaps we simply aren’t getting the word out quick enough,” said Rozmarin.

“Or maybe, you just aren’t recruiting in the right places,” I suggested, recalling how a good portion of the West Village was so desperate for an income, they would have gladly joined the Queen’s army for fair compensation, had they thought they were welcome.

Rozmarin looked at me for the first time, and a crooked grin split her face, and for a moment, I got lost in the metallic liquid silver pools that were her eyes. “Please elaborate, my lord.”

I tore my gaze from Rozmarin’s eyes, blinking rapidly, heat spreading across my cheeks. My eyes fell to the window which looked out over one of the courtyards. There were several lines of troops, mainly gargoyles, doing some sort of flight drill. My fingers flexed at my sides.

“Your entire army is almost entirely composed of gargoyles. Probably from the East Village,” I said, still looking out the window into the grassy courtyard. In the distance, at the bottom of the hill that the castle stood atop and beyond the evergreens that surrounded the area, I could see the line between the East and West Village in the distance, where run-down buildings and unmaintained streets replaced the bright, colorful architecture.

“My recruitment is equal in opportunity,” Rozmarin argued as she crossed her arms over her chest. I mentally rolled my eyes. Those in positions of power rarely ever take the time to look in the mirror and analyze their own biases.

I turned from the window to look at the vampire Queen over my shoulder, giving her a meaningful look. “If that were true, you would have more West Villagers in your army. And more humans.”

Something flashed in Rozmarin’s eyes, and it took me a moment to realize that it was anger. “As I’ve told you before, we welcome humans in any position we have available. I will give them the same opportunities as every other species. That goes for the West Village as well. I cannot hire them if they do not apply,” she replied, voice tight.

I placed my hands on my hips, my own temper flaring at her words. “Right, because it’s so easy for West Villagers to just ditch their daily survival challenge and magically gain the funds and resources to make the two-day trek on foot to the castle. News flash, Your Highness, the people I know in the West Village would jump at the opportunity to make a decent living, especially if it meant protecting their loved ones.”

In the time it took for me to get the words out, Rozmarin’s face had changed from angry to thoughtful. She made to move around her desk, leaving Aery standing behind it. When she made it to the front, she leaned back against it and ran a hand through her dark hair. She took another deep breath before she spoke again, and it surprised me to hear hope rather than grudging resignation.

“Perhaps you have a point,” she sighed and scrubbed her face with one hand. “What do you suggest as a solution, my lord?”

I turned to look out of the window once more, at the tiny section of the kingdom that was once my home. Now, with everything that had happened since I left, it all felt like a distant memory. Still, the realities of growing up in such a rough area would never leave me. I would always keep that part of me tucked in a little pocket of my heart because some part of me would always be the little thief from the wrong side of the tracks.

“You need to start rebuilding your relationship with them. Enable them, so they have a fighting chance. Post flyers informing them about the army’s recruitment. Send wagons there to pick people up and bring them to the castle for tryouts or whatever you call them. Just… try. For once, let them know that you haven’t abandoned them.” With every word, each one burned with more and more passion as I continued to speak.

Rozmarin gazed at me as if she was seeing me in a new light. Though her gaze was solemn, hope sparked in her eyes. Surprisingly, though, it was Anix who spoke the next words.

“I thought recruitment would be too much to ask of the poorer sections of the kingdom. In the Old World, I have seen poor men fighting rich men’s wars. I did not want history to repeat itself, and that is why I chose not to recruit in those areas. Also, I do not have much experience training humans except for a brief period during the Great Purge.”

It was the most I’d ever heard the gargoyle speak at once. Even Rozmarin was looking at her friend like she’d grown a third head.

“You didn’t tell me you had a recruitment strategy,” Rozmarin said, her voice surprised.

The Doom Bringer just shrugged. “I suppose I just felt that we could work with only our strengths without having to burden the weaker areas.”

This time, it was my turn to sigh. “West villagers aren’t helpless, you know. Just because most of us were dealt a shitty hand doesn’t mean you should perpetuate it by keeping them crammed into the same areas. Give them a chance to defend their home the same way you do with everyone else.”

The gargoyle nodded her head slowly, her dragon eyes narrowed in concentration. “I suppose I could start sending recruiters out with flyers. We can send a wagon to the West Village regularly, depending on the initial recruitment numbers, to pick up new recruits and bring them to the castle for trials and training.”

And just like that, the Queen and her war commander, the Doom Bringer, listened to my argument, came up with a solution, and in a matter of minutes, they were planning out how to incorporate a new recruitment plan because of my suggestion. It was an odd feeling, suddenly having so much power over the changes made to the kingdom when I’d spent most of my life as a victim of my own circumstances. And now that I was here, I could be a voice for the others out there like me, people constantly underestimated and taken for granted. Now, I could make a difference.

After Anix left to put our new recruitment strategy into action, Aerywin took her exit not far behind her. Once they were gone, Rozmarin turned to me. Her eyes fell to below my waist, and another crooked smile formed on her face.

“How do you like your new weapon sheath, my lord? Sahar tells me you have been spending much quality time with your new dagger.”

I perked up at that, my eyes rising to meet hers in a moment of surprise.

“You’re the one who put this in my closet?” I asked, incredulously, as I ran my fingers across the now-familiar grooves of the stitching on my belt.

Rozmarin gave a one-shouldered noncommittal shrug. “Technically, Sahar did.” But she had gotten it for me, is what she didn’t say. She didn’t have to.

“Thank you,” I told her, my voice soft.

The smile slid from her face, and she stepped away from the desk she’d been leaning against and closed the distance between us. I stood frozen in front of her window, watching as she approached me, her expression unreadable. She stopped a foot and a half away, close enough for me to see the rise and fall of her chest but far enough so that there wasn’t an awkward tension between us.

“It is I who should be the one thanking you.”

Again, her words caused me to look down in surprise. When I did, I could see centuries worth of grief and work and determination. At that moment, I realized that, despite her age and experience, she still had a lot to learn. But the difference between her and other creatures who lived to be her age was that she was still willing to adapt and change for the good of her people, for Constanta.

The feeling of being a part of something bigger than myself, the feeling of kinship, of belonging, was like no other feeling I’d experienced before.

I offered the Queen a wicked smile. “I suppose you’re right. How do you feel about me starting some dagger training with Anix?”

23

Christoff

I did not do dagger training with Anix. Instead, I trained with the entire Constantan army.

Every day, after spending the morning in the alchemy lab, continuing to soak in every bit of alchemy related information that I could and practicing with my powers, I would meet the troops who had been training all morning out in the west courtyard. At this point, Anix had figured out that it was best to divide the troops into separate courtyards for different drills. Most of the army was still mainly made up of gargoyles and other supernaturals, mainly vampires, fairies, and the occasional werewolf. Recruits from the West Village, particularly humans, were minimal despite the increased recruitment effort in the area.

On the first day of my training, I met Anix and a hundred other troops in the west courtyard, dressed in my usual workout attire that I usually wore in the armory. I was one of the large numbers of men there, and I was by far the tallest, especially compared to a few thin, jumpy scarred elves who lived to fight and train. We broke up into groups of twenty or less, running through drills led by Anix’s captains. Unfortunately, it was sword training that day.

Ten minutes into the first drill, I was panting, sweat dripping down my back as we all ran through the same movements together, repeatedly. The surrounding soldiers wore armor, both as protection from getting nipped by their neighbor’s swords and to weigh them down for extra endurance training.

Before my second day of training, a hanger with padded leather armor appeared in my closet with a note from Rozmarin that read:

My lord, I hear you had an eventful first day of training. This should tide you over until you can build up to using metal armor.

A small smile formed on my lips as I read the Queen’s beautiful cursive scrawl. Compared to her elegant penmanship, mine looked like chicken scratch. I glanced over at my desk to the half-written letters to my family that I never got to finish. I sighed. The letters could wait. Until when? I wasn’t sure.

On my second day of training with the Constantan army, I received more than a few impressed glances when the supernatural soldiers realized that I hadn’t quit after my first day. Still, the drills were just as brutal, if not more so. Thankfully, Sahar made me up a potion that she often gave to the troops for quick muscle recovery, but not before sending me to the infirmary to have my cuts treated.

On the fourth day of my training, I made my first friend in the army with a gargoyle named Sawyer. He was a particularly large gargoyle with a feline, panther-like face and black, furry wings that rippled when the muscle beneath them moved. Though he was one of the younger gargoyles, he was working his way up to a Captain’s position. He’d greeted me on that fourth day with a wink and a smile that was all fangs.

“The human boy returns for more!” he’d said loudly. “Pay up, boys.”

The soldiers around him grumbled and begrudgingly handed him pouches of coin right in front of me as if they didn’t think I’d understand what was going on. Little did they know they were dealing with a common thief from the West Village. I knew a wager when I saw one. My mouth curved up at the corners in amusement, surprising even the young and cocky gargoyle who had bet in my favor.

“You guys had a bet going, and you didn’t tell me? Damn, I wanted in on that.”

A week into my training with the army, I fell into a comfortable routine with my fellow soldiers. We joked and bonded during midday meals in the Great Hall, our longest break from training throughout the day. But most of all, we trained. The soldiers in my squadron helped me through the drills I struggled most with. They showed me how to clean my leather armor when it got unbearably smelly from sweat and blood. Likewise, I showed them how to secretly pickpocket someone without them noticing and how to pick a lock in under five seconds.

My skills as a thief were surprisingly useful, not so much in battle, but in strategy. I continued to spend most of my nights with the Queen’s council, constantly updating, constantly strategizing. Anix and I grew more familiar with each other in those days as well, as I witnessed her in her element with her soldiers.

I had always known that the Doom Bringer was a badass on the battlefield and the most respected war general in the entire continent, but seeing her interact with her soldiers, overseeing their training, eating with them? It painted her in a whole new light for me. She wasn’t just a deadly killing machine or the quiet, hovering presence in the corner of a room. She was also an incredible leader who had earned the respect of her troops through years of grueling training and planning and service. This was the Doom Bringer I came to know in those days.

Two weeks into my training with the Constantan army, there was still no word from the eastern kingdoms. Aerywin sent off letters to each of them, and we still awaited correspondences from each except for the kingdom just south of Constanta. We continued to train hard and strategize while the alchemists worked day in and day out in the lab. One evening, while Rozmarin, the Queen’s council, and I were eating in the Queen’s private dining room, Rozmarin turned to Anix, a glass of crimson liquid in hand. She looked every bit the Vampire Queen that she was at that moment.

“How have the human recruitments in the West Village been progressing?” Rozmarin asked, her tone casual. “I noticed that the wagons haven’t been coming and going from there very often.”

Rachel and Aery both looked up at the Queen’s question, their gazes curious. Sahar had opted to skip the nighttime meal in favor of staying late to work in the lab. My mouth turned down at the recruitment news. I had noticed a lack of human recruitments in the past weeks as well, despite the extra effort. Anix set her fork down and wiped her mouth with the napkin laid out before her.

“I don’t think we’ve gotten more than ten or fifteen since we started recruiting in that area,” the Doom Bringer replied with a sympathetic glance in my direction.

The Queen nodded solemnly. “I supposed ten or fifteen is better than none.”

“Hardly,” Rachel snorted. “Those numbers are nothing. There are at least a hundred thousand humans in the West Village, and that isn’t even including the supernaturals.”

“Perhaps you need a separate emissary to handle recruitments and relationship building for the West Village.” This suggestion came from the only emissary in the room, Aerywin. A beat of silence filtered through everyone before Rozmarin leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table.

“That is a compelling approach, Aery, but who would you suggest for the position?” Rozmarin asked.

Slowly, one by one, the gazes of each of the Queen’s council, including the Queen herself, came to rest on me. I froze in my seat, shoulders stiff from more than just training.

“You can’t be serious,” I said.

“Who else would you have take on the role if not the only one of the Queen’s Council who is actually from the West Village?” Aerywin said, her eyes wide with misunderstanding, her tone confused.

My own eyes widened at her words. “Queen’s council?” I put my hands up in front of me, preparing to wave off her statement. “I’m not--”

But before I could denounce Aerywin’s assumption about me being one of them, Rachel interrupted me. “Of course you are,” she snapped.

“Are what?” Anix asked, confused.

“One of us,” Rachel sighed, clearly irritated that she even had to clarify, not to the gargoyle, but to me. Her annoyed gaze met my own, and my chin lifted indignantly. “Whether you like it or not, you’re a part of the Queen’s Council now. The responsibility to fill the gaps where we see them lies with all of us, including you.” Her gaze narrowed further, though her tone softened ever so slightly with her next words. “So, deal with it.”

Though irritation laced her words, I knew that she meant every word. It filled me with a sense of place and belonging amongst creatures who’d experienced far more years than I was likely to ever see. I carefully reached for my glass of wine while holding the charcoal lined gaze of the Queen’s Second in Command.

“Well, when you put it like that,” I said before I chugged the entirety of my glass’s bittersweet contents, “I’ll do it… but only if Rosie does something in return…”

24

Rozmarin

“I’ll do it… but only if Rosie does something in return…”

That something in return was to accompany Christoff to the West Village to help with the recruiting efforts. On the designated day of Christoff’s first trip back to his old home, I woke up at dawn and readied myself for the day ahead. As I dressed in a practical pair of slacks and a dark blue blouse, I trembled in anticipation.

My last trip to the West Village had been to locate Christoff and offer him and his family the deal that had now interlocked our fates, and before that, I rarely had set foot into the town, thinking the villagers wouldn’t want me there, but Christoff had slowly been opening my eyes to the plight of the many humans and supernaturals that called the west side home.

After a quick breakfast of blood, I met Chris, Adriana, and a few of her soldiers and some guards in the courtyard in front of the castle. Several wagons waited at the forest’s edge, one for us and three more to bring back any recruits. As I descended the castle steps, Adriana and Christoff turned to look at me.

The morning sun, now high and bright in the sky, adorned Christoff in a godly glow, and I felt my stomach do somersaults as he grinned up at me with his messy brown hair blowing in the breeze.

“Good morning, Rozmarin,” he beamed up at me. He reached out a glowing hand, and I took it. His skin was soft and warm, and my body tingled at his touch.

“Are you ready?” I asked him, but it was more of a question for myself.

He nodded. “Are you?”

“Of course,” I smiled, but honestly, I was glad for his presence as I traveled back to the place I had been neglecting.

“Glad to have you with us, Your Highness,” Adriana commented. “I don’t think I could handle Chris on my own.”

Adriana’s face was a stoic as ever, but her yellow eyes flitted to Christoff, and he returned her look with a smirk.

“Oh, please, you know you love me and my jokes,” he replied.

Adriana turned on her heel without another word and ordered her soldiers to the carriages. Christoff, still grinning from ear to ear and with my hand still in his, led me to a carriage and helped me up. He climbed in after me, and Adriana hopped in front and began directing our company along the path to the West Village.

It was a gorgeous day, and Christoff and I cheerfully chatted as we rode along.

“How’s your training with the army going, my lord?” I asked him as he happily gazed out across Constanta.

“It’s hard work, but I’m learning a lot. I think Anix is trying to break me,” he laughed. His smile sent electricity sparking through me.

“Thanks for the armor, by the way,” he added.

“I’m glad my little gift is helping,” I returned. I pushed a strand of my black hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear.

“I’m learning a lot, not just about fighting, but about Anix too. She’s really something, isn’t she?” His voice was filled with admiration for the Doom Bringer.

“Yes, I honestly don’t know where we would be without her,” I confessed as I thought about all the amazing accomplishments of my gargoyle friend.

“I think I made a new friend, too,” Christoff disclosed to me with a grin as he scratched his head.

“Oh, really?” I asked, raising my brows in curiosity.

“He’s a gargoyle named Sawyer.”

Adriana had been silently steering the horse-pulled carriage along, but her head turned slightly at the mention of Sawyer. “He’s going to make a fine captain, one day,” she chimed in.

“I’m glad to hear you're fitting in with the soldiers,” I mentioned, happy that Christoff was falling into a nice routine at the castle.

Not only was he melding well with the soldiers and making friends, but the council completely considered him a member. I had been enjoying all the time spent with Christoff, but I had also liked seeing how his interactions had been growing with the other council members and Adriana.

He and Sahar had formed a bond almost as soon as he arrived, but it had taken some time for the other council members, mainly Rachel, to trust him fully. But as he became a more integral part of the council, the two had slowly been forming a more playful relationship, much like his relationship with Adriana. Aerywin truly liked having him around, but she could get along with just about anyone, and Anix had told me she really was impressed with his progression with his dagger.

We continued talking and laughing until the unmistakable buildings of the West Village rose up ahead. All my anxiety had faded as soon as I had seen Christoff waiting for me in the castle courtyard, and our trip here had been carefree, but now that we were on the edge of the village, my anticipation returned tenfold like a cold punch in my gut. Maybe Christoff sensed my fear because he grabbed my hand and gave it a supportive squeeze.

We drove through the barren, terribly maintained streets and on either side, shabby, run-down buildings and abandoned businesses lined the roads with broken windows, leaking ceilings, rats scurrying in and out to scrounge for any food, and even emaciated squatters huddled in the corners of the dark buildings with threadbare blankets and clothing.

Any people that we did pass on the streets looked starved like they were living in a war-torn village. How could it have gotten this bad? With every abandoned building and every starving or begging citizen that we passed, I counted every single one of them as my failures. I had failed these people. I had failed to feed them, to provide for acceptable housing, to provide jobs. I had failed. Miserably so.

I understood now why Christoff had brought me here. It wasn’t because he wanted emotional support from a familiar face. He’d wanted me to witness and experience firsthand the consequences of my choices as ruler of this kingdom. He wanted me to understand where he was coming from when he would tell me that more than thugs and criminals occupied the West Village, as many people outside of the area often thought. They were real people with real struggles that my poor leadership and negligence had made worse.

When we’d finally settled the wagon in the square, we immediately drew people to it. When they realized it was a royal wagon, they became angry. Shouts rang out of the Queen’s negligence. Before any of my guards could strike them down for speaking poorly of the crown, Christoff stopped them. With a raised hand to the guards, he turned to the crowd and began to speak.

“I know many of you are angry with the Queen. I was angry too. Some of you might recognize me since I grew up here in the West Village, but I’ve returned to tell you my story.”

The shouts and angry insults faded as Christoff’s voice carried out across the square. A large crowd of dirty, depraved citizens now stood around the carriages, but many of the angry faces now melted into interest as they recognized Christoff was one of their own.

“I used to be a simple thief,” Chris continued, “to pay for food for my family. I know many of you can relate.”

There were several nods and mumbles of agreement.

“I stole an artifact for Henry from Queen Rozmarin, who is here before you now.” Christoff gestured at me as I sat meekly in the carriage. I tried to keep my decorum, but I couldn’t help the tears welling up in my eyes.

“She came here, to the West Village and paid my family and me a visit, and I thought that was the end for me. I assumed she had come to imprison my family and me for my thieving, but she did the opposite. She made a deal with me, and she hired me and gave me a place to stay in the castle. She even helped my family move to the East Village and is paying them a living wage.”

More murmurs traveled through the crowd, and curious faces turned to look at me.

“And we are here today to finally put an end to all of the suffering. Queen Rozmarin has come to extend a hand.” Christoff turned to me, and I realized he wanted me to speak.

We hadn’t ever spoken about exactly why he wanted me to come to West Village, but I had realized why, and now I saw that he was allowing me the chance to make amends. It would take a long time to repair the damage my negligence had caused, but at least now I could start that plan in motion.

I slowly stood up in the carriage next to Christoff, and he placed his hand on the small of my back for comfort and a show of solidarity, like I had done with my own people when Christoff had accompanied the council and me in the Great Hall. I wiped the tears that had been quietly falling down my cheeks and cleared my throat.

“Honestly, I’m at a loss for words,” I confessed. “All I can say is how terribly sorry I am that you have all had to live like this for so long. I didn’t realize how bad things had gotten, and in my oversight, I assumed you didn’t want any interference from my council or me. But, I see how wrong I was. I’m truly sorry, and I promise you, I will do everything in my power to fix this. I want you all to be safe and happy and prosperous. It’s what you all deserve.”

Everyone stared at me in silence as my words sank in. I didn’t expect them to accept my apology then and there, but I hoped they would at least believe my words were sincere. Christoff gave me a small, warm smile and then turned back to the crowd.

“As she did with me, Queen Rozmarin now wants to extend a hand to all of you. We’ve also come today to recruit any of you who would like to join the army. I know you might be thinking why in the world you’d want to join the army of someone who has abandoned you, but this is the start of a better future, for the West Village, and for all of Constanta.”

There was another moment of silence. I had no idea how the people were going to react. I saw a ripple run through the crowd as people moved aside, and a young, black-haired man moved forward until he stood a few feet from our cart.

“Christoff, we’ve known each other since we were small boys. We ran up and down these streets raising hell, but I know everything you’ve ever done has always been for the good of your family and your friends. If you stand with the Queen, then I will too.”

The man stuck a hand out, and Christoff bent down and grasped it firmly. He pulled the man up into the cart, and he turned to me and gave me a firm nod. Another man came forward and did the same thing, and then a woman until a crowd of people stepped forward and filled the wagons we had brought.

I hadn’t expected it, but soon people came forward, wanting to talk to me and shake my hand. We all climbed out of the wagons, and the people, one by one, came and talked with us. I watched Christoff laugh and chat with his people. He hugged a sickly looking woman and promised her help would be on the way.

That day, I stood in the square of the West Village and listened to the people’s problems. My people. I listened to them for hours as they spoke of the lack of food on their tables. Of how a mother had to travel for days with no food to get medical attention for her sick infant. Of how they waited for the Queen to save them, to send in more resources, to do something. Of how I had lost their trust. I wept with them and hugged them and promised we would send help. And we did.

After a long day in the West Village of listening to an unbearable amount of sad stories, Christoff, Adriana, and I returned to the castle with four wagons full of recruits in tow. When we returned to the castle courtyard, Adriana led the new soldiers off to the barracks to get them settled in and ready for their new life. Many of them wore eager smiles, and I realized how right Christoff was.

He had told the council and me that many of the West Villagers would be happy to serve their people and to provide for their families as soldiers. In fact, so many of the Westsiders wanted to join the army that we had to send carriages back and forth continuously between the West Village to accommodate all the new recruits, and they fell into the ranks with ease and excitement.

I also sent some of Sahar’s sorcerers and alchemists to tend to the injuries and illnesses that had been plaguing the West Village for far too long. Sahar turned one of the larger abandoned buildings into an infirmary where people could come for medicine and to get help with whatever was ailing them.

With the help of many of the East Villagers, we started a vast rebuilding project in the West Village. Every few days, when we weren’t busy with planning, Christoff and I traveled back to the West Village to speak with the people, and to see how our rebuilding efforts were going. Slowly, but surely the sad, slouching buildings started to take on a new life.

Business opened up, and the people started to look more happy and healthy from all the resources that were pouring into the village. Guilt still ate away at me for how I had let things get so bad, but as I traveled back to the West Village and saw smiling children run along the cart shouting my name, I realized none of this would be happening if it weren’t for Christoff.

After another long, successful day in the West Village, we returned to the castle. I left Christoff at his door and returned to my own chambers to find Sahar waiting for me.

25

Sahar

I had sensed that Rozmarin and Christoff had returned to the castle, so I left my alchemists to finish up their work for the day, and glided through the hallways up to the Queen’s room. After a few minutes, I heard the faint click as she opened the door. She wore a smile on her face, and as she registered that I was in her room, I spoke.

“That smile looks good on you, Rozmarin. You should try it more often, although I realize it’s far easier for you now with Christoff around so much.”

The vampire turned to me with a smirk. “I hear you two have gotten pretty acquainted with yourselves.”

“Perhaps,” I uttered and let that hang in the air, but my close relationship with Christoff was no secret among the council.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Sahar?” Rozmarin asked me as she undressed. “Lately, I’ve been the one paying you all the visits.”

“I think I’ve found out a piece of information that will greatly help us, but the task at hand is not easy,” I told her as she pulled on nightclothes.

I knew Rozmarin would do anything for her kingdom, but what I was about to ask her would not sit well with many of the other council members. That is why I was here, alone, because without anyone to stop her with their protests, Rozmarin would accept.

“What did you find?” she asked me. An anxiousness crept into her usually steady voice as she walked over and stood nearby with her arms across her chest.

I shifted in the chair I had been sitting in so that I could look her in the eyes. “I need a special ingredient. One that might help with finding a cure for the infected.”

At the mention of a cure, Rozmarin walked over and took a seat by me. She placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward so that her chin rested on her clenched fists. “What’s the ingredient?”

“I need some blood from the BloodDrake,” I declared.

Rozmarin laid her arms flat on the table and then slid them along as she sat back in her chair. She sighed. “And how do you expect to go about that?”

“That’s where you come in,” I replied. “I need you to take a trip there and find her.”

Rozmarin stared at me, her silver eyes wide. Then she shook her head and laughed in disbelief. “What you’re asking is almost impossible, Sahar. I’m sure you already know this.”

“Almost,” I uttered.

“You think it can be done,” she questioned me, and a hint of resolve already started creeping into her voice. Rozmarin would do anything for her people.

“I cannot say for certain, but the BloodDrake is entangled in this. We need her blood,” I relayed to the Queen.

“How am I supposed to fight her, and it sounds like you're suggesting I go on my own?” she asked. She had leaned forward again, sitting almost on the edge of her chair.

“I did not say you should fight her. try to make a deal with her,” I advised.

She scoffed, but when her eyes focused back on me, they turned serious. Rozmarin knew that I would never send her into a situation I did not think she could get out of. Yes, the BloodDrake was dangerous, and I couldn’t entirely see why or how the witch was related to us, but I knew it was important that Rozmarin go to her and get her blood for the cure.

“Ok, I’ll go,” she agreed.

“Also, I’m not suggesting that you go alone. Rachel will want to come with you, and the rest of us are busy with our preparations, but I think it is important that Christoff goes with you,” I informed her.

I couldn’t exactly see why that was important, either, but with all my magic and intuition, I felt like they were the best two for the job.

“No. I won’t take him. It’s too dangerous,” she shook her head with a firm look on her face.

“He is part of the council now, Rozmarin. I know you want to protect him, but just like Rachel, or Aerywin, or Anix, he can take care of himself.”

She thought about my words and how he was just like any of the other council members. We all cared for one another and protected each other, but we also allowed each other to use our strengths for the betterment of the kingdom, and something in me said that Roz and Chris going to the BloodDrake would be for the betterment of the kingdom.

“Think about it, Roz,” I told her.

“I’ll think about it,” she muttered.

“I think he won’t let you go alone, anyway.” I gave Rozmarin a knowing smirk and bid her a goodnight.

26

Rozmarin

Though we hardly ever got any time alone during this period, I noticed Christoff had changed, both physically and in the way he interacted with people.

While his muscles became more prominent, and the skin across them pulled tight, his interactions with the people around him grew softer. He was still the same sarcastic Chris with a dry sense of humor, but the more he got to know the people, the more he seemed to smile at them passing by in the halls of the castle. The more he opened up to learning about people’s backgrounds, the more he began reaching out and sympathizing with those whose struggles were not the same as his.

The little thief from the wrong side of the tracks became the fierce warrior who stood for those who could not stand for themselves.

Every day, he grew stronger, and his light shined brighter, so much so that passersby would do double-takes as he passed them. The soft, warm, golden glow that emanated from his skin drew their curious glances.

On top of that, my feelings for him grew stronger. Every night, after our nighttime meal, he would be the last to leave my private dining room. He would hover near the exit as if waiting for me to ask him to stay.

I never did.

That is, until one night, after a particularly large recruitment day. We needed to bring in two extra wagons just to carry all the new recruits to the castle, so Christoff and I both were feeling particularly triumphant that night. He hovered near the door in the way he had done for weeks now, and this time, I stopped him before he could make it through the threshold.

“Christoff,” I called after him, just as he reached for the door handle. I didn’t miss the spark of excitement and intrigue that lit his features when he turned to face me.

“Rozmarin,” he responded, his husky voice causing something in my chest to tighten.

For a moment, I just stood there, mouth half-open to say something, but as his shimmering hazel eyes met my own, all thoughts of what I was about to say fled my mind. His expression softened, and he offered me a sweet smile.

“Care to go for a stroll?” I finally got out.

His smile grew even wider at that, and I couldn’t help but smile back. “I’d love to.”

I planned to take him outside at first, but on our way down the stairs, I paused outside the door that led to the fourth floor. When I looked up at him, I found him looking at me curiously. A crooked smile formed on my lips, and I reached out to push the door open. As we walked down the hallway, I saw that Lauren and Lorelia were standing guard outside of the gallery in their usual positions. They bowed to me as we approached while eyeing Christoff at my side. It brought me back to the first day he’d arrived here.

That day felt like it had happened years ago when, in reality, it had only been months. Christoff glanced at me curiously before pasting an arrogant smile on his face.

“Aww, if it isn’t my two favorite guard-goyles. Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum, was it?” he teased.

Though his tone was mocking, his eyes didn’t hold the edge that it usually did when he truly aimed to piss someone off. This was a half-hearted tease.

The gargoyle twins gave each other a meaningful look. Though I assumed they knew of Christoff’s positive influence throughout the past few weeks, they likely hadn’t witnessed it first hand like I had. As they stood before the doors, seeming to be unsure of how to react to the boy they’d known first as a thief, I stepped forward, drawing their attention back to me.

“We would like to stroll through the gallery,” I said, and though the words weren’t demanding, the authority in my voice made it a clear command. The two guards stepped aside, but not without shooting me a doubtful glance.

“Are you sure, Your Highness?” Lorelia asked, her suspicious gaze sliding to the feisty man to my right. “What if he attempts to steal from you again?”

I looked up at the slight crook in his nose that hinted at it being broken once or twice, at the long dark lashes that fluttered so slightly when he caught me looking at him, and finally at his eyes, which were now staring down at me in amusement.

I didn’t break eye contact with him as I said, “He doesn’t have to. The lord will have what he wants as long as this kingdom is under my rule.”

It was the least I could do after all he’d done for me. For Constanta. The amusement in his eyes turned to surprise, then gratitude, then wonder, and then transformed into something… else. Something searing and vulnerable and new.

Without another word of protest, the two guards stepped aside and opened the extravagantly painted door for us to enter. I had that door specifically made to represent the Old and New Worlds, a timeline of sorts as a reminder of how fragile our life systems really are.

Nothing lasts forever, and those who were once on top could do nothing to prevent their fall. The cycle of power and dominance rarely goes stagnant, and when it does, when too much power ends up in the hands of one species to use as they pleased, the entire system would crumble and fall, taking those in power with it.

Once I entered the dark gallery, I grabbed a match from my pocket, lighting it to ignite the first lantern inside the gallery to the right of the door. I held my breath in anticipation as it sparked to life. Not even a full second went by before the tang of magic hit my tongue, and the lanterns on the wall and the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling came alive with fire from an invisible source.

This was my favorite room in the entire castle. Perhaps in the entire world. It held the last surviving bits of the Old World that we had left. When Christoff’s eyes met mine, they were full of wonder, and I let the smile that had been playing on my lips stretch all the way across my face.

“It’s enchanted,” I said by way of explanation. “I had Sahar put a spell on the lights so that lighting only one would cause the same reaction in all the others.”

Wonder gave way to curiosity as he stood hovering near the entrance. “Why didn’t you have her enchant the whole castle? It would be a lot less work than having to light each lantern individually,” he said thoughtfully.

I shrugged. “Just because something is easier does not mean that it is better. It was like that in the Old World, before the virus destroyed old technology. Humans had invented all kinds of gadgets that made their lives easier, giving them more time to use other things, until eventually, they were completely reliant on those inventions to survive.”

My now somber eyes met his, and I wondered what his life would have been like had he not been born in this era. Before the virus, the war, and before the human population was decimated and dropped to the middle of the food chain. Now, supernaturals around the world crawled out from the shadows and into the light.

“Try not to look so drab.” His mouth quirked up in a half-smile, and his gaze turned teasing. “It’s killing the mood.”

Then it was my turn to smile, all thoughts of impossible things fleeing my mind until it was just Christoff and me.

I was used to men fawning over me. I was used to them puffing their chests and brushing my arm casually with their own. I was used to men gazing at me hungrily and enduring their fantasy-laden eyes.

I was not used to being teased, and I was not used to sharing laughter with anyone other than my council.

“My apologies, my lord.” My gaze lingered on him a moment longer before I reluctantly dragged my eyes to the artwork displayed throughout the room. I extended my arm, sweeping it out in front of me. “As you already know, this is my gallery. It is where I hold all of the lost treasure of the Old World, so we may not forget.”

“Forget what?” he asked, taking in the expansive room of displays before him.

“Our past mistakes.”

His eyes swung around to meet mine, and understanding flickered in them. “You must know a lot about history.”

“I would hope so. I lived it.”

Christoff turned to face me fully then, his lips curled up in a gentle smile. “Will you tell me about it?”

“Tell you about what?” My head cocked to the side, confusion pulling at my furrowed brows.

He shrugged, gesturing vaguely to the contents of the gallery. “About the Old World. About your life before the virus, before the apocalypse and the Great Purge and the zombies. Before you were the crowned Queen of Constanta.”

When he finished, he turned to face the room once more, his eyes settling on a faded Italian Renaissance oil painting that was one of the Old World’s most valued relics. It was a masterful portrait of a beautiful brunette, an Italian noblewoman whose eyes seemed to follow you no matter where you moved around the room. It was the oldest piece of surviving artwork in this castle, certainly far older than even me. Little did Christoff know that he was staring into the ever-fading gaze of the Mona Lisa.

I contemplated his request in silence, unsure where to begin, and my eyes drifted towards the old painting Christoff had seemed to take an interest in. I supposed the oldest thing in the room was as sufficient a place to start in describing the Old World as any. In fact, it felt poetic to honor and pay respect to the oldest remaining piece that represented the world which ours was built from.

I walked up from behind Christoff, and as I always did with the relic, I took my time soaking in the fading planes of Mona Lisa’s face, the downward curve of her nose, the lifelike texture of the material of her dress. I thought back on a time when there wasn’t a single soul in the world who didn’t know of her beauty. Something in my chest cracked at the wonder and strange familiarity as if encountering deja vu, and for the first time since becoming the ruler of Constanta, I questioned my decision to keep these artifacts in the castle instead of a location that was more accessible to the public. This kind of history should be shared with the world, for everyone to remember and celebrate. I blinked, suddenly feeling a sense of clarity.

“There once was an artist, an incredibly gifted inventor, who changed the world with his work for the better. His name was Leonardo da Vinci.”

Christoff and I spent all night in the gallery. I talked for hours and hours until the sun began to peek above the horizon. He listened intently all the while, engrossed in my tales of the past.

I told him about famous old artists that I loved before I transitioned and still loved to that day. I told him of big, box-like machines that could take you anywhere as long as there was land and of giant flying tubes with wings that could take you overseas in mere hours. Of little portable blocks that allowed one to communicate with people who were thousands of miles away and boxes that could answer any of your questions if you just typed them out on a keyboard.

I spoke to him of all of the incredible things that humans had achieved and technology they had invented to make the lives of those after them a little bit easier. Then, I told him of the consequences of such convenience, of how everything had a price.

He listened as I recalled how the cars and the planes could only run by being powered by copious amounts of oil, drudged up from the depths of the earth. Of how humans had drilled and drilled into the land, desperate for more. How they waged wars on each other with deadly weapons that could put a piece of metal through your heart in a fraction of a second, and all for resources and profit. I told him of how the storms grew stronger and more frequent with every year and how overfishing and pollution stripped the oceans of life. I told him of the fires that raged through the forests, killing billions of animals every year.

While the virus was the catalyst that led to the downfall of the human population, I knew that if the apocalypse never happened, it would have only been a matter of time before they destroyed themselves and took everyone and everything else down with them.

At some point during the tragic history lesson, I began to cry, and Christoff moved us to a loveseat up against the wall between art pieces. He held me in his arms as I cried. I had never let anyone see me this vulnerable before. I always put on a tough face in front of others, unwilling to let them see an ounce of vulnerability in me, but here in his arms, I didn’t have to. Not anymore.

When I finally collected myself and wiped the last of the tears from my face, I pulled back to look up at Chris with red-rimmed, puffy eyes, my lips most likely red and swollen from chewing on them to muffle my sobbing.

“Why don’t they teach that in the education system? How are we supposed to learn from our mistakes if we don’t learn about them and talk about them?” he asked, enraged, and rightfully so.

I shrugged, feeling the heaviness of my failure once more. “It is a requirement in the education system… but we do not enforce it in the West Village. Partly because of the obvious lack of resources in the area, but also because the West Village holds the largest population of humans in the kingdom, and humans don’t particularly care to dwell on their past mistakes, even if it is necessary to prevent it from happening again.”

I recalled the many human events, no, the tragedies that could have been prevented had they simply compared their actions to those of their predecessors.

Christoff sniffed, his nose wrinkling in the most adorable way. Suddenly, I noticed the feel of my waist beneath his hands, the weight of his hand on my thigh, and that damned scent of his. It was all so overwhelmingly intoxicating, and I found it hard to resist closing the distance between us and finally getting a taste of his firm lips. Instead, my hand came up of its own accord and brushed a strand of golden hair away from his eyes.

His eyes closed contentedly at the contact before the skin between his eyebrows puckered, whether from confusion or sadness, I could not be sure. My question was answered when he finally opened his eyes, and they were curious and helpless all at once. They searched my features as he spoke.

“You make it so hard for me to hate you sometimes.”

That drew a chuckle out of me, and we both shook from the movement, me against his chest.

“I could say the same about you. You are the thief who rightfully stole from me and opened my eyes to my own blindness.” My expression sobered, and all I saw were golden flecks exploding into a green chasm. When I spoke again, my voice was nothing more than a whisper, a prayer. “You have changed me for the better, both as a woman and as a ruler.”

One corner of his mouth quirked up in a challenging smile. “Don’t you mean as a vampire?”

I rolled my eyes and laughed, but to my utter surprise, his hand came up to cup my cheek. His palm was warm and smooth, and my own eyes closed at the rush of emotions that coursed through me. When I opened them again, he was still looking at me, all traces of humor and sarcasm gone. It was just me, Christoff, and this attraction we had to each other.

“You are an amazing ruler, Rozmarin.” My breath hitched at the sound of my name on his lips, like sugar and honey. “You are selfless and kind and merciful. Hell, you even admit to your own mistakes and then fix them. Do you have any idea how rare that is? After everything you’ve told me tonight, I would say that you are leaps ahead of most humans, men or women.”

His words touched me more than he knew. Every day, I worked to become a better ruler, to create a safe and comfortable space for my people. The result of seeing my people happy and safe was more than enough to keep me moving forward, but lately, with the weight of everything going on outside of our borders, I had questioned my right to be on the throne.

My hand came up to cup his cheek as well, and I leaned my forehead against his, enjoying the surge of light that emanated from his skin at my touch. The corner of my mouth kicked up.

“It gives me immense pleasure that you glow brighter at my touch.”

His own smile grew, and heat entered his gaze as his face inched closer to mine. Then, he leaned forward and closed the distance between our lips.

27

Christoff

After kissing Rozmarin, she pulled away after only a few seconds. She walked me up to my room after offering me one last lingering kiss before she reluctantly pulled away once more.

“We both have busy days tomorrow.” Her voice was weak and tired, and with a heavy sigh, she turned and left, disappearing down the hall without a trace.

I blinked, returning to the bathing room and the mirror in front of me. I didn’t recognize the boy who stared back at me. The soft, golden glow around my skin had become more and more noticeable the longer I seemed to stay here, working with Rozmarin. Everything about me was… brighter, livelier. My eyes shone in the candlelight, and a light blush still graced my cheeks, making me look younger even than my twenty-two years.

The sun was well above the horizon now, and though I had stayed up all night, I was too amped to sleep, so I climbed into bed and grabbed the book that sat on my nightstand that I had borrowed from Rozmarin’s study. I had always enjoyed reading. It gave me a much-needed escape from the harsh realities of the life I had lived in the West Village. Since I had come here, though, I had been too busy to get much reading in.

At some point, while I was reading, I finally fell into a dreamless sleep. When I awoke again, it was the late afternoon or early evening. Startled that I had managed to sleep so late into the day, I bathed and dressed quickly before making my way down to the courtyard to join the troops for their afternoon training.

Of course, the captain and the other troops in my squadron reamed me for my tardiness, and because I would have rather died a slow and painful death before admitting the true reason I was late, my punishment was to run twenty laps around the giant courtyard… in a full suit of metal armor.

I had only just started adding on chunks of metal armor during my training as I got stronger and stronger, but I hadn’t worked my way up to training in a full suit yet, let alone running in it for miles and miles. By the time I finished, I had yanked my helmet off twice to spew vomit across the grassy field.

When I finally hobbled my way back to my training group, they were already finishing up for the day. The sun hung low in the sky behind them. Sawyer, my panther-faced gargoyle companion, clapped a hand on my shoulder as I approached, and it took every ounce of willpower I had in me to keep my legs from collapsing beneath me. When I cringed, the gargoyle drew his hand back with a grimace.

“Sorry,” he said with a slight lisp thanks to his feline fangs. “Welcome to the club!” The surrounding soldiers chuckled, eyeing me respectfully.

Holding my helmet under my arm, I swiped at my face to clear the hair that stuck around my eyes.

“What club?” I asked grumpily.

“The tardy club,” Sawyer said as if it were obvious. “Almost all of us have been tardy once… and only once.”

“I can't imagine why,” I replied dryly.

“Although, we normally only have to do ten laps if we cooperate…” his voice trailed off, leaving his unspoken question hanging in the air between us.

Unwilling to take the bait, I straightened up and backed away.

“Well, would you look at the time? I really should be going. The sun will set soon,” I said innocently before turning around and walking briskly back towards the castle.

Before I could make it more than a few feet, a flash of black leathery skin and midnight blue material flashed in my vision, and suddenly, Rozmarin was standing mere feet in front of me. I couldn’t help the smile that stretched across my face at the sight of her. She wore her usual midnight blue dress with silver stitching, and her smile matched my own when she first landed. Then, as she took in my appearance, her smile faded, and a concerned frown replaced it. She sniffed, and her nose wrinkled, likely at the smell of the rancid vomit on my breath.

“Are you unwell?” she asked, concerned, as she took a step towards me.

“I’m fine.” I shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal out of my punishment, especially in front of the other troops. I had chosen it, after all. “Just a rough training day is all.”

She narrowed her eyes as she looked to the rest of the soldiers unconvinced. “They do not look so sick.” Then, her eyes finally registered that I was wearing a full suit of metal armor, surprise flickering in her gaze. Then, understanding. Apparently, the punishment for being tardy wasn’t much of a secret.

“Excuse me,” she said, making to march past me, straight towards my Captain.

“No, don’t!” I said, catching her arm so she would turn around to look at me. When she did, I noticed we had drawn the attention of a few of the troops. I schooled my features when I looked back at Rozmarin so as not to give anything away.

“Why not?” she asked, her eyes bright with restrained fury.

“Can we please talk about this somewhere else?” I asked, hoping she could hear the desperation in my voice.

Her eyes narrowed for a fraction of a moment, and for a split second, I thought she would refuse. But then she nodded as she seemed to come to a decision. She stepped closer, into my personal space, and before I could ask what she was doing, she wrapped her arms around me as big black leathery wings appeared behind her back. They spread out wide, arching upward, and the next moment, we were in the air.

Screaming. Someone was screaming. It took me a moment to realize that it was me, and even then, I didn’t stop. It took me until we hovered above the castle’s rooftop for me to gain my awareness back. Somehow, I wrapped my entire body around Rozmarin, my arms clinging to the back of her neck. As my eyes began to focus again, I could see for miles and miles. I could see the colorful buildings of the East Village in the distance and the pointed tops of pines and other evergreen trees. If I wasn’t so terrified, the beauty of it would have enraptured me.

When we finally landed, I shoved Rozmarin away and sprinted to the eastern corner of the rooftop to empty my stomach for the third time that day. It seemed my motion sickness was still present and persistent. She handed me a handkerchief to wipe my mouth, allowing me the time and space to just breathe. When I finally felt human again, I mustered up the last of my energy to give her my most seething glare. When I looked up, Rozmarin was still glaring at the Captain and troops below.

Pissed that she caught me off guard, I said, “You better have a damn good reason for bringing me up here and scaring me half to death.” I could still hear the breathlessness in my voice, but it didn’t take away from the venom in my tone.

Rozmarin’s attention returned to me, and she straightened, taking a step forward. “I am leaving in the morning.” That got my attention, and I stood up straighter too.

“Why?” I asked, unable to keep the disappointment from my tone, despite our previous discussion.

She hesitated before he answered, and I immediately knew I wouldn’t like the answer. She spoke her next words slowly, carefully as if she was deciding how much she actually wanted to say. It only served to piss me off further.

“Sahar needs an ingredient for the cure that is… difficult to obtain.”

“Nice try.” I crossed my arms over my chest, and my chin lifted a fraction. “I’m going to need more than that. Why can’t someone else go?”

Rozmarin sighed tiredly. “The troops need Anix here, and she is the only other one who I would feel comfortable sending to the BloodDrake alone.”

“The BloodDrake?” I asked, trying to recall ever learning of such a place.

She hesitated again, but with a raised brow from me, she explained. “The BloodDrake is an ancient sorceress. Not a soul truly knows how old she is, likely not even herself. It is said that she was once a beautiful, enchanting sorceress, but when a human man broke her heart, she ripped his own from his chest and ate it as she stood over his corpse.” She paused to take a breath before continuing her explanation. “Supposedly, her lover’s heart made her stronger and gave her eternal life, but that power did not come without consequence. As payment for her immortality, she is cursed to be part woman, part beast. Her immortality also only lasts as long as she eats human hearts. She has killed thousands of men who have dared to trespass into her cave, deep within the Constantan mountain range.”

My arms were still crossed as I quirked a single brow. “And you want to go fight her?”

“Not fight her.” Rozmarin shook her head. “Visit her. Make a deal with her. She is ancient and a ghastly hoarder which means that she has collected things that otherwise no longer even exist.”

“Like your gallery?” I said as I recalled all of the Old World artifacts she had saved and collected after the Great Purge.

“Yes,” she said, then hesitated. “But far more valuable.”

A moment passed while I turned the options over in my head before I made my decision.

“I’m coming with you.”

Rozmarin blinked and took a step back, her brows pulling down above her eyes. “Christoff--”

I didn’t let her even begin to argue before I continued. “I’m smart, and I can get around quietly. I was a thief, remember?”

“Yes, I understand, but--” she began, but I kept going, ignoring her attempt to speak.

“And I can fight. I’ve been training every single day with the troops in all sorts of weaponry, including my dagger, which is light to pack.”

“My lord--”

“I’ve even picked up some alchemy in the lab. I know several defensive and offensive po--”

One moment, Rozmarin was standing feet away from me, and in the next, she was right in front of me, cupping my face gently. I could feel her cool breath against my forehead as she leaned down to kiss it lightly.

“It would honor me to have you by my side on the journey,” she whispered as she pulled back.

I froze, rooted to my spot in shock, my hands hanging loosely at my sides. “W-Wait, what?”

Rozmarin stepped back, her hands falling from my face to run through her long dark locks. She sighed, her expression grim.

“You have proven to be one of the strongest creatures I know, supernatural or not. Man or not.” My heart squeezed painfully at her words, threatening to spill over, but she wasn’t finished. “But I must warn you, it will not be pleasant, and it will be dangerous. The BloodDrake has a ridiculous prejudice against humans.”

I shrugged. “Who can blame her?” I know I couldn’t, especially not after the gruesome history lesson that Rozmarin had given me last night. The pictures she had painted in my head of the destruction humans of the Old World had caused before the virus had been weighing on me in the back of my mind ever since last night. It was an ugly, horrible truth that, apparently, most humans of the West Village were unwilling to face.

I planned to change that as soon as we got back from our trip to visit the BloodDrake, but for now, I needed to focus on the task at hand.

Rozmarin grabbed my right hand and brought it up to her mouth so that I could feel the tickle of her light, cool breath fan across the top of my hand. She placed a light kiss on my knuckles, a wicked smile playing on her lips as heat simmered in her eyes.

“Your fortitude never ceases to amaze me.”

All thoughts of my ugly human history vanished at the look in her eyes. My own widened. When Rozmarin straightened again, the heated look hadn’t left her eyes. In fact, she looked like she was about to take me right here on this rooftop.

“Where was this desire last night,” I joked, but the breathlessness in my voice was unmistakable.

A laugh bubbled up in her chest, and she reached out and pulled me to her by my hips, her grip firm, but not painful. When her lips tipped up to my ear, her voice was barely more than a growl, and my stomach clenched at the sensation.

“Do not tempt me, my lord.”

I turned my face to meet her eyes, allowing her to see the heat in mine. Her position of power gave me a heady sensation of lust

“Why ever not?” I teased.

Her expression softened, and she leaned in to kiss me, but not before whistles rang out from the courtyard below. In the next moment, Rozmarin crushed me to her body, and the loud, menacing growl that emanated from her chest shook both of our bodies. Wings had appeared behind her back, and she’d spun us around so that they blocked us from the view of the obnoxious, catcalling troops below.

When I looked down, she was looking over her shoulder at the troops below, teeth bared. She had switched from being a few moves away from screwing to being ready to tear off someone’s head in a matter of seconds. Oh, for the love of Constanta. I had heard that vampires were incredibly territorial creatures, especially when it came to their mates, but seeing Rozmarin acting so possessive over me was a different experience--

Mates. The word clanged through my head like a pinball machine.

I wasn’t sure if that was the correct term for us, but I wasn’t about to bring up that particular conversation. My hand came up to cup Rozmarin’s cheek, forcing her to face me again.

“You’ll only make it worse,” I whispered, burying her face in my chest. Then I wrapped my arms around her waist before she decided to fly down to the courtyard and make every soldier in sight pay for their taunting with their tongues. “Let’s get out of here.”

It was all the encouragement that she needed. As soon as I got the words out, she tightened her grip around me, arched her wings, and then we were up in the air again.

This time, I managed to keep the screaming to a minimum.

28

Rozmarin

I left Christoff in his quarters to pack his things before the nighttime meal. We would leave at dawn the following day, and I warned him to pack light, as I would fly us there. He had seemed to adjust to the experience after a few threatening swoops over the troops in response to their catcalling. I had seen other vampires fight to the death over a mere look in the wrong direction of one’s lover. We were inherently protective and possessive creatures. I had spent centuries working to gain control of the impulsive instincts that came with my transition.

Still, this raging yearning I had for the human man who had won the heart of half the kingdom was as new to me as he was. Truth be told, I wasn’t entirely certain how to handle it, but I would. I had handled every other ridiculous obstacle thrown my way since the beginning of my existence, well over two-hundred years ago, and I would continue to do so for Christoff’s sake.

A sense of purpose filtered through me while I packed the food for our trip in my private quarters. Servants had laid out fruit, bread, cheese, and a variety of dried meats across my desk, and I wrapped them carefully, finding the best pockets to shove them in to avoid spoiling. Normally, I’d have packed far less food and certainly not so extravagantly, but I intended to make this trip as smooth and painless as possible for Christoff.

Though I knew him to be one of the most courageous and capable beings I’d met in my existence, there was no stopping the weight of responsibility I felt for his safety and comfort. It was suddenly at the top of my priority list, alongside the responsibilities that came with my crown. His mother’s words from all those months ago when I had gone to visit his family drifted through my head.

I don’t know what it is that you truly want with my son, but I can only hope it is better than I can offer him here. You take care of my baby boy. Give him a better life than I could. If you do, I will be forever in your debt.

Little did she know that I was the one who was in her debt. Little did I know what her son would come to mean to me. Her son had already done so much for me, for the kingdom. Far more than I ever could have imagined when I’d first met him. And now, he chose to stand by me while I faced the BloodDrake and the coming challenges that came with running a kingdom in the New World threatened by the virus.

A knock sounded at my door, dragging me out of my inner thoughts. I looked over my shoulder, sniffed once to identify the visitor, and said, “Come in.”

Rachel walked through the door then. She and Aerywin had both been busy over the past months, mainly attempting to get in contact with the other kingdoms for updates on their wall security and the state of the zombie hordes in the surrounding territories. We continued to have our nightly meetings, but we’d hardly seen each other outside of those instances.

I wondered what she was doing in my room, considering we scheduled one last council meeting tonight before Christoff and I left in the morning. I knew her better than any of the other council members, a product of basically having grown up with each other for two hundred years. It had to be something that she didn’t want to say in front of the others. My guess was that it had to do with tomorrow’s trip.

“You cannot go to the BloodDrake,” Rachel said. A command, not a request.

I rolled my eyes internally, unsurprised. Though Rachel had quite the steely exterior, much like myself, she was fiercely loyal and protective. And, as a vampire, she had her own set of standards when it came to family dynamics and protectiveness.

“I must go. Sahar needs an ingredient that only the BloodDrake has in her possession for the cure. If I do not retrieve it, who will?” I asked, only pausing in my packing for a moment to raise a brow at her over my shoulder.

“I do not care. I forbid you to go,” Rachel replied, ever the bullheaded friend. For a moment, I had a flashback of Christoff’s own brother, Tyrion, as he answered the door with the Vampire Queen and the Doom Bringer on the other end of it and somehow managed to look entirely unimpressed.

I sighed. This was not the first time this had happened. In fact, most of our conversations before my less-than-ideal missions outside of the wall usually went a lot like this.

“I will not be alone. Christoff is going to come with me,” I said as I walked over to my midnight blue wardrobe. I began tossing a few pairs of clothes onto my king-sized, wood-framed, four-poster bed.

Apparently tired of being brushed off, Rachel moved to block my path to the bed. She grabbed the traveling cloak from my hands and tossed it onto the bed before placing her hands on her hips to look up at me.

Though she was tiny, she always managed to make her presence seem far larger than her physical size. I took a step back as she glared at me through thick lashes and charcoal lined eyes. Her purple streaked, black hair hung around her round face perfectly. Her black lace dress, complete with a high rising turtleneck, made her look every bit the vampiress that she was.

“You will listen to me.” Her voice was low and menacing, and if I had been anyone else, I might have been fearful. Still, I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut and give her the attention she was demanding.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I nodded for her to continue.

She breathed out a frustrated sigh. “There is something you must know about the BloodDrake in the Constantan mountain range,” she said cryptically, and I gave her a look that said, ‘I am all ears.’

“Long ago, well before I met you, I had a lover.”

“You don’t say?” I joked, but the vampiress just glared until I shut my mouth with an apologetic grimace.

She took another frustrated breath. “I had a lover who went to the Constantan Mountains for a similar reason to yours. He was a warrior sent to retrieve something only that creature had possession of, somewhere in her cave. He spent weeks climbing the mountain range, searching for the right location. When he finally did, he found a bone garden.”

“Bone garden?” I raised a single brow at that, not understanding her use of the term.

Rachel nodded. “It is exactly what it sounds like. The creature has killed so many others that dare to even pass by her cave that there is a garden of dead bodies surrounding it. She has had a lot of time to build her strength, her legacy. She will not go down without a fight, and even then, she will have a plan to bring chaos to the world when she is gone.”

“I have no intention of underestimating the BloodDrake,” I said. “I am not so naïve as to not have a plan.”

“You rotten girl, can’t you listen to what I am saying and let me finish?” she snapped, throwing her hands up in the air, frustrated. She took a deep breath, and I stayed silent. “The BloodDrake has never lost a battle in her entire existence, do you understand that? You have no idea how old she is, how many lives she’s taken, purely for sport. I can list a thousand for you right now. And not just humans. She’s slaughtered warriors of every species, far greater and stronger than you, I can promise you that.”

“Are you finished?” I asked irritably. She merely glared at me but said nothing further, so I continued. “I know the risks this mission poses for Christoff and for me. I know the history of the BloodDrake, and I know the odds. You don’t think I don’t know exactly what I am up against?” My temper rose. “If I saw any other way out, I would take it, but there is no other option. I cannot just sit around and watch while the zombie numbers rise, sitting on my ass until they breach the wall and slaughter my people.”

“And I cannot watch while our two biggest chances of survival abandon us to fetch a mythical ingredient for a cure that may or may not be finished by the time our walls are breached,” Rachel snapped.

“If you have an alternative solution, I am most certainly open to hearing it,” I challenged.

When Rachel did not answer, my gaze returned to her face. She narrowed her eyes into a glare, but when I took a closer look, I could see the glimmer of tears that lined them. The subtle wobble of her chin. The working of her throat as she shoved her panic-induced tears down. I felt my own gaze soften, and I pulled her into me by her shoulders, wrapping her in a tight embrace.

“My sweet,” I whispered into her hair, and I felt the shaking as she silently sobbed into my chest. “I would never abandon you. Not you or this kingdom.”

“I cannot bear to lose you too,” she said in a broken whisper. “You and Chris.”

“I know,” I said, and I did. Though Rachel rarely ever spoke of her life before me, I knew that she had been through far more than I could ever imagine. I pulled back, my hands resting on her thin shoulders.

“I promise you that I will come back with the ingredient and with Christoff. Whatever it takes,” I said as a sacred oath, holding her gaze so she could see the sincerity in my eyes.

“You better.” She sniffed and wiped her nose. “Or I am personally going to kick your royal ass.”

That evening, as we went over the last of our plans at the council meeting, a nervous tension seemed to linger in the air in anticipation of my and Christoff’s departure. The council was nervous about trying to run the kingdom while Christoff and I were away, especially during such dire times when word from other kingdoms could come at any moment, but I had faith. They had proven to be more than capable of keeping everything running smoothly without me, as they had done it on my many trips before, especially when we were just building the New World. Not only that, but we took precautions, as well.

We lessened the troops training to half the time while I was gone in order to double security at the wall in case of a breach. We had maps prepared in case they had to send the troops outside the borders before we got back, and Rachel was a more than capable second-in-command. If anything were to happen to me, I knew that Constanta would be in good hands.

But I didn’t entertain that thought for too long. I had every intention of fulfilling my promise to Rachel. I would get what I needed from the BloodDrake, keep Christoff safe, and return to Constanta. Preferably before all hell broke loose, but some things were simply out of our control, which was why we planned for everything. It was difficult for me to focus, especially when Christoff showed up to the council meeting in pale blue silk shorts that he used as a nightclothes and a sheer, lengthy nightshirt.

After the meeting, once everyone had wished us safe travels and we’d shared a few lingering embraces, Christoff stayed behind until the last of them had left. Once the door closed behind Anix, the last to leave, Chris turned to face me, his mouth open to say something, but I was on him before he could get a single word out.

A surprised giggle burst from my lips as his own lips found my neck, licking, biting, and suckling. My giggle faded into a needy moan as he worked his way up my neck, to that sensitive spot behind my ear, to the soft skin of my jaw.

“You, your highness, have been driving me completely up the wall in this wicked little dress of yours,” he said against my skin while he played with the seam at the bottom of my own nightgown where the silky material hit me mid-thigh. I could feel the strain of hardened dick pressing up against my abdomen.

My breath hitched when his hand began to move higher and higher until his fingertips grazed the material at my hip. His grip on the material tightened when he realized that it was the only thing, besides his own clothing, that was physically blocking him from burying himself deep inside me. I clung to Christoff’s shoulders, my nails biting into the material of his nightshirt, as I rubbed my chest against his, desperate for any sort of friction, of relief I could get.

“Tell me what you want,” he said, switching to the other side to give the right side of my jaw the same attention.

“Hmmm…?” I hummed absently, and he chuckled into my neck.

“Tell. Me. What. You. Want.” He punctuated each of his words with a lingering kiss, except for the last one.

That one, he punctuated with a nip.

I gasped, and then Christoff was pushing me up against the wall, my wings shimmering into existence, a heavy weight between my shoulder blades. When he pulled away to look at my face, I expected to see surprise or hesitation, but all that simmered in his golden-green eyes was heat. He lightly traced the leathery ridge of the tip of my wing with his fingers, drawing a pleased moan from deep in my chest.

“I want you,” I said, and a light pink blush spread across my cheeks at the admission.

Slowly, each corner of his mouth curled up into a sinful smile. “You want me to…?” His voice trailed off, waiting for me to elaborate.

I swatted at Christoff’s arm, and he chuckled. “I’ll take that as a ‘we’ll see where this leads to.’”

He bent down to hook his hands behind my thighs and hoisted them onto his waist. His mouth found mine again, and he sucked my lower lip between his teeth, careful not to nip himself on my pointed fangs. A soft whimper escaped my lips, my hips bucking against Christoff’s. The desperate sound spurred him into action, and he fell to his knees, simultaneously placing one of my feet firmly on the floor and the other over his shoulder.

He looked up at my face to ask for permission, and I nodded, biting my lip. My face flushed with anticipation, and I could already smell the musky scent of my own arousal. The need to dominate warred with the need to please as he ripped my panties from my hips with a loud tearing noise. I gasped, my mouth dropping open in a little ‘o,’ but the heat in Christoff’s eyes only grew hotter.

He leaned forward, toward my core, and inhaled deeply through his nose.

“Chris, please.”

My desperate plea was enough to have his head surging forward and placing a kiss on that sweet spot of mine. Again and again, until his tongue flicked out, and I cried out. When Christoff flattened his tongue, increasing the pressure on my clit, he stuck one finger in my pussy and then another until I was riding his fingers and his face. When I fell apart, I let out a little scream as my orgasm racked my body.

When the last of the aftershocks finally died down, he carefully placed the leg that was on his shoulder firmly on the floor. I reached for his rock-hard cock, but he grabbed my wrists, pinning them and me to the wall once more. He lowered his lips to my ear, his voice unrecognizably harsh with lust.

“When I come, it will be on a proper bed, and I will be buried so far deep in you that the entire kingdom will hear your screams of pleasure.”

29

Rozmarin

Christoff carried me to my own quarters that night, my limbs soft and languid, my eyelids drooping in satisfaction. When I awoke before dawn, the reality of the dangers that this trip could pose to Christoff swirled in my head like fruit flies. No matter how much I tried to ignore them, they were always there, buzzing in the back of my mind.

The need to protect him from anything mildly threatening or uncomfortable warred with the desire to see him blossom and thrive as the strong, capable man I knew he was. In the past months since I’d met him, it felt like my undead heart had grown three sizes, adding a whole new set of priorities along with the others.

Adriana escorted Christoff to meet me in my quarters before sunrise for one last meal before we flew to the Constantan mountain range. When I opened the door for him, he had already sported a light blush and a sly grin.

“Good morning,” I greeted him, my voice still rough from sleep.

“Good morning,” he returned, and I opened the door wider for him to enter.

“How did you sleep?” I asked as he made his way to the middle of my room, taking it in.

Christoff shot me a sly smile. “Quite well. I was… tired.”

My own wicked grin stretched across my face at that. “You were nothing if not thorough, my lord.”

He smirked and looked away, bringing his attention back to the surrounding space. He walked over to the far end of the room, opposite the entrance, where the floor-to-ceiling windows made up most of the wall that looked out over the east courtyard. My giant, king-sized bed rested against the wall to the right of the entrance, the silver sheets and midnight blue comforter already neatly laid out across the mattress and tucked in beneath the pillows. My bathroom was located behind the bed, much like his room, except my bathroom was far larger and more extravagant, though I rarely ever used it.

As he made his way through the bathroom door, his eyes grew wide as he took in the marble bathtub in the center of the room, supported by stone beams that reached the ceiling. Above the bathtub hung a silver chandelier that held dozens of candles. When I joined him in the bathroom, I wrapped my arms around him from behind and brought my mouth up to his ear, nipping lightly.

“When we return from our mission, I believe a bubble bath will be in order.”

He craned his neck around to face me, excitement widening his eyes. “Really?”

“I meant for myself, but you are certainly welcome to join,” I teased with a mischievous wink.

Christoff laughed out loud, swatting at my arms until I let him go. “A Vampire Queen with a thing for bubble baths,” he said, running his hands across the cool, marble surface of the tub. “Who would have thought?”

I brought a hand to my chest, schooling my features into mock offense. “You mustn't speak of such things publicly, my lord. You’ll risk wounding my pride.”

The sound of his laughter echoed throughout the bathroom as we made our way back into the main room and fed ourselves before our trip.

When Christoff and I reached the top floor, a figure that appeared to be wearing a dress stood in the shadows. I pulled Christoff to my side, slightly behind me, but relaxed once again when Sahar stepped into the light of my lantern. I would not normally have needed it, but I knew Christoff’s vision was not as equipped to see in the dark as mine.

Christoff stepped out from behind me, smiling brightly at the dark-skinned sorceress. The two surged forward, meeting in the middle for a tight embrace. When Sahar pulled back, her gaze lifted to meet mine.

“I could not let you leave without giving you these.” She held up two small red velvet pouches and tossed them to me. I caught them both with one hand, mid-air.

“What is in them?” I asked curiously as I opened the pouch to find a shimmery golden powder inside of each one.

“Winnow powder,” Sahar replied simply. “There should be just enough there to get you where you need to go and back. I trust you know how to use it.”

“Truly?” Both of my brows crept toward my hairline, impressed. “I do know how to use it, but how in Constanta did you manage to get your hands on that?” I asked, astonished. The golden dust was nearly impossible to come by, especially these days. Truthfully, I had only seen the dust a handful of times since the Great Purge.

The beautiful sorceress stretched her lips across her teeth in a mystifying smile. “An alchemist never tells her secrets.”

I shrugged. “Fair enough.”

“Will you be alright while I’m gone? Have you taken enough blood samples?” Christoff asked, holding one of Sahar’s hands in both of his own.

“You have provided us with more than enough.” Sahar smiled gently at the human boy she’d grown close to over the month, just as she’d predicted. “I hope you have been eating well, especially with all that activity last night.”

I blushed at the jab, but Christoff just snorted, unbothered by the knowledge that word would likely be getting around that the human boy and I were on a mission together. That gossip of our mysterious relationship would likely spread. I found myself unbothered by it. In fact, I might have just enjoyed it. Enjoyed the idea of showing off my brilliant, incredible mate--

Mate. The word gave me pause.

Would I make Christoff my mate? With vampires, mating was not one of those things like imprinting where some mysterious force picks a single being to be your soul mate. The individual chooses their own mate, but once that bond is cemented, it is rarely broken.

When I shook myself out of that train of thought, Sahar and Christoff were sharing one last goodbye hug. When Sahar pulled away, she had tears in her eyes, and she offered the taller man a watery smile.

“Safe travels.” She leaned up on her toes to touch her forehead to Christoff’s and whispered, “You will do amazing things. Remember who you are, Light-Bearer. Remember why you are here.”

Christoff gave Sahar an odd look but didn’t push for her to clarify. He had become used to the sorceress’s cryptic words, taking them as she delivered them without questioning it.

“We will be back as soon as we can,” Christoff said, finally pulling out of Sahar’s arms and returning to my side.

I nodded to the sorceress, and Christoff waved one last time before she retreated into the shadows of the stairwell. When she left, I inspected the pouches in my hand once more.

“I suppose this will speed things up,” I said. The flight to the Constantan mountains would have taken us half the day.

“How does that stuff work?” Christoff asked, getting a closer look at the golden, shimmery dust.

“The dust really acts as a gateway for a portal to open. You must have some amount of practice to use it, as it can end you up in a load of trouble if you appear somewhere you are not meant to be,” I explained as I tucked one of the pouches into my pack for safekeeping. The other, we would use to get there.

“Really?” Chris asked, his eyes wide. “Like where?”

“I once got lost in a foreign village where everyone spoke a different language for three days. I had no way of communicating with them, nor did I have a clue how to get home.” I cringed at the memory at first, but then my features smoothed as I remembered what came after that. “That was until a shaman of the village recognized the golden dust I kept in a pouch on my being at all times. He showed me how to use it to get back home, to envision where I wanted to go, and how to manifest it.”

“That’s incredible,” Christoff rasped. “Do you have any idea where you were?”

I shook my head solemnly. “I’ve run it through with Aerywin a thousand times. She does not have a single map that represents the place I visited. We have concluded that it must be from another continent. Maybe even another world.”

A shiver seemed to run down Christoff’s spine, and he shivered. I had no clue how my words had affected him.

“Are you cold, my lord?” I asked softly, instinctually pulling him towards me, but he shook his head.

“No. I just can’t imagine being stuck in a foreign world forever without a way to come back home,” he mused. “If that shaman hadn’t been there to teach you how to use the Winnow dust, you might not be here now.” The reality of it seemed to settle in on him.

Instead, I squeezed his hand so he would look at me. “But I am here now.” I held up a single pinch with the shimmering dust inside. He eyed it skeptically. “And I swear not to get us trapped in another foreign land on our way to The BloodDrake nor on the way back.”

His lips curled up at that, and some of the tension faded from his gaze. One more squeeze of his hand and his focus was back on me. “Alright, just as long as I don’t have to touch the stuff.”

“That will not be necessary, my lord,” I explained. “The powder will cut our travel time in less than half. We will still have to search for the BloodDrake’s cave when we get to the mountain range, but the powder will take care of the half-day flight there and back.”

Christoff shot me an impressed look. “Well, in that case, let’s get this show on the road.”

30

Anix

Most of my days were spent training the troops with Adriana, which was my normal routine, but we had ratcheted up our drills in preparation for the battle that we feared was coming. We also had all the new recruits to get up to speed, including many humans from the West Village. Christoff and the other humans showed promise, giving Adriana and me a boost in confidence that if the zombies came, we would be ready.

I pushed them to their limits, day in and day out. Sometimes we trained all day and late into the night, running through battle formations and drills until we could barely stand. I wanted my soldiers to be ready for whatever was coming, and that meant preparing for all possible scenarios. That meant fighting in daylight or in darkness, in rain or in sunshine. It was hard-going at first, especially for the new recruits, but as the long days went on, I was more than proud of my soldiers and knew they would give their all for Constanta.

Apart from our worries about when and where the zombies might attack from, we were also concerned about the eastern kingdoms, which hadn’t sent any word yet. Aerywin continued to send her messages daily, but no message ever returned, that is until the day Rozmarin and Christoff winnowed off to find the BloodDrake. Only hours after they left, an exhausted and terrified messenger appeared at the eastern gate of the kingdom with news that the hordes were approaching their kingdoms, and fast.

Adriana and I had finished up some drills with our soldiers, and I’d decided to take a break to have lunch with Aerywin and Rachel in the royal chambers. We sat around the table, feeling the absence of Christoff and Rozmarin, hoping that their journey would be quick and successful.

Aerywin, as she usually did, had a map held up in front of her and looked it over as she chewed on a piece of bread. Rachel slouched back in her chair and barely sipped on her cup of blood.

Aerywin sighed and set her map down. “They’re going to be fine, Rachel. Trust Rozmarin and don’t stress yourself out.”

“I just wish she wouldn’t have gone, or that she at least would have taken one of us with her,” Rachel groaned.

“She has Christoff with her,” I reminded the vampire.

“That worries me, too,” she sighed, and I couldn’t blame her.

Christoff had slowly but surely become an integral member of the council, and we had all come to realize that he was far more than a thieving human from the West Village. He was strong and determined, and he cared about Constanta just as much as the rest of us, and Sahar obviously knew he would play some part in our kingdom’s fate as Light-Bearer.

“They’ll be alright,” Aerywin comforted.

Rachel gave another sigh as we heard hurried footsteps approach the door. I expected a knock since we were in the royal chambers, but an out-of-breath guard burst into the room, startling us all. We all turned to see Lorelia panting and heaving as she tried to catch her breath, and when I saw the worried look in her yellow eyes, I knew something was happening.

My thoughts first went to Rozmarin and Christoff, but they had only just left that morning, and there was no way we would have had any news from them yet, but as Lorelia spoke, I realized what she was going to say before she even finished her sentence.

“We’ve received an SOS from the east! Zombies are marching straight for their kingdoms!”

A solemn silence hung in the room as everyone’s eyes turned to me, the commander of Constanta’s army. It only took me a second to give an answer because I had already made the decision a while ago that we would send aid as soon as word came.

“We will send Adriana and a host of troops to the east,” I informed Lorelia. “Have the messenger send word back that we are coming.”

Lorelia nodded and sprinted back out of the room. I stood up, and as I made my way to the door, Aerywin mumbled, “So it begins.”

I raced through the halls, down the several flights of stairs, and out to the training grounds where I had left Adriana only an hour before. I found her where I had left her, shouting orders to a group of new recruits who were all red in the face and drenched in sweat. As they saw me approaching, many of them stood up a little straighter, but some of their faces dropped even more, thinking I was coming to run them through even more tough exercises.

When Adriana turned and saw me approaching, her grin turned to a frown as she noticed the look on my face.

“What is it?” she asked as I came up beside her.

“Prepare your troops, Adriana. You’re going east.”

She stood at attention and nodded as a flash of excitement and adrenaline coursed through her. Adriana was a lot like me: always ready for a fight. She dismissed the new recruits who looked relieved, but they understood the significance of what was happening, and many of them wore looks of concern for Adriana and their fellow soldiers.

“How many soldiers do you want me to bring?” she asked.

“It sounds like a large horde is quickly approaching the eastern kingdoms. Take your entire unit with you and be fast.”

Adriana nodded one more time and raced off to round up her unit for the battle ahead.

31

Rachel

I watched the commotion on the field from my perch in the high window of the royal chambers as the SOS that had traveled all the way here from the east, then to Lorelia, now passed from Anix and Adriana to their troops. Soldiers zipped back and forth, hurriedly collecting the few things they’d need for the march east.

I sighed, wishing more than ever that Rozmarin was here. And Christoff. Although Rozmarin had already confirmed that Anix would be sending troops to the east if they needed us, and although Rozmarin was fully aware of the plan and had full confidence in the gargoyle and the council, I still wanted her to be here.

The Queen should be down there on the field, encouraging her people who were about to march off and fight on our behalf. Even with all my pleading, begging, and even commanding, Rozmarin, acting as stubborn as me, still decided to winnow off with only Christoff to face the very monster that had killed my previous lover.

I tried to shove down those same feelings that I had felt all those years ago when he had left me and when he never returned. They were feelings that I had long since buried beneath my many dark layers, but now it was all threatening to bubble to the surface and rip out of me. I didn’t want to relive this same nightmare again, but here I was, pacing around Rozmairn’s room, worried I may never see my friends again.

Aerywin had left soon after Anix, to inform Sahar of the news. Just minutes earlier, she and Anix had tried to comfort me; Anix had said that Christoff was with Rozmarin, so they’d be fine, but that’s what was bothering me the most. Rozmarin should have taken Aerywin or me with her, not the boy. Or, better yet, she shouldn’t have gone at all. That miserable witch was just too dangerous and sure, Christoff was the Light-Bearer, or whatever, but what could he really do against that monster?

I tried not to think about it, about Christoff and Roz, so I focused my attention on the soldiers below. They looked like silver ants from so far away. I had faith in Anix and Adriana, and between all the planning and preparing, I had watched the troops train. They were well prepared, but still, I couldn’t shake the thought that our lives were so fragile.

Even my immortal life could be snuffed out in an instant.

I sighed and tried to stop all the thoughts and emotions swimming through me. Usually, when I felt like this, I went to Rozmarin. She was just about the only person that knew me fully, inside and out. She was the only person who knew the true me. I wouldn’t doubt that she knew me better than I knew myself, and she’d probably say the same thing about me.

I saw my lover’s face staring back at me in the windowpane, with his warm brown eyes and chiseled face. It was only a trick of my anxious mind, but he looked so real like he was standing behind me, but I didn’t want to turn around to see the emptiness. I stared at his face, into those eyes, and then his face melted into Christoff’s tanned, glowing face.

I punched the window, and the image blurred as my eyes welled up with hot tears. I tried to keep them there, willing them not to fall, but the dam broke, and my tears cascaded down my face in a waterfall of emotion.

I was pacing again. If Rozmarin were here, what would she tell me to do?

“Just take a deep breath, Rachel,” I heard her say in her soft, calming voice.

I breathed in deeply, and a familiar smell rushed into me. Cinnamon and roses. It soothed me, and I wanted that smell to be with me forever. I wanted Christoff back here with me, with that dumb smirk on his face.

Some part of me understood that he would do whatever he could to protect Rozmarin, and even if a whole host of zombies stood between her and Christoff, she would kill every single one of them to make sure he was safe. We all felt their bond growing stronger every single day, and his bond with the council was clearly unbreakable now. The little thief, the Light-Bearer, was one of us.

I wiped the tears from my eyes, careful not to smudge my makeup, and the fury returned. I wanted to be where Christoff was so that I could protect him. Maybe he didn’t need my protection, but I wanted to be there for him. I couldn’t quite understand this defensive feeling. I felt it for the rest of the council, and maybe it had spread to him, or maybe it was something more, I still didn’t know, even as Rozmarin’s feelings for him were untangling.

Before, when I noticed her obsession with him, I didn’t think in a hundred years she would ever want to complete the mating bond with the silly human, but I saw that fire in her eyes when she looked at him or spoke about him. I think she slowly started seeing him as her mate, and as their connection grew, their paths started intertwining.

Of course, I was happy for her. She hadn’t been this radiant in years. She usually was guarded around her other suitors, and she had been guarded around Christoff, but the two were becoming more vulnerable with each other, and I couldn’t deny anymore that Christoff was actually kind of good for her. He was good for all of us, really.

Even me.

He made me see the world differently. He somehow made it brighter, and I didn’t want to live in a world without his light.

32

Christoff

Rozmarin winnowed us as close to The BloodDrake’s hidden cave as her vague map would allow. Winnowing was an odd, disorienting sort of experience. One minute we were standing on the roof of the castle, and then there was a whoosh of air and blinding blackness like we had poofed out of existence. Then, after a few moments of never-ending darkness and silence, the black seemed to spit us out into the biting chill of the mountain winds as they whipped across my face.

“Sweet… zombie babies, I think I’m going to barf,” I said, leaning over as I dragged in deep breaths, my hands supporting my weight on my knees. The world was spinning, and I couldn’t quite tell which way was up and which was down, my motion sickness making a whirlwind of a return. Rozmarin, unaffected by the blasted travel, rubbed soothing circles along my back and murmured sweet nonsense while I caught my breath.

At first, the chill felt good, but once I had recovered, I was glad to be wearing a heavy wool travel coat over my dark slacks, boots, and a long sweater. I pulled the cloak tighter around me when I stood straight, Rozmarin still hovering at my side. It may have been the warmer season in Constanta, but these mountains were always cold and unforgiving. I glared into Rozmarin’s silver gaze when I was stable enough to muster the venom.

“Thanks for the warning, Your Highness.” Her expression said she knew she was in trouble when I used that term in such a way.

“My apologies, my lord,” Rozmarin said, her tone genuinely concerned. “I did not know using winnow powder could be so… uncomfortable for humans. While I have used the dust incorrectly, the travel has never made me… nauseous.”

A howling sound echoed through the mountain range, and I started, just about jumping out of my boots. Holy crap, I thought as a realization set in. I was outside of the walls of Constanta.

I had never been outside of its walls. Most people hadn’t, especially not humans. I had waited my entire life to be able to see what went on outside the kingdom walls, and now I was finally able to see all of the… snow?

I dragged in one more long deep breath of the crisp, cool air before turning my attention to my surroundings. We seemed to be in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by snow-tipped evergreens. At least six inches of snow was packed into the damp earth, slowly soaking its way through my socks and shoes. When I looked up, grey clouds covered the sky, the smell of freshly fallen snow still in the air. It wouldn’t have surprised me if it began to snow in the next hour or so. To the left of the clearing, the mountain continued upward until the very top, where the pointed pink slouched in an arch. On the other side of the clearing, the mountain sloped downward in a maze of snow and rocks and trees.

I turned to face Rozmarin, once again.

“If this is what I’ve been missing out on the outside of the kingdom’s walls, then I really haven’t been missing out on much.”

Rozmarin threw her head back, laughter howling from her smiling mouth in large puffs of smoke. “My lord, this is not even a fraction of it. We are not far from the kingdom, either. Just wait until you see the tropics.”

I didn’t mention that I would likely never get the opportunity. Instead, I turned my attention back to the weird slouching mountain tip.

“Let me guess. The creepy sorceress monster is somewhere underneath that super sketchy slumping rock.”

Rozmarin’s gaze followed my own as she squinted up at the odd rock configuration.

“Somewhere,” she said vaguely as she pulled a folded-up map from her sack.

“Why didn’t you just winnow us directly there?” I asked as I craned my neck at the steep climb ahead of us.

Rozmarin looked at me as if I was missing something obvious. She stretched her arms out toward the clearing that we still stood in the middle of.

“I thought it would be wise to take precautions by aiming for a large, safe clearing. I did not want to miss it again.”

I shrugged. Fair enough.

“So, where exactly is the BloodDrake’s evil lair?” I asked, unable to keep the mockery from my voice.

Ignoring my teasing tone, Rozmarin continued to look back and forth between the map and the looming mountain above us. After a few minutes, she let out a frustrated sigh.

“It is impossible to get the full picture without getting an aerial view.” She looked to me, determination set in her gaze. The next moment, her wings shimmered into existence, a looming dark form behind her back. “I must get a bearing of our surroundings. Allow me ten minutes, my lord. Do not move.”

And then, she was gone, and I was alone in the damp, freezing woods. As her winged figure faded in the distance behind the trees, I marched in place and breathed warm air into my gloved hands to de-ice them. When a few minutes had gone by, I walked around the clearing, wondering if it would be best for me to take cover beneath the trees. At least then, no one could see me from above. I rolled my eyes at the thought. The only people crazy enough to be in these mountains right now were the BloodDrake and Rozmarin and me.

Just as I had the thought, a flicker of movement caught my attention out of the corner of my left eye, and I whipped my head around to find… nothing. Only empty darkness beneath the trees at the edge of the clearing. I let out the breath I was holding and continued to move again. I was afraid and alone in a foreign place. I reminded myself that a certain amount of fear was healthy for humans. It was all a part of some survival instinct we had developed long ago.

The next bit of movement I saw behind the tree line had me cursing those damned survival instincts. What was the point of fearing something you couldn’t quite see, let alone fight against?

“Hello?” I called out, my voice shaking with unease. “Rozmarin?”

When nobody answered, I felt stupid for even speaking. If someone or something was hunting me, the last thing I wanted to do was make noise. Then again, I was standing in the middle of the uncovered clearing, alone and unarmed.

Well, not completely unarmed, I thought, as I remembered the comfortable weight at my hip that I’d grown used to having there. The pommel of my dagger glinted in the glare of the snow beneath my feet as my hand came down to rest on it impulsively. My breathing immediately slowed at the feel of the familiar grooves on the grip.

“I guess it’s just you and me,” I muttered to the dagger. Keeping one eye on the sky for Rozmarin and the other on the tree line, I gripped my dagger tighter at my hip.

An eternity seemed to go by before I saw the next movement behind the trees again. The dark figure jumped between shadows, but this time I was faster. I was able to see a tall, slender figure jumping from tree to tree, its movements jerky and ungraceful. Something hung from its back at an awkward angle, broken and splintered. I faced it, doing my best to track its movements with my human eyes, but it was quick, jumping four to five trees in a single second. If I hadn’t just learned of how winnowing actually worked, I would have thought it was jumping through space.

It slowed after a while, realizing that it wasn’t going to catch me off-guard again. Finally, it stood still behind a tree, its head cocking to the side oddly as it watched me monitor it. I couldn’t make out any details except for its tall, slender figure, the stringy white hair the color of snow that hung limply from its face, and the odd broken things that hung from its back.

Every possible explanation ran through my head as we stood there, staring at each other. It couldn’t have been human. It moved too fast, and the form was far too spindly. Zombies were just undead humans, and even that creature was too unnatural to be anything close to human, undead or not. That left a whole host of other potential supernatural creatures that it could be, but none of them added up to anything that I’d seen or heard of before.

The closest creature I could compare it to was a wood faerie. It matched with the tall, spindly form and would also explain the things on its back, broken wings. But its movements were far too jerky and uncontrolled to be that of a wood faerie. Also, they were usually quite friendly. They tended to be creatures of grace and manners, so I wrote that possibility off.

As I searched my surroundings and scrambled for some way to escape, the creature clumsily surged forward, stepping into the light and out of the dark cover of the trees. When my eyes focused and I was able to take in its features, my hand flew to my mouth to keep myself from screaming.

I had been wrong… but also right. It had been a wood faerie… at least at some point. The creature’s green-tinted skin was flaking off its face and limbs. Only a few clumps of snow-white hair still clung to its scalp with only empty black sockets for eyes. Its razor-sharp teeth were turning black with rot, and its wings were clearly no longer functional as there was no skin left to cling to the delicate bones that hung from its back. It wore a dirtied, torn up robe without shoes, and its elongated ears gave away its sex as a male. Females generally had shorter, more rounded ears.

“He-Hello?” I said, breathlessly. “Can you understand me?” I asked, holding my hands in front of me in anticipation of its next move.

I had half expected the creature to scurry away at the sound of my voice or jump at me right away, but instead, what happened was far more horrifying. It cocked its head once more in that inhuman, eerie way that it did before lifting its face to the sky, jaw unhinging to stretch wider, wider, wider. Then, a long, keening screech bellowed from its mouth, echoing off the snow-covered cliffs. My hands immediately flew to my ears as I hunched over, the pain in my eardrums unbearable.

When the screeching finally stopped, I realized I had closed my eyes. When I opened them again, the creature was closer, and it was not alone. I stumbled back, almost falling on my ass in my attempt to get away, but I bumped into something behind me, a startled cry falling from my lips.

I spun around, already trying to put distance between whatever I bumped into and myself. Whatever it was, it smelled like rotting flesh. When I saw what had stopped me, instincts finally kicked in, and my hand went for the dagger at my hip, pulling it out from its holster. Slimy, blinding panic warred with months of training for control of my attention.

After a few moments, I managed to get my panic under control and focus on my options. Rozmarin would likely have heard the screech that the first monster had emitted. She should be coming back at any moment. That is if she wasn’t in trouble too. I thought that over for a second and came to the conclusion that I couldn’t depend on Rozmarin returning to help me. It wasn’t pride that brought me to that conclusion or even arrogance, but rather an innate, almost animalistic need to survive.

It wasn’t a choice. It was a reflex.

All the painful, grueling training that I’d done over the past months finally paid off as it took over. The weight of my dagger in my hand suddenly was all I needed.

In a single, fluid move, my dagger sliced through the necks of the five zombified supernaturals that surrounded me. Black blood spewed and splattered on the snow, on me. Slowly, as if their bodies hadn’t registered the loss of their upper appendage yet, each one collapsed into a heap of rotting, spindly limbs, their heads rolling to my feet.

Blood flowed everywhere, painting the snow with its thick, oily texture. And the worst part was that it stank. It stank worse than rotten eggs in the summer heat. I gagged, trying to use my cloak to cover my face, but only managing to get the rancid blood all over my face. Blood had sprayed all over my cloak and boots. Perhaps slitting their throats hadn’t been the cleanest of options, but it had done the job. Plus, we had learned back in school that the only way to destroy a zombie was to decapitate it and burn its body.

Before I could reach into my pack to pull out some oil and matches, I began to feel like the trees were closing in on me. When I looked up, I realized that I was getting closed in on, but it was not by the tree line. Zombies, made from every species, stepped out from the shadows, closing in on the pile of bodies and me.

“Oh, for Constanta’s sake. Can I seriously not catch a single break?” I called to the skies. And that was when I realized that they weren’t just closing in on me from the ground.

No, some of them were flying. Of course, they were flying. They weren’t just humans like it had been before. Some were undead faeries with wings. Some were vicious-looking werewolves with foot-long fangs that foamed at the mouth and missing some body parts.

“Of course not,” I said, answering my own question.

The panic I had been feeling earlier returned and amplified a hundred times over, threatening to spill out as I saw the sheer number of zombies entering the clearing. There had to be hundreds, thousands, even. I didn’t stand a chance, and I knew then that I was going to die.

Then, a dark figure came torpedoing through the mass of zombies closing in on me from the mountainside. The moment I realized who it was, I jammed my dagger back into the holster and threw my hands up just in time for Rozmarin to barrel into me from above. And then, I was flying, wrapped in a pair of warm, strong arms. A cool wind whipped across my face, and for the first time, it made me feel exhilarated, free.

“You never seem to have trouble making friends with strangers, my lord,” Rozmarin said into my ear. I could hear the relief in it, the lingering fear.

“You are so lucky you bought me this dagger,” I said, the relief in my voice echoing her own.

I looked up at her face. Our eyes met for the first time since she left me alone, and I could still see the lingering fear in them. But I also saw something else. Something that looked a lot like she thought I was the only one who could take that fear away, forever.

“I should never have left you alone,” she said, just before she banked off to the right, and we settled onto a cliff-side that looked to be impossible to surmount without wings. Barren rock jutted out from the cliff face, which was where we landed. Rozmarin dropped me onto the ground first before doing a small sweep of the perimeter for any more signs of danger. When she landed, the relaxed set of her jaw told me that there was not any imminent danger.

“They were flying,” was the first thing that I said. Rozmarin put her hands on her hips and began to pace, her eyes tracking her own boots.

“This is impossible. The virus should only affect humans. Could it possibly have mutated into something that can affect supernaturals and humans alike, or is it a different virus?” Rozmarin was speaking out loud but never leaving any time for an answer. This was her way of processing a pressing situation quickly, something I had discovered over many nights of plotting and strategizing with her and the Queen’s council in her study.

I looked out over the cliff and tried to focus, fighting the haze of panic that still loomed in that back of my mind. The view was spectacular. Snowy woodland was all I saw below me and snow-tipped mountains in the distance. The sky was a dreary grey, and a low mist had settled into the lower lands, creating an even more eerie atmosphere. It did not help the anxiety I was already battling after my last encounter.

“Does it matter?” I asked, gesturing to the mountain.

“Of course it matters,” Rozmarin said, gruffly, raking her fingers through her hair. When I took a closer look at her face, she had a lost look in her eyes. A look that said, for once, she didn’t have a plan.

“What is it?” I asked, softly and rushed to her side, eager to soothe her worries. I may have just been in a potentially fatal situation, but Rozmarin, the Vampire Queen, looked like she was going to be sick.

Rozmarin breathed out roughly through her nose, a cloud of smoke forming below. “If it is a different virus, the cure may not work.”

I froze. She was right. I looked to Rozmarin, feeling a whole world of hopelessness stretch between us. If Sahar was trying to treat the old virus and this new or mutated virus was the source of our current problems, this cure may not work.

Or maybe it would.

Remember who you are, Light-Bearer. Remember why you are here.

Sahar’s words rang in the back of my mind, and I felt a sliver of pride, knowing that we would not go down without a fight. And we would fight, I knew because I knew Rozmarin and I knew myself.

“We have to follow through,” I said firmly. “We have to try.”

As I predicted, I didn’t have to convince her. She knew our odds were slim from the beginning, but she would go down fighting for her kingdom until her last breath, and I found myself right along there with her. If we stopped now, it all would have been for nothing. All the planning, the strategizing, the late-night meetings, and early morning alchemy tests. All for nothing.

In finishing our task, we could at least see it to the end and, who knew? Maybe fate would be on our side. Rozmarin nodded slowly, her eyes rising to meet mine, determination set in the sharp line of her jaw.

“Yes, let us finish what we have started.”

33

Christoff

Rozmarin flew us to a spot just outside of a cave beneath a whole forest of trees. It was not as close to the tip of the mountain as I thought it would be. It looked like any of the other caves we’d flown past, and trees protected the entrance, obstructing the view from above.

It was the perfect inconspicuous spot to stay hidden.

From above, it had looked like any other spot in the forest, but as I took in my surroundings, I noticed that many of the rocks and plants protruding from the ground were not rocks and plants at all. They were bones.

Human, animal, supernatural, you name it. Hundreds of them littered the ground, crunching beneath our boots. Snow covered most of them, but the larger skeletons, like that giant ogre rib cage next to a large rock, came up to my chest.

“What is this place?” I asked in a horrified whisper.

“The BloodDrake’s bone garden,” Rozmarin answered, her tone grim.

“What the hell kind of a--”

Before I could even finish my sentence, that familiar chilling shriek sounded from somewhere in the forest. Rozmarin and I both covered our ears and instinctually began to retreat into the cave, the pain in my eardrums almost too much to handle. I could feel the bones getting thicker beneath my feet, and the putrid smell of magic and death filled my nose. Then, an overwhelming sense of wrongness had me digging my heels in and reaching for Rozmarin’s arm.

“It’s a trap!” I tried to yell, but the wretched screeching drowned out my words. So, I mouthed it over and over again until she could understand, not letting her retreat any further. It’s a trap, it’s a trap, it’s a trap.

Finally, the screeching came to a halt, and we took a moment to let the ringing in our ears die down.

“We’re being herded,” I panted, as soon as I was able to speak.

“What?” Rozmarin asked a little too loudly as if her hearing hadn’t quite recovered yet. Considering how much pain I had been in from the high-pitched noise, I couldn’t imagine how loud it must have sounded to Rozmarin’s supernatural ears.

“He said, you are being herded,” a smooth, sultry, feminine voice said from the shadows. “Smart boy, you really ought to listen to him.”

When Rozmarin and I swung around to face the voice, a beautiful red-headed woman appeared from the depths of the cave. Bones crunched beneath her dirty bare feet, but everything above that was pristine beauty. The paleness of her skin stuck out starkly against the red and gold of her silk dress, and she was draped in fine jewelry, almost obnoxiously so. She wore a large necklace, the band lined with diamonds, and the giant red ruby that hung from it rested just above her cleavage that popped out in the low swoop of her neckline. Bangles and rings littered her arms and hands while giant, drooping diamond-and-ruby earrings hung from her ears.

She was the epitome of opulence. A dragon hoarding and protecting its treasure in its dark lair. Far from the blind, old, ugly hag I had been expecting.

Rozmarin stumbled back as she took in the creature before her, and trepidation filled me at the horrified look on her face. I had never seen her look this put-off. Ever.

“You,” she whispered, and it was a harsh, broken sound.

Wait, she knew who she was?

“My dear… I have heard much about you, Vampire Queen of Constanta. How I do regret leaving you for dead all those years ago,” the woman drawled, her tone genuinely regretful, though I knew it was for all the wrong reasons. “You had so much potential. I simply cannot believe I let you slip right through my fingers.” She held her heavily jeweled hands out in front of her as if there was physical sand slipping through her fingers.

It took only a moment for the words to click. Holy crap. This was the woman that murdered Rozmarin’s entire family and turned her into a vampire.

Rozmarin had recovered by now, and she pushed me behind her to shield me with her body. The fury in her eyes, in the stiff set of her shoulders, the tick in her jaw… she looked like a pissed off, cornered panther, ready to spring at any sudden movement.

“I will end you,” she threatened in a low, barely intelligible growl. Her shoulders shook with the effort not to pounce on the BloodDrake right away as the woman’s cackling laugh echoed off the walls of the cave like nails on a chalkboard. It wasn’t a far cry from the noise that those supernatural zombies had made.

“Oh, how I wish you knew just how many have proclaimed such things to me,” the woman responded, a cat-like gleam in her eye.

I rested a hand softly on Rozmarin’s arm and tugged. I didn’t say anything. I just used the tug as a gentle reminder to remember what we came for. As much as I knew she wanted to tear this woman… this thing… apart, we had a kingdom to save. Or at least try to save.

I knew she had to make a decision then. Would she risk dying and not retrieving the ingredient trying to avenge her family’s death, or would she be able to shove those emotions down enough to at least attempt to pull this off?

She answered my question in the next moment when her fists unfurled at her side, her shoulders relaxing slightly, and she stepped forward. Though I couldn’t see her face, I knew her gaze was steely as she met the BloodDrake’s eyes.

“I have come to make a bargain with the BloodDrake.” Her voice was empty, devoid of emotion. “Are you she who hoards and guards her treasure?”

The woman’s chin raised a fraction, and all humor fled from her eyes, replaced by only an empty void, so old, so ancient, that I could not even begin to fathom the depths of it.

“I am she.”

For a split second, so fast that I almost missed it, the woman’s pupils expanded, encompassing both of her eyes. Then, she blinked, her pupils receding to normal size. For the first time since she came into the light, the woman’s eyes flicked to me, and a tiny ghost of the smile lifted her blood-red lips.

“Have you brought me a human sacrifice for the bargain?” Her tongue slipped out to lick her lips slowly as she eyed me, hunger deep in those fathomless orbs. “I do enjoy a juicy male human every century or so. And this one has the looks of a warrior.”

Rozmarin pushed me further behind her, blocking her from my view or, more importantly, me from hers.

“No,” she replied firmly. “The human is to remain untouched. You will take another form of payment.”

The BloodDrake’s eyebrows hiked up, and she looked like she was going to argue but thought better of it. She eyed Rozmarin curiously.

“What will you offer me then, Vampire Queen?” she asked, the title on her lips filled with mockery.

“Whatever it will take for a vial of your blood,” Rozmarin responded simply, her voice unwavering. My head whipped down to look at the back of Rozmarin’s head in surprise. Was that the final ingredient? A vial of the BloodDrake’s blood?

The BloodDrake bared her teeth, and Rozmarin and I both took a step back. “I do not give my blood away so easily, Vampire Queen.” She seemed to ponder it for a moment before a cat-like smile curved her mouth. “You have taken a great risk coming here. Tell me why I should not kill you right where you stand and claim your crown. I do love to see my men and women grovel.”

My men and women. The term buzzed in my head like a nest of wasps. This woman was psychotic, but then again, she wasn’t truly just a woman. I had to remind myself that, beneath all that creamy skin, red hair, and jewels, she was an evil, ancient sorceress, and a monster who slaughtered Rozmarin’s family. Something registered then, something that had been bothering me, tapping insistently against the less conscious part of my brain.

“Wait, I thought vampires killed your family,” I said to Rozmarin, though I knew the BloodDrake could hear me.

“So did I,” was Rozmarin’s only response.

“And you both are not wrong. Technically, vampires did kill your family,” the BloodDrake said casually, the same way a sane person talks about what to have for breakfast. When Rozmarin glared at her in return, she only continued.

“Back in my… earlier days of life, I led a coven of them. Though I was not one of them, I was stronger and a brilliant leader, if I do say so myself. We pillaged villages and cities as we pleased. They could drink as much as they wanted, and I received the spoils of their victim’s riches. It was a win-win situation, really.”

A wistful smile settled across her face as she recalled those gruesome memories, and the BloodDrake reminded me just how sick she really was. Then, her smile faded, turning into a frown.

“But they were all slaughtered.” Her expression became thoughtful, then, as if she’d just thought of something she hadn’t considered before.

“Come to think of it, that was not long after we raided…” Her eyes drifted to Rozmarin’s face once more, and a terrible clarity settled in her eyes at the smirk she saw there.

Suddenly, I recalled when Rozmarin told me her own end of that story. How Rachel had helped her hunt down and destroy every single one of the monsters that had murdered her family and left her for dead. All except for one.

“You!” the BloodDrake spat, her features suddenly becoming much sharper, her eyes fighting to remain normal as the pupils flickered, threatening to encompass the whole thing. “You destroyed my coven.” New and grudging respect entered her gaze along with a bloodthirsty promise to avenge them.

Rozmarin shrugged, the smirk on her face, unmoving. “You destroyed my family.”

It hit me then that this was Rozmarin’s plan all along. If she could not bargain with the creature, she could just as well get a sample of its blood by killing it.

The woman hissed, and I heard the sound of bones snapping and cracking beneath her creamy flesh. It was a terrible, grotesque sight, watching the skin protrude but never break where her bones shifted and reformed. Suddenly, it wasn’t a woman standing before us. It was a massive, black, scaly creature with two heads, four clawed feet, and four wings. The flappy skin around its neck ruffled and flared, like a cobra. It had two slits for nostrils on each head, and suddenly, the cave felt much, much smaller. The only thing familiar about the creature was its eyes. The blackness of its pupils had encompassed the entirety of its eyeballs now.

Rozmarin’s wings were already out, stretching and flexing in anticipation, and she had pushed me further back behind her, away from the BloodDrake. We both instinctually reached for the weapons at our hips and drew them, ready for a fight. My pulse raced faster and faster as we sized up our opponent. I knew that the success of this trip would be a longshot, but this creature was from the deepest, darkest corners of my nightmares. It was certainly up there with a horde of zombies.

Before I had time to recover and react, Rozmarin was on the beast, a tangle of steel, wings, and talons. I stood frozen, unable to move. In all my training within the Constantan army, I had never faced a creature like this. I had faced gargoyles thrice my size, flying winged soldiers, and wolves with fangs the length of my arm, but I had never faced a creature so… menacing. So ancient.

This wasn’t just any other day in training. This was a real opponent who really wanted to kill me. To kill Rozmarin. The adrenaline finally kicked in then, spurring me into action. The events around me slowed down, and I was able to keep up with Rozmarin and the creature’s lightning-fast movements.

In the air, Rozmarin dodged the creature's jaws, just barely. Her sword came up to swipe at the creature’s sensitive skin beneath its chin. Black blood spewed out of the wound, and the BloodDrake gave a furious shriek. I rushed forward while the creature seemed occupied by Rozmarin’s attacks, dagger in hand, and plunged it into the creature's leg. Or, at least tried to.

My blade bounced off its scales like armor, and I let out a frustrated noise. How were we supposed to defeat the creature if our weapons didn’t even harm it?

“Aim for the soft spots! The parts not covered in scales,” Rozmarin called as she dodged another blow mid-air.

I looked down, running on nothing but my instinct to survive and adrenaline, and saw the dull grey color of skin between its talons. Ah hell, it’s worth a shot, I thought, and I brought my dagger down as hard as I could between the monster's talons.

There was a sick, fleshy sound as black blood sprayed everywhere, and an ear-shattering screech filled the air. Before I could blink, I was flying backward until I hit and skidded along the ground, the wind knocked out of me. I heard a concerned cry from Rozmarin, but I was too busy trying to pull air into my lungs to look up. I rolled onto my hands and knees, mouth gaping open and lungs contracting, desperate for air. Finally, I coughed and sputtered, sucking in breath after sweet breath to fill my aching lungs.

When the buzzing finally cleared from my ears, I looked up and found Rozmarin sending blast after blast of black power into the beast. Mystical energy surged from her core and radiated out of her hands. I had seen Rozmarin train with Anix before, even trained with her myself, but I had never seen her fight like this.

It took me a moment to realize that she had lost her sword near the wall of the cave, and my dagger was still embedded between the toes of the beast. Judging by the ever-increasing tension in Rozmarin’s features and the way her movements slowed, the blasts coming at longer intervals between each other, I could tell that she wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer.

Just as I stood up again and rushed to retrieve my dagger from between the creature’s talons, the BloodDrake’s giant claw swiped at Rozmarin, and she went flying, slamming into the cave’s rock wall, her wings flashing out of existence just in time to not get crushed. Pain stretched across her face, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, she was up again, wings reappearing to spread wide and launch her back to the creature’s height.

There was something in the fierceness in her gaze, the fearless way in which she fought with everything she had that got me charging the creature for a third time, just barely dodging a swipe from its wings above my head. I managed to rip my blade from the creature’s foot and ducked beneath its wings to squeeze behind it.

“The wings! She is most sensitive in her wings!” Rozmarin yelled, her voice strained with fatigue.

If we didn’t succeed, if we returned home empty-handed, the fall of the kingdom when the hordes finally breached our walls would rest on our shoulders. And I could not carry that weight to my grave. I simply couldn’t.

It was funny how all of the important stuff, the things you valued the most, became so utterly clear when one was in a life-threatening situation. At that moment, all that mattered was Rozmarin’s survival and the future of the kingdom, of the people I had come to care for and even loved.

Without another thought, I raised my dagger high and dug it into one of the BloodDrake’s wings, this time dragging it so that it tore a giant slit through the leathery skin.

The creature shrieked as I tore into its wings, black blood oozing from the wound. Its wings tried to stretch and spread, but I did it again to the wing next to it, figuring we could at least keep it grounded without the advantage of flight. Not that there was enough room in the cave for it to take flight fully. But a victory was a victory, and I would take it. I snatched a glass vial from my pouch and took my prize then and there.

As I pocketed that precious vial, I ducked beneath its wings to face the creature again. That very moment, I saw Rozmarin go flying into the wall once more, and this time, she did not get up. Cuts, scrapes, and bruises marred her skin everywhere beneath her torn clothing, and when I ran to her side to check on her, I realized that blood oozed from her head where it had slammed against a sharp rock.

“Rozmarin,” I called as I kneeled over her limp form, her wings crumpled beneath her. “Rosie?” This time, it was a raspy whisper. A broken plea.

When she didn’t open her eyes, an odd sort of clarity rushed through me, chasing away all of the fear and doubt and hopelessness. At that moment, I wasn’t the Light-Bearer or the sarcastic, sharp-witted thief, or even the compassionate member of the Queen’s council. I was just a man in love with the vampire Queen currently laying, unconscious at my feet.

Love. Yes, that was the right word for it, though it seemed rather underwhelming compared to what I felt for her. I loved Rozmarin, and the BloodDrake could have killed her. But, from the rise and fall of her chest, I knew she hadn’t. Contrary to popular belief, vampires did need to breathe oxygen for their bodies to function like ours, but they wouldn’t die without it. They would simply be in a very boring and uncomfortable state of paralysis.

I grabbed the pack near her body and stood up then, my hands and the front of my shirt soaked in my lover’s blood. I grinned at the angry creature, the arrogant thief returning to the surface.

“You are really and truly a terrible host,” I snarled. “If I hadn’t already gotten what I came for, I might actually be angry.”

“You fool,” the creature hissed, speaking for the first time since it transformed. Blood oozed from its mouth, and I took comfort in the fact that it was black, not red, not Rozmarin’s blood. “You will never defeat me. I have lived for a thousand years, and I will live a thousand more.”

“I didn’t come here to defeat you,” I said as I pulled a vial of black liquid from a hidden pocket in my cloak and dangled it from my fingers for the BloodDrake to see. While Rozmarin had been distracting the creature with a fight, the BloodDrake had forgotten to guard the one treasure we came here for. Her blood.

Enraged by the sight of her bottled blood, the creature pounced, closing the distance between us so quickly that I almost didn’t move fast enough. In the time the creature took to close the distance between me and Rozmarin’s limp body, I crouched over Rozmarin, scrambled to grab the red velvet pouch from the pack in my hands, and clumsily pinched it between my fingers, doing my best to imitate the way Rozmarin had used it to transport us to the clearing.

I tried to envision some place safe as the winnow powder worked its magic. The castle, the kingdom, anywhere. But instead, when we were finally spat out from the dark and empty space between worlds, it was in another cold, dark cave.

At least it was a different cave.

“Shit. That definitely could have gone better,” I muttered under my breath as I took in our surroundings. This cave was much smaller and more shallow than the BloodDrake’s had been. The cold, harsh wind whistled through the dark cave, alerting me to the fact that we were probably still in the Constantan mountain range.

After inspecting Rozmarin’s injuries more thoroughly now that we were alone, I searched the shallow cave for any dry sticks to make a fire. I had blown our last shot at returning to the castle with the winnow powder while trying to escape, so now we would need to make the journey ourselves and fly back.

By the time I reached the back wall of the cave, I had found a sufficient amount of dry twigs to start a fire. I pulled a match from Rozmarin’s pack and started the fire near her, hoping the heat would wake her up comfortably. I didn’t know how long she would take to heal before she could fly again, but I refused to think about that at the moment. I would focus only on what I could control, and that was the state of this cave, the environment in which Rozmarin would wake up to.

After starting the fire, I worked to treat her injuries, starting with the nasty gash on the back of her head. Thanks to her uniquely fast healing abilities, the wound had already stopped bleeding, though it didn’t look to be healing as quickly as it should have. After treating that and any other significant injuries that needed attention with the salves in her pack, I decided I would try to get a bearing of our surroundings. I pulled a map from the pack and made my way out into the rising wind.

My hair whipped around my face from the frozen wind, the map in my hands folding in on itself, as I squinted at the sky, but it was useless. All I could see was snow, trees, and rock. I could see no way to pinpoint our location without getting an aerial view, and that wasn’t an option at the moment.

After spinning in one last circle, desperate for any details, any land markers, anything, I finally gave up and made my way back into the calm darkness of the cave.

When I did, it surprised me to find that Rozmarin was finally beginning to stir. I rushed to her side at the sound of her painful groan, suddenly desperate to see the silver of her eyes and the curve of her mouth as she smirked at me.

When her eyes finally did open, they were aware and searching right away. As they landed on me, I couldn’t help the tiny smile that formed on my face at the relief I felt. Her own returning grin was small and pained, but it was there. Then her eyes closed once more, and she was out again.

34

Rozmarin

When my body finally finished healing, I awoke to find Christoff there, waiting. He had a mug between his fingers, and as soon as he noticed that I was awake, he brought the cup to my lips, encouraging me to drink. I made a move to tell him that his human tinctures would not work on me when I got a whiff of the liquid in his mug.

It was blood. His blood. I recognized the sweet scent of it right away, that familiar cinnamon and roses scent that I had come to love, in its purest form. My eyes fell to the bandage on his arm, and I frowned slightly, the memory of me drinking his blood from that mug slowly returning to me in bits and pieces. He had been feeding me his blood to speed up my healing. Both warmth and trepidation filled me at the surfacing memories.

“You did not have to bleed for me, my lord. I would have healed just fine without it,” I said. That was not a complete lie. I would have healed, but it would have been a much slower process.

Feeding could be a very sensuous experience for both the feeder and the donator, but this was different. Christoff had sacrificed a piece of himself for me. I could already feel the connection between us, like a tether as his blood rushed through my veins, quite literally giving me life.

A half-smile formed on his lips at my concern. “It’s okay. I can handle it.” He sounded exhausted. Hell, he looked exhausted.

I brought my palms to the floor at my sides and realized that I was lying on top of his cloak. I pushed myself to a sitting position, grimacing at the dull pain in my head. Christoff supported my back, warning me to take it easy. When my hand rose to feel the back of my head, I only felt hair and the smooth skin that stretched across my skull. Aside from the dull pounding in my head, the wound had healed. Good.

I looked up at Chris, and his half-smile turned into a full-blown grin.

“You’re okay,” he said, and it was just barely above a whisper as if he could not believe that it was true. A shaking hand came up slowly towards my face like he was afraid any sudden movements would make the moment disappear.

“I am, my lord. Thanks to you,” I returned, with an earnest bow of my head.

He threw his arms around me, squeezing me to his chest. Though it was painful, I did not have it in me to tell him so.

“I was so scared,” he whispered over my shoulder.

I pulled back, and my palms found either side of his face. “I am okay. You are okay.” I kissed him briefly on the lips before pulling back and stretching out the stiffness in my limbs. When my wings reappeared, they were sore and aching too, but nothing that would keep me from flying. When I turned my head to look at him again, that pounding in my head came back full force with a round of dizziness. I looked at the light coming from outside the cave and determined that it was likely close to high noon.

“I should be ready to fly by nightfall. I assume you tried to use the winnow powder to get us home already?” I said, and it came out as more of a statement than a question.

He nodded, seemingly impressed. “How did you know? I thought I was going to have to break it to you that you’d be flying us back.”

I chuckled, grimacing a bit at the pain in my… everything. “Considering how much pain I am in at the moment, I imagine that I was not in very good form when you got us out of there. I trust that you would have used it to get me help despite the massive risks, even though you should know it is quite difficult to truly harm me.”

He surprised me by leaning in and placing a sweet kiss on my cheek. “Thank you for trusting me,” he said sincerely, “but I did use all of the winnow powder just to land us in another cave in the Constantan Mountain Range.”

I looked at him, impressed. “Not bad. You had more control than I did the first time I used the powder.”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I couldn’t get us to winnow off the mountain, let alone to a foreign land. Your first time was way more impressive.”

I chuckled again, and this time, it was a little less painful. “It is not about distance, my lord. It is about accuracy.”

“I was aiming for the castle.”

My left shoulder lifted in a casual shrug. “Same continent, at least.”

As I predicted, I was strong enough to leave by nightfall. We considered leaving then but decided it would be better to rest through the night since apparently I had taken a day and a half to heal this far. That way, by the time we got back to the castle, I would not be too weak to lead. Or fight.

Christoff and I spent most of the rest of the evening waiting the night out in the cave. He told me that he had not heard any more of that wretched shrieking noise on the mountain since the day we battled the BloodDrake.

He filled me in on what happened after the creature knocked me out, of how our distraction strategy had worked, and how he could not resist dangling its blood in its face before he winnowed us out.

“That was rather dangerous, my lord,” I reprimanded him as we sat around the fire in the cave, the chilly mountain winds whistling through the cave.

Christoff pulled his cloak tighter around him and also pulled me close to her side. “I know, but she asked for it when she knocked you out.” He sighed. “Someone has to take that old hag down a notch.”

My mouth quirked up at one corner. At that moment, all we needed, all we had was each other.

“I think you did a rather adequate job of that.”

He smiled slyly. “I am nothing if not thorough, Your Highness.”

We fell asleep by the fire, me wrapped safely in his arms. It was before dawn when I awoke to the sound of movement outside of the cave. Christoff still laid fast asleep, so I maneuvered my way out of his embrace as gently as possible. I chuckled lightly when he made a little snoring sound and rolled onto his other side. This man would be the death of me.

Chances were that the sound was just a wild animal, but even if it was, I thought it necessary to let whatever it was know that this cave was occupied. So, I strapped my sword to my hip and made my way to the cave’s entrance.

When I stepped out into the snowy night, however, it was dead silent. Even the wind had died down, and no animals were anywhere in sight. Everything in the area had fled. I had been around long enough, especially as a predator, to know when another predator is in the area.

I had seen it many times. The silence. The faint smell of lingering fear in the air from those who have fled or are hiding.

We were not alone.

Right as I had the thought, a short, stubby creature with pointed ears, green skin, and razor-sharp teeth came barreling out of the trees, headed straight towards me. From the deteriorated state of its body, I could tell that it was a zombie, and the odd anatomy of the creature made me think it was a goblin. After dodging several of the zombie’s attempts at chomping off my ankle, I finally dispatched the creature. At that point, there was no hope of saving it.

When I glanced back up at the tree line, prepared to take on more attackers, it surprised me to find that I was, once again, alone. Or so it seemed. The forest was still quiet, and the fresh scent of fear still lingered in the air. Then, the worst sound I’d ever heard in all of my two-hundred and twenty-four years echoed from behind me: Christoff’s scream.

My wings immediately appeared, spreading wide as I shot into the entrance of the cave. It felt good to work those muscles again after almost two days of idleness. When I landed by the fire, a head of long, bright red hair crouched over Christoff, rocking back and forth. When I took a step forward to yank the BloodDrake away from him, a pair of empty, black pools whipped up to meet my gaze. I froze, my eyes dropping to its hands that hovered over Christoff’s limp body. The only thing keeping me from tearing the red-headed woman apart was the fact that I could still hear Christoff’s heartbeat.

“You were a fool to come here, Vampire Queen,” the BloodDrake hissed, and it was not just one voice, but multiple voices. “You cannot truly think that you can save your kingdom with the cure that insolent sorceress is brewing up, do you?”

My eyes widened, and I fell back a step. “You know of the cure?”

The creature stood then, and to my utter horror, Christoff’s body rose with her. He still laid parallel to the ground, but the BloodDrake’s hands hovered over him, raising him to chest level like there was a physical tether between her hands and Christoff’s body.

“Of course I know of the cure, you foolish girl,” she said, her words whipping like the icy wind that had only just died down. That explained the lack of activity in the area. Everything knew to fear the BloodDrake. “You will ruin everything.”

My hands balled into fists at my sides as I glared at the creature.

“Give me the boy,” I said in a low voice filled with warning. The BloodDrake gave me a look that said, ‘Really? Do you honestly expect that to work?’ so I continued speaking, my curiosity getting the better of me. Besides, I needed the creature distracted. “What do you know of the cure? How do you know Sahar?”

The creature cackled, her mouth opening just a little too wide as if her jaw had unhinged. I had to fight the shudder that threatened to spill down my spine at the image.

“My dear Vampire Queen. That mockery of a sorceress has no vision for the future. No ambition.”

That threw me for a loop. How did we suddenly go from this odd hostage situation to The BloodDrake gossiping about Sahar?

“I think her future vision is just fine,” I said, referring to the seer’s uncanny ability to predict things before they happened. It was what had brought Chris and me here. That thought gave me pause, and for the first time, I doubted my judgment of the sorceress. “Tell me how you know Sahar.”

The BloodDrake cocked her head at me so quickly that even my heightened sight almost missed it. Then her eyes flicked to Christoff’s still-unconscious body below her fingers. Slowly, carefully, she lowered Christoff’s body to the ground but kept her hands poised, palms open and facing downward.

“If you make a move to harm me, I will snap his neck in a fraction of the time it will take for you to even reach his dead corpse,” the BloodDrake threatened lightly, her tone casual.

My own gaze flicked to Chris then, his chest rising and falling slowly. He almost looked peaceful, but I knew better than to count on that.

“What have you done to him?” I asked, trying not to let the creature hear the fear or desperation in my voice. Not for myself, but for Christoff. As long as Chris’s life was at her mercy, the BloodDrake had me by the neck, and she knew it.

“I have merely put him to sleep.”

I eyed her skeptically, not believing a single word she said. “Then why did he scream?”

The BloodDrake’s mouth slowly turned up in a secret smile at being caught. “Okay, maybe I have thrown in a night terror or two while we finish the business we must attend to. A small price to pay for his rather rude departure.”

Slowly, I walked towards the woman, her black eyes following me all the while.

“And what business might that be that is so important that you had to make such a… dramatic appearance?” I asked, recalling how she’d lured me out with that goblin zombie so she could sneak in. Had she somehow found a way to control them?

The BloodDrake smiled at me, almost business-like. In all honesty, it was a rather unsettling sight. I was not sure which version of her I preferred: the woman or the beast. The woman just might have been the fiercer opponent.

“I have come to offer you a bargain.”

35

Rozmarin

The BloodDrake had clearly become privy of my reputation for being a sucker for a good bargain. Luckily for me, my kingdom, and the entire continent, I did not trust the BloodDrake as far as I could throw her monster form. Even as she sauntered over to my side, swaying her hips more than necessary.

“Join me,” she said as she reached up to run a long red nail down my chest, over the material of my shirt. “And with my power, my army, we will rule.” She leaned up to whisper in my ear, her hot, rancid breath fanning across my face. Her tongue flicked out to run its slimy course up my ear. “Together.”

It took everything in me not to shove her away and immediately wipe the spit from my ear.

“Why me?” I asked, letting some breathiness into my voice.

“Because I have been keeping my eye on you, Vampire Queen. I have watched you grow and conquer and thrive again and again.”

It was not like she had given me a choice. Because of her, I was a vampire. Immortal. My nails pierced into my palms as I bit my tongue until I could taste blood.

“As have many others,” I replied vaguely. I did not ask the BloodDrake how she had been watching me. I was not quite sure that I wanted to know.

“Not like you,” she said cryptically.

I forced myself to meet her gaze, then. “And what would be in it for me?”

She smiled a cat’s grin, her black eyes devouring my face as if I were the tastiest looking thing on this mountain. Perhaps, to her, I was.

“Power, my sweet Queen. Eternal and incomparable power.”

“I already have power,” I countered, looking down my nose at her. “I have my kingdom. Constanta.”

A flicker of irritation passed across her face before it disappeared, smoothed over with a saccharine grin. “But you can have so much more. Together, we will breed chaos throughout the whole continent. And then, once we have conquered that, we will move overseas.”

“And you intend to do that, how?” I raised a single, dark brow.

Her sympathetic smile turned downright evil.

“Why, my army, of course,” she sang, gesturing to the entrance of the cave where that undead goblin had attacked me.

I did my best to hide my shock, but even I could feel my eyes widen a fraction. She did not miss it.

“The supernatural zombies in the clearing. In these mountains. They are yours?”

She nodded like a proud mother. “Are they not magnificent?”

I took in her words, her movements, and her mannerisms. I tucked away every little piece of information that she let slip in our little ‘business meeting’ into the back of my mind.

“Why does this strain affect supernaturals? What if it infects even those you do not mean to infect?” I asked, digging for anything she might be willing to divulge that could help us in some way. That was if we even managed to get out of here alive, let alone in time to get back to Constanta before it was too late.

The BloodDrake seemed undeterred like she had thought of everything ahead of time. “Did you see any infected vampires during your precious human’s little stunt in the clearing? As for myself, I am the mother of this virus. It cannot affect me.”

I heard the last sentence, but I was still hung up on the first one. I had not noticed the lack of zombified vampires in her army, though once I thought about it, I could not remember seeing a single one. When I gave the BloodDrake a curious look, she just shrugged.

“You cannot spread a zombie virus to those who are already dead.”

Tired of always being one step behind, I faced the creature fully. A flicker of movement behind the witch, and an odd smell caught my attention, but I did not let my eyes stray from her face.

“Why have you changed your mind? I slaughtered your coven, and I do not, for a single second, regret it. I never will.”

She waved a hand dismissively as if the lives of her coven meant little to her. The thought did not come as a surprise. She smiled, almost sweetly as she stepped closer to me until our chests brushed against each other. Her hand came up to cup my cheek gently. Such an odd contrast to the blackened, scaly creature I had fought the other day.

“Because your power and your strength of will draw me to you like a moth to a flame,” she cooed. “Power attracts power, and you and I, my sweet Queen, could find no better match for each other.”

“I beg to differ.”

A flash of golden light shone behind the BloodDrake, and surprise flashed in her gaze as Christoff plunged his dagger into the creature’s back, straight through her heart. Black blood oozed from the BloodDrake’s mouth as it gaped open, but her mouth curled up in a hideous smile. Christoff withdrew his dagger, and the monster twisted around toward him.

Panic, and then a firm realization set his expression in stone. He lifted up an arm, his palm pointing at the laughing, bleeding BloodDrake as she stalked toward him. Christoff closed his eyes, and a blinding beam of light shot out from his palm and wrapped the BloodDrake in burning light. When the light faded, her singed body crumpled to the floor.

“Thank the gods. I thought she would never shut up,” Christoff quipped before wiping his blade of the black, rancid blood on his cloak.

I just stood there for a moment, shock and silence whispering through my veins. Then, snapping out of it, my legs surged forward, and I closed the distance between Christoff and me in two long strides. The handle of his dagger poked into my abdomen as I hugged him, but I did not care. Christoff was alive and awake and…

“Is she…?” My voice trailed off, letting the question hang in the air between us as I pulled away, and we both looked down at the creature.

Chris shrugged and opened his mouth to say something, but the BloodDrake coughed and rolled from her side to her back, black blood oozing from her wound. Her body smelled like burning, rotting flesh.

“Light-Bearer,” the BloodDrake spat, recognition slowly seeping into her black gaze.

Chris just smiled down at the creature, letting it see the triumph, the confirmation in his eyes. I noticed that was not all that was in them. They seemed brighter, more vibrant.

“That’s right, BloodDrake,” Christoff said. “I am the one who will be the end of you and your desperate attempts at claiming power that doesn’t exist. Thank you for that little rest, by the way. I needed it.”

His voice sounded different. He still sounded like Christoff, his unfailing snark even peeking through, but with all of the confidence, wisdom, and power of someone centuries older than him. Like he had somehow lived multiple lives, conquered nations, and saved villages while he was under the sorceress’s spell.

The BloodDrake tried to laugh, but it only came out as a gurgle, blood bubbling up from her mouth. When she recovered, Christoff and I both had to strain our ears to understand her.

“You are too late, Light-Bearer. You have been racing the clock, and finally, your time is up. My army has already marched west. By the time you reach your precious kingdom, my army will have breached its walls, and you will have no hope of stopping the chaos that they will reap.”

And with that, the BloodDrake choked on her own rancid blood until it stopped flowing completely. When she exhaled her last breath, her skin greyed and shriveled, deteriorating before our eyes until the infamous, terrible creature was nothing but a pile of dust, whisked away by the cold breeze.

My eyes met Chris’s, and one side of my mouth quirked up.

“You truly are a connoisseur of the dramatics, my lord.”

36

Christoff

Rozmarin and I were airborne minutes after I stabbed the BloodDrake through the heart and blasted it with light. Before she appeared, I had been sleeping soundly when I felt a sharp pain in my head, pinning me to my spot. I screamed from the pain at first, but then the witch had completely taken away my ability to do anything, and a web of horrifying, nightmarish images and sounds trapped me. I was unable to do anything about it. Unable to move or scream or think. A prisoner in my own body.

Somewhere amid all the pain in my head and the terrible images that the BloodDrake was forcing me to endure, I felt a light tapping in the back of my mind as if someone was asking for permission to enter. Desperate for any escape, or distraction, or anything, I opened the mental door.

Nothing in this world could have prepared me for the onslaught of sensations that flooded through into my being. I had always felt an emptiness in my core like it was waiting to be filled when the time came. I had always thought it was a normal occurrence, that emptiness. But as an overwhelming sense of peace and power rushed through my being, I knew that it was much more than that. That emptiness I had felt was a calling I hadn’t been able to hear, an unfulfilled prophecy.

Remember who you are, Light-Bearer. Remember why you are here.

Sahar’s words echoed through my head, and for once, I did remember. I was the poor thief from the wrong side of the tracks, the royal representative of the West Village, and I was a warrior, but most importantly, at that moment, I was the Light-Bearer. I broke out of the BloodDrake’s spell with ease once that odd sensation had filled the emptiness in my core, suddenly entirely confident in my abilities.

I marveled at my use of power as we flew over the evergreens at the base of the Constantan mountains, we kept our eyes out for more of the BloodDrake’s zombie army. There were none in sight. The BloodDrake’s words echoed in my head as we passed the empty forests below.

You are too late, Light-Bearer. You have been racing the clock, and finally, your time is up. My army has already marched west. By the time you reach your precious kingdom, my army will have breached its walls, and you will have no hope of stopping the chaos that they will reap.

I shuddered in Rozmarin’s arms as the words ran through my mind. What if we were too late? What if we get to the kingdom, and there’s no one left to save? Rozmarin pulled me tighter into her chest when she felt me shudder, mistaking it for a chill. If only. Thanks to the protection her wings provided, along with her body warmth and her strong arms wrapped around me, I was surprisingly comfortable as we sped home. The fear of flying a whisper of a memory in my mind, I reveled in the refreshing feel of the wind whipping against my face, the experience now oddly enjoyable.

Rozmarin smirked down at me when she saw the blissful look on my face.

“It looks like you are enjoying the flight almost as much as I am, my lord,” she teased. Though her tone was light, I could see the fear in her eyes, the worry that we truly might be too late to save her people.

Our people.

“No wonder you usually prefer to fly. I think, if I had wings, I might never land.” It was an exaggeration… sort of. I really did enjoy the feeling of weightlessness flying gave me once I got over the whole ‘fear of falling to my death’ part.

Rozmarin’s chuckle was lost in the wind before her face sobered. “Christoff, if we make it to the kingdom and the walls have already been breached, you do not need to st--”

“Shh,” I said, bringing my finger up over her lips. “We are in this together. Until the end.” She gave me a weak, unconvincing smile. “I mean it, Rosie. Don’t you dare think of dropping me off in the middle of nowhere and making me miss all the action. I will never forgive you if you do.”

As I spoke, my words rang true. I truly would never forgive Rozmarin if she forced me to sit out of the war while the BloodDrake’s army ravaged my people.

Rozmarin sighed and offered me a small, sad smile. “I know, my lord. But you can hardly blame me for trying.”

I kissed her lightly on her cheek. Hardly, indeed.

We kept our eyes out for hordes the whole way back to the kingdom, trying not to treat it like the last few hours of our lives, though it may very well have been. But as we got closer and closer to the border, the mystery of what awaited us when we returned weighed heavier and heavier on our shoulders. By the time we were an hour away, we had fallen into a comfortable but grim silence, just enjoying each other’s company, the warmth of each other’s body, the easy breaths that could have been some of our last.

At least the weather was warmer now that we were out of the mountains. Spring was in full bloom, and I knew vines and plants would grow over half of the structures in the kingdom. All the greenery and blooming flowers would give the kingdom a faerie tale sort of quality. Of course, considering the current circumstances, it was more like a nightmare.

Finally, when we were just a few miles away from the border, we caught sight of the first sign of zombies. As the BloodDrake had said, they were marching west towards the kingdom, and my heart sank to the pit of my stomach when I realized that many of them were flying. Most of those who had had wings in their lives had kept them, but some of them had become so deteriorated from the virus, like the faerie in the clearing, that their wings were no longer functional. But those who did still have functional wings would have no trouble breaching the wall. The thirty-foot tall rock border was only meant to deter human zombies, not supernatural zombies, a threat no one thought existed before now.

Rozmarin and I shared a look, our hope that maybe the BloodDrake had been bluffing. Our only hope now was Constanta’s army and Sahar’s cure. And me.

“When we reach the castle, we must immediately find Anix and Sahar,” Rozmarin said, her voice tight.

“And then?” I asked.

“And then, either the cure works, or it does not. If it does not, then we fight. If we somehow survive this invasion, then we keep searching for the cure.”

My heartbeat quickened at the anticipation and the realization that we might lose everything in a matter of hours.

The castle came into sight first, as it sat atop the highest hill in the kingdom, and the villages settled in the land beneath it. It still stood, and considering the current situation, that was a victory in itself. I had feared that we would come back to nothing but rubble and death. More than that, the castle and the courtyards were crawling with people and troops momentarily safe from the swarms beyond.

Rozmarin and I shared a hopeful glance. They had successfully evacuated the outer parts of the kingdom. That had been a major point in our plan if the hordes were to move in. Get the people to safety. Even the West Village looked like it had been evacuated. I briefly wondered if my family had made it out successfully, but I shoved those thoughts down. I needed to focus on what I could control now, and that was completing the cure.

When the wall, along with the rest of the kingdom, slowly came into sight, my breath fled my lungs in a giant whoosh. The thirty-foot wall that had held strong for forty-something years was almost invisible beneath the broken and rotting bodies that were flying over it, or even climbing it. Thousands and thousands of zombies for miles were rushing the border, mainly from the east. The guard posts along the wall were thankfully still intact, and troops were already shooting fire cannons over the wall, along with arrows and anything else that might slow down the hordes.

When we reached the outskirts of the army, mainly on foot as those were the slowest, Rozmarin tightened her grip on me, murmuring a low warning to hold on, and swooped low towards the zombies. When she was only feet above their heads, she gave her hulking wings a mighty flap, and even I felt the power surge around me as the zombies below us went flying. Some of them, those who had deteriorated so badly that they were almost nothing but a skeleton, never rose to their feet again.

Rozmarin did it again and again, even when we reached the inner parts of the hordes where the stronger, faster, and flying zombies were more abundant. Even as undead gargoyles and faeries chased us towards the wall, Rozmarin was still faster. But when a giant faerie with bark for skin and a missing eye came barreling towards us from behind Rozmarin, I scrambled for the dagger at my belt, jamming it into its good eye just as it came into arms’ reach of Rozmarin’s back. Its body bashed into Rozmarin’s wings, destabilizing us for a moment before she shook him off. The beast plummeted towards the ground.

“Nice shot, my lord,” Rozmarin said, appreciatively, and I gave her my most wicked smile, the thrill of having survived our first attack rushing through my veins.

There was a part of me that wanted to fight the zombies from the outside and deplete their numbers before they ever made it inside the wall, but I knew that we needed to complete the cure. I had never wanted to be in two places at once more than I did at that moment. To be able to be everything my people needed and more.

When we finally flew over the wall, a loud roaring went up from ahead of us, and it took me a moment to realize that it was cheering. The people, the troops, they were all cheering at our arrival and the spark of hope that we brought.

We did a lap around the perimeter of the castle once to scope out the area before landing on the roof. Rozmarin and I took a few moments to collect ourselves, stretching out our limbs and catching our breath before the Queen’s council met us at the entrance to the stairwell. They all looked exhausted, with bags beneath their eyes and their shoulders tense with the stress of the past few weeks. But most of all, they looked stunned and relieved.

Except for Anix.

She looked… broken. Not in the physical sense but broken spiritually. It only occurred to me then that they must have been expecting us days ago when we’d winnowed out of the BloodDrake’s cave.

“You are alive.” It was Rachel who spoke first as she rushed forward to take Rozmarin into her arms, her shoulders shaking slightly. When she pulled back, she had tears in her eyes.

“I am well,” Rozmarin replied, hugging her back before raising her head to look at the rest of the council. “We have much to discuss, but for now, we must complete the cure.”

“Where is Sahar?” I asked, already looking towards the stairwell, eager to head to the alchemist lab.

Silence and a terrible tension met my question. It was the kind of tension that made you dread whatever it was that you were about to be told. When I looked at their faces, some of them looked at me with sympathy, and others wouldn’t meet my eyes, fighting tears of their own.

Anix was one of the latter. My heart plummeted to the pit of my stomach when I put the pieces together. I had loved her, and the expression Anix had on her face at the moment told me everything I needed to know about my lover’s state.

“No,” I said, and it came out like a broken plea. My legs threatened to give out beneath me, but I reached out to hang on to Rozmarin’s arm for support, my gaze focused on the ground beneath me. “How?”

Anix’s eyes finally rose to meet mine, and the sheer grief in them almost knocked the wind out of me. “The first horde made it into the castle before we could dispatch them. Sahar--” Her voice cracked on the alchemist’s name, and she had to take a moment to collect herself. “Sahar was in the alchemy lab when they entered through the ground floor. They targeted the lab first… It was like they knew exactly where to target to ruin our chances.”

Rozmarin’s eyes softened, and she closed the distance between her and the gargoyle. She placed a hand on Anix’s shoulder before pulling her in for a swift, rough embrace before quickly breaking apart again.

“She was an extraordinary woman, and I will forever be grateful for her wisdom.” I could see that she was hiding her grief in an attempt to comfort Anix.

Anix nodded solemnly and scored her features back into her usual aloofness, but if you looked carefully enough at her eyes, you could still see the pain.

“An SOS finally arrived from a nearby kingdom while you were away. We sent reinforcements their way just before the hordes breached the walls at full dark, last night.”

Holy gods, they’d been fighting off the hordes for over half a day.

Rozmarin ground her teeth together, clearly thinking of the BloodDrake. “The BloodDrake was controlling the hordes. She had been building an army of supernatural zombies in some perverse plan to conquer the continent.”

“Was?” Aerywin asked, speaking up for the first time. Of course, she would be the one to pick out that minor grammatical detail.

Rozmarin faced her, a grim smile forming on her lips. “The BloodDrake’s weakness was Christoff’s blood.” She turned her eyes on me then. “The blood of the Light-Bearer.”

“But all of the alchemists are dead. The lab is probably destroyed,” Rachel said. “Sahar was our only hope of a cure.”

“Take me to her body,” I ordered, and everyone turned to me. Their expressions very clearly expressed that they could not understand why in Constanta that I would ever want to enter the lab where one of our lover’s dead body was lying. Even I didn’t quite understand it, but I couldn’t deny the pull I felt towards my sorceress lover, even in her death.

Especially in her death.

They conceded, desperate for any chance at completing the cure. I briefly wondered that, if we did complete the cure, how we would distribute it to the thousands of zombies that were attacking. They wouldn’t very well stand in line to take it. It occurred to me then that Sahar hadn’t left me with a single clue as to how to wield the cure.

Considering I was the Light-Bearer, I assumed that the duty would somehow fall to me. And I still did, though it seemed a much mightier task now that I was alone in it, without Sahar’s help.

The council led me all the way to the lowest floor, below ground where the alchemy lab along with the armory was located. I had spent so much time down there during the past few months that I feared that the mere sight of it, blood-soaked and reeking with death, might destroy me.

When we finally made it down there and stepped out of the stairwell, the sight that met my eyes was far worse than I had imagined. Bodies were strewn across the hall, heads torn open, and brain parts splattered everywhere. When we entered the alchemy lab, it was even worse.

Blood painted the walls and the floors so heavily that I had to fight to keep from slipping on the thick liquid. Human, supernatural, and zombie bodies alike were all scattered across the scene. Some were stretched out across the worktables, bottles of different liquids and potions spilled and shattered around them. Some had limbs twisted at odd angles, and others dismembered entirely. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the horror these alchemists had endured in the final few moments of their lives.

“No. No,” I said again, and this time it came out hard. Sharp and laced with a thousand years worth of pain and rage. The BloodDrake had done this, had turned all of these innocent people into man-eating zombies as pawns for her own sick game.

Before I could let the rage envelop me into a cold, numb shell, I felt a pull to the corner of the room where I had drunk dozens of cups of tea with my friend. Where we had laughed, and gossiped, and plotted to save those we had grown to love with the cure. The cure that we no longer had because Sahar was dead, and the lab was destroyed.

When my eyes fell upon the sorceress’s body, tears immediately pooled in my eyes, spilling over my cheeks. Still, that pull towards the corner kept tugging at me, making me drag one foot in front of the other until I stood a foot away from Sahar's crumpled form.

Unlike the BloodDrake, Sahar hadn’t rapidly decomposed and turned to ash in death. No, she’d kept her human form, and if you only focused on her face, it looked like she could have been sleeping. But the rest of her body…

Blood and black ichor from the zombies soaked through the red silk of her robes. Her brown hands were burnt to crisps as if she had used so much power defending herself and her team of alchemists that her own magic had charred her skin. From the positioning of her body, of the way dozens of bodies laid scattered around her, I could tell that she had spent the last few minutes of her life giving everything she had to defend her fellow alchemists.

I would have expected nothing less.

The Queen’s council stood silent behind me, solemn and probably a little sick. My own nausea was threatening to spill the contents of my stomach at the disgusting smell of rancid blood and death. But even standing in the middle of this gruesome scene, a foot away from my dear friend’s body, I continued to feel that pull towards Sahar as if she was calling to me.

I stepped even closer, until the boot of my toe nearly touched her side, and bent down to wipe the dark braid that laid across her face. As soon as my clammy fingers grazed her cool skin, an overwhelming sensation of being sucked away washed through me, and darkness encased my vision. I lost feeling in my entire body, and it took me a moment to realize that I no longer had a body.

Slowly, my vision started to come back, but there was an odd sheen to my vision as if there was a sheer curtain over my eyes, and the angle had changed so that I was looking down. Then, it registered that I was looking down at… myself. And Sahar’s dead body. And the Queen’s council. When I looked at myself, my eyes were closed, my hand still outstretched and frozen on Sahar’s face. The council merely stood a few feet back, assuming I needed a moment alone with her.

“My dear love,” a familiar, angelic voice called to me.

When I looked up, Sahar stood before me. Well, not stood. She floated, and when I looked down at my own feet, I realized that I was floating too. Then, returning my attention to my friend’s face, I launched myself towards her and tried to wrap my arms around her. Though my arms simply passed through her, warmth filled me when Sahar realized my intentions. When we both stepped back, such love and wisdom and peace filled her eyes that it was almost overwhelming.

“You’re okay?” I asked, and I realized my mouth hadn’t moved. But I definitely heard my voice. And Sahar’s.

“I will always be okay.” Sahar smiled as she looked me up and down. “I see your trip to the BloodDrake has awoken your powers.”

I shot her a confused look. “Powers?” I asked. “What about the cure?”

She floated towards me and took both of my hands in hers, though they felt like nothing more than wisps of a warm breeze against a curtain. Her image flickered in and out as if her connection between this world and wherever she’d come from was slowly breaking. The thought sent a wave of sadness through me.

“We do not have much time, Light-Bearer I have come to finish what I started.” Her voice sounded more and more distant by the second.

I gasped. “The cure! You have to tell me how to finish the cure!”

“Yes… and no.” Sahar gave me a sympathetic smile, almost managing to look guilty. “I am afraid there is no cure.”

I withdrew, confused. “But this whole time…”

She nodded slowly. “There are some things that alchemy cannot fix alone.”

“I- I don’t understand,” I cried, feeling hopelessness course through me. “What am I supposed to do if there is no cure?”

She smiled at me, patiently waiting for my little panic attack to subside. “Fear not, Light-Bearer.” She brought her hand up to rest over my heart, and warmth spread through my entire being at the touch. “All you need to save those you love is right in here.”

My gaze found hers again, and I felt that well in me begin to fill at her touch, chasing the rising emptiness away.

“Tell me what I have to do.”

37

Rozmarin

When Christoff opened his eyes again, the look reminded me of when he had woken up from the BloodDrake’s spell in the cave, but that light burned much, much brighter this time, giving him an almost otherworldly essence. I was unsurprised that Sahar would come back to speak to Christoff even in death. She had always made it a point to finish anything that she started. He turned to face us, and the golden aura that glowed around him shimmered in the dark lab.

“I know what to do,” he said, his voice holding nothing but confidence and determination. It rang with a certain ethereal otherness that reminded me of when Sahar would get into her weird trances and start babbling about some future prophecy.

I was the first to step forward of the Queen’s council. “How may we be of assistance, my lord?”

We sent Anix back to lead her troops in the defense effort, assuming they could use every ounce of help they could get. Aerywin continued running sweeps of the castle and kingdom’s perimeter, doing her best to map the movement of the hordes in search of a pattern for Anix to best position her troops.

Rachel chose to fight. Though she had the petite figure of a young Korean gothic beauty, her fierceness and strength that she had gained over the ages served her quite well on the battlefield. I knew from our many arguments that ended in violence, that her preferred weapon of choice was a Wol Do, a crescent blade that she wielded as an extension of herself. She particularly loved to wield it on horseback.

Christoff gave Sahar one last kiss on the forehead and whispered a promise I barely heard.

"I will make you whole again."

With that, Christoff and I made our way to the top of the castle again, where we would have the best vantage point over the battlefield that did not involve flying. Aerywin was just taking off when we made it up there, using the large, flat surface as a landing dock for her perimeter runs.

The roar of battle echoed in the distance as our troops met the zombie hordes at the bottom of the hill to the castle. We were running out of time.

Christoff turned to me as we stepped out of the stairwell and onto the roof, an infinity of emotions swirling in those golden-green eyes. “I love you.”

I was not sure who said it. If it was me, or him, or both of us, or neither, but either way, at that moment, we loved each other. We both fell into each other with a brief yet soul-searing kiss. When he pulled away to lean his forehead against mine, he gazed down at me.

“Surely, you know that I wasn’t going to survive this,” he said, and there was a distant sadness to his voice like he’d already detached himself from this world. His body. His emotions.

Peace does not come without a price.

Just as I was about to step back, intending to question him further, I realized that… I could not. Regret filled Chris’s eyes as he stepped away from me, and I realized that he was the one rooting me to the spot, rendering me immobile. Understanding rushed through me as I realized what he was doing. He assumed that I would try to stop him when I saw that what he was about to do would kill him.

He assumed correctly.

“No!” I cried, fighting the invisible hold on my limbs, but he had already turned away from me to make his way to the center of the area like something was pulling him there. “Please, don’t do this! We will find another way.”

He looked at me, and there was a flicker of the human Christoff in those eyes. “There is no other way. I am the Light-Bearer,” he replied simply.

As soon as his body stilled, his eyes closed peacefully, and he tilted his head up to the sky. I watched in horror as he inhaled deeply through his nose and held it. I could see him reaching inward, into that deep well of power that I had always felt in him before he realized it himself.

After a few moments, his lips parted, and he let it out, slowly at first, but then harder, until the soft glow that had been radiating from his body focused into a concentrated stream, flowing from his mouth and over our heads. Over the battlefield.

I had to squeeze my eyelids shut at the sheer brightness of the light and the heat that licked at my skin like the flames of a fire. I don’t know how long it was before the heat subsided, and I dared to open my eyes again, but it felt like hours. Days, even. The air seemed to pulse in that time, finally ending with the biggest pulse of all that nearly knocked me to my knees.

A golden haze filled the air when I did open my eyes, blocking my view of the land below us. I could not even see more than a few feet in front of me.

As I felt my way forward, finally able to move again, I made my way to where I had seen Christoff standing earlier. When I reached the spot where he had stood, I felt something soft brush my shoe, and when I looked down, Chris’s form crumpled at my feet.

A choked sound escaped my throat as I bent down to check his pulse, only to find… nothing. No pulse. No movement. No breath. No life.

The Light-Bearer was dead.

I do not know how long I stayed, holding Christoff’s lifeless body to my chest, rocking him back and forth, whispering promises into his hair that I would never be able to keep. The grief, the seemingly endless pain that felt like an empty, yawning cavern deep in the pit of my soul, latched onto me and did not let go. I could do nothing, feel nothing, be nothing without knowing that my mate was in this world. We may not have officially completed the mating bond, but Christoff was my mate. And he would be until the day I finally left this earth as a pile of ash and dust.

38

Anix

I had already been fighting back the stinking hordes for most of the day, but when Rozmarin and the council agreed I would be of most help back on the field with my troops, I ran as fast as my legs would carry me out of the bloody lab, through the castle halls with bodies everywhere, and back out into the fray with my greatsword in hand.

This was where I belonged. It’s what I lived for, not only as a gargoyle or the commander of Constanta’s forces but as the Doom Bringer. Killing the evil, stinking, horrible things was what I was made for and what I had trained for, and as long as they were inside the walls of Constanta, I would not stop until every foul rotting body lay dead on the ground.

They had already done so much destruction to the wall, to the East Village, the castle, and now the West Village. And they had murdered Sahar.

I let the pain of seeing her lifeless body there on the ground, where I had seen her work and smile and laugh so many times before, flow through me. It fueled me, and a red hot fire coursed through my veins. It burned and hurt, like the ache in my heart, and a guttural growl escaped from me as I let my rage out on the battlefield. My sword, already covered in the zombie’s blackish-red blood, sang as I swung it through the air. It sliced off heads and cut through bodies until I stood in a pile of zombies.

We had sent forces off to the east right before the hordes broke through our defenses, almost like they had known we were weaker from the lack of troops. I felt stupid for not realizing a horde had been waiting on our doorstep, and in my effort to help the eastern kingdoms, I had allowed the zombies to break into the kingdom and launch their vicious attack. And now so many were dead because of my terrible, stupid error.

After fighting off the initial wave, when we managed to get a short break from the battle, Adriana had tried to comfort me.

“None of us could have seen this coming,” she argued with me.

“I should have known better. I should have kept our forces here to protect our people.” I sat on the steps of the castle with my head in my hands.

Adriana put a bloodied hand on my shoulder. “I would have done the exact same thing you did after receiving the SOS from the east. Anyone would have sent the troops to help them. This isn’t your fault.”

The events leading up to the attack replayed over in my head. We had word that the eastern kingdoms needed help, and I immediately sent soldiers off to help. Maybe Adriana was right. How could I have known the hordes would break through the walls? None had since we’d erected the walls after The Great Purge, but I still was angry with myself. I was angry, sad, horrified, and so many other emotions. So much was going wrong in such a short period of time. My kingdom and my people were crumbling before my eyes, and although I was doing all that I could to stop it, it wasn’t enough.

As I stalked across the bloodied field, I cut down zombies and growled orders to my troops to reform the lines for an all-out assault. My soldiers, as eager for blood as I was, fell in line behind me as I crashed over zombie corpses, enjoying the feel of their skulls crushed beneath my feet.

That was when a dark figure came up beside me. It was Rachel with fire as in her eyes. She carried her great blade at her side, and when she turned, our eyes met. Her dirt-covered face had lines of clear spots where the tears had rolled down her pale cheeks, but I saw no more signs of sadness in her. Now, it was all rage, rage and fury that matched my own.

I snarled and lifted my greatsword as we marched forth toward a mass of the creatures. All I saw was red and their swift, impending destruction by our hands.

“Forward, soldiers!” I screamed.

We charged forward as a single unit and clashed with the brainless creatures. In great swinging arcs, I curled my blade back and forth, drawing lines of red across the rows of the undead. Rachel screamed and yelled as she sent her Wol Do flying through the horde at a startling speed. Out of all the council members, Rachel was probably my closest match in a physical battle. She was truly terrifying with her large blade and her black hair whipping around her face as she gracefully spun back and forth, killing zombies swiftly.

I had been fighting zombies for many years, but this horde was different. Instead of just the rotting forms of humans, as zombies had been since the outbreak, these were the decaying corpses of faeries, werewolves, and even gargoyles. I collided with one such creature, and even I would admit that seeing the large rotting frame of a gargoyle before me had me rattled. I plunged my sword into the creature's torso, and then, as I pulled the blade back out, I swung it high. With all my force and weight behind it, I sliced the blade through the gargoyle’s thick neck, successfully removing its head from its stinking body.

As I fought on, now fully covered in layers of blood, dirt, and sweat, I saw my friends in each of these monsters as supernatural and human zombies alike stumbled toward my troops and me.

Sahar was already dead, but would Rozmarin be next? Or Rachel? Aerywin? Christoff?

Not if I could help it.

I slashed down another two zombies and then turned to stab another. Rachel leaped up beside me and sent her blade soaring up into a zombie’s jaw. Its eyes glowed red as it growled at her, but when her blade connected its face, the creature's head exploded in blood and brains. She moved onto the next one, and the next, and the next.

The sounds of their moans and groans grew louder and louder even as we dispatched them one by one, and I realized we were now completely surrounded on all sides. My soldiers, Rachel, and I were caught in the center of a wall of zombies, and they pressed in on us on all sides. We were flies caught in the spider’s web.

All we could do now was to fight until we dropped or until every last one of them was dead.

So that’s what we did. We slashed and sliced and yelled, but we did not give up. The horde seemed to keep growing as new monsters took the places of ones that had fallen. My arms ached, but I kept moving my greatsword as fast as I could into zombie after zombie.

Just as I feared I was reaching my limits, a blinding light flashed over the land. I instinctively ducked down and shielded my eyes from the light hoping the zombies would stop their assault for a moment. Light evaporated just as fast as it had appeared, and when I stood up and looked around me, my jaw dropped.

Ash. I was surrounded by ash where the zombies once were. Whatever that light was, it had disintegrated the beasts. We had won!

Rachel and I ran toward each other and clashed together in a victory embrace.

“Let’s go find the others!” Rachel exclaimed.

“I’ll take you up to the tower. Then I’ll find Rozmarin, and we can meet you there,” I told her.

I opened my giant wings, and with Rachel in my arms, we took off into the air.

39

Rozmarin

As the haze finally lifted, rising and evaporating into the humid air, my vision and the view of the surrounding lands returned. Still, I did not move. Not until I heard the flapping of wings behind me and Anix’s incredulous, gruff voice. I could still hear her heavy breathing from the exertion of battle.

“All the zombies in the kingdom are dead, Your Highness! There was a blinding light, and they just turned to ash.”

When I finally sat up and twisted around to look at her, black ichor covered her, and several minor injuries marred her body. Her eyes fell to the crumpled figure in my arms. When they rose to meet mine once more, there was grief and understanding there.

Peace does not come without a price.

With one more kiss to Chris’s cold cheek, Anix and I flew to the ground level where thousands and thousands of people awaited. In my overwhelming haze of grief, I had not noticed that the people had begun to cheer. Relief for my people warred with the growing ache in my soul, and I could not stop the chanting in my head. Christoff was dead. My mate, dead. Dead.

Even as people came up to me and patted my back or kissed my hands to express their appreciation, all I could see, every time I blinked, was my mate’s lifeless body.

“Rozmarin!” Anix said, snapping me out of my inner torture. “The people are waiting for your okay to go home. I can have the troops send wagons around the--”

It was not a particular sound that had Anix pausing mid-sentence, but a feeling. The entire field quieted, even the humans sensing that something was wrong. When I turned my face towards the sky, dark, angry clouds were rolling in, the temperature plummeting drastically. The ash that littered the field below, made from the dead bodies of the zombies, moved. Not in the air, but along the ground. It slithered along the grassy field and collected into one giant pile.

My people and I watched in horror as the pile of black ash pulsed. They were smaller pulses at first, but each one grew larger and larger until the pile of ash finally burst open.

What emerged from the black hole was a thing of nightmares. Its massive black horns atop its triangular-shaped head were the first parts of it to appear. Next were its eyes, black and bottomless, an abyss of destruction and chaos. As the rest of its giant, hulking body rose from the ashes of the dead zombies, cries of terror and despair rang up around me, and the people started fleeing into the castle.

How could this be? Christoff had banished the zombies, only to have them reform into… whatever this was.

The creature’s long, sharp fingers clawed at the ground as it pulled itself from its hole, creating massive grooves in the earth. The earth shook with the force of the monster’s sheer weight when its giant, taloned feet hit the now-frigid ground. Anix and I stood side by side, stunned as the creature pulled itself completely from the gaping hole.

We had not planned for this. We had no war strategy for this. No evacuation plan. We had nothing.

Just as I was about to turn to Anix to voice my hopelessness, the creature’s mouth opened, exposing four giant fangs, two on the bottom, and two on the top. Between them were rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth. My hands raised to cover my ears, preparing for an earth-rumbling roar or a bone-chilling shriek to come from its gaping mouth, but instead, it spoke.

“I am Drahkon, son of the BloodDrake,” a sinister, genderless voice bellowed. Though it was hundreds of yards away, I knew that its voice could be heard for miles. “Courier of chaos and destruction. The spell holding me has finally been broken.”

Without another word, it knelt down to its hands and knees, dropped its jaw to the floor, and then, dear gods, and then, thousands of gruesome, horrifying creatures came charging out of the monster’s mouth. Some of them were only as tall as my knees, and others were ten feet tall. They did not carry weapons because they were weapons. Some had horns and ran on all fours while others sported wings and black, oily blades for hands. Each of them dripped with unearthly darkness like they had emerged from a giant vat of oil.

My gaze shot to Anix’s, and I saw everything I needed to know there. She was not ready to give up yet. She would fight. I gave her a single nod, and she started sending the orders out. Form the lines. Defend the castle.

The first line of troops met the incoming onslaught of monsters at the bottom of the hill, some on foot, some in the air. Cries of pain and agony went out around the battlefield as soldiers died… and died… and died.

Too many. There were too many of those awful, demon-like creatures. Even as I looked to the Drahkon, creatures continued to flow out of its mouth like a never-ending portal from hell.

We needed to kill the Drahkon, or at least stop it from creating more of those things. I burst into action, my wings appearing at my back, and within a few seconds, I was at Anix’s side once more as she continued to issue out her orders.

“We must target the Drahkon. We must at least distract it so it cannot create any more of those… demons,” I said, and Anix nodded in agreement. That was all the confirmation I needed before I was flying through the window of my study. As expected, Rachel and Aerywin were there, hovering over a map. When I appeared, they looked up at me, eyes wide. I could hear fearful voices throughout the halls, and the pained cries of soldiers and monsters alike filled the battlefield, echoing towards the castle.

“How is this possible? How could we not have seen this coming?” Rachel hissed urgently. She glared at me then. “I warned you that the BloodDrake would not leave this earth without unleashing chaos. I warned you. And now you have subjected the entire kingdom to its offspring.” She paused for a moment, looking behind me. “Where is the boy?”

That yawning cavern in me stretched, seeking the warmth that my mate had provided. It met nothing but more darkness. I did not have to say it. At one look at my expression, Rachel’s eyes grew impossibly wide, and she leaned onto the table for support.

“Dear gods,” she whispered. “We truly are doomed. I assume that his sacrifice is what destroyed the zombies?”

I nodded my confirmation as a realization ran through my head. If we failed to save the kingdom from this monster, Christoff’s sacrifice would have been for nothing. My eyes rose to hold Rachel’s, letting her see the last shred of determination and hope for my people that I had left in them.

“I need you two to evacuate the people while the troops and I hold off the beast and its creatures.”

Rachel and Aerywin both rocked back on their heels in surprise. Rachel was the first to respond. “No.” Her tone was flat and resolute.

I closed the distance between me and my desk, leaning onto it as I explained. “There are no more zombies. The lands outside of the kingdom should be safe and free of any true threats, at least for a fair few miles.”

“But our home is here in Constanta.” This came from Aerywin. Her sharp, green eyes shone with unshed tears as she realized that this might just be our only option.

“We have rebuilt our lives and the lives of our people before. We can do it again. Without borders this time,” I said, a small, sad smile forming on my lips. Though I said we, we all knew that I meant them.

“You just expect us to leave you here to die? Our army is outnumbered. You cannot kill the beast,” Rachel snapped. “When you fail, it will only come after the rest of us.”

“Then at least I will have bought them time,” I snapped back. Then, taking a deep breath, I ran my hands through my hair, feeling the weight of my responsibility crushing down on me.

Rachel continued to stare at me, tears now forming in her eyes too. She knew as well as I did that we had no other options. They had to at least give our people a chance. They had to try. This was her duty, and I knew that she would not fail me. I trusted her to follow through with what I could not. My gaze softened, and I reached across my desk to grab both of her hands in mine.

“You are my second-in-command. I would trust no one else before I trusted you.” Except for Chris, but he was no longer here. I had to rub my chest to chase the ache away at that thought. “You and Aerywin are their only hope. Head southwest until you reach the sea, where the weather is warmer. Crops will be easier to grow there for the humans, and I have always regretted not settling near the sea. With this section of the zombie armies cleared, you may be able to start over there.”

The two women were both crying now, as I raced through my last words to my friends. When I finished, I shared a long, tearful hug with each of them before I was out the window again, and they went straight to work mapping out their evacuation route.

I trusted them to give my people a life worth dying for.

As soon as I landed on the battlefield, the sounds of war filled my ears, and a sense of deja vu hit me. This was not my first battle, but it may very well be my last. I pulled my blade from its sheath at my hip and worked my way through the army of demons to get to the Drahkon. It still was lying down, immobile as more and more of those horrible creatures came charging out of its mouth.

There were so many of them. This would be pillaging, an ugly, gory massacre. We would lose.

40

Aerywin

With tears blinding me and streaming down my face, I wrapped my arms around Rachel, and we took off out the window and into the oppressive sky. I felt my friend tremble as she silently cried with tears falling from her darkened eyes. It was rare to see the tough vampire this vulnerable, and something about our horrifying situation, and seeing Rachel lose it made me want to give up. Almost.

As we soared over the battlefield, the terror of what was happening struck me again like a cold punch to my gut. That thing, the demon, or the Drakhon, was lying on its back, and streams of black demons flew out of its mouth. I had never witnessed something so utterly terrifying. As I carried Rachel over the battlefield, my heart pounded madly in my chest, and my skin prickled with goosebumps as I watched the blood-curdling birth of hundreds and thousands of demons.

Hell had unleashed itself on Constanta.

My head spun. How had we gone from the terror of zombies to this? Only minutes before, we had been celebrating the zombies’ defeat thanks to Christoff’s humble sacrifice, and now, demons were spawning in the center of our kingdom. Perhaps, worst of all, was that Rachel and I had been ordered to flee with our people, leaving Rozmarin and Anix behind. I wasn’t even sure what they would be able to do against such terrible enemies. It was hopeless. I knew that. Still, some part of me wanted to fight and die beside my comrades.

That was selfish, though, because the people of Constanta still needed me.

All we could do now was to get as many people as far away from Constanta as possible.

I steadied my racing mind and focused on the task in front of us. Rachel and I could not fail, or all these sacrifices would be for nothing. I flew us to the East Village first, and when we touched down, chaos surrounded us. Fire consumed whole buildings, while other structures crumbled down into the streets. Many people lay dead with gruesome wounds from the zombie attacks. The hordes had come from the east, and so the village was the first place the monsters struck as they poured into the kingdom like a dark and terrible tide.

Anyone who had survived the initial onslaught fled through the streets like mad with whatever belongings they could carry. Rachel and I sprinted through the chaos, calling through the madness for everyone to evacuate to the north of the village. The plan was to take the people up and around the castle, as far away from the battlefield as possible. There, we could then link up with the West Village on the other side and continue our journey southwest, out of Constanta.

But then what? Rozmarin said we could rebuild, but how would we ever manage to do that after losing so much?

I tried not to think about Rozmarin and Anix out there still fighting against those demons. I silently prayed that they would somehow manage to escape and meet up with us far away from the horror, or better yet, the two warriors and our army would defeat the demons. I wiped away more tears as I realized the Light-Bearer’s sacrifice had all been for nothing. He and Sahar lay dead as did so many of our people. How could any of us continue our lives when so many had died?

Constanta had been the only home I’d ever known, or at least the only place I’d ever lived worth calling home. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else, and if Sahar, Anix, and Rozmarin weren’t with us, how could I ever call any other place home?

As I wrestled with these thoughts and emotions, Rachel ran off to help some people load an elderly werewolf into a cart. If Rozmarin didn’t survive, the burden of leading would fall on Rachel’s shoulders. I had no doubt she would be a good leader, but I feared that losing Rozmarin, Rachel’s best friend, might be too much for the vampire to handle. We had all already lost so much, and now this.

A scream rang out to the right of me, shaking me from my depressing musings. I whipped around to catch the aftermath of a burning building that had collapsed on itself. Someone was inside. I raced over and felt the extreme heat radiating from the destruction, and more screams came from the fiery pit of rubble before falling eerily silent.

As I dug through the debris, Rachel came up beside me. “What are you doing?”

“Someone’s trapped in here! Help me!” I shouted at her as I worked my way further into the building.

Rachel immediately pulled stone and wood up, sending the pieces flying behind us. With her help, we moved a large chunk of rubble and uncovered a young vampire who had been trapped. She had fainted and lay unmoving, even after Rachel shook her furiously, so she scooped the young vampire up in her arms and carried her from the house.

The family that she had been helping yelled for her to put the unconscious vampire in the cart. We thanked them, and then Rachel and I continued our mad dash through the streets, helping anyone we could get to the evacuation point. I darted in and out of buildings, looking for any stragglers and found a few lost and trembling faerie children with dirt on their faces. With all the tenderness I could muster, I led the children out of their home, not wanting to stop and think about what happened to their parents.

I helped the children into another cart and gave the vampire who was pulling it a nod. I saw the sad yet stern look in his eye and recognized it as the realization that he was now responsible for these kids and that he would give his life to protect them. Other people were helping the injured into carts and then would take turns pulling them through the streets as they navigated around rubble and bodies.

Even in all this chaos, the people remained strong. They helped each other every chance they got, and that solidified in me that no matter what, as long as we had each other, we would be okay. Even in all this death and terror, we would carry on and take care of each other.

Maybe Constanta wouldn’t be totally lost. Some part of it would always live on, as long as we managed to survive.

When we were satisfied that we had saved all that we could, Rachel and I raced to the northern edge of the village where a mass of terrified people waited for us. We pushed through them, trying to encourage each one until we were at the front of the group. They looked to us, with wide, teary eyes for our next steps.

“We must move as fast as we can,” I yelled to the people. “We’re going north around the castle where we will then evacuate the West Village and flee Constanta. We’ll go southwest, to the coast, and we’ll start over.”

No one shouted protests to this plan or said anything for that matter. Everyone was silent, except for those who cried and sobbed.

“It’s the only way we will survive,” Rachel stated firmly, but there was a resolve in her voice that carried out over the crowd and fell down around them like some kind of powerful magic that comforted them, at least a bit.

Some of the villagers had rescued scared horses or found them trying to escape the destruction of the village, and those horses now carried the injured or elderly or pulled carts and carriages full of more wounded and old villagers. We rearranged some of the riders so that we could send a couple of young wraiths ahead of us to the West Village.

“Tell them to escape the kingdom through the west gate. Wait for us there!” I called out to a wraith, and with a nod, he and the other rider took off at a break-neck pace.

Rachel and I led the Eastern Villages north as quickly as we could, but we had a lot of injured people and young, terrified children with us. Although we stayed far away from the battlefield, we could hear the distinct sounds of war. Shouts and cries echoed up to us, and I wondered how Anix and Rozmarin fared. We also heard a low booming sound like rumbling thunder, and I knew that awful noise must be coming from the Drakhon.

As we continued our trek, I kept an eye out for any demons that may have strayed from the battlefield, but we luckily never saw any, but I feared we were not moving fast enough, and if our army fell too quickly, the demons would surely find us. We still had to evacuate the whole West Village, which would take as long or longer than the East Village, and every second we remained in Constanta was another second closer to death. I wondered how bad the west side had fared, and I hoped it wasn’t as bad since the zombies had entered Constanta from the east, and soon, I saw the buildings of the village’s northern end.

Before reaching the West Village, Rachel and I sent the group of villagers to the safety of the western gate to meet up with any West Villagers that had already evacuated. I found it cruelly ironic that they would now be safer outside of the walls than in.

Rachel and I continued on into the shabby streets of the West Village. Although it had not suffered as much destruction as the East Village, signs of a zombie attack were still there. The run-down buildings were crumbling even more, and bodies were strewn about the streets. Rachel and I ran through the village, calling to anyone that could hopefully hear us looking through buildings like we had done before.

The wraiths we had sent ahead from the East Village charged their horses up and down the streets. They shouted at the top of their lungs for everyone to evacuate to the west gate. One of the wraiths, looking like a child himself, had a young werewolf sitting in front of him that he must have rescued from the rubble. When the wraiths saw us, I nodded at them to convey how grateful I was for their help. With brave young wraiths like them with us, we would figure out our new lives, no matter what happened.

We rushed up and down the streets, helping more injured people into carts, rescuing people from collapsed and burning buildings. Even as I tried to calm my nerves and keep focused, I kept thinking about Rozmarin and Anix. In all the chaos, I could no longer hear the battle sounds, but I thought I could still feel the earth vibrating from whatever terrible thing it was the Drakhon was doing.

I wanted to fly back and see what was happening to my friends. I wanted to return to the battlefield and sweep them up, even if they protested. I wanted them to come with us, to leave all this behind, and if they wouldn’t, then I wanted to stand and fight with them. Guilt ran through me as I continued helping more villagers to the west gate. All of us, the ones fleeing Constanta, we would make it. We would be okay, but two of my friends were already dead, and the others were fighting against demons.

We evacuated the West Village, and the stream of terrified villagers followed Rachel and me from their ruined homes across the green fields and to the west gate. We passed under the already opened portcullis and through the cool tunnel of the wall. As we exited the other side, the group from the East Village was there waiting for us. Rachel and I made our way to the front of the group, now doubled in size with those from the West Village, and we began our long, somber journey southeast.

I turned around and looked at the mighty walls of Constanta one last time.

41

Christoff

After releasing the light from within me, the blast that destroyed all the zombies within Constanta and the supernatural zombies under the BloodDrake’s control, my vision went dark, and I swam in an endless night for what felt like an eternity. I called out, to Rozmarin, to Rachel and Anix, to Aerywin, and to Sahar.

The thought of my friends filled me with warmth, and I prayed that my sacrifice for them, and for Constanta, was enough to stop the hordes from destroying everything I loved.

I lay in the dark, wondering if this was hell or death, and then like after my fight with the BloodDrake, I felt a slight tugging at the corners of my mind, and then I heard a voice.

"You are not yet finished, Light-Bearer," whispered the voice. I felt it inside my head, and it wrapped around me like a cloak. And then a flash of light pierced the darkness, and a shining white figure appeared with arms outstretched towards me.

"Take my hand," the figure beckoned.

As I reached out, wondering where this being of light might take me, I thought about Sahar and wondered if she was also in this place.

"Can she come?" I asked the form, somehow understanding it knew my thoughts, my very being. The figure nodded and then opened a door.

I awoke, screaming, body radiating with fire and light, and heard the shouts and screams from below. As I peered over the side of the castle, I saw the terrible carnage that lay below. I thought about Sahar, and deep down, I knew she was fine, but I didn’t have time to go to the lab to check first.

I felt a peace about the sorceress even as I ran as fast as this resurrected body would allow me, down through the castle and into the fray. And that's when I saw Rozmarin get slashed across the side by one of the demon’s inky blades.

“No!” I cried and launched myself toward her until there was only one demon caught between us and both of our blades sliced through the beast, mine through its neck and hers through its abdomen until it fell apart in three large chunks. And then, she was in my arms. When we pulled back, we immediately were forced to resume fighting, though, this time, it was back to back.

“How?” she breathed as I hacked off a creature’s arm that had been swinging towards me. Its shriek filled the air, and black blood covered my torso.

“It was the light. It… spoke to me,” I replied. “It's hard to explain.”

Whatever the how or the why was, I did not care. I was simply grateful for it, even though the demons would likely massacre us, anyway.

“We are completely outnumbered. Are all of the zombies gone?” I asked.

“Yes, they all turned to ash. The BloodDrake’s offspring rose from that ash and…” Rozmarin’s voice trailed off as I blocked a blow that came from overhead.

“Shit,” I swore. Then my gaze dropped to the castle before I tore my eyes away so I could face my next incoming opponent. “And the people? Are they evacuating?”

“Rachel and Aerywin will lead them outside of the walls to find another place to settle while we hold them off.” Rozmarin’s voice rang with sadness that infuriated me.

Then, with all the pain, and rage, and love, and pride that I had accumulated over the past few months, I let out a war cry that echoed for miles and miles.

“For Constanta!”

Soldiers, far and wide, injured and uninjured alike, returned my cry so loudly, so fiercely that it would permanently become a part of the earth so that anyone who dared to tread on this field would hear the echoes of it for centuries to come.

“For Constanta!”

I didn’t know how long we kept been fighting. It could have been minutes, hours, or days. The never-ending stream of vicious demon-like creatures coming from the Drahkon’s gaping mouth would be the end of Constanta if we couldn’t stop it.

Rozmarin and I continued to inch our way towards the beast, but Anix and a few of her troops had gotten there first. The winged soldiers were able to cut their way through the flying demons, and they attacked the creature now, trying to penetrate its thick, scaly skin with their weapons, to no avail. That was until Anix shot towards the creature’s open mouth and jammed what looked like a ten-foot-long spear through the creature’s slitted snout. A loud, reverberating roar echoed through the hills as the creature’s hand came up to swat at the pain, but Anix was already up and gone. The creature’s mouth closed, crushing the demons that hadn’t left its mouth yet. Finally, the river of demons stopped flowing.

Anix and three of her other troops did it again, this time with longer spears and while its mouth was closed. When the creature reared up, I could see the bottom of the spears poking out of its chin, the wide points acting as a clinch to keep the creature from pulling it out.

Brilliant. Anix was brilliant.

Screaming continued to ring out around me, soldiers dying by the thousands, but maybe, just maybe, we could end the creature before it went after the rest of Constanta’s people.

The Drahkon rose to its feet, and it was almost half the height of the castle at its full stature. Dread and hopeless despair washed over me as it swiped at the flying gargoyle and faerie troops like flies. It took a single step sideways and crushed dozens of soldiers. It kicked its other foot and sent a dozen more flying.

I did an assessment of the battlefield, of our numbers, my heart sinking to the floor. Lower even, if that were possible.

Nearly a quarter of our army was slaughtered, and the death toll was climbing, still as we met the demon army with less and less resistance. Even then, our troops did not falter, did not turn back or retreat. They knew what was at stake: their families. They would die to give their families a fool’s shot at survival.

At that point, the only hope we had left was to slow the demons and their much larger counterpart down while our people ran south. When I finally had time to glance back at the castle through the constant onslaughts, it was empty. Rachel and Aerywin had successfully evacuated the castle. Good.

White-hot pain shot through my shoulder, rendering me too breathless to even cry out. When I looked, there was a long, inky, black blade stuck straight into my flesh, attached to a demon that had snuck up from the side. At the smell of my blood, Rozmarin whirled around and detached the demon’s arm from its body before running her blade right down the center of its deformed figure. Then, she started covering for me, giving me time to pull the blade out.

Before I could overthink it, I grabbed the base of the creature’s detached shoulder, as close to the arm-blade as I could, and gave it a hard yank. A cry of pain came from my lips, and I could feel my body warming, already working on stitching the wound back together.

I could feel the strength of my new body guiding me through the battlefield with far more ease than my old body had. The muscle memory that my training instilled in me was still there, and it had taken me a few minutes to adjust to my new speed and strength, but I couldn’t deny that this body was an asset in this situation.

Another slice of pain shot through me, this time from my upper leg. A small, stubby demon had sliced into it and was moving in to do it again when I brought my blade down right through its skull. I pulled it back out, and it collapsed to the blood-soaked earth.

Rozmarin cried out behind me, and when I turned around, another demon had attached itself to her arm before she carved it open until it let go. The pained cries of soldiers assaulted my ears.

Losing. We were losing.

No matter how much more skilled our fighters were, no matter how much of themselves they gave to save their loved ones, the demon army simply had more. Far, far more.

Rozmarin and I met each other’s eyes, a world of emotions swimming in both of our gazes. At least if we died on this battlefield, we could die knowing that we did everything we could. We sacrificed every single drop of blood to buy our people more time. My siblings and my mom could live a life without borders or zombies. They could be free.

Just as Rozmarin and I turned to face the next of our limitless opponents, a horn rang out in the distance from the east. When Rozmarin and I looked up, in the distance, past the evergreen trees, past the colorful rooftops of the East Village, and past the wall, the sky had darkened.

The giant, dark cloud moved quickly towards the castle, casting shadows over the land. Soldiers and demons alike paused to watch the dark cloud approach. Closer and closer it came until, as it rolled over the East Village, I realized that it wasn’t just a giant, dark cloud. They were flying supernaturals, and below them, non-winged soldiers marched in formation. Two midnight-blue-and-silver flags flapped in the wind, attached to a tall pole held by the grounded troops.

The reinforcements. The troops that we had sent to offer reinforcements to the nearby kingdom had finally returned. But it wasn’t just midnight blue and silver flags that appeared. As our troops crested over the thirty-foot wall, other colors appeared too. Red and yellow. Purple and gold. Black and silver. Blue and white.

Not only had those troops come back, but they brought reinforcements of their own. The eastern kingdom’s armies had marched west to return the favor. Every single last soldier they could spare, and with a swathe clear of zombies due to my strange power, they arrived just in time.

Holy gods. Rozmarin’s hand found mine, and my gaze slid to meet hers. Tears lined her silver eyes. Whether they were tears of joy or relief or gratitude, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps all the above. It took me a moment to realize that my own eyes stung with emotion.

With tears streaming down our faces and infinite love for our people filling our hearts, Rozmarin and I lifted our weapons to the sky and let out a triumphant battle cry. The fierce, booming roar that echoed across the battlefield, across the kingdom, had the earth-shaking with its intensity. And then, the soldiers in the distance were charging, on foot and in the air.

Thousands upon thousands of soldiers poured onto the battlefield. Demons and soldiers clashed, steel ringing out, and flesh meeting flesh. The first of the reinforcements to cut through the flying demon horde and strike the Drahkon was Adriana. Her familiar, dark wings surrounded her body as she torpedoed towards the creature’s black eye, her sword arm extended out before her. The impact of her blade when it met the creature’s giant eye made a sickening squishing sound. The creature’s responding shriek shook the ground as its hand came up to bat at Adriana, but she was too quick.

Soon, hundreds of troops swarmed the Drahkon’s head. A distraction. It was a distraction, but before I could open my mouth to say something to Rozmarin, she was already pulling me sideways. Not towards the creature, but not towards the castle either.

“Where are we going?” I shouted over the roar of battle.

Instead of answering me, Rozmarin whisked me into her arms, wings out, and took off towards a hulking figure ahead of us.

Anix. She stood with dozens of other troops, all huddled in a group. Battle still raged around them, but the reinforcements had distracted the demon horde enough that they were able to form a pocket for themselves.

When we finally made our way into that pocket, I saw that they were passing along multiple long, thick, corded ropes, each of them hundreds of feet long. Anix was describing a formation strategy to trip the beast and restrain it to at least buy us time to figure out how to kill it. Rozmarin and I immediately joined the effort.

We ran through our plan to take down the Drahkon, and we took our positions. I went with the grounded troops while Rozmarin took hers with those who could fly. We needed to be swift, assuming we would have a small window of time to restrain the beast before it realized that it was in trouble and started crushing soldiers left and right. Only the fastest of the troops took part in the effort to wrap the beast, whereas the rest, those who maybe didn’t have the speed but had packed on muscle, would join in once we secured the rope around the Drahkon’s monstrous form.

Once we had taken our positions, Anix made the call, and all at once, we moved. Around and around we went, circling the Drahkon. The flying troops who had been distracting the creature continued to do so but were careful not to get caught in the ropes as the other soldiers circled.

Finally, after several loops around the Drahkon, Anix gave the command to pull. The impact of the monster’s body when it fell to the ground was so powerful, it knocked many on the battlefield, demon and soldier alike, to their knees. Even the castle walls shook from the impact.

The Drahkon roared and raged, but we refused to let go. No matter how hard the monster fought, we fought harder. The smaller demons were few and far between now, outmatched and outnumbered now that our reinforcements had arrived, just in time.

“Sorcerers! Now!” Anix bellowed.

The next few moments happened almost like it was in slow motion. Those who held the ropes already circled around the creature tightened their grips, but then sorcerers from every kingdom, not just Constanta, closed in on the Drahkon, chanting in a language I didn’t recognize. Some had light flowing from their hands, the colors varying depending on the individual. The air became thick and sticky, and the sweet smell of magic coated my senses. I could smell magic as a human, but now, my senses were greatly amplified.

Returning my attention to the beast before us, I watched as it writhed beneath the power of over two dozen sorcerers and sorceresses. The chanting grew louder and louder, seemingly forming into one single voice.

A bigger, greater, unearthly voice.

And then I heard something that shocked me entirely. Even though the noise and that uniform voice of the sorcerers, I heard another voice above the din, the voice of Sahar. I whipped around, looking for the source, and there she stood with the group of sorcerers, arms outstretched sending wave after wave of blinding white magic into the demon.

I blinked, wondering if this was just some trick of my exhausted brain, but no, it was really Sahar. When the light had called to me, and when the strange yet glorious figure reached out its hand, Sahar had been at the forefront of my thoughts. I wanted her to come with me too, to where, I wasn't sure at the time, but now I realized we had made the journey through death and back to life.

So many questions swirled through me, but they would wait until all this was over, if we managed to survive it, that is.

The sorcerers’ chanting grew so loud, now bolstered by the immense power of Sahar, that even I had the urge to cover my own ears. Still, the creature’s writhing only increased, making it harder to hold the lines. Just when I thought I wouldn’t be able to hold on any longer, my hands raw and bloodied from the rope, I sensed a change in the air.

The ground rumbled beneath the Drahkon, beneath me. When I squinted to get a better look, I realized that it was the ash of the destroyed zombies. It was collecting around the creature’s body, forming a circle around it. Black, swirling wisps of darkness caressed the monster from within the hole that formed beneath it. It took me a moment to realize that they were less like the caresses of wisps and more like the bondage of dark tentacles.

I released the rope and closed my eyes, focusing all my thoughts and energy on the light inside me. I could feel the warmth well up in my chest, and it vibrated and pulsed. It took all my strength to hold that ball of light there, in my core, and rather than completely release it all like I had before, I concentrated the light into a singular force, a beam of light that I aimed directly at the Drakhon.

My light, combined with Sahar's and the other sorcerer's magic to form a massive, bright dome around the demon, and slowly, that force field of light and magic pushed the demon down into the gaping hole opening beneath it.

Finally, after what felt like hours of that endless noise, and fighting, and death, the Drahkon gave one final ear-shattering shriek, and those dark tentacles pulled it into the abyss below.

Silence was the first thing that followed the absence of the beast as we all stood in shock around the pit that had closed and disappeared, leaving only ash behind. Even the dark clouds parted, taking the frigid temperature with it. When the sun reappeared, I swore to whoever was listening that I would never take its light and warmth for granted again.

Rozmarin and Anix hovered in the air, side by side above where the beast was brought down. Together, they raised their swords to the air for one last battle cry, but this one was a cry of victory. Triumph. Relief. Joy.

The answering calls that rang across the land would stay with me for the rest of my existence.

We’d won!

42

Rozmarin

There was much to do in the days that followed the battle. Firstly, cleanup and repairs over the kingdom as the battle had damaged or destroyed many of the streets and buildings. Businesses and displaced families who had lost their homes needed support to return to their daily life. Then there was the issue of hosting the eastern kingdom’s armies. Thankfully, there was enough room in the castle to host our guests. Though just barely.

After we banished the Drahkon back into the dark pit that it’d come from, thanks to the sorcerers and sorceresses led by Sahar, Anix sent Adriana to track down Rachel, Aerywin, and the trail of people they had following them to inform them of our victory and that they could return.

After the first week of constant meetings and reparations, however, I could no longer wait to complete my mating bond with Chris. In all the chaos of post-battle, we had hardly had a single second to ourselves. The mating instinct awoke when I saw him on that battlefield, but we simply hadn’t had the time to solidify it yet. Finally, after a week, I’d had enough. The sexual frustration of the mating ritual had me so irritable that, eventually, Anix threw a travel pack onto my desk and told me to ‘take the boy and fuck it out before you kill someone.’

So, one night, after our nighttime meal at full dark, I told him to pack an overnight bag and get ready to fly.

“What for?” he’d asked, skeptically. He wore the kingdom’s colors in a practical seat of black suit pants and a form-fitting midnight blue and silver stitched shirt which accentuated his muscles. My panties had immediately felt warmer and wetter at the sight of it.

I pulled him into my arms, leaning up to place a light kiss on his forehead. “Do not look so doubtful, my lord. I merely wish to bring you somewhere I hold near and dear to my heart. Much like you,” I said gently.

He returned my soft smile with a wicked one of his own. “Uh-huh. And does our little trip involve desecrating said special place?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me to his chest snuggly.

I buried my face into his firm body, partly to breathe in his scent and partly to hide the grin that had formed on my face. “Perhaps. Though I cannot imagine why you would say it in such a way that would leave one to believe you view it as such a dreadful experience,” I teased.

Chris pulled back then, looking down at me so that his eyes met my own. That sinful smile was still there, tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Then you have misread my intentions, Your Highness,” he purred, heat filling his gaze, making my thighs tremble. “I’m merely put-off that you decided to wait this long.”

He was certainly not alone in that sentiment. My aching core could attest to that.

“My apologies, my lord,” I said. My voice had taken on a sensual quality, lust swirling in my vision. “I most certainly have been neglecting my duties as your mate.”

Chris froze in my arms at the word. His gaze was suddenly so open. Vulnerable. “Mate?” he whispered as if speaking it out loud might confirm that it was too good to be true.

My gaze softened at the same time as guilt filled my gaze. I truly had neglected my duties as his mate. I had failed to even explain the notion to him. It was easy to forget that he had only just transitioned into this new life as… whatever he was… with how he took on the changes with such grace.

“Mate,” I confirmed, pouring all of the love, and appreciation, and gratitude I had into the word.

Chris’s eyes filled with tears, and he pulled me to him forcefully, his new strength surprising even me. “I love you,” he whispered.

“And I love you,” I replied.

43

Christoff

Rozmarin flew us northward on our seventh night of freedom since we destroyed the Drahkon and eradicated the zombies from the kingdom. She had barged into my room like a woman on a mission and threw an overnight bag in front of me, declaring that we were to leave after full dark. And now, here we were.

The sky was surprisingly crystal clear, and the air had a refreshing, cool bite to it as we soared beneath the stars. We flew in silence, mostly, just comfortable, happy, and content to be together and alone for once.

Despite the growing need to solidify the mating bond between us over the past week, we hadn’t had a single moment alone. We hadn’t even had time to move my belongings into her room, though that didn’t stop me from sleeping there almost every night. Even still, we would often work ourselves to the bone during the days with meetings, negotiations, reparations, and paperwork that we would often collapse onto the bed at night, already half asleep by the time our heads hit the pillow.

So, we relished in our time together as we flew over the mountainous range of the northwest. Snow and evergreens covered the taller mountains, while the shorter ones sported diverse greenery. For the first time in decades, no zombies roamed the land beneath. For the first time, there was no need to track the numbers of hordes in the area or beware of the dangers that were lying below. For the first time, there was just… peace.

“What is it?” I asked, dragging Rozmarin out of her thoughts. When I pulled back to look at her, I adjusted my grip to bring a hand up and wipe at her face. To her surprise, they came away wet. I guess she hadn’t noticed the tears running down her face with the intensity of the wind.

She smiled at me softly, letting me see the content in her gaze.

“I…” Her voice trailed off, a lump in her throat forming once again as happy tears continued to flow over and fly away. “I just never thought I would actually see the day when the world would become zombie-free. I had always dreamed of it, but…”

Her voice trailed off again as she buried her face into my shoulder. I held Rozmarin tighter, my silence the only confirmation she needed to know that I felt the same way.

“But thanks to you, we do.” Her hand came up to cup my cheek. “Our kingdom would have been burnt to ash without your light, and the rest of us with it. And even before then, you have opened my eyes to issues I have been blind to for decades. Not only have you saved us from pure chaos and destruction, but you have also managed to make me a better Queen for Constanta. You have been our salvation, Christoff.”

Rozmarin’s tears flowed hotter and harder at the end of her dramatic speech, and I hugged her to me, letting her know she can let them flow freely.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

After a while, she pulled back to cup my face with her hand, my arms tightening around her waist. “This kingdom could not have asked for a better ruler than you, Rozmarin.”

She gave me a wry, self-deprecating smile, but her eyes remained soft. “Rulers. Plural. I may be the face of the royal Queen’s council, but I cannot take credit for ruling this kingdom alone.” Her gaze heated. “Besides, I will not be the only one on the throne, before long. Constanta will soon have a King.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Is that a proposal, Your Highness?” I joked, though my heart had nearly jumped out of my throat at her initial implication.

Instead of answering right away, Rozmarin banked left before slowly raising her chest and dropping our feet, until she landed us in a meadow located on one of the lower-lying mountains.  My heart continued to race as she swiftly pulled two giant blankets from her pack, completely ignoring me once she steadied me and let me go.

I took the time to look around at the meadow. The last time I’d been in an open grassy field like this was…

I shuddered, the memory of those horrifying undead supernaturals as they closed in on me, flooding through my mind. It would be a long, long road before those memories wouldn’t make my heart race and my stomach curl with dread. Almost every night since it all ended, I woke up at some point in the night, sweaty and panting from the terrifying images that snuck into my dreams.

Two arms wrapped around my waist from behind, and a solid warmth settled across my back.

“I am sorry. I did not think of what kind of memories a place like this could bring back. Do you want to choose a different spot?” she asked, her voice soft and apologetic. She turned me around a fraction to meet my gaze, and she sported an optimistic grin. “We have an abundance of options.”

I smiled back, the horrific memories slowly melting away with the softness of her voice. The gentleness of her touch.

“No.” I looked around at the meadow. Wildflowers of every color bloomed and shined beneath the soft, ethereal glow of the stars. “I think I would rather make new memories to replace the old.”

Before I could even think another thought, Rozmarin was lifting me up and then gently laying me down on the soft, wool blanket she’d laid down over a small area where wildflowers didn’t grow.

“Your Highness,” I breathed, my tone mockingly appalled as the warmth of Rozmarin’s body settled over me as she lowered to her elbows. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

She raised a brow.

“Trying?” she asked, her tone unreadable. I only nodded in response. Rozmarin dipped her head so that her lips brushed the shell of my ear, and her breath sent involuntary shivers down my spine.

“The word implies that I will fail. Am I going to fail, Christoff?” she asked, and her tone had a dangerous edge to it.

I swallowed and shook my head, earning me a delighted chuckle. She pulled back, and it surprised me to find that her expression was serious, almost grim.

“We do not need to do this now, you know. We can wait. We have all of the time in the world.” Even as I said it, I could feel my own erection, long and hard, against her leg. I brought my hand up to cup her cheek. I couldn’t believe I was here, that we were here.

“I want this, Chris. I want you.” As I spoke, I felt the bond between us stronger than ever, pulling at us to become one. “Also, if you don’t put some part of you inside me right now, I actually might explode.”

She chuckled again, dropping her face to my neck and inhaling deeply, scenting me. When she pulled back, heat and love were all I could see in those silver pools.

Her eyes became molten lava, swirling with desire. “I do not think I will ever have enough of you to satisfy me. I fear you will tire of me long before I have had enough.”

I raised my arms and wrapped them around her neck, pulling her head down so that her lips met mine for a brief moment before I pulled back. “You know I can’t resist a challenge.” And, finally, she leaned down, closing the last few inches of distance between us.

The kiss started off tender and sweet while I explored Rozmarin’s mouth with my tongue. Slowly, the kiss deepened, and my hands tangled in Rozmarin’s hair, a needy moan slipping through her occupied lips.

The raspy sound snapped something in me because a low growl emanated from my chest, and my hips thrust upward. I nipped at her lip and sucked it into my mouth, careful not to draw blood with my new canines.

In the next moment, I hauled us both up until I was sitting back, and she was straddling my lap. She looked up at me with all of the emotions she’d had to push aside over the past week. Longer, if she was anything like me.

I pulled her face to mine for a searing kiss. Her hips rocked against mine once, twice, three times, feeling that delicious friction against my arousal building higher and higher.

Just as my movements started to become more frantic, I grabbed Rozmarin’s waist, flipping us over so that I laid on top of her. She buried her face in my neck and nipped at the sensitive, exposed skin there. I couldn’t help but thrust against her at the feel of her sharp fangs threatening to break my skin. I had known that completing the mating bond would involve blood, but I had no idea it would come so… naturally to me. It was like my body knew exactly what to do.

“You drive me to madness,” Rozmarin accused, lightly, her voice filled with desire. She stared at my neck with so much longing that I couldn’t help but laugh.

She wasn’t having it, though, because my amused laughter was quickly cut off and replaced with another soft moan when she thrust her hips up against mine. Just like that, I was brought to the edge of that peak again.

“Please,” she begged, she was already too far gone to care much about modesty or shame.

“Please, what?” I asked, into her neck. “Tell me what you want, sweetheart.”

“Touch me,” she breathed.

My lips kicked up into a wicked smile, and my hand moved up her side to cup her breast over her shirt. Her breath hitched as my thumb circled the sensitive nub repeatedly until it was a hard peak. I did the same to the other breast, and her panting became louder and louder until it was all I could hear.

Cursing the fabric that separated her skin from mine, she squirmed until I realized what her intentions were. I helped her pull the shirt over her head, taking the soft cotton of her bra with it until I exposed her breasts to the cold, night breeze.

Holding her gaze, I dropped my head, my lips parting slightly, and I had a wicked gleam in my eyes. Slowly, my tongue shot out to flick across her right nipple. She gasped and arched her chest upward, needing more, more, more.

Finally, my mouth opened, and I sucked the hard nub. The wet heat of my mouth sent goosebumps over her body. When I switched to offer the other side the same amount of attention, she cried out at the sensation of the breeze on her hard nipple.

Pressure continued to build at her core, liquid pooling between her legs. When I released the second nipple, I planted open-mouthed kisses in a trail down the flat plains of her stomach. When I reached the fabric of her pants at her hips, my eyes found hers once more, a silent, burning question in them.

Biting her lip at the heat in my eyes, she nodded her consent. Gods, yes.

She lifted her hips, and a second later, she was completely naked before me.

My mate.

I sat back on my haunches and took in her naked form. Her long, dark lashes fanned across her cheeks, the shadows sharpening the lines of her face.

“You. Are. Perfect,” I breathed, almost reverently. My chest heaved with my ragged breath.

“And you are wearing too many clothes,” she quipped, and I realized that her own ragged breathing matched mine.

Instead of stripping, I reached for her knees, which were still closed tightly together.

“Open,” I commanded, and she obeyed.

I smiled at her approvingly before lowering myself to my stomach with my head between her legs, kissing down her legs the whole way. My hot breath down there made her force down a desperate sob.

When her hips bucked without my permission, I pinned down on either side of her with my strong grip. I placed a soft, sweet kiss on her clit, and nonsensical mumbling started pouring out of her mouth, desperate and needy.

The first stroke of my tongue made her see stars, and my grip tightened on her hips when they tried to buck again. I did it again and again until she melted into my grip. My tongue came up to swirl around her clit before flicking across it once, twice, and then on the third time, she fell apart.

When she cried out my name, I groaned in response as I continued my assault on her clit. When I finally came up for air once her limbs had loosened, the look in her eyes said everything. “More.”

And so I did it again. And again after that. Finally, after the third time, when I rose back onto my haunches, I bared my teeth at her before making quick work of my boots, shirt, and trousers.

When my weight finally settled back over her, the most spectacular molten silver pools filled my vision. The wrinkle of her brow in concentration. The straight bridge of her nose.

“Are you ready?” I asked, and she felt the head of my cock poking against her entrance. Her eyes were so soft and vulnerable that tears pricked in my eyes before I blinked them away.

“Yes,” she whispered.

My hand came down to cup her cheek gently. “What do we do to complete the bond?”

One corner of her mouth kicked up in a crooked smile. “You will know when the time comes.”

Too eager to be inside her to argue, I leaned down for a long, searing kiss. As my erection moved against her most sensitive area, I felt her liquid pool there. When I broke the kiss, her eyes held mine as I guided the hard head to nudge at her entrance, then began to ease into her, inch by glorious inch.

I kept dropping my hips further until I bottomed out inside her, then paused, waiting for her to adjust to my size. Holy gods, it felt amazing being inside her warmth. The sound of our ragged breathing filled the meadow as I started to move in and out. Slowly at first, then harder and deeper. After a while, she couldn’t keep the moans from flowing from her lips.

Higher and higher she climbed until at one point, I adjusted us so that I could rub my thumb with her clit. With the change in angle and the new pressure on her most sensitive area, it wasn’t long before she was crying out as she climaxed. I knew she could feel my intense gaze on her when she fell apart, the walls of her pussy squeezing tight around my pulsing cock.

My movements became less controlled, pumping harder and faster, and my breathing became harsh and ragged. With a few practiced flicks of my fingers against her clit, she was close to the edge. This time was different somehow, though. Knowing Rozmarin was on the brink, right there with me… something was building inside me, and it wasn’t just the climax.

It was something primal and possessive. My mate. She was my mate. Mine.

Just as I had the thought, Rozmarin bared her teeth at me, her eyes wild and filled with that same possessive gleam that I felt. It was the hottest thing I’d ever seen. It threw me over the edge, and in the next moment, Rozmarin and I were both sinking our canines into each other’s necks. The rush of my climax hit me just as I felt my heart squeeze, something deep in me stretching, filling, growing.

It was the bond, that link between Rozmarin and I that was suddenly becoming so, so tangible.

When our muscles finally relaxed, the last of the aftershocks subsiding, that bond that tethered me to Rozmarin shone like a golden light within me, warm, radiant, and soothing. When her eyes met mine, that same radiant light was there. She gave me one last searing kiss before I pulled back.

When I pulled out of her, I immediately reached for her pack and pulled out a rag and wiped the liquid that seeped from between her legs.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

I shot her a sweet smile before neatly and swiftly packing the rag away, once more. Then, I joined her on the blanket, my solid muscle hot against her back as I wrapped her up in my arms. I pulled another blanket over us.

I tilted my head to look at her.

“You sure thought of everything, didn’t you?” I teased. She chuckled, and I thought I might have seen a light blush spread across her cheeks, but I couldn’t be sure.

“I aim to please, my lord,” she replied. “Sleep, now. I have not camped out in the open like this for decades. Let me enjoy it with my mate holding me in his arms.”

We laid in silence for a while, the plaid quilted blanket I’d pulled over us, protecting our naked bodies from the cool night breeze. It wasn’t long before we both drifted off to sleep, though never for more than a few hours at a time throughout the night. I woke Rozmarin up, multiple times, to sink myself into her, always asking if she was too tender, first.

Over and over, I’d fill her, working our bodies in a fervor to satiate our need for each other, beneath the stars. When the first light broke over the horizon, we finally drifted into our last few hours of rest, our bodies exhausted and sated.

Happy and content. Loved and so, so grateful.

We awoke sometime in the afternoon to the sound of voices somewhere in the trees. I grabbed my clothes, eager to dress before these strangers intruded on our privacy. As Rozmarin and I dressed, a knowing smirk spread across her lips, confusing me until the noisy group emerged into the meadow.

“There you two are,” it was the well-known voice of Rachel and behind her stood Anix, Aerywin, and of course, Sahar.

“We couldn’t let you two have all the fun alone,” Aery giggled. She held a box in her hand, and I recognized it as being from the bakery Rozmarin had taken me to in the East Village.

“Besides, it’s only fair we celebrate you and Sahar cheating death.” Anix stood next to the beloved sorceress, her gray arm wrapped around Sahar’s shoulders.

I thought my heart couldn’t be filled with any more happiness than it had the previous night, but seeing all my friends standing there, with smiles on their faces filled me with a sensation even more powerful than what I’d felt before destroying the zombies.

We spent the next few days and nights enjoying each other’s company. My friends had brought cake and plenty of wine, and we danced and sang in the meadow around a roaring fire created from Sahar’s magic. My bond with the council grew until I knew deep in my core that nothing could ever tear us away from each other, not even death.

44

Christoff

When we returned to the castle, the kingdom was already hard at work. As we flew over the East and West villages, I could see people working on reparations in the streets, on rooftops, and in the shops.

As we approached the castle, I saw several figures standing on top of the roof where we were aiming to land. The figures looked human, male and female, besides the large gargoyle that stood towering over them at their side. They all seemed to be tracking us as we made our way towards them.

“Who is that on the roof?” I asked Rozmarin, just as my vision of them became more clear. Then, I froze. I felt Rozmarin smiling down at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to tear my gaze away from the two women and the man on the rooftop.

Two heads of blonde hair came into view, along with another head of brown hair. The brown-haired girl was shorter and stockier than the other two people, though her head was held the highest, her shoulders thrown back. The other two were taller, leaner, and their blonde hair shone beneath the sunlight that beamed down atop their heads. A long, graceful arm rose to wave at us from the tallest of the women, and the male beside her did the same while the brown-haired woman used her hands as a visor for her eyes as she tracked our movements.

A sob escaped my lips as Rozmarin brought us closer, beginning to straighten out for a smooth landing. By the time our feet hit the solid stone of the roof, my feet were already moving. I sprinted across the rooftop and flung myself into the arms of my mother and my siblings. My family.

Tears of joy streaked down each of our faces as we clung so tightly to each other, I thought we might never let go. My mind raced with some sort of explanation. When our grip finally loosened and I was able to turn my gaze to Rozmarin, she was beaming at me.

“Did you do this?” I asked, but it wasn’t Rozmarin who responded. It was my mother.

“She has taken great care of us, Chris. She’s a good girl, that one,” my mother said and winked at me.

I got a good look at her now that I had stepped back. Her hair, which had been dull and stringy the last time I saw her, was now thick and shiny. Her eyes were lively and bright, but most of all, she had gained weight. Where there used to be dry skin and jagged bones, there was now soft, curvy flesh and muscle. There was color in her cheeks for the first time in years, and she was standing perfectly fine on her own.

For a while, I just stood there, silently taking in my mother’s form. Healthy. She was healthy. And beautiful. I hadn’t seen her so vibrant, so full of life…

“How?” I breathed.

Beside me, Theia was the one to answer. As she spoke, I realized just how much I’d missed my shy, gentle sister.

“The Queen assigned us our own alchemist once she sent people to help us move to the East Village. Oh, it’s beautiful there, Chris. You have to come to see the house,” Theia gushed, dreamily. A light blush colored her cheeks, and my heart warmed at seeing my sister shine. Happy. She was happy.

Sharp eyes came into my vision, then.

“Tyrion,” I rasped. His face was tear-streaked like the rest of us, but it somehow only managed to make him look even more fierce. His eyes blazed with a million questions, but to my surprise, he just reached for my shoulders and hauled me into his chest, his breathing uneven.

“Brother,” he breathed over my shoulder. When he pulled back, his gaze had softened but became curious again when he noticed the two, baby fangs that grew just a bit longer than they had before. “We have much to catch up on, it seems.”

I couldn’t help it. I threw my head back and laughed, a full-bellied laugh. “That we do.”

Later that day, as my family joined the Queen’s Council for the midday meal in Rozmarin’s private dining quarters, my mom and my siblings filled me in on everything they’d been up to in the months that I’d been gone, working at the castle. I learned that months ago, before I’d even agreed to stay, Rozmarin had gone to my family’s old, beat-up cottage on the outskirts of the West Village to inform them of my upcoming absence. And, having been privy to my family’s dependence on me, financially, she’d offered to compensate them for my time away.

With the money Rozmarin gave to them, and continued to give to them, they were able to pick up and move out of the West Village for the first time. Ever. On top of that, Theia was able to begin attending a dance school in the East Village, and Tyrion had begun his own tattooing practice. He’d even rented a tiny studio downtown in the East Village to display his work and had begun taking clients. Apparently, his hobby-turned-business venture had become quite successful in just the few weeks since he’d started it.

When I asked how bad the damage from his studio had been from the invasion, he’d merely shrugged, but his eyes lowered in an attempt to hide his disappointment.

“We’ve all suffered losses. A few damages to the studio and some ruined ink is a small price to pay for the elimination of all zombies from the area,” he’d said.

I supposed he was right. I didn’t have to tell him I’d paid a much steeper price than he had. For the cure and peace of the kingdom, I’d paid with my life. And I would do it again if I had to.

From the seat to my left, Rozmarin reached over and grabbed my hand.

Rozmarin leaned in so that her breath blew hot against my ear.

“You better be thinking about me with that dreamy look on your face, Your Majesty,” she said, enunciating my brand new title.

His Majesty. King of Constanta.

I turned to face her. Our noses were inches apart, and I knew that my own gaze mirrored the wicked gleam in hers.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Rozmarin chuckled, pulling back a bit as the wicked gleam in her eyes faded, leaving only amusement, and then content. “I always want to know what you are thinking. Especially if it is making you smile.”

My own gaze softened, and I gripped her hand tighter, tears suddenly pricking in the corner of my eyes. The chatter around us faded, and it was just my mate and me.

“You saved my family,” I said, my voice husky from holding back tears of joy and gratitude.

Rozmarin was quick to respond, not even missing a beat. “And you saved my kingdom.”

I arched a brow, “Our kingdom,” I corrected.

As if she’d expected my reaction, like she’d been testing me, Rozmarin grinned. With all of the love and pride that was the Vampire Queen, she said, “Our kingdom.”

Author’s Note

Hey, if you got here, I just want you to know that you’re awesome! I wrote this book just for someone like you, and if you want another one, it is super important that you leave a review.

The more reviews this book gets, the more likely it is there will be a sequel to it. After all, I’m only human, and you have no idea how far a simple “your book was great!” goes to brighten my day. Also, if you want to know when the sequel comes out, you absolutely must join my Facebook group and follow me on Amazon. Doing one won’t be enough because it relies on either Facebook or Amazon telling you the book is out, and they might not do it.

You might miss out on all my books forever, if you only do one!

Here’s the link to follow me on Amazon.

Here’s the link to my Facebook Group.

Here’s the link to my mailing list.

And if you are looking for more stories like mine, check out these great Facebook Groups for more authors and suggestions: Harem Gamelit, Harem Lit, and GameLit Society!