“I did this out of necessity,” she sneers. “Morgan damned me out of spite. I think she thought that I, with my meager magical ability, was the one of the prophecy. Of course, that was her ridiculous paranoia.”
She turns to me. “So, no, I am not like her. Not in the least. And if you make that accusation again, I promise you, it is the last one you’ll ever make.”
She snaps her fingers, and two of her screechers run inside, each carrying a pair of silver cuffs. One for my wrists and one for my ankles.
“You’ll have to put those on,” she says. “We are going above ground.”
I look at her with deep suspicion. If we leave this room I will have my access to the Currents back. What is she playing at?
I hold out my arms, and the cuffs are latched on. The other vile creature bends down to put them around my ankles.
“Comfortable?” Rebecca asks, a triumphant gleam in her eye. “Drink this.”
She pulls out a small purple vial, about the length of a finger. It is half-full with some sort of liquid.
“What is it?”
“Doesn’t matter what it is. You will drink it, or my Tentoria will kill you.”
I tense. She must sense the threat—I can still easily destroy her and take my chances facing her horde outside where I’ll have access to the Currents. Quickly, she adds, “It’s a tincture made of the same herbs that repel magic here. As long as it’s in your blood, you won’t be able to use the Elemental Forces.”
“You expect me to simply lie down and castrate myself for you?”
She puts the vial in my palm and closes both of her hands over it.
“If you want to do what’s good for you and your precious coven, you will do as I say. The effects will wear off soon enough. I’d ask you to remember that my grievance is not with you, but with your predecessor.”
I shift my gaze to the exit. If I’m quick, I can get out of this room before the screechers have a chance to emit their screams, and then, from outside, call upon the Elemental Forces to break free from these chains and rain hell down on them all.
Yet, I am not wholly certain about my chances to walk out of that fight unharmed. The numbers are all on their side. I do not know what hidden traps or abilities they have.
Besides… somehow, Rebecca’s sentiment feels sincere. It’s ridiculous for me to be admitting it, but maybe she has a point. Maybe her entire grievance is only with Morgan… and maybe because of our shared distaste for the former Queen, I can make an ally of her.
It’s a long shot. But I need to think not only about the sanctity of The Haven, but also how we are to deal with future threats. I do not want to be a Queen like Morgan was, locked inside while the entire world just passes me by. I fully intend to find a way to free myself from the self-imposed prison I created when I erected the wards and to bring my vampires into the current century. I will not be satisfied if we simply continue to exist in this small fortified portion of the land, disengaged from the entire world.
The looming threat from The Crypts only came about because isolation was Morgan’s foremost priority. If those vampires decide to strike at us—
No. Not if. When. When those vampires decide to strike at us, I intend to immediately drive them back, not hide behind the defenses of the wards like a frightened child.
I know The Crypts has greater numbers. I know their vampires are stronger because of The Ancient’s blood.
But what if the screechers… the very things threatening us from the inside… can be converted to my side?
Killing all of them now, even if the odds of success are not in my favor, would be like throwing away a powerful new weapon simply because I was too scared of its might.
I look again at Rebecca. Our eyes meet.
“I’ll drink the potion,” I say. “If I have your word that no more of my vampires will be harmed.” She opens her mouth to say something, but I continue right over her. “Morgan is not one of my vampires. She betrayed me, also. She is fair game.”
A look of surprise comes over Rebecca’s face, and is then quickly covered up.
“Are you really in a position to bargain?” she asks me softly.
I meet her gaze and fix her with a stare of my own. “It’s the only way you get out of this alive. You feel how strong I am. You know how quickly I can destroy you, even bound as I am, with us so close.” I let my fangs come out. “When you’re dead, I’ll take my chances with the Tentoria. Maybe they’ll be able to stagger me before I can escape the room and pull on the Currents. Maybe not. But one thing is for sure: you will not survive, and so all your plans for vengeance will go out the window.”
She takes a small step back. She does not show it outwardly, but I can tell she is afraid.
Good. For once since being caught, the hierarchy is working as it’s supposed to.
“So, let me get this straight. You, my prisoner, are offering me terms that spare my life?” She laughs out loud. “You have gall, girl, I’ll give you that.”
“We have a common enemy in Morgan,” I say. “You only want to get what’s rightly yours. I will not stand in the way.”
“So, Morgan is alive?” She considers. “That one told me differently.” She gestures flippantly at Cassandra.
“We all thought Morgan was dead,” I say. “But it turns out not to be the case. Her body was discovered in a hidden chamber. She is still alive because of a betrayal by one of my vampires, who will pay for it greatly when he returns.”
“And you intend to simply surrender her to me?” Rebecca asks.
“Like I said,” I continue. “She is not one of mine. She tried to kill me instead of giving me the crown.”
Rebecca looks me over with a new sense of respect. “And you survived the encounter, as did I. Perhaps you are right, and we are not so different.”
“Promise me your army won’t attack my vampires,” I say. “And I will drink your potion.”
She taps her lips. “I intended to make an example of you before all the others,” she says. “I wanted them to see their Queen on her knees before me, begging for her life. It would have been the ultimate vindication for the evil that’s been done. But that Queen had to be Morgan. Not you.”
“You’re not strong enough to wear the crown,” I say. “Not as a witch, nor as a vampire.”
Rebecca laughs. “I never yearned for that. All I wanted was what is rightfully mine: a place in the Elite, in your Royal Court. I knew about the succession and the prophecy. I intended to be the one to deliver the new Queen to The Haven. Seems like I missed my chance.”
“Guarantee the safety of my vampires, and I will drink that drink.”
She looks at me for a long moment.
The seconds stretch.
“I promise you the lives of your vampires,” she says softly. “And you promise me mine. Is that how you see it?”
“Yes,” I say.
“In that case…” she sticks her hand out. “It’s a deal.”
I take it, bound as I am, infinitely aware of how easy it would be to quickly pull her in and rip her heart out.
I do no such thing. Instead, I shake her hand and drink the potion.
The concoction goes down smoothly. I don’t feel any different.
Rebecca gives me a thin smile. “It is done,” she says. “Truly, there may be no point, seeing as how within a few hours it will wear off, and you will have all your powers back… but I like the symbolism of it all.”
She takes out a small key from her pocket and unlocks my handcuffs. “Those are no longer necessary, I think.”
I take note of how she is able to handle the silver without any kind of discomfort.
“Thank you,” I say. She hands me the key so I can undo the ones on my ankles. My fingers burn when they touch the chain link.
“Come on, then,” she says to me. “If we are to make good on our collective promises, we must first be seen walking The Haven together.”
We exit the room. The screechers back away, carving out a deferential path before us.