Natasha watched the girl sleep. Lucky for the child, she took after her father and not her insipid little mother. Her niece certainly had inherited her father’s dark, striking looks.
She bent down toward the sleeping girl andinhaled. Hunger pumped through her. Even though she’d feasted on a human she’d encountered on the way to the palace, Lucette’s scent made her hungry.
But she must resist the temptation to kill the royal family right now. She wanted more time to play with her food.
The girl’s eyes opened, and when she saw Natasha, she scrambled away across the mattress. Within seconds the girl was standing on the bed, holding a stake, her thin nightgown blowing in the breeze from the open window.
“Who are you? What do you want?” the girl asked.
“Why, I’m your dear auntie, come for a visit.” Natasha nodded her head slightly. “I haven’t seen you since you were a babe. It’s so nice to finally meet you, Lucette.”
“I wish I could say the same.” The girl’s tone was bitter and angry, but soon she’d bend the child’s will. If not, the girl would die.
Natasha raised her hand to her chest and stroked the stone pendant. “Oh, what a cruel thing to say to your long-lost auntie. I mean you no harm. I came to talk.”
Lucette eyed a long fabric pull by the side of her bed that would undoubtedly bring servants and guards, and Natasha smiled inwardly. The girl’s first instinct had been to go for her stake, rather than sounding the alarm to bring help. She admired Lucette’s instinct to act, rather than to rely on others to save her. This girl had potential.
“We have much in common, you and I,” Natasha said as she glided along the side of the bed and then toyed with the golden frame at its foot. “While you take after your father in appearance, I do believe, in demeanor, you take after me.”
“Never!” the girl shouted.
“Tut, tut.” Natasha shook her head. “There’s that rudeness again. Apparently you take after my sister, too.” She sighed dramatically.
“Why are you here? What do you want?”
“Getting down to business.” Natasha smiled. “I like that.”
Lucette still held her stake at the ready, her expression fierce and revealing no fear, even though she knew she stood no chance. Natasha liked that, too. “I have a proposition for you, one that’s in our mutual best interests.”
“I can’t imagine how any of our interests are mutual.” The girl’s stake-holding hand started to shake.
“Now, now,” Natasha said and sashayed from the end to the side of the bed. “We’re family. Together we can ensure lasting peace between our two kingdoms.” She lowered her voice and learned forward. “My sources tell me your father is considering war.”
“What sources?”
The girl was smart not to deny or confirm. She gave away nothing. Natasha smiled and said, “I’m hoping you can help me avoid this war, and at the same time mend the horrible rift in our family. It saddens me how these misunderstandings have grown out of proportion.”
“Misunderstandings?” Lucette drew her stake back. “You cursed me when I was a baby.”
Natasha forced her jaw to relax so her expression would appear gentler, friendlier, less threatening to the girl. “You don’t know the whole story.” She fanned her eyes as if she had tears there. “If only you knew what your mother and father did to me first.”
“I do know, and it’s no excuse. What you did was unforgivable.”
This soon-to-be-dethroned princess was becoming annoying. With one bite Natasha could rip out her throat and eliminate her forever. But that would be hasty. Natasha had new plans for torturing Stefan and Catia. She would use their daughter against them, yet again.
“I do regret my actions that day.” She waved her hand.“In hindsight, laying the curse might have been a slight overreaction, and I want to make amends. But because the fairies made it impossible for me to enter Xandra until the curse lifted, I couldn’t apologize sooner. If only I’d been able to visit . . . I wanted to lift the curse right from the start, but your parents refused to bring you to me, and I couldn’t get here.” All lies, but lies the girl might fall for.
The girl frowned and relaxed slightly.
Pleased she’d obviously struck a chord, Natasha continued, “Approach your parents for me, ask them to hear me out, ask them to accept my deepest apologies. Maybe then war can be avoided.” She leaned on the mattress toward the girl. “I’m doing all I can to hold my armies back, but my generals are itching to invade to seek revenge for all of our citizens murdered by your slayers.” She added a little shiver for effect.
“Why come to me?” Lucette asked. “Why not my father, or the ambassador?”
“You’re the perfect person to come to.” Natasha held her hands out in mock surrender. “The peacemaker in our clan. After all the misunderstandings in our family, mending the fences is left to you and me.” She forced a sad look onto her face. “And now Alex’s so angry with you, too, and it’s not right for cousins to be fighting, especially when you’ve just discovered each other.”
“Alex’s angry with me?”
The girl looked stricken and her reaction confirmed that Alex had lied. He had talked to the sleeping beauty. Natasha fumed, but tried not to let it show. At least she’d identified the young princess’s weakness. The girl might be brave, but she couldn’t tolerate conflict, especially among family. As for her traitorous son, when Natasha found him she’d snap his neck, then drive three stakes through his heart.
Natasha forced a sad look onto her face and said, “My sweet son Alexander is jealous of your young man.” She put a hand over her heart. “It was Alexander’s wish—mine, too—that you and he would one day marry and forge a bond between our two kingdoms that could never again be broken by silly squabbles or misunderstandings.”
Lucette shook her head.“Alex doesn’t want to marry me. Not since he found out we’re cousins, anyway.” Her brow furrowed.“And he’s not mad or jealous about Tristan. I don’t believe you. He saved Tristan’s life.”
Natasha made her best attempt at an empathic smile. “He didn’t do that for your young man, darling. He did it for you.”
The girl tipped her head to the side, and satisfied for the moment, Natasha leaped through the window to the courtyard below. Her seeds of doubt had been planted. Hopefully by tomorrow they’d begin to grow.
Lucette crumpled to her mattress. Suddenly, all those days she’d been observed in her sleep by would-be suitors didn’t seem quite so creepy. That paled next to being woken by the vampire queen. She pushed her back against her headboard and pulled her duvet up to her chin. Shivering under her warm covers, she considered everything her aunt had said. Mending the rift between her parents and the vampire queen was tempting and fed on all her instincts to keep the peace, but as badly as she wanted to believe that her aunt’s desire to prevent war was sincere, she wasn’t sure.
The breeze billowed the sheer curtains, and she pulled the duvet around her tighter, wishing she could seek Tristan’s advice. But he was staying in another wing, and she knew her father would misunderstand if she got caught sneaking to his room at night. Almost as badly, she wanted to talk to Alex. Was he really hurt and jealous?
Perhaps he hadn’t believed she and Tristan had found true love until after the curse lifted, and he’d been holding out hope she’d eventually choose him. But they were cousins. He had to know she’d never marry her cousin.
Lucette rested her chin on the top of her duvet and took a deep breath. The more she thought about it, the more she believed that all the things the vampire queen had told her were lies.
As tempting as it was to think that she could arbitrate peace in their family, and between their two kingdoms, she couldn’t believe it. She wouldn’t tell her father of her aunt’s visit, but she’d do everything she could to convince him that invading Sanguinia was a trap.
For the rest of the night, Lucette couldn’t sleep. Partly—perhaps mostly—because of her unwanted visitor, but also she wasn’t yet used to sleeping at night. As much as she’d enjoyed sitting out in the sunlight the past two days, being awake in the night still felt natural.
Three hours before sunrise she gave up, got dressed, and ventured into the halls of the palace. The corridors weren’t as silent as they’d been during the curse, and she could hear the occasional clank of a baker’s pan from the kitchen on the other side of the palace, as well as the faint voices of patrolling palace guards and slayers.
The two slayers guarding the entrance to her bedchamber’s corridor nodded as she passed. It wouldn’t do any good to tell them the vampire queen had gotten past them tonight. With that magic stone around her neck, the queen was so much faster, so much stronger than ordinary vampires. The slayers couldn’t be held responsible for not spotting her.
And it was better that they hadn’t seen her, anyway. If they had, she suspected they wouldn’t have survived the encounter.
“Psst.” Startled, she stopped in her tracks. “Lucette, over here.”
The voice was male but hushed. Was Tristan out of bed, too? She blinked, searching the shadows in the direction from where the voice had come.
Alex stepped out from behind a tapestry hanging at the side of the corridor. Her heart jumped, and she refused to let what the vampire queen had told her eat into her happiness at seeing him.
“We need to talk,” he said. “Is there a slayer-free zone in this place? It took me all night to get this far.”
Lucette checked over her shoulder, then opened the door to the library just a few feet down the hall. After ensuring that the room was empty, she beckoned Alex and stood watch as he slipped into the room. A guard passed by the end of the corridor, but she quickly followed her cousin inside and closed the door behind them, hoping that if the guard had spotted her, it hadn’t raised any alarm on his part.
“I’m glad to see you,” she said, watching his reaction. “We were worried about you.”
“We?”
“Tristan wants to thank you again for saving his life.”
“Oh, yeah. Right.” He moved the heavy drapes aside and peeked out the no-longer-barricaded window. “We don’t have too long before I have to leave, and I’m not sure I’d survive getting caught.”
She leaned onto the back of a leather chair. “You’re good at getting past slayers. You did it for years.”
He turned.“It’s different now. They’re out to prove something. Their supposed defense mandate has obviously changed into an offensive strategy. I saw an attack a few hours ago. Six slayers on one young vampire who was totally minding his own business. It was brutal.”
Lucette cringed. She didn’t like to hear about any deaths, but hearing that slayers had killed without provocation scared her. It would only help the vampire queen gather more support.
“Well, I’m glad you came,” she told Alex. “It’s great to see you.” And even better to see that he didn’t seem angry with her as his mother had claimed.
“Good to see you, too.” He stepped forward. “But I didn’t just come to chat. I’ve got information.”
“Have you seen your mother since the curse lifted?”
He shuddered. “No way. If I go anywhere near her, she’ll kill me. In fact, she’s put a price on my life.”
Lucette gasped. Even for the evil queen, this was beyond horrific. “How do you know?” she asked.
“I overheard other vampires discussing how they’d kill me if they found me.”
She squeezed his arm. “Oh, Alex, I’m so sorry. She found out you helped me?”
He nodded. “The vampires who got away from the tower last night must have told her.”
She felt more sure than ever that Alex was trustworthy, but how could she convince her father?
“How are things here?” Alex asked. “How did your parents react to the curse lifting?”
“Well obviously, they were glad to see me.” For the moment, she kept quiet about the impending invasion. That was a state secret.
Alex stepped forward. “You need to tell your father to brace for war, as soon as tomorrow night. My mother decided not to wait for your father to act. Worse, she did something last night that even our generals believe warrants an invasion.”
“What did she do?”
His jaw clenched and the brief hint of pain in his eyes turned to hatred. “My mother arranged the murders of a group of Sanguinian citizens. Her minions killed entire families.”
“How horrible!” Lucette reached for his arm and squeezed. “But how does that justify Sanguinia invading Xandra? Won’t everyone rise up against her?”
“Her minions used wooden stakes and left garlic lying around. I was there soon after the bodies were discovered, and let me tell you, previously peaceful vampires are now out for human blood.”
His words sent a chill down her spine. Every last doubt in her mind about Alex vanished. Every doubt about his mother, too. Natasha had done this horrible deed before visiting her tonight with that false peace offering. It had all been trickery and deceit.
Alex paced across the room, then turned to her, looking stricken. “The police who found the bodies headed straight to the generals, and even though the generals are reasonable, they can’t ignore this massacre. Even if they choose to wait for real evidence of who was behind it, the plan was masterful, because now even ordinary citizens are ready to attack.”
Lucette cringed.“If the vampire attacks escalate—at all—my father will invade Sanguinia for sure. He’s right on the brink.”
“You need to tell him not to,” Alex said emphatically.
“I’m not sure he’ll listen to me.” But she had to try. “Stay here.” She hugged Alex quickly. “I’m going to wake my father. He needs to hear this.”
Lucette’s stomach churned with anxiety as Alex stood before her parents in the library. Six slayers flanked the perimeter of the room. She’d tried to object to their presence, telling everyone they had nothing to fear from Alex, but her parents had insisted—both of them.
“Stefan,” her mother said, “after all that’s happened, I can’t believe you’ve given audience to a vampire, especially her son.” The look of revulsion on her mother’s face was clear.
Stefan turned to his wife. “He’s also our nephew. Let’s hear him out.”
Her mother shuddered, and her father sighed.
Lucette hated that her mother was being to rude to Alex and that his presence had driven yet another wedge between her parents, but neither of those things could be her main concern at the moment. Not when Xandra and Sanguinia were on the brink of war.
“Dad, please listen to Alex. I trust him completely.” Lucette wondered if she should also tell him that Queen Natasha had been in her bedroom just hours ago—even Alex didn’t know that—but she decided to keep that information to herself. It might make things worse.
Lucette listened as Alex told her father the same things he’d told her. She tried to gauge her father’s expression, and she tried to listen to Alex’s story objectively, as though she were hearing it for the first time. He sounded sincere. Her father had to believe him.
“This is some story you’re telling,” her father said to Alex. “But I can’t base a decision that impacts the lives of my soldiers, the safety of my subjects, the very future of my kingdom merely on your word. Can you offer me any evidence? Other witnesses?”
Alex shook his head. “You have to understand, it’s not like I can talk to other vampires right now. There’s a bounty on my head, so I can’t go back to Sanguinia. Not if I want to live.”
“That’s because he helped Tristan and me,” Lucette interjected. “He saved our lives.”
Her father ran his fingers over his stubbled chin. “I need to think about this. How long can you stay?”
Alex glanced over to the windows. “Do you have somewhere I can be sheltered from sunlight?”
“Yes, of course,” her father said.
“Stefan.” Her mother stepped up beside her husband and whispered, but not quietly enough that Lucette and Alex couldn’t hear. “I won’t have that vampire staying in the palace. It’s not safe.”
“Your majesty,” Alex said politely,“if I stay, it is I who’ll be vulnerable. Your household won’t be in danger. Even if I don’t come into contact with sunlight—something I’ll have to trust you to ensure—vampires are weak while the sun is in the sky. I couldn’t hurt you once the sun’s up, even if I wanted to.”
“Liar.” Her mother practically spat the word. “The day your mother cursed my baby, she was plenty strong. She leaped more than thirty feet in one bound.”
“That’s because she used the Stone of Supremacy,” Alex answered. “I assure you, during the day, there’s nothing I can do to hurt you. And I wouldn’t consider it at night.”
Lucette walked up beside him. “Believe him, Mom. He helped save your life.”
“I doubt that.” Her mother ran her hand over her throat. “How do I know he wasn’t the vampire who bit me?”
Lucette blew out an exasperated breath. “Because I saw it happen! Alex helped save you that night and helped me protect you and Dad every other night.”
Her mother’s cheeks flushed bright red and then she looked directly at Alex for the first time since she’d entered the room. “You helped protect me during the curse?”
He nodded.
“Because I’m your aunt?” She looked perplexed.
“No,” he shook his head. “I didn’t find out we were related until much later.”
Tears rose in her mother’s eyes and she clasped her hands in front of the pale blue robe she wore over her night clothes. She stepped forward and took Alex’s face in her hands. “Thank you.” Her voice was small, but her tone sincere.
“I’d like you to stay,” her father said to Alex. “This plan to provoke us sounds like Natasha, so I will hold back on the invasion. With your help and advice, I’ll send a diplomatic envoy into Sanguinia to talk directly to the generals—whomever you recommend.”
“If the queen finds out,” Alex said, “your diplomats won’t survive the trip.”
“That’s why I need your advice,” her father said.
Alex nodded. “I’ll stay.”
The door burst open, and Tristan ran into the room. Lucette’s heart did a dance at the sight of him, but he headed straight for her father. “Your Majesty, I’ve got horrible news.”
“What?” her father asked.
“It doesn’t matter what you decide about invading Sanguinia. The Xandran refugees have returned and have taken up arms. They’re planning to invade Sanguinia on their own.”
Lucette paced around the library. “We’ve got to do something,” she said to Tristan.
He rose from a leather chair and put his hands on her shoulders. “Your father is handling it. He’s talking to the ambassadors right now.”
She shook her head. “We have to do something to stop it.” She admired her father, but there was no time to talk. “We should go to the border,” she said. “We can stop the refugees before they cross into Sanguinia. I’m sure I can reason with them.”
Tristan’s jaw firmed and he remained silent for so long that Lucette started to worry, but finally, he nodded. “Your bravery astounds me. It’s why I fell in love with you, and if this is what you think you should do, I can’t stop you. But what about him?” He nodded toward Alex, who was sleeping under a canopy of dark fabric they’d strung between some of the bookcases in the corner.
Lucette thought for a second, then crossed over to the black velvet tent and opened it. “Alex, are you awake?”
He stretched his arms. “I am now.”
“We need to talk.”