“I think your spell is broken,” Adelie griped.
I grunted. Because I couldn’t really argue with her.
A glance at my cell phone indicated we had been waiting for two hours.
Lord Otto growled, “Our spell is not broken.”
“Then what do you call this?” I waved a hand at the see-through glass where all the folding chairs remained empty. “You said most of the oldest male vampires were already here in the stronghold. This spell was supposed to make them rush with open arms into this room. That sure as fuck isn’t happening.”
The overlords had all found places to sit and relax once they saw no one was initially running through the cavern door. One of them, Lord Xenon, was even snoring softly.
Cato ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes flashing red briefly. “The spell isn’t broken, my dear.”
My eyes narrowed at his endearment, but I held strong to the argument. “Lord Pippin hasn’t ever done this before. Perhaps there was an error.”
The lord in question snapped his eyes in my direction. “Excuse me, candidate?”
“No offense, of course. I’m merely shooting out ideas.”
“More like, you’re just shooting shit out of your mouth,” he growled.
From his perch sitting against the glass barrier, Lord Belshazzar held up his hands to stave off further argument. “Lord Pippin performed the ritual flawlessly, Gwynnore. There isn’t a problem with it. There is no problem at all.”
My eyes widened in disbelief. “There are no men down there! That is a problem.”
Was I broken? Because if I were, I would be booted.
Unable to complete the “King” Challenge.
Adelie glanced at me, a brief flicker of worry entering her gaze before she hid it.
Damn. Even my friend was having doubts.
Cato hissed, “This was not what I planned for. I haven’t had blood in a week.”
Now, attention turned in his direction.
Adelie mumbled, “Leave. Go drink your fill. It doesn’t appear we’re going anywhere soon.”
Cato hissed, pure vampire.
He rolled on his own couch, placing his back to us.
Lord Belshazzar held up his hands once more. “Everyone, calm down. I will explain it all the best I can.” He flicked a finger at the blood-deprived lord. “He can’t leave. His power is bound to the spell. So, he’s mildly grumpy that we’re going to be here—possibly for a few days. And no one else can enter this room until the spell is complete.”
My jaw dropped open, and I shrieked, “A few days? What the hell!”
The eldest vampire sighed. “This has happened before. Many, many years ago. It was written in the ancient book, so if it ever happened again, the overlords would be aware of it.”
Lord Pippin dropped his head back and groaned loudly at the ceiling. “Oh fuck. That is happening?” He sighed and fell to his back against the hard floor. “Good God, we’re going to be here forever.”
My confused gaze flicked between the overlords.
In the resulting silence, I finally questioned, “Did I do something wrong? Should I have used more blood? I could fix it if I did. I’ll slice my wrist if I need to.”
They couldn’t send me packing. I wouldn’t let them.
Cato grunted, his face smashed against the cushion. “If only the problem were that easy to fix, my darling.”
I lost my cool, hissing, “Quit calling me that crap! You have no right!”
Another grunt was all I received in return.
Lord Belshazzar rubbed at his forehead, resting the back of his head against the glass. “Allow me to explain further, candidate.”
He was still calling me a candidate. That was a good sign. The tension in my shoulders eased some.
He continued, “You see, honestly, the vast majority of the eldest vampires are here. The fact that not one of them has come is a clear indication of what is happening.”
I leaned forward, silently pushing him to expound on his words.
The old lord almost appeared hesitant to say. But he cleared his throat, and forged onward, “It means, Gwynnore, that your match is not a vampire.”
My shoulder slammed into the barrier as my legs weakened. “Huh?”
“Your match is either a human or a druid. Most likely a druid with the amount of power we had to push into the spell.”
I couldn’t stop blinking.
I was feeling faint, my head swimming.
I decided it would be best if I sat.
Though it was more of a slide down the glass, the screech hideous inside the silent room. My butt landed right next to the oldest vampire—the scariest one of all. I tilted my head and stared up into his ice blue eyes. “How in the world can that be?”
He hummed softly, his head teetering back and forth in thought. “You said you weren’t good with relationships. Perhaps it wasn’t really that. You are very headstrong, and the druid laws are more lax with females. The vampires in the stronghold obviously wouldn’t mesh well with you.”
A gurgle escaped my throat. “So we’re going to have a bunch of horny druids descending in here?”
He nodded, his nose scrunching. Even he didn’t like the idea. “I believe so.”
“Oh my God,” I groaned, closing my eyes. “I hate druids.”
Lord Belshazzar bumped his shoulder gently against mine. “They aren’t all bad.”
“Every single druid I have met has an ego the size of this mountain,” I growled. A disgusted shiver ran down my spine. “Do we even allow a druid to be our king?”
He rubbed his forehead again. “We do. It is the law that we follow the magic.”
I banged the back of my head against the glass a few times in frustration. “And I bet our people will love this.”
His sigh was profound. “Whoever is chosen will have an uphill battle.”
“How does this really even work, though? When he becomes an overlord, he won’t be able to help you with any rituals on the Original vampire amulet—only vampires can.”
“No, remember what Lord Cato said. Only overlords can wield it.”
Adelie muttered, “Fan-fucking-tabulous. A druid will get his grubby hands on our most prized procession.”
“The magic will choose well,” Lord Belshazzar assured. “It always does. Everything happens for a reason.”
I held up an instant finger. “Except for that one time it didn’t. I was listening earlier.”
“Not very well,” Elder Otto grumbled. “The match wasn’t ideal, but the king was. There is a difference.”
“This isn’t good.” I placed my face into my waiting palms, hiding from my misfortune.
“Uphill battle. But not impossible,” Lord Belshazzar reminded. “And with the overlords backing the new king—druid or not—our people will trust in us. Our pasts have won over the people, and that is how they remember us. Trustworthy and loyal. We wouldn’t back someone if we didn’t believe in them.”
I dropped my hands from my eyes and slumped onto my side. The chill of the ground was delicious against my fevered body. I growled in frustration. “I hope you’re right.”
Lord Belshazzar snorted. “Get up, Gwynnore. If the Unseen Gods saw how pitiful you looked right now, a candidate to the throne—”
“The Unseen Gods are only a myth,” I cut him off, bravery loosening my lips. “I can’t believe you believe in them.”
Though, I did sit up.
Ice blue eyes caught mine, sending chills down my spine. He rumbled, “I believe in a great many things. Live long enough, and you will too, candidate.”