Niallan smirked as he sat at the table the next morning.
I groaned and blatantly walked away from him.
I’d managed nearly twelve hours of sleep, and it felt damned good. I had needed it after all the time I’d spent running around and trying to complete the trials, making new ‘friends.’. The blood-drunk way I’d started to feel at the end of the day was not what I’d wanted to deal with, and sleep was the perfect cure-all for that.
But seeing Nial’s face bright and early in the morning didn’t do a thing for me. The smug fucker. I went to sit down with Adelie at the other table in the dining room.
“Good morning.” She grinned.
Always an ally in this woman. “Good morning, Adelie. You’re looking exceptionally healthy.”
“Oh, a good drink and fuck will do that.”
Locking my gaze on her, I waited. She was no damn good at keeping secrets from me. She could keep a thousand other secrets from a thousand other people, but never from me.
Sighing and slumping in the chair, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. His name is Rodolphe.”
“Is it serious?”
“Seriously good, yes. It’s mutually agreeable. I’m not sure it’s a mate thing—definitely not a soul mate—but man, I didn’t know that screaming ‘Rodolphe’ at the top of my lungs could be so much fun.” She leaned over. “And he tastes good. Like expensive champagne. And pineapple.”
Tossing my head back, I let out a raucous laugh. “Because, of course, you did!”
She chuckled, whispering, “The French say that fellatio is far more intimate than just smashing genitals.”
In the corner of my vision, I could see Nial twist his lips and shake his head. He stood and sauntered out of the room with far too much swagger. But he had left, so I enjoyed that little victory.
Pulling over the orange juice, I gave her serious side eye. “The French?”
“Well, okay. Rodolphe says it is. And holy snacks, Gwen, that man has a tongue.”
Waving my hands, I shook my head in the negative. “Nope. Stop right there. I don’t need to hear this from you. All I’ll get is jealous.”
“He’s more than willing to entertain another lady…”
I snickered. “At the same time?”
Adelie shrugged. “Same time, different time, in a bed, in a closet. Rodolphe is very liberal in his loving.”
“Manwhore?”
“Yup.”
We burst out laughing and settled into breakfast, her mouth going a hundred miles an hour while I quietly enjoyed my eggs and bacon. Bacon had to be one of the things in the human world that came near the exquisite taste of blood on a thirsty tongue. I could eat that damn pork all day long.
While I was enjoying the bacon in its natural and native form of just a slice of bacon and my mouth, Nial was suddenly back in the room and next to the table. He was in full Monitor of Challenge mode, and he was pissy too. “You’re requested in the chamber. Immediately.”
“Just enough time to sleep and eat? I don’t get a break?”
He adjusted his look to one of anger. “Queens don’t get a day off.”
I growled but put down the rest of my bacon rasher and stood. “You finished breakfast already, Master Nial, so perhaps you realized someone had pissed in your Cheerios?”
Adelie giggled, but the glare Nial threw at her cut her off. When he looked back at me, I saw Adelie give him the middle finger. Standing up, Adelie had every intention of following me. Nial put a hand out to stop her. “The last Challenge is not publically given. This one is behind closed doors. Only the Queen Novitiate and the overlords are allowed.”
A queasiness rose in my stomach. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like hiding what the request was from the general public. Still, this whole trial and ceremony thing was older than my own grandfather. I had to play along with the rules. Instead of fighting with the druid, I put a hand on Adelie’s shoulder. “Let me go. It’ll be fine. I can’t expect them to wait more than a day for me to recover.”
She straightened her back, nodded and gave Nial the nastiest look. I wanted to high-five her, but Mister Monitor was halfway across the room at that point, and I had to follow him. I refused to run, but I did power walk to end up just behind him. We strode through the halls to the small chamber where the overlords could hold private audiences if they needed to.
He pulled the door open, and there was no mistaking the anger he was radiating. “They’re waiting for you.”
“Aren’t you coming in?”
“I am Monitor of Challenge and a possible candidate for king. I cannot be present for this issuance. My only instruction as of now is that I will know when you have completed it.”
Well. This was a twist. I knew it was given in confidence, but I didn’t realize even the Monitor didn’t get to know what I had to do. Interesting.
I stepped into the chamber, and Mister Crushed Ego slammed the door.
The five overlords sat in their casual clothes, which were out of place. They were usually all dressed up in for the pomp and ceremony. They loved to remind everyone how powerful they were, waving their dicks in our faces. But there wasn’t a hint of the hauteur I was used to from them. They were gathered around a small, old wooden table.
Stress. Distress. Excitement.
It radiated from them in waves.
My stomach stopped fluttering and started churning hard. They left me standing and waiting for a very, very long moment.
“Gwynnore, daughter of Alaine,” Lord Belshazzar began, standing up. “You have satisfied all of our trials with expediency and enthusiasm. The last trial only barely, when you finally revealed to Lord Pippin that you believed Lord Cato was breaking the law. The truth. That was the true test, whether you would tell us of your father’s possible duplicity—even if the Council did want Ginter dead for our own reasons.”
I blinked. Stared. “Wait… You knew he had created a vampire?”
Lord Belshazzar nodded with ease. “Yes. Any vampire he has created has been approved.”
My mouth bobbed without elegance. “You were testing me. About my morals, and where I would let the law apply.”
Didn’t they know I despised my father?
I wouldn’t have saved his ass from death. At least…
No, I wouldn’t have. I did a little mental shake. I definitely wouldn’t save the bastard who had abandoned me. I had told Lord Pippin about it—even if it was out of unfiltered anger.
“Yes. And the Council is pleased with the outcome. We have reached the last trial.”
Lord Xenon stood. “This trial is law. Your last Challenge is in the Law. We cannot change it. We dare not change it. It has served us well this long. But bear in mind always that this is the law, and we must obey it.”
Lord Otto hoisted himself out of his chair. “Our conditions are this. You must complete this task in under forty-eight hours. It must be done in the public eye. And you must not ever tell anyone the true reason for this.”
Cato rose to his feet. “Tradition is tradition. Law is law. If you want the crown, you must follow this to the letter.” His cold facade wavered a moment then snapped back into place.
Slowly, Lord Pippin stood. “Are you ready to hear your final Challenge?”
I nodded, swallowing back the bile that wanted out.
He continued, “The law states that she who would be queen must to prove her dedication to the law, kill the individual who is her most loved one, be they family, friend or mated—including soul mates. No one can be told of this Challenge. The blood must be left to the ages.”
There was no way I’d heard that right. “Could you repeat that?”
“You must kill the individual who is your most loved one,” Lord Pippin repeated the words.
“You want me to kill my friend?” My voice rose hysterically, his meaning hitting like a sledgehammer to my skull. “You want me to kill Adelie?”
“We do not.” Lord Belshazzar kept his tone even and quiet. “It is the law. This trial is to prove your loyalty to the vampires. This Challenge is to prove you’re loyal to the law. It is the law that issues this Challenge.”
“Find something. Anything else. Want me to wipe out a village? An island? A vampire enclave? I’m all for it.”
Lord Otto sat down. “It is law.”
“Find something else! Adelie is my truest friend. She is my confidant, and I need her help as queen. And you want me to fucking kill her?”
Lord Xenon found his chair as well. “It is law.”
“Fuck your law. Fuck it. Find me another Challenge.”
“You have forty-eight hours to complete this,” Lord Belshazzar explained patiently and then sat his own ass down as well. They were all on their asses staring at me—except for Cato. He remained standing, his expression utterly blank while he watched me. I gave them all the middle finger and turned to walk out, fully expecting that they would call me back and tell me the real Challenge. Or kill me on the way out.
Lord Belshazzar moved and blocked my way. “This is not a lie, Gwen. You are required to kill the one you love the most. If you want to be queen, you must. We want you to be the queen. You are the best, the most suited for this.”
His eyes were soft, but unmovable.
“You’re not kidding. I really have to kill her.”
“Make it quick, Gwen. Don’t drag this out, for either of you. It only gets worse. I can tell you, the longer you let this take, the more horrible it’s going to be.”
I shook my head hard. “I had fucking breakfast with her twenty minutes ago.”
“The law must be upheld.”
My blink was ever so slow and my blood ran cold. “Do…do the male candidate have to perform this Challenge to?”
His ice blue eyes narrowed. “I’m not allowed to answer that. As you know.” He shook his head sharply, entering my personal space with a step forward, when I opened my mouth to argue. “Careful. You’re veering into death territory if you ask me again. The only reason you got away with that question the first time is because it was for the male candidates. One warning can be given. That’s it.”
I pushed him out of my way. To hell with them!
My fists shook, cramping from squeezing so hard.
My gaze landed on Cato.
My father didn’t blink. He held my regard.
My mother… His wife… His love…
The need to flee was overwhelming.
I kicked the door open.
And then shoved past Nial standing there.
“What’s the trial?” He walked behind me with his long legs, easily keeping up with my hurried stalk. “Gwen, what’s the—”
Using my speed, I ran not only through the stronghold but down the mountain and out into the cold air of the Chilean winter. I ran hard and ran fast. I just kept running until I finally exhausted myself, nearly an hour later. There was a small copse of evergreen bushes, and I dropped down under them, wrapping my arms around my knees and rocking madly. Everything but the challenge I shoved aside for later review—my emotions couldn’t handle any more.
I had to kill my friend.
That was the law?
Who makes laws about killing your best friend?
Didn’t they understand that I needed her help?
Sweet and caring Adelie was my right-hand woman, and I needed that. Someone who would remember things for me. Something that would pick out fancy foods and place settings when I didn’t even remotely care. Someone who…cared…about me. And I her.
I had to murder my friend?
How could that be a law? Take away one of the queen’s strengths before she even gets to the throne. The whole vampire law was stilted toward the males, it always had been, but this was the ultimate slap in the face to the females. Hobbling their queen.
How could I kill my friend?
She had been instrumental in shaping me as a Queen Novitiate. Books, training, conversation, devil’s advocate. Adelie had been there through all of it and even got over her habit of keeping pet humans to bring me blood and memories when I woke. I knew that had been hard for her. But she did it. Because she was my friend. She was my heart-sister. She was Adelie. And she wanted me to ascend to the throne as much as anyone could have.
She wanted me to win the crown.
Adelie would have given anything to help me get the crown.
Her life, though? Her life? It was a step too far.
Wasn’t it?
I couldn’t imagine life without her. She was always there, always my friend. From the day I arrived at my grandfather’s citadel outside of Luxor, she befriended me, the daughter of Pharaonic blood and a vampire, her viciousness even at our age then had impressed me. And yet she still kept human pets and had a soft side for them. When she found out I was a princess to the crown, she insisted I needed to take the job as queen one day—when I was old enough to be called upon. It became our obsession. Hers as much as mine.
And now, here we were. At the brink of victory.
The crown hovered above my head…
All I had to do was kill her, and it was mine.
It was law.
If I didn’t kill her, I didn’t uphold the law.
And I didn’t get the throne.
This was the bull that kept the males in power. They cut off their females at the knees before they married them and bred them, so they never had a chance to truly mourn.
Would Adelie hesitate to kill me if we were in each other’s shoes?
Yes. Of course.
Any woman would hesitate to cut off their right hand.
What would I tell her if I knew this was her last test before the finish line?
Kill me.
Of course. Kill me in a heartbeat and take the crown.
I started to regain a sense of balance, calm scratching at the edges of my senses.
I centered my breathing and tested myself once more.
What would I say?
Kill me. Take the crown.
Make the males realize what they are doing. Find a way to change the law so no one has to die for the Black Heart. Make an amazing queen. And kick Nial in the balls for me.
Well, maybe I’d hold back on the last part.
I let out a laugh in the empty forest and wiped my nose of the snot.
Fine. They wanted me to kill her. The law said I had to.
Then I would.
We’d both worked for me to take this crown.
And we would both do anything to put it where it belonged—on my brow.
* * *
I found Lord Otto and Lord Xenon in the formal dining room. I stood over them, fists clenched at my sides.
The two other people in the area fled, my wild hair and red-rimmed eyes enough of a warning for them to skedaddle.
I stated quietly, “I have three conditions.”
Lord Xenon shook his head slightly and sighed. “There are no conditions.”
“I have conditions. Will you hear me?”
Lord Otto shrugged. “Fine. Tell us your conditions.”
Glancing between them, I didn’t falter. “I will not have this done in public. I request a small party of witnesses. The overlords, the Monitor, and two other people of the Council’s choosing so that there is no bias.”
“That is not how this is done,” Lord Xenon grumbled.
I leaned in close to the two of them. “Does the law tell me how I am to commit murder?”
Both shook their heads, their brows puckered in thought.
“Then I will choose how I will commit murder against someone who is a sister to me.” I straightened, shoving my shoulders back. I peered down my nose into their eyes. “My first condition is that you give me the space and set up exactly as I said—witnesses and the victim. That’s all.”
With a simple glance, they spoke volumes to each other.
“A small gathering is granted.” Lord Otto’s words were smooth and cold. “What is your second condition?”
“I am left alone for a week to mourn. There will be no contact from the Councilors or their agents.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Nothing from anyone. Alone. To mourn.”
Rapidly shaking his head in the negative, Lord Otto looked ready to explode. “The ceremony—”
I cut him off rapidly, “Unless it’s in the law—that is my demand.”
Lord Xenon put a hand on Lord Otto to hold him in the chair. “It is not in the tradition. The ceremony is usually the day after. We can only accommodate an uncrowned queen for four days. At the most. That is our compromise.”
It wouldn’t matter how many days they could manage. It would never be enough.
My head nodded in a stiff jerk. “Fine. Four. Uninterrupted by anyone.”
“And your last condition?” Lord Xenon prompted me to finish.
“I crown myself. No one places that crown on my head but me.”
Lord Otto nearly jumped out of his seat. “Unheard of!”
The unshakeable, unreadable Lord Xenon cracked. “That’s not right. That’s not the way it’s been done in the past. The queen should be crowned by the eldest overlord. Lord Otto is correct—this is unheard of.”
“Well, hear of it, or you lose this Queen Novitiate.” I wasn’t budging.
Another glance at each other, and they nodded at the same time accepting the terms.
“Set up a dinner,” I said.
“This—”
I slammed my hand on the table. “I’m doing what the law asks. I despise it, and if I could find a way around this, I would. In a heartbeat. So you’ll work with me, or you can find a new Queen Novitiate and hope they can pass your stupid trials.”
Again, the synchronized nod.
“A dinner. Tomorrow night, with the witnesses there. No one else. Set the table, but do not expect to eat. I will not give her a last meal like some pig to the slaughter.” Spinning on my heel, I headed for the exit but paused. I tossed my last words over my shoulder at them. “Tell Lord Belshazzar it will be quick.”
A creeping chill ran up my hardened spine, noting the small smiles they now wore.
Perhaps I should have demanded more.
Cunning fucks.