Chapter Nineteen

RAUL

“She’s quite a jewel,” Mother says as she walks through the palace. “You are lucky to have her.”

I follow in her stead with my hands clasped behind my back. I don’t have to voice my discomfort with the whole situation. Once the Queen makes up her mind, there’s little that can be said to dissuade her.

“I doubt she feels the same about me,” I tell her stiffly.

She laughs. “Oh, nonsense.” She bends by a vase of flowers and inhales deeply. “These smell lovely. Who chose them?”

“I don’t know.” My voice is tinged with annoyance. “How can you think about frivolities like that now, Mother?”

She clicks her tongue and moves on. “You know I don’t like you calling me that.” She sighs. “Alas, it is something I will have to get used to, won’t I?”

“As if you haven’t in the past centuries?”

She gives me a sharp look.

I rake a hand through my hair. “I’m sorry. I speak to you without thinking.”

“You seem to be doing a lot of that recently,” she notes. “Oh well. It is of small significance. I’m sure it’s something your wife will soon help correct.”

I cough. “Wife?”

“Yes, of course. You’re to wed the girl as soon as possible.” She flows onward without looking at my reaction. “It’s only prudent that we bring her into our family before the succession can truly begin. Don’t you think?”

“No, I do not think, Mother.” I stride forward and grab her arm. I turn her to face me.

She frowns at my point of contact. “Forgetting yourself again, my son?” she asks softly. “Or…” she runs a finger down my chest. “Maybe you’ve decided to take me up on my long-standing offer, hmm?”

I grimace and jerk my hand away. “Never.”

“A pity.”

“I am not marrying her.”

Morgan laughs. “Why? Does she repel you so?”

Just the opposite, I think.

But I cannot tell the Queen that.

“It’s improper,” I say. “We’ve kidnapped her and stolen her from her life. How do you think she’ll react to your proposition?”

“As a future Princess should. With dignity and grace. Remember, Raul.” She touches my chest and gives a pitying look. “The ancestral blood that flows through her veins gives her the powers of the old clan of witches.”

“You’re telling me she is related to you?” My throat clenches. “Why am I only learning of this now? The celestial charts showed nothing of the sort!”

“No, no,” Mother laughs. “Eleira comes from an entirely different line. You do know precious little about how it all works, don’t you?”

“Being stuck with the vampire curse is enough. I don’t make it a priority to learn about your kind, too.”

“Something that we’ll also have to change, before long, if you’re to rule.”

“I have no desire for —”

“Your desires have nothing to do with anything,” she cuts in. “But I’ll give you a small history lesson to broaden your knowledge. At the origin, there were five great families, all part of the witch clan. All had enormous power. Little by little, over the years, that power whittled away. Until there were only two. Two daughters of the clans, bound by loyalty and oath. Myself —” she raises a finger, “— and one other.

“We were both witches. Our abilities were similar, but our ambitions… were not. She was happy to lead a normal, disgustingly short, human life. Whereas I —” she stands taller, “— always aspired to something much greater. So this curse you always complain about — why do you not see it as I do? It is the most wonderful blessing. It is eternal life.”

“It is a life of darkness.”

“Perhaps. But better to have infinite nights than a limited span of days.”

“I disagree.”

“I know you do, sweet child.” She gives me a sad look. “Your perspective is flawed. Anyway. At the time I caught wind of a little rumor… a sorcerer working at something I greatly craved. Of course —” she gives another little laugh, “— you can imagine how the story goes. The man I found was no sorcerer. But he was a vampire. And he became, in time, your father.”

I stand very still, careful not to interrupt. Morgan had never shared this story with me before. As far as I know, she’s never shared it with anyone before.

“My friend was outraged by what I’d done. She swore that my new powers would bring me nothing but misery and prophesied a horrible end. But —” she smiles, and looks at her nails, “— look at which of us is alive today and which is not.”

She laughs. “Eleira is her final descendent. That is what makes her so vital to us. The abilities of witches do not flow from generation to generation. They lie latent for decades, even centuries, before one such as her is born.

“You know why I care for her? You know how important our task is? With Eleira in hand, with her on our side, with her blood joined together with yours, there are none who can ever threaten us. The two remaining lines of the great families, of the great witches, will finally be joined together as one. Can you think of any better insurance for the future?” She twirls around, oblivious in her happiness. “Because I cannot.”

“You expect her to just go along with it?” I ask. “What if she resists?”

“Oh, we have many ways of breaking her, don’t you worry.”

“You’re making her into your pawn,” I say.

“For now,” Morgan admits. “Eventually, she will come around. And it’s not my pawn she’s going to be, my son, my sweetest.” She looks deep into my eyes. “It’s yours.”