Chapter Twenty-Five

ELEIRA

The Queen takes us on an elaborate tour of the castle, chatting frivolously the whole way through. Her easy manner is completely at odds with the horrors she show us.

The portraits were just the start. The men and women — vampires — inside there do move, but only when they are unwatched. They’re like prisoners struggling in straitjackets. Their bodies are locked more or less in place. But they still fight to break free of the restraints.

The rest of the castle is no better. There are rooms we go through that I’m sure are dedicated only to torture. They are side-by-side with those adorned with fancy throws and beautiful beds and all sorts of comforts, the rooms dedicated to pleasure.

I hear and sense the presence of others in here with us, but I never see them. I don’t know if they’re vampires or humans. I don’t even know if it matters much at this point.

Eventually we reach the throne room. It’s a huge, open space, empty except for a single gold chair raised high on a dais. Its back is inlaid with shining crystals that rise halfway to the ceiling, like an enormous growth of rock. The higher they go, the more jagged their edges get.

I swallow on my first look at it. It’s very intimidating.

Morgan walks straight to it, her dress flowing behind her, and flutters down. “Oh!” she says when she sees me standing. “Come, come. Take your proper place.”

She snaps her fingers, and in a puff of dark smoke, a hard iron stool appears beside the throne. Right when it happens, my vision goes red, and a sharp pain stabs through my temple.

“Ah!” I cry out.

April looks at me in concern but says nothing. She’s more intimidated by the Queen than I am.

The pain fades a second later. I blink in confusion. What was that?

“Well?” the Queen beckons. “What’s taking you so long? You don’t want to keep your monarch waiting…” She raps her nails against the armrest.

I share a look with April and slowly climb the steps. As I climb higher and higher, an uncanny feeling of being watched creeps over me. The Queen’s eyes are directed outward. She has a coy smile on her face.

I approach the stool apprehensively. There are small metal barbs on the back half. It’s really something you’re only meant to perch on.

Just another way to make me uneasy.

I smooth the back of my dress, turn around to sit—and freeze with a sudden gasp.

The entire auditorium, which had been empty only a moment ago, is now teeming with vampires.

I know what they are because of how absolutely still they stand. Not a single one of them stirs. They’re like wax statues. All their eyes are on me. They line the sides of the chamber, dressed in rich fabrics and luxurious outfits that range in style from centuries ago all the way up to modern day.

And they’re all, each one, stunningly beautiful. Their figures are somehow enhanced compared to ordinary humans. The males have more power in their stance. The women have curves that are subtly more emphatic than usual. All the faces are striking, bold, aristocratic.

April is the only one who stands out in the mass. She’s completely stiff and unmoving, but in a different way. Her eyes wander side-to-side, betraying her fear. Her poor peasant girl’s clothes don’t help the contrast.

“How did they…” I begin.

Morgan looks at me and smiles. “They’re waiting for you to sit, Princess.”

In a daze, I lower myself onto the stool. As soon as I do, movement breaks out in the crowd. The vampires start talking, whispering to each other, just as I would expect in a regular assembly of so many people.

So many ‘people?’ Is that the right phrase?

But I don’t know what else I would call them. After all, they do look like people, enhanced, uplifted, extraordinarily beautiful people.

Goosebumps wash over me.

Morgan raises a hand. A silence immediately falls. Now the attention shifts away from me and to her.

“You all know why you’ve been summoned,” she announces. “But your future sovereign here does not. This is Eleira,” she swirls a hand over me, “and though some of you may have heard of her arrival, it is the first time you can see her yourselves, see that she is real, and that—yes—–she is still human.”

Hostile murmurs come from the mass. I grip the bottom of my seat so tightly my nails feel like they’re about to rip off.

“Oh!” Morgan says suddenly. “I almost forgot. We are also blessed by the presence of one other human.” Her eyes fall on April. “Come up here, dear, won’t you?”

I get a very, very bad feeling about this.

April reluctantly climbs the steps. Morgan holds out her hand. April goes to one knee and kisses the ring on the Queen’s finger.

“Good girl,” Morgan murmurs. “You know the proper protocols.” She draws her hand away and gestures dismissively to my side. “Now, take your place behind Eleira.”

April walks to me and steps one foot back. I start to turn my head to her, but she quickly hisses, “No!”

I snap my attention forward.

“As you can see,” Morgan continues. “The two girls have developed a particular bond. Neither of them is to be touched by any vampire. You will spread the message amongst your peers who could not make it today. If any harm befalls Eleira or her hand-servant, well…” Morgan’s lips curl up in a cruel smile, “…whoever is responsible will have to answer to me. Is that understood?”

The absolute silence that follows the warning is more ominous than any other reaction I could have envisioned.

“Now then!” Morgan claps her hands. “We’ve got that out of the way, it’s time to turn our attention to the real matter that brought you here.”

On her words, the far entrance doors heave open. Two vampires, both in chains, are dragged forth by a circle of guards.

The murmurs pick up as the two prisoners come to a stop before us. The guards kick them to the floor.

Both look… awful. Their skin is stretched so tight over their bones they might as well be skeletons. Their eyes are sunken and red. There’s not a trace of hair on either of them—it’s almost like it has all been burned away.

I suck in a breath when I realize one of them is a woman. She’s so thin and wretched… only the contours of her eyes hint at her femininity.

“You know the charges laid against you,” Morgan says, almost casually. “How do you plead?”

“Innocent!” they call out in unison.

Morgan looks at them and laughs. The assembled vampires take cue from her reaction. They start to laugh, cruelly, as well.

The prisoners huddle down, defeated.

Morgan calls for silence. “My son James saw both of you consorting with a band of humans the night before The Hunt. Do you deny the accusation?”

“Yes!” The male vampire looks up. He holds his hands out pleadingly. “Patricia and I would never go against you. We owe you everything! Our lives, our powers. Please!”

Morgan arches an eyebrow. “You would call my son a liar?”

“No!” The man shakes his head. “No. Never. But the situation was not as it appeared. It —”

“Enough.” Morgan cuts him off. “I won’t tolerate babbling. You, Jacob, are also accused of lying with a human. How do you plead?”

Behind me, April makes an almost imperceptible gasp and takes one tiny step back. “Jacob,” she whispers.

“That…” Jacob spreads his hands, “That…”

Then his eyes fall on April, and he lets out a roar. “It’s her!” he screams. “She was the one I found with your son, she was the one who framed me, she —”

He cuts off when one of the guards places a boot in his back. “You will show proper respect to your Queen, worm,” the guard growls.

But Morgan seems amused by the new information. “Could it be…?” she murmurs. She beckons April closer. “Come here, dearest. Let me take a good look at you.”

April shakes her head. “No,” she whimpers, oh so softly. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t.”

“Now,” the Queen snaps.

Shaking, trembling, April approaches her monarch.

“You don’t need to be frightened,” Morgan assures her softly. “I just want to take a look at you.” She holds her hand out, palm up. “Let me see your wrist.”

April swallows and extends her arm. The Queen catches it. Their eyes meet. The whole assembly is watching.

Morgan pulls April’s sleeve back. The girl flinches. I see two fresh bite marks on her arm. And then, the most astounding thing happens;

Morgan runs her hand over April’s wrist, and the marks disappear.

The Queen surges up and holds April’s arm out. “There is nothing!” she announces. “You, Jacob, are a criminal and a liar.”

“No, no, no,” he says. “It was her, it was the girl —”

The guard kicks him again. “Silence, cur.”

I look around the room, questions boiling in my mind. The Queen just protected April. Why?

“It falls on me to pass sentence,” Morgan says. “I find both of the accused guilty, for the crimes described —”

The two entrance doors crash open, cutting her off mid-sentence. Everyone’s head swings back.

There, standing in the middle of the threshold, is Raul. He looks furious.

“Oh,” Morgan’s eyebrows go up. “How kind of you to join us.”

“I would have been here earlier, Mother,” he says. “If I had known you’d advanced the trial by six hours.”

She feigns surprise. “You weren’t informed?”

Raul walks forward. He glances at me once. That’s all the acknowledgement I get.

“It’s fortunate I make a habit of keeping an eye on things,” he says. “When so many of our kind go missing from their regular places of activity, it’s obvious they’ve been summoned.”

“I assure you it was not my intention to do this without you,” Morgan says sweetly. “I just wanted to show Eleira how we deliver justice in The Haven.”

“Justice?” Raul laughs. He stops by the two prisoners. They flinch away, but he bends down and whispers something first in Patricia’s ear, then in Jacob’s. Cautiously relieved expressions blossom on their faces.

Raul looks up and addresses his mother. “You call this sham of a trial justice?”

“Their guilt is doubtless,” Morgan says smoothly. “All evidence points to their fault in the crimes described.”

“And where is the accuser?” Raul says. “Where is James, the one who brought about the charge?”

Morgan hisses. “Everybody knows your brother is on an important diplomatic mission —”

“And so the trial will be delayed until he returns, or you will simply throw out these ludicrous charges.” Raul stares right into the Queen’s eyes and speaks with authority I did not know he had. “Our citizens deserve fairness, and all the rights afforded to them as subjects of The Haven. I will not let you condemn these two without due process.”

Morgan surges up. “You dare go against me?” she screams. “You dare –”

“No,” Raul says. “All I dare is remind you of the laws governing our home and make sure that those laws are upheld equally for all.”

I don’t know why, but I feel a sudden sense of admiration for Raul.

“Gah!” Morgan hisses. She’s in a rage. “Out, out, get out, all of you!”

The assembly of vampires stream out the door. In mere seconds we’re left with only Raul, the guards, and Jacob and Patricia for company.

Morgan paces back and forth in front of her throne. Her brows are furrowed in anger. She looks extremely bitter.

“That,” she tells her son, “was a grave miscalculation.”

“No, Mother,” he replies. “The mistake was yours. If our coven saw justice distributed unfairly —”

“Our coven knows that my word is law!” she screams.

Raul’s eyes flash to me. “Not for much longer,” he murmurs.

I swallow.

They stare at each other for a tense moment. April cowers beyond sight. Patricia and Jacob remain still on the floor.

I can’t take it anymore. I break the silence.

“What’s going to happen to them?” I blurt out, looking at the two chained vampires.

The Queen turns to me and acknowledges my comment. “Yes, Raul,” she says. “What is going to happen to them?”

“They will return to custody until James comes back —”

“Impossible,” his mother breaks in. “I will not have them brought back into the village where they can go stir more trouble. Unless…” she taps her lips, and her eyes focus on me. “Eleira can have them.”

“What!” I gasp, at the same time as Raul says, “No!”

“Why not?” Morgan sneers. “She will have to get used to being in the presence of our kind. If you are so sure of their innocence, why, you should have no problem leaving them near Eleira. Unless… you foresee other problems?”

Raul looks at the two vampires on the ground. They’re still kneeling, unsure and hesitant. The guards make an impenetrable ring around them.

Finally, he says, “I will stand for them.”

“Don’t be a fool!” Morgan erupts. “They are of the lowest caste. Look how they tremble in your shadow!”

“No, Mother,” he says softly. “It is you they are fearful of. You do not have their respect. You have their hatred.”

She laughs. “What do I care if criminals detest me? I see no other way. I am the one who executes their sentence.”

All of this bickering is going over my head. The last thing I want is to get entrenched in petty politics, especially as nothing more than a bystander. I need to retreat from this situation, to go back somewhere, to have time to think.

“If you want a true succession,” Raul tells the Queen, “and if you want it done without rebellion, you will take to heart what your subjects think. Leave Jacob and Patricia with me, and I will ensure they do not trouble you.”

Morgan casts him a filthy look. “Fine!” she says finally. “But I hope you know what you are doing.”

And with that, she flies down the steps from the throne, beckons the guards to follow her, and leaves me and April alone with Raul and the two prisoners.