Chapter Ten
Avery couldn’t stop staring at herself in the mirror. The necklace Alastair had given her was the most expensive thing she had ever seen and now she was actually wearing it around as if it were nothing. It glittered and shone in the light. She turned her head this way and that admiring her glamorous reflection.
She still hadn’t worn it outside of the rooms. She knew that was the whole point, but she was too scared of Myrcel and her brother’s threats. She didn’t know what to do about it. She should tell Alastair, but she wasn’t ready for him to know of the prophecy. It would change everything. She would no longer be his simple human companion, but something else, something bigger. Her life and the life of her baby would be out of her control.
She placed her hands on her belly. If this baby was the fulfillment of the prophecy, it would always be in danger. Even inside of her. She loved the little thing more than she ever could have imagined. She would have done anything to protect it. She didn’t care about the prophecy, she cared about her baby. But she would be the only one who did.
Alastair would soon be leaving on his expedition to The Sands. She had begged him to take her along. She knew how to survive long journeys and she would help, not be in the way. He finally agreed, but if he knew she was pregnant, he would never let her go. He would make her stay here. She would be trapped in the palace run by a princess who hated her, she would be alone and unsafe.
There had been pregnant women on the caravan. They had survived and given birth to healthy babies. Avery could do the same. By the time she was showing, they would be halfway there and it would be too dangerous to send her back alone.
She just needed to make it to their departure. They left in twelve days. She just needed to keep the pregnancy a secret, stay away from the Queen and avoid her brother for twelve days and then everything would be alright. Twelve more days.
There was a knock at the door.
“Enter,” Avery said, quickly removing the necklace and putting it back in the box. It was too much, too fine. She wasn’t ready to be seen in it.
A servant entered the room, a tall, strong female vampire. Avery looked at her in confusion. She carried nothing in her hands other than a long black piece of cloth. “What are you doing here?” Avery asked.
The vampire gave her a cruel smile and then suddenly she was advancing. She was terribly fast and strong. In a moment, the black fabric was over Avery’s head and she was being wrapped up in it. She screamed, but the fabric muffled her voice. In mere moments she was trapped, her arms pinned to her sides.
She struggled as hard as she could, but it was no use. She was confined in the fabric and the strong arms of the woman. She was lifted off her feet and tossed over the vampire’s shoulder. They made a left-hand turn at the door and then they were hurrying somewhere.
“Help! Let me go! Someone help!” Avery struggled, but it was in vain. She fought as hard as she could, but it was futile. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew who had her. Myrcel. It had to be. She thought of the little thing growing inside of her. Did Myrcel know? What was she going to do? Why hadn’t she told Alastair? If only she had told him, he would have protected her. How long was he going to be gone? How long would it take for someone to know she was missing?
They were going down, she could feel as they descended a steep set of stairs. The dungeon, that was where they were taking her. Down and down they went as the air around her grew cold and damp. She could hear someone far off moaning in pain.
Finally, they reached level ground. The vampire took a few steps and then threw Avery roughly onto the cold, wet floor where she was unraveled from the fabric until finally she was free.
Gasping for breath she looked around the dark cell. It smelled terrible, like stagnant water and human waste. The three stone walls were wet and cold, the fourth wall was iron bars. The vampire that had grabbed her, slammed the door and laughed at her from the other side.
“Why are you doing this?” Avery screamed. She jumped up and raced toward the bars, but there was nothing she could do but weakly pull at them.
“Human whore,” the woman said her face in a nasty sneer. “You’re getting exactly what you deserve.”
“I demand you release me. I am the Flower of the Court to the Crown Prince Alastair Thorne. I share his bed and I am protected by him.”
The woman scoffed and said. “Look how far his protection has got you.”
“He’ll know I’m missing. He’ll come looking for me.”
“It will be far too late when he does,” the vampire said as she nodded behind Avery. That sick, twisted smile appeared again.
There was something behind her. Taking a deep breath, Avery turned around slowly. In the far back corner of her cell was a body, next to it a large sack overflowing with gold coins. The body was slumped over and clearly dead. She moved slowly towards it.
She toed the corpse and it fell over.
She couldn’t scream. It got trapped in her throat, her mouth was open, her eyes wide. She was screaming and screaming, but no sound came out. It was her brother. It was Tristan. It looked like something had ripped his throat open. His body was pale save for the huge red gash across his throat.
“I was almost impressed with his arrogance,” Avery recognized the cold voice of Myrcel instantly. “He tried to blackmail me. Can you believe it? This peasant dressed as a guard. I laughed right in his face. He didn’t like that, fortunately, he didn’t live long in his anger.”
Avery turned and looked at the tall beautiful Vampire Princess. Even here, in this dungeon, she was stunning. Her long blond hair was perfectly arranged and her clothes were the finest Avery had seen. But always there was that snide expression on her face.
“I want you to know something,” Myrcel said slowly. Her eyes never leaving Avery’s. “You are nothing. You are not special. You are not going to bear a great hybrid King. You are a whore and a plaything. Alastair can put all the fancy jewelry he wants on you. It changes nothing. I am his wife. I will bear his heir, not some human slut.”
“You think he would return to you after hearing about this?” Avery demanded. “He loves me. He hates you. If he finds out you’ve touched me his vengeance will be swift and fierce.”
“Yes, if that were the case. But Alastair will hear of none of this. What he will hear is that you attempted to escape with your brother, a bag full of his treasures in your hands. You were found by the guards and you tried to run, but took a terrible fall. The palace is filled with my allies. I will have witnesses to confirm it.”
“He won’t believe you,” Avery said.
“He will have no choice but to believe me. I will have all the proof and you will be nothing more than a messy smear on the ground. Don’t worry little human, he will not mourn long. He has had many playthings before you and he will have many after you are gone. In a few years, you will be nothing more than a hazy, distant memory and my son will take the throne. Everything is falling into place now. Enjoy these last few moments, human. Death is coming for you.”
She turned and walked away. Panic flooded Avery’s veins. She needed to do something. She struggled at the bars, but they were built into the walls. She searched the bag, hoping for something to use as leverage, but there was only the soft and malleable gold.
She took a deep breath and turned over her brother’s body hoping he had some tool on him. His skin was cold and she tried her best to avoid looking at the huge gash on his neck. But his pockets were empty. She was trapped.
Forlornly she touched her belly. A smear on the pavement. That was her destiny. She would never give birth to the human vampire hybrid that would reunite the Kingdoms.