Chapter 84 Curse Be Damned
❀ Maeve ❀
His dark, crimson irises were deadened, nothing like the animated red of Nikolai’s. Or the ever-present glint of Drusilla’s.
A flowing leather coat rasped against the ground after him. His shirt and pants were tailored to perfection. Limp black hair swept back made the angles of his face harsher. Colder.
He must have frozen into immortality in his late twenties, but the haunted look in his eyes bellied his true age.
The temptation to step back at his approach was almost overwhelming, but I stood my ground. With predators like these, one must never show fear.
“It’s uncanny,” Vladis said, voice like burnt gravel. “You look so much like her.”
I kept our gazes locked, then gave him my hand when he held out his.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I maintained a casual tone.
“Ah. You don’t look surprised. Has my sister introduced me in my absence?”
I considered confessing I’d seen him in a vision triggered by the late Lyssa’s blood, but held back.
“Not many things can surprise me anymore,” I told him.
Only then did I notice Nikolai’s body language. He was directly beside me, staring at Vladis with undisguised challenge.
Vladis noticed too. “I heard about your pairing. There’re not many males I would’ve been happier to see you mated to, dear niece.”
I bit the inside of my cheek as I remembered Bastian again. He hadn’t deceived me or withheld my freedom. Unlike Nikolai.
I slid Nikolai a sharp look. “Let’s agree to disagree.”
Nikolai tensed but did not respond.
Vladis laughed. “Trouble in paradise already? Do you need me to step in?”
I was taken aback. He’d just learned of me and was already so quick to laughter?
I wouldn’t be deceived, though. I sensed a darkness around him, even heavier than the customary evil of vampires.
“The girl burns with questions. But hates the answers,” Drusilla said from her perch at the bar.
“As to be expected. Everything she’s ever known has been turned on its head,” Vladis agreed, his eyes never leaving my face.
My skin crawled under his undivided attention.
His face seemed slack, wavering from one expression to the next. Like a mask.
I knew he was forcing the easygoing personality. But seeing it was disturbing.
Turning to Drusilla, I squared my shoulders. “How can you be so sure of what you said? You can’t expect me to accept an incomplete bond forever.”
“It’s your choice, child. You’ve seen what happens under the curse of wrath. You’ve experienced it.” She took a hearty drink of her blood. “Just know that if you decide to go that path, I’ll be forced to kill you both.”
My stomach dropped, claws flaring.
I hissed, “Not if I kill you first.”
Drusilla smiled, amused. “You obviously haven’t thought hard about that one.”
I paused, my mind whirling.
Every turned vampire’s life was connected to their sire. If Drusilla died, Nikolai would follow immediately.
My fist itched to punch something. Anything.
Wrath of my own rose, choking my throat as I desperately held back tears.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Think—
“This is unacceptable,” Vladis spoke up, sounding disappointed. “You’re supposed to be more patient with our niece. The poor child is as lost as a raft at sea.”
“I’ve told her everything there is to know. The future is in her hands. Literally.”
I looked from Vladis to Drusilla. Siblings controlling a kingdom from the shadows, neither chosen to lead.
Vladis was a man and therefore had zero claim to the matriarchal throne. Drusilla was the regent recently overthrown by yours truly.
I still had doubts about their wild claims. The rippling crimson stone in the belly of the kingdom was the only proof I had.
When Nikolai’s hand encircled mine, I almost shook it off. But I didn’t.
My mind was hot, overworking.
Every single person in this room had an agenda that didn’t necessarily favor me. What was my agenda?
Formerly, it had been to get back to my lycan mate and mother.
But my lycan mate would hate to learn I was part vampire. And my mother wasn’t my real mother?
My scalp was damp with sweat. I squeezed Nikolai’s hand.
“All that aside, I don’t even want to be in Veilmoor. I’d be happy to return to my pack and get out of your hair. It looks like my presence, or lack thereof, has no effect on anything here.”
Drusilla stood with a sharp grace that made my breath hitch. She strode toward me.
“Listen to me very closely,” Drusilla sneered. “You don’t get to choose your fate. Not after the crimson stone has had a taste of your blood.”
Her gaze was heated, her lips thin with anger.
“You are the chosen Queen of Veilmoor. Within two moons, the stone will draw upon your very heart with pangs that rival childbirth. If by some miracle you don’t wear the crown by then, you will die,” she finished sharply.
I sneered right back. “You’d be happy then, wouldn’t you? Maybe this time, the stone will choose you.”
A heavy silence descended on the room.
Drusilla looked like she would strangle me.
Vladis sighed. “Why don’t we all reconvene at a more appropriate time? Give Maeve time to rest and think. It’s a heavy decision, after all.”
Nikolai spoke. “There’s much more to it than just becoming queen. She holds a political position in the IronWolf pack as well.”
I got the sense Nikolai added that last part for Drusilla’s sake. A reminder. But of what?
Drusilla finally unclenched her claws. She looked me head to toe, then grimaced, as if she didn’t like what she saw.
“The future of Veilmoor rests in your hands. After the remaining blood of Lyssa is destroyed, it will all fall to you. Make sure you’re ready.”
She turned back to her ornate blood bar.
Vladis stepped forward. He was as tall as Nikolai, but leaner. Like a reed.
“Maeve, I understand this must all be overwhelming. To be plucked from one life into the next without warning or preparation. I advise you harness your vampire instincts. They will serve you in the times to come.”
His face was earnest, his voice firm. For the most evil-looking vampire in the castle, he was unexpectedly forthright.
“Thank you, sir—”
“Call me uncle.” His eyes shone.
“Oh. Um…”
“We’ll take our leave,” Nikolai said. I released a relieved breath.
But just as Nikolai tensed to trace, I stopped him with a pinch of my nails.
To Drusilla, I said, “I want to learn more about my m— Queen Lyssa. Surely there must be chronicles or something you can give me?”
Without turning, Drusilla answered, “You have something even better for learning about your mother, don’t you?”
I stiffened. She was talking about the visions from the blood fog.
Nothing would make me put myself through that again. The memory of the curse of rage made me nauseous.
I decided to ask the question we’d been skirting around.
I swallowed, my body vibrating in anticipation of the answer.
“Who is my father?”
Silence.
When I looked at Vladis, his face was blank.
Then Drusilla said, “Crimson females rarely find mates. Being royalty, we can procreate with any of our choosing. Your father is inconsequential.”
My heart fell.
With a wordless nod to Nikolai, he traced us.
My feet landed roughly, probably because of the disconnect between body and soul.
Mother? Cursed and dead. Father? Inconsequential.
Was I not to have anything easily in life?
Nikolai’s arms were still wrapped around me, and I let him hold me for a spell.
I concentrated on my breathing, my mind working even amid the chaos.
I felt Nikolai swallow. “Milaya, talk to me.”
He must have been thinking about his lies and my reaction. But I was too numb to dwell on that now.
I was trapped here for the foreseeable future. I couldn’t mark Nikolai. I couldn’t reach Bastian.
Drusilla might be plotting my end, and I didn’t know Vladis well enough to deem him a threat or not.
My mind returned to the atmosphere when I’d asked about my father.
Something about Vladis’s demeanor and Drusilla’s tone struck me as wrong.
My eyes widened. My heart raced.
They knew something.
I pushed out of Nikolai’s embrace and paced his chambers.
Of course they’d held it back. They wanted an edge over me.
I faced Nikolai.
His shoulders squared, fists balled as he prepared to defend himself.
But I wasn’t about to waste time scolding him. I didn’t truly fault him.
He’d used everything in his arsenal to take and keep me. That’s what a mate does.
“Well,” I began, “do you believe Drusilla? About the curse of wrath and her advice not to mark you?”
He blinked, surprised. He’d expected a fight. Harsh words. Tears.
But I was done crying. It was time for action.
“I trust her. She would never sabotage you.”
His honesty took me aback. “I don’t trust her.”
“And you’re well within your rights not to. But I ask that you trust me.”
I arched a brow.
He sighed, pressing a palm to his chest. “I apologize for manipulating you. Please know I will never do it again.”
“That’s too bad. Because I don’t trust you, which means I definitely can’t trust her. Do you know what this means?”
My fangs itched, a smile curving my lips.
“What does it mean?” he asked tentatively.
“It means I’ll be having your neck, my love,” I hissed.
I lunged to mark my vampire mate.
Curse be damned.