Chapter 2
Cedar
“Don’t do anything funny, witch,” Aurelia’s brother, Adrian, warned, giving me a deadly smirk. He wore an all-black royal ensemble, his cape squished between him and the chair, something that showed he hadn’t grown up in the presence of royals.
We had been brought to a sitting room right off the entrance to the palace and weren’t allowed any further. It had changed since Adrian had taken over, with white and red replaced with mostly black and silver, expensive furs covering the floor, and couches and chairs in a rich velvet.
The entire time I was taking it in, he just stared at me.
It’s on purpose. He wants me to do something. And fuck, I want to.
Helma, give me strength.
Aurelia was somewhere in the palace. I could feel her. My magic was searching, reaching out to her, but it could only spread so far.
I was still angry at her for leaving in the middle of the night. Even more so for the stupid stunt she was about to pull. I had been on my way to save Vesper when alarms went off and Atlas’s people pulled me back into the clan.
I had gotten an earful from the vampire who thought I had stolen the princess. Imagine my surprise when she told me Aurelia was not back in bed like I thought she was but already on her way to the Castle palace to meet with her brother.
The entire time all I could think was… how could she? How could she just up and leave us?
Leave me?
And now I was stuck with an egomaniac vampire who was dragging me around to every corner of the earth to try and get Aurelia back and feeling useless.
Atlas shifted in her seat and swirled the cup of blood in her hand.
“Don’t worry,” she murmured. “She’s well trained.”
Fuck, I’m going to kill this vampire.
We needed Vesper for this. I wanted to go to her first, knowing there was no way Aurelia’s brother would let his sister go. Not when she had offered herself up so prettily to him.
Unfortunately, or fortunately enough, as long as she was of value to him, she wouldn’t be harmed.
Vesper, on the other hand…
Adrian smiled at Atlas. A playful smile that told me he was having the time of his life watching both of us shrink under his gaze.
He thought he was above us. It was clear in the way he did everything. His chin propped on his hand. The permanent smirk. The way he was so casually spread out on the chair in front of us when I was forced to stand at the vampire’s side.
“Atlas Nox,” he finally said with an amused tone. “Are you here to offer my sister your hand in marriage?”
The rumor that she was getting married spread across the continent like wildfire. Every day, Atlas forced us to sit through an update on the current proposals.
Last I checked, there were fifty-six, and each new name made my blood boil.
“I am,” Atlas replied noncommittally, though I knew she was freaking out inside. I had come to know the vampire more and more over the last few weeks, and she cared about Aurelia more than I originally thought.
Something I was none too happy about.
Though I should have known it from the moment she showed up to “help,” it was more than obvious now that said help extended to Aurelia and Aurelia only.
“Well, that’s a waste,” Adrian said as he stood from his chair, running his hand down his long fur cape. “She already said no. Maybe I would have considered forcing her if you’d come the other day to declare your loyalty, but sadly, you were absent.”
I had urged Atlas to come, but she wouldn’t, saying it could be a trap. Though I couldn’t see how sitting across from him right now in his own palace while his guards watched us was safer.
My eyes went to the door. There was a vampire standing there, watching us.
The one that killed Levana.
He gave me a smile and waved his fingers at me.
Bastard.
Atlas raised a brow. “No? Vampires all over have been vying for my hand in marriage for decades. Marrying me would give her all the power in the—”
“She said no.” Adrian cut her off and motioned her away. “End of story.”
“She may be misguided, but you must know—”
“About your family?” he asked with a raised brow. “How your bloodline spans almost as far back as Aurelia’s? How your mother and father were from two of the most famous royal families in existence and you simply… left?”
My eyes shot to Atlas. Her long black hair fell around her hardened face. Her everyday attire suggested royalty, usually with gold embroidery or even jewels sewn into the fabric. But what I thought was just a show of wealth and status had just taken on a whole new meaning.
Who is she, really?
I didn’t know anything other than her enormous clan spread out far and wide. I never questioned why people would want to be under her in the first place. If I were still in the clan, I could sneak into the archives and try to pull something about her. But I hadn’t had the foresight.
“It seems like this marriage would be mostly for your benefit,” he continued pointedly. “I heard the families were getting antsy with someone of your bloodline still unmarried. And with such a large clan? You should know best what happens when vampires get scared.”
Even without vampire hearing, I could make out the unmistakable sound of Atlas’s teeth grinding.
“And if I convince her to marry me?”
He let out a scoff.
“Good luck with that. While she may have the choice, you forget I am the Castle family head now. And like I said, which you so rudely ignored, you weren’t here to show your loyalty to me.”
His dismissal was obvious, and Atlas let out a growl. I could feel the tension rising in her. A darkness spread out from her, and she was practically vibrating with fury.
The sensible part of me knew I should probably do or say something to calm her down before she went ahead and ruined this for us. I wouldn’t be surprised if she just lunged forward and went after the so-called king.
The other part of me wanted her to. Wanted her to show the fury that I wouldn’t allow myself to. I wanted to tear the whole place down. Burn it. The palace, the crown, and everything it stood for.
The only thing stopping me was that Aurelia left to come here. I trusted her. I wanted to, at least. But I truly didn’t understand what she was doing.
“I apologize on behalf of Atlas for not being able to make it,” I said, bowing my head. I hated submitting to him, but unlike Atlas, I was willing to for Aurelia. “She got tangled up in clan affairs. As she mentioned, many clans have been vying for her hand. It takes days sometimes to quell them.”
He gave me a long look, then let out a huff.
“You let the witch speak for you?”
I hated how dismissively he sounded. Like, just because I was a witch, I was beneath him. But there was a reason why vampires and witches had always fought. Why both parties were desperately trying to stop a war between us.
We were just as powerful as them, if not more, since there were more of us.
“She is right,” Atlas offered, her tone obviously annoyed.
“We will do anything to prove our loyalty to you,” I continued. “Name your price.”
I could feel Atlas’s disapproval. I was taking this too far, but I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
“And if I ask for your life?” Adrian asked. “Better yet, what about your magic? I could drain it all and put it in a bottle for me to use whenever I please.”
Fear gripped my heart. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had truly thought of it before. While it wasn’t that common anymore, there had been cases of vampires trying to steal our magic and use it for themselves.
I met his eyes.
“If that is what you require. But I am sure you do not want a war with the witches. You know just how touchy they are when it comes to stealing another’s magic.”
“Is it stealing if you give it to me willingly?” he countered.
“The council wouldn’t—”
“The council doesn’t have power here,” Adrian said, interrupting Atlas again. “Tell me, witch. How far would you go for my sister?”
I let my magic out, feeling the area around him, and unexpectedly, I could feel something. A sort of power surrounding him that hadn’t been there before.
One that felt like the late king’s.
“As far as I need to,” I answered.
“Then say it,” he ordered. “Say you would give me your magic. That you would drain yourself until you lay dead at my feet, your pitiful life wasting away, all for my sister.” When I remained silent, his anger rose. He leaned forward. “Say it!”
Atlas’s hands were suddenly grabbing me and forcing me into a fully standing position.
“I apologize for the disrespect she’s shown you,” she said quickly. “I will see to it that she is punished. Do not worry about my loyalty, it belongs to you.”
Just as I thought he was going to burst, the vampire that had been standing at the door walked in with another.
They were wearing the very same outfit Vesper and I did when we were in the palace—all black, weapons strapped to their hips.
It seemed to be one of the only things that had remained unchanged.
It was jarring to see what we would have been like if we’d never left the palace. Like fragments of some weird parallel universe.
“Feeding time,” the one who wouldn’t stop looking at me said.
Adrian gave me one last lingering look before he turned and left the room. The vampires lingered, letting us know our time was up and ready to escort us out if needed.
“Let’s go,’ I said and nudged Atlas to the door.
“You just had to open your goddamn mouth, didn’t you?”
She stormed out of the room, with me following closely behind her.
Guilt and anger filled me. I would do anything for Aurelia, so why… Why was it so hard to offer my life for her?
“You know what we have to do now,” I told Atlas, who still wouldn’t look at me. “Vesper has been waiting. We have no idea what is going on in—”
“I’m not done trying,” she hissed, walking faster, and my fist shot forward and grabbed her arm, turning her to look at me.
Her eyes widened. Her nostrils flared. She bared her teeth at me as she pushed me off her with her vampire strength.
“Watch yourself, witch. I have been more than accommodating.”
I couldn’t hold back anymore. I let my magic seep out of me and conjured red vines to slither up her body so fast she didn’t know it was happening until one of them was brushing against her cheek.
She froze but still let a warning growl rumble deep in her chest.
“Atlas, what a surprise.”
We both turned to see a new person in the hallway, a tall vampire with slicked-back hair and a mustache. He was wearing a uniform I hadn’t seen before, and there was… something about him that made my skin crawl.
Instinctively, I stepped back and pulled my magic back to me. I couldn’t tell if he was worse than Adrian or not, but my mind was telling me to run.
Atlas stepped closer, obviously not sensing the same thing.
“General Lee, is it now?” she asked, a bit of apprehension sinking into her voice.
“It is,” he replied with a proud smile. “The council sent me here to oversee the transfer of power. Funny seeing you here. Especially when you didn’t show up the other day.”
The stare down between them told me something was wrong here.
“Funny thing.” Atlas narrowed her eyes at him. “If I remember correctly, even in your prime, you couldn’t even fight off a single witch, let alone another vampire. But someone made you a general?”
He puffed up dangerously, the aura that made me want to run getting stronger.
“I trained. Evolved. Took some time, but all things come to those who deserve them, am I right?”
Atlas made a noise in her throat but didn’t look convinced.
“We were just leaving,” I said and pulled Atlas by her wrist, which she allowed me to do as the general stared at us.
It wasn’t until we were in the car and back on our way to the clan that she spoke.
“Him being here creates a problem,” she whispered. “He has more support than I thought.”
“The vampire council, right?”
She nodded but continued looking out the window, deep in thought.
“It’s odd. I’ve never seen the council get involved in something like this.”
“Even more reason why we need to get Vesper,” I said. “We tried your plan. It’s not going to be as easy as waltzing in there.”
She let out a hum. I called my magic to me again, forcing the vines around her, and that finally got her attention.
“We stick to my plan now.”
My vines gave her a warning squeeze. There was no room for negotiation.
Vesper, we’re coming for you.