Chapter 27 Aurelia
Aurelia
Where are they?
My hand lingered on my chest. Underneath my dress, I held the one gift Cedar and Vesper had given me. I always kept it on me, though I tried to keep it out of sight, especially when we had company.
I put it on today. I would need the strength.
I looked around at the crowd gathering. The royals were in place, most of them not looking at me. The Underground had yet to show up. No sign of any witches. And no hunters.
Most importantly, no Vesper or Cedar.
Just like on the day of my wedding, I was alone, but instead of feeling betrayed, I felt something else.
Fear. For them.
I first felt it when the bond disappeared. Slowly, it started back up again, but it was weak, meaning our witch was alive… But what happened to her? What happened to Vesper? Why did neither of them send anything through the bond?
More importantly… What do they have up their sleeve?
It had become our pattern. Anytime they were gone for a period of time, and I just so happened to get in trouble, they would swoop in and save the day. This time, we couldn't make mistakes. As much as they wanted to save the day, I had it all planned, and if it didn't go perfectly…
I went through all of it in my head.
I got rid of his closest people.
I brought in the clan heads.
I got the Underground’s help.
And, last but not least, the Royale.
If any of these things fell through, I was afraid of what it would mean for us.
I was standing on the elevated portion of the throne room, looking down at all of them as they gathered.
Usually, the coming-of-age ceremony was handled by the king or the head of the family, but since he was both at the moment, I was asked to step in.
I was holding the family’s prized sword, the one my father used to rule over the vampires and whoever dared defy him.
It was encrusted with his favorite gems—rubies—and polished, though not enough that you couldn’t see all the battles it went through.
If I looked closely, I could still see flecks of blood on the handle.
It felt heavy in my hand and vibrated with a dark power.
I had never been allowed near the thing or allowed to touch it. The women of the Castle family weren’t deserving of this rite. We were married off instead. That was our ceremony, one where we had to wear an uncomfortable dress and invisible chains around our hands and feet.
The men got to be worshipped like kings, their value goddess-given from the moment they were birthed. It didn’t matter if they accomplished anything at all, just that they had the chance.
How unfair was it that, no matter how much I gave to this family, they and the vampire royals would never see me as equal?
I will change that. I couldn’t let myself back away now. I knew from the moment I kneeled in front of him that it would lead to this.
When Adrian walked through the doors, wearing his gaudy king outfit, attention was on him immediately, everyone turning and watching as history was made. But Vesper and Cedar were still nowhere to be seen.
His red eyes scanned the crowd before they landed on me, then they never strayed as he walked down the red carpet to the throne room.
The crowd fell away, and it was just him and me. His eyes told me he had me right where he wanted me. At his helm, doing his bidding.
But that’s where he is wrong.
He stopped just at the stairs, then kneeled in front of me. I was supposed to walk down and hand him the sword as a way of showing that the family was entrusting him with our future.
But I wasn’t his family. Not anymore.
Nor was I his little pawn.
I kept the sword in my hand and pointed it directly at him. Whether Cedar and Vesper were here or not, I needed to do this. I needed to stand on my own and take him down once and for all.
For us.
“I may no longer be a Castle,” I said, letting my voice carry across the room. “But I am here to refute your claim to this family.”
He slowly lifted his head.
“Little sister, what are you doing?”
I took a step down. A murmur went through the crowd. All eyes were on me.
I could feel the murderous intent rolling off him, but he kept that damn smirk on the entire time.
“You do not belong on the throne.”
He raised an eyebrow at me.
“Because I'm a bastard child? Come on, I thought you were more accepting than that.” His voice held an amused twist to it that had a few people chuckling awkwardly. “Or maybe…” He rose to his feet. “You just want it for yourself.”
I tried not to react to the obvious insult.
“No one should inherit this throne,” I spat at him. “We are built on violence. On kidnapping and forcibly impregnating the women of this family. We take. We maim. We murder. And I know that if I allow it, you'll kill us all.”
There was a two-second delay before he threw his head back and let out a booming laugh. Those who were on his side started laughing as well, joining him. Mocking me.
He wanted to get a rise out of me. He wanted me to back down. But only because he knew, even if there was only the tiniest chance of it, that he was going to lose today.
He wanted me so angry, so ashamed, that I wouldn't see what was in front of me.
But this had been my whole life.
From the moment I was born, my father had used me as a tool. Abused me. Not just in our home but in front of others as well. He put me in my place more times than I could count.
I was used to people looking down on me, thinking I was nothing more than a pretty little jewel to adorn whatever king I was given to.
They wanted my power, and they thought owning me would give them that.
Never again.
“You can't do anything about it,” he said, glaring at me before taking another step forward.
But he wasn't the only one. I met him right in the middle and pointed the sword at his throat.
“Do you think that sword will kill me? Did you not learn anything while you sat here, bathing in the riches that should've been mine? All that money and time spent on your useless schooling, and this is how you decided to defeat me? It doesn't matter what weapon you hold; you’re alone standing against me, and you will fall.”
“What makes you think I'm alone?”
I raised my hand, motioning for a group to step forward.
This is it. Everything we've been waiting for.
For this, I needed blind faith. I couldn't give in to the doubt that was swirling around my head.
But only when the sound of silence hit my ears did I look up to see that not a single person had stepped forward.
I looked through the crowd, meeting the eyes of every single royal head I could, but none of them would dare look at me. All the fear and doubt in my soul had come to a head. My fears were being realized.
No one came for me.
“You think I didn’t know what you were trying to do?” he asked in a whisper, then added, louder, “You think I didn’t know you were trying to get my own people to overthrow me?”
He grabbed the sword with his bare hand, not even flinching as it sliced through the skin, his dark, disgusting-smelling blood falling to the floor.
He pushed me back, forcing me to walk up the steps backward.
“You got to them,” I said, the realization making me feel numb.
Has every single one of them betrayed me?
I tried to look around him for Vesper or Cedar, but his hand was on my face, forcing me to look at him.
“It was a cute little game you were playing. Once a silly, stupid princess, always a silly, stupid princess. And you want to know the best thing about it?” He leaned forward, his lips at my ear. “No one is coming to save you.”
In that moment, I truly believed him.
Time and time again, I had been shown I was all alone and the world I had been born into didn't care about me.
After my mother died, there was no one to protect me. My stepmother and stepsister had acted like I was a vile curse brought upon the family. The prince I was to marry wanted me only for my ability to produce heirs.
Why would it be any different now?
“That’s where you’re wrong, my king.”
The last two words dripped sarcasm, and I recognized the voice behind them.
Little Mouse.
Fate was reminding me I wasn't alone anymore. I was bound to two individuals who would give their life for me as I would for them, and both of them had burst through the doors in front of us.
They’re here for me.
Cedar looked pale and was limping as she walked down the aisle, and I was so overjoyed to see them, I didn't realize they were holding something.
Someone.
Someone I had thought of every waking moment since her death. The same someone that filled my dreams.
The ghost of the last descendant of Krae was between their arms. They had to hold her up as she dragged her feet along the long, bloodred carpet.
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. My brother was two seconds away from killing me, but all I could think about was that my mother was alive.
She’s alive.
And then she looked up at me with those beautiful greenish-gray eyes I'd missed so much. I hadn’t realized I had forgotten the color of her eyes until that very moment. She was skinny, looking as if she was only moments away from going crazed.
I wanted to rush to her. I wanted to hold her in my arms. Hug her. Apologize to her. More importantly, I just wanted to go near her so I could make sure she was really who I thought she was.
How, in this unbelievably cruel universe, did they deliver the one thing I had been missing?
But I used it for what it was.
A distraction.
Adrian had turned to look as well, so I used the moment to push the sword into his chest. When he inevitably caught it with the other hand, I used my foot to push him off the throne platform.
He landed with a thud, and Cedar sent out her magic around him, circling his body.
But it wouldn’t be enough. I could tell she was weakening as her magic flickered, so he was able to push out of it with ease. Vesper pushed my mom into Cedar’s arms and headed toward my brother, but he was too fast.
Evading her, he was in front of me in seconds.