Chapter 1 #2
Vampires. Werewolves. Fallen. Angels. There were even true witches in this world by all accounts. Not that I would ever have to meet or deal with any of those, goddess willing.
I turned away from the map, pushing the sadness away.
Two more days. If things went according to plan and I could tie up this last thread, we’d be long gone before this new king settled into the throne. There was no place for emotion in this cavern, not when we had no idea how this new king would receive the Doves.
The previous ruler had allowed us to run our nests with only one requirement: should we learn of any treachery to the king, we were to bring it to his attention immediately. There had been none, at least none that my girls had ever found.
The demons were remarkably loyal to their leader.
But this “Gabriel” was the first new king in a very, very long time. And the whispers that had come my way in the past week did not favor him. Word on the streets had it that he’d taken up with the wolves and vampires and may have even had a hand in Malach’s death.
Even more of a reason to get in, get the job done, and get the hell out of this place once and for all, before the shit hit the fan and we couldn’t leave at all.
But first, to locate my night’s quarry…
I glanced around and caught the eye of Kami, another Nest Mother from Lotus House. Full name of her home was The House of Lotus and Glass, but we all shortened our ridiculously long house names.
She dipped her head to me, lifting a half empty wine goblet. Moving between the columns on our side of the river, I made my way to her side, accepting a goblet from a passing servant.
The castrated human male didn’t so much as glance at us, even though the color of Kami’s nipples could be seen clearly through the gauzy pale pink material of her gown.
Her blonde hair was swept to one side, poker straight, like Jastani’s.
There, the similarities ended. Where Jastani was slim, Kami was all curves, with dark brown eyes full of mystery.
Her mind was as sharp as a blade, and she wielded it as well as she used her body. While we weren’t friends exactly, there was a deep respect between the two of us. The other house Ladies were wary of me.
When a reputation precedes you, I suggest you use it, girl.
That particular piece of advice from my mentor still sung to me nightly.
“Briar Queen.” Kami didn’t by any means bow to me, but she dipped her head, and I returned the gesture.
“Lady Lotus,” I intoned back, lifting the goblet to my lips, but not allowing the liquid past that point. We shifted so we stood side by side, our backs to the wall of the cavern. No one near enough to hear us discuss anything.
I was not the only Nest Mother here in the land of the Fallen, but I was the only one who held a title that went so far beyond that station.
Briar Queen.
All the others went by Lady.
Lady Lotus, Lady Orchid, Lady Magnolia, Lady Iris and so on. Kami was one of the few that I knew the true name of, because in this world names held power, and secrets like no other.
“What do you hear of our new king?” Kami asked. With the rest of the Nest Mothers, she, like so many took on the name of her house as her actual name. They knew her only by Lotus.
“Very little.” I touched a finger to the edge of my collarbone, tapping lightly. “Young. Exiled. Handsome.”
Kami sniffed. “No more than I, then. I had my reading Dove go to the archives. There is nothing regarding this Gabriel, other than lineage.”
She spoke truthfully, because I myself had gone to the record rooms to find only his lineage.
The sole blood heir in line for the throne.
We watched from the shadows as the spaces on either side of the river began to fill. Music seemed to flow from the rippling water itself, and my Doves, along with the Doves from the other three invited Houses, danced with whichever Fallen beckoned them.
The demon females in attendance turned a blind eye.
Though they would sometimes call on a Dove, they would not make a public display of their intentions but instead would come quietly.
It wasn’t taboo, by any means, but the Fallen had their own culture, and liked things done a certain way.
The females dressed nearly all in the same color, as if to stand out from the Doves.
All black, even if the styles varied from gown to simple dress, to leathers and silk, the color did not.
Another Nest Mother joined us, Iris. Her hair was dyed a deep purple, matching her house flower. Kami’s lips tightened and I fought not to smile. To say Kami disliked Iris would be a deep understatement.
They’d come to blows once over a Fallen they were both bedding. Not often was there jealousy between Doves; we could not afford it, but in that case...he’d promised them both freedom and a ring of marriage.
Surprisingly, they both had believed it. But that was a long time ago. Before they’d understood what we all knew now.
Demons didn’t know how to love. They only knew how to possess.
Iris leaned close, her perfume overpowering the suddenly tight space between us. “When the king arrives, he will walk in from his chosen side to the center of the bridge. Thus, showing which of his lineage he favors, his mother’s, or his father’s.”
Kami sniffed. “You think we don’t know that you twit?”
Iris smiled, her teeth seeming sharper than before. “Oh, you don’t know the rest though, do you, Lotus?”
“Don’t know what?” Kami demanded. If I was Queen, she was my close second, and Iris would slide into third. And in a world of hierarchy, those below knew how to play the game as well as those above.
Iris opened her mouth to speak, but a gong sounded and we all turned toward the bridge where the king’s speaker, Rufus, stood. He’d been the speaker for the previous king as well.
He was slim of build, with short shorn gray hair, spectacles, and a suit that reminded me of the tuxedoes I’d seen in the movies when I’d still lived in England.
Rufus most certainly was not one of the Fallen, and as far as I knew, he had never visited the Doves—not ever.
None of us knew exactly what he was, and that made him dangerous, an unknown.
Between that and the fact that he would be the new king’s closest advisor, I was glad this would be the last time I’d have to see him.
Rufus held an ironwood staff in his right hand, and he thumped it into the stone at his feet. The sound was that of a clear metal bell that hummed and vibrated, higher and higher until it slowly faded. As if he were clearing the way for our new king.
“On your knees.”
We all did as we were told. I spread my simple, deep gray skirts at my feet, as did Kami and Iris.
“Left, or right?” Iris whispered. “I bet twenty pieces he favors his father’s side.”
“I’ll take that bet,” Kami whispered back. “His mother’s side is what we want.”
I felt them look to me and I shook my head.
I was a gambler at heart, but here, all I wanted was to watch everything that happened, file it away and make sure I missed nothing.
I might not have to deal with this new king for long, but I certainly didn’t want to make a false step while I was still here.
Which was why when the new king arrived, I knew it was going to be far more interesting than anyone could have imagined.
He did not arrive on foot, humble as a king should begin his journey–as the books had said the ceremony would be run.
While others looked left and right, I found myself drawn upward, toward the faux starlight above our heads.
A dark shadow blotted out the glittering gems for just a moment and my lips curved.
Clever, clever male.
King Gabriel dropped from the sky, his wings spread wide like a falling star to land in the center of the bridge, choosing neither his father’s lines to favor, or his mother’s.
Instead, he shook the entire system of the Fallen with that single move.
Worse yet, it was me, with only my mouth showing beneath my hood, a smile curving my lips, that he locked onto, his eyes finding me in the crowd of kneeling Fallen.
Almost as if his gaze could penetrate the shadows and see my face fully.
Fuck.