46. I Know How To Do Politics, Okay?
46
I Know How To Do Politics, Okay?
Aliza
T hrough endless warrens and down spiralling steps, the vampires led us through the darkness, with only our frail lanterns and the ethereal glow of crystals to light the way. Sweat gathered in a film over my skin as each step took us deeper below the surface. Jacques and his kin made not the slightest sound. No laboured breathing, or breathing of any sort for that matter, no footsteps. Only silence.
It pressed against my ears, and I might have gone mad without Sage’s quiet presence at my side. My trainers and her ballet flats scuffed the smooth stone, the sounds overly loud in this crypt of a kingdom.
After what felt like days of walking, a disturbing sight waded out of the void. Many pairs of eyes, each as bright and pale as the stars scattered throughout the sky we had left behind, blinked into life, all trained on us. As we neared, the glow of lanterns washed over them, and we found a wall of vampires, all cocooned in identical armour, blocking our way. Behind them, a wide doorway was carved into the stone wall. It was firmly closed.
A prickling itch crept over my skin, brittle and dry, like kindling about to catch flame. I forced down a deep breath of warm, musty air and willed my muscles to relax. My pulse was already racing, and if I really did have a faint whiff of human clinging to my immortal body, increasing my heart rate further was the last thing I needed. There would be no fighting off this many hungry mouths, not unless I combusted, and I had no intentions of relying solely on a power I couldn’t yet control.
“Frederick.” One of the armoured vampires stepped forward, breaking rank. He carried no weapons. He didn’t need them. “What is the meaning of this?”
Frederick threw an uneasy glance over his shoulder, as though confirming our continued presence. “They want to see the king.”
The new guard’s eerie eyes slid to me, his lip curling back from his teeth. Unlike Demetrius, his fangs remained retracted. For now.
“Living fae are not permitted in Fjallar. You know this. Its heart still beats.”
A faint shiver ran through the line, as though each vampire was eager to volunteer to be the one to rectify the problem. My foot ached to take a step back, and then another, and another, to flee all the way back to the surface, but I forced myself to stay still. To stare them down.
“She claims to be the queen of Neath,” Frederick grumbled as though, now he was down here, the idea was preposterous. He jerked his head at Jacques. “He’s one of us, he brought them here, and the little one is a witch.”
“High Priestess of Nairsgarth,” Sage supplied, her steady voice carrying on the dense air.
The guard laughed, each huff like nails clacking against glass. “A queen and a priestess. His Grace will make a feast of you, if nothing else. Follow me. ”
He gestured to a pair of his fellows to accompany him, and by some silent command, the carved door opened, sweeping slowly inward. My breath hitched.
Beyond the doors, walls made of a myriad of crystals and little else gleamed faintly, casting dim, greenish-stained light over the scene.
With the guard leading the way, I stepped into the room, staring about in open-mouthed wonder. Sage gave a small gasp as she crossed the threshold, and when I stole a glance, her posture had eased into something more comfortable, an expression of serenity on her usually stern face. Ghostly splotches of colour clung to her skin, cast by the crystals. Were they the cause of her strange behaviour? The pretty little gemstones fuelled her magic, after all. Was their power flowing through her?
Bolstered by the thought, I continued with renewed energy. I’d never seen a witch spell as powerful or dangerous as fae magic, but I’d take whatever help I could get.
Behind us, the thick, stone door whispered shut, sealing us in. It didn’t matter. I wanted to be here. I wanted to go onward. Who cared if the way out was blocked?
“Wait here,” the guard barked as we reached the end of the vast chamber.
He nodded at his fellow, who veered away, aiming for a shadowy corner, and disappeared. Where, I didn’t know. My attention snagged on a throne of black rock. Tiny, raw gemstones in shades of blue, purple and green clung to its every surface like barnacles to a shipwreck. Even the seat was lumpy and rough. No wonder it was empty, despite its ethereal beauty. It looked like the Aurora Borealis turned to glittering stone .
In the absence of movement, my unease grew, and I wriggled my toes inside my trainers as I waited for the throne’s occupant to make his appearance. Jacques slid closer, until his arm almost touched mine. If he hadn’t been undead, I might have felt reassuring warmth radiating from him. Instead, I was left shivering as the minutes trailed by, despite the dense heat of the chamber. Still, shivering was better than spontaneously combusting.
When something shifted in the shadowy corner, I straightened my posture, attempting to look like the queen I would have to be in order to secure not only a future for both vampire and fae, but also mine and Sage’s safe return to the surface. If the king deemed us edible, what then?
“Torsten the redeemer, King of Fjallar,” one of the guards cried out.
My fellow monarch glided across the chamber, his grace quite at odds with his appearance. If ever there had been a time my eyes might have fallen out of my head, it was then.
The vampire king was a Viking .
His bright blonde head was shaved but for the top, which was tied at the crown and fell past his shoulders in braids of different styles. Rune tattoos peeked from beneath his primitive clothes, and rustic rings and leather bracelets adorned his hands. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d carried an axe, but like his guards, he appeared to need no weapon beyond his body, frozen in time by immortality. Beyond the superficial, nothing about his appearance hinted at his great age. If his fashion sense was anything to go by, he had to be pushing a thousand years old, and yet he looked barely a decade older than me .
His eyes were keen and bright as he sank smoothly onto his throne with no hint of discomfort at the prickly gems biting into his arse, and surveyed his visitors.
“It has been many a century since I have had willing guests.” His voice was like surf rushing over pebbles. “What brings a fae and witch this deep into my kingdom?”
Sage, pointedly, remained silent. This was my bright idea. My mess to clean up. I cleared my dry throat.
“I’ve come to make a bargain.” I was fae now. I could do that, couldn’t I? Whatever we agreed would be binding.
Torsten laughed, and I fought the compulsion to lower my eyes in shame. I didn’t know the rules of this world, and if the vampires had an inkling of what went on above the surface, they all knew it. My nerves hummed as I waited for the chilling sound to stop echoing around the vast and beautiful space.
“What could you possibly want from me?”
Did I just dive straight into it? I took a deep breath. I could do this. It was no different to delivering my findings to a pet owner. I would explain what I knew, and offer solutions. It was up to Torsten which, if any, he chose.
“The witches and fae have held Tir of Gaeaf and Ymyl Cefnfor for centuries, and we recently won back Tir o Gwanwyn from the false king, Maelgwyn.”
Judging by his smooth expression, my tidings were unsurprising to the vampire king.
“We need to defeat Maelgwyn before it’s too late. I want you and your people to help us. ”
Torsten didn’t even blink. “I can think of many arguments against your request, but instead, allow me to ask you a question. Why would it matter to me who sits on the throne of Neath?”
I glanced at Sage. She wasn’t going to leave me to do this alone, was she? A few hours of studying couldn’t trump centuries of experience. She only dipped her head, signalling for me to continue.
Bitch .
Fine. I could do it.
Sweat prickled my palms as I gathered my thoughts. “You’ve built a beautiful kingdom for yourself, but even you won’t be safe if Maelgwyn continues his rule. We have it on good authority that he’s attempting to wake the gods.”
I still barely understood what gods were, but Torsten had a better idea than me, apparently. His eyes widened slightly, and his fingers tightened on the crystallised arms of his throne. “That is not possible.”
Sage spoke up at last. “Maelgwyn is fond of accomplishing impossible feats, as you well know. How else did he gather such power? How else did he cast the curse?”
“He is abnormally powerful, yes, but—”
“He is syphoning power directly from the gods,” she pressed. “His defeat in Tir o Gwanwyn will only drive him to seek more and exact retribution. We must act before it is too late.”
Though evidently ruffled, Torsten shook his head. “This is not my battle.”
“This battle will arrive at your door, and when it does, know that nobody will be coming to save you,” I said, holding his gaze. “We’ll all be dead.”
“In any case, I would not look to the fae for aid. ”
A fair point. Torsten had a better understanding of all that had occurred between our two sides than I ever would. He’d lived it, in a manner of speaking. “If we don’t stand together, we will be wiped from this world when the gods rise.”
“How do you know any of this? It is impossible.”
“We have spies working in Maelgwyn’s court.”
Torsten considered us, a line between his thick brows. “Who are you?”
“I’m Aliza—”
“With an A,” Sage reminded everyone, and a smile twitched the corner of my mouth. “She is the long-awaited Human Queen.”
The guards’ eyes turned to me, assessing the claim with renewed interest. The king shifted, leaning forward, his elbows braced on his knees. His nostrils flared. “You are not human. Not fully.”
“Not anymore. Maelgwyn caught me,” I explained, ice dousing my skin as the phantom snap and roar of flames filled my ears. “H-he killed me. Turning me fae was the only way to save me.”
Torsten turned his attention to Sage. “And you? My guard tells me you claim to be the High Priestess, but I have eyes and ears of my own, scattered through Neath. You are not old enough to be the High Priestess of Nairsgarth.”
My heart plummeted to my feet.
“I am newly appointed,” Sage replied stiffly. “As of this afternoon.”
“Your predecessor is dead?”
“Yes. Yours is the first realm to be made formally aware.”
“What an honour.”
Was that bitterness I detected? Now was my chance. “Maelgwyn told me himself that the throne rejected him when I broke the curse. It no longer answers to him. It’s mine. If I succeed, if I claim it, I will end the persecution of your people. You’ll be free to live anywhere within Neath, without fear, as you used to. I’ll do this whether or not you fight for me.”
“Then what incentive do I have to risk the lives of my kin?”
I shrugged. Not the queenliest of gestures, maybe, but it felt right. “I’m offering you freedom because it’s the right thing to do. Maybe you could fight because it’s right, or maybe because, if you don’t, I’m not going to be around to keep my promises.”
“You said you wanted to make a bargain. If you truly intend to free the vampires regardless, what do you offer in exchange for my services?”
My belly flipped and my guts squirmed. This was the tricky part. I had to be careful with my words. “If you fight against Maelgwyn, if you’re a true ally, I will give you blood in return. I want the hunting and farming of humans to stop. I can organise a blood bank. Humans will willingly and safely donate their blood for vampire consumption.”
Torsten laughed again. “Another impossibility.”
Difficult, maybe. Impossible? No. The details would need ironing out, and it might take time to get everything into motion, but if it stopped human death, I’d make it work. I’d find a way. “No, it’s not. Blood banks already exist in the human world. They’ve been around for decades.”
“We do not need to feed often.” Jacques broke his silence. “It could work.”
“And what of those of us who enjoy the hunt?” Torsten demanded .
That old misogynistic argument. How many women had died or had their lives destroyed for the pleasure of men? I couldn’t care less about whether the vampires got off on the chase. “Nobody deserves to die just for your enjoyment. You were human once. They’re your people just as much as they’re mine. I’m trying to protect them from a kingdom of starving vampires, and I’m trying to help you.”
“You are helping yourself,” the king hissed.
“Yes, and you , and everyone else. I’m trying to do what’s best for everyone! I’m trying to save lives.”
If he refused, I’d find a way to close the rifts myself, consequences be damned. The witches might face extinction and the vampires might go hungry, but if the Human Queen didn’t defend the humans, then what was the point?
“I sent a team of my best witches to guard the Blood Gate,” Sage said, her voice simmering. “What happened to them?”
The king looked supremely unconcerned as he said, “They are still alive.”
“ Still ?” Sage demanded, marching several steps forward. The guards closed ranks, blocking her path to Torsten. “What do you mean by that? Where are they?”
“Witches do not taste particularly good, but when a meal wanders into our midst, we feed.”
“This is an outrage. Release them!”
Things were going downhill. I threw a desperate glance at Jacques. The vampire was poised, casual, but ready to spring into action. It wouldn’t make a difference; we were trapped. If it descended into violence, this was a lost cause. We were a lost cause .
“Do you get the thrill of the hunt by feeding on prisoners?” I asked, trying to keep the judgement in my tone to a minimum. “I’m offering you another way. I want us to move forward. I want us to help each other.”
“Fae have brought no good upon my people. I do not trust you.”
“And vampires have brought no good upon humans, but I met Jacques when I was still human. He helped me. He became my friend. He’s still my friend, even though he has every right to hate what I’ve become. We trust each other. It can be done. There’s no reason vampire and fae can’t move forward together.”
“Easy for a fae to say. It was not your people who were driven from their homes, slaughtered and forced underground.”
I sighed. “I get it. I do. But I’ve been a human a lot longer than I’ve been fae, and your people have fed on mine for, well, I don’t know how long. Forever probably. You used to be a human. So did I. We’re the same.”
Torsten remained silent as his eyes flickered over me, taking in every detail. Finally, he turned to Jacques. “You trust her?”
Hope swelled in my heart. His justified prejudice was as strong as ever, but his resolve was weakening. Maybe it was only a crack in the ice, but it would grow.
“I do.” Jacques’ voice was calm and matter-of-fact. “She has a good heart. She cares for all creatures.”
Torsten ran a hand over his beard, his brow furrowed with contemplation.
“She fed me,” Jacques went on. “She saw that I was starving. She understood what I was, what I needed. She allowed me to drink from her. ”
My ears began to heat. Thank god the chamber was dimly lit. My insistence that Jacques bit me had been for entirely selfish reasons.
“Aliza tried to save one of my sisters.”
I jolted at Sage’s uncharacteristically quiet voice, the unbidden memory of Hyacinth’s death bursting into my mind.
“Hyacinth was attacked by one of Maelgwyn’s beasts, and Aliza tried everything to save her. Not only that, but she shouldered terrible risks in order to wake the fae princes from the curse. In her own world, she tended to sick and wounded animals. She will not eat their flesh. She bears great compassion for all life forms. Vampire, witch, fae, animal. She protects us all.”
Tears pricked at my eyes, and emotion strangled my throat, but now wasn’t the time to dissolve. In a croaked voice, I said, “Help me to help you, and everyone else. Let’s leave the past where it belongs and work together. I know terrible crimes have been committed against you, but let me put it right. I didn’t ask to be a queen, but if I have to rule, I’m going to do it well. Starting here, now. Help us, please.”
The king sighed, blowing out a long breath. “Even if I wanted to, we cannot fight by day.”
I grinned. “I think I can help you with that, too.”