6. A Royal Pain in the Ass
Idon’t like the idea of leaving her out there when we know the demons are watching the property, I insisted through the bond as we hurried down the stairs hand in hand. Well, hurrying by human standards as we were due in the dining hall in two minutes. I gripped the decorative top corner to the balustrade and swung us around to take the next flight to the ground level.
Demons would have no interest in unicorns, Julian insisted. Nor would they know it belonged to you by default. We will figure out where to keep her safe until this is over. Don’t worry.
He let go of my hand to tug his suit jacket down and smooth his hands over the front. I glanced down at my own outfit and took a moment to fix my sleeves. I’d chosen an emerald satin blouse and crisp black trousers with matching heels that happened to be so tall even I would’ve had difficulty balancing as a human. But now? Piece of cake.
The dining hall had massive double doors made of rich oak that mimicked the wainscotting in the rest of the house. The brass handles made me nervous to touch them lest I leave a fingerprint. But Julian grasped them confidently and threw open the doors, head held high. He stepped to the side and offered me his elbow, which I slipped an arm through before following him in, doing my best to exude the kind of confidence he was so practiced at.
To call the room massive would’ve been an understatement. An entire ball could have easily been held in this enormous room with vaulted ceilings and long windows at least ten feet tall rimming the perimeter. I’d learned not to shy away from the sunlight streaming through anywhere on the estate as all of the glass was coated in a potion that filtered out the harmful rays to protect new vamps like myself.
On a stage to the left, a nine-foot table was set with a burgundy tablecloth that matched the thick carpet flecked with gold running beneath, down the steps, and across to the entrance. Six places were set with gleaming crystal and golden cutlery, already poured red wine, and trays of more than enough food to feed an army. Elsa reclined in the center, facing us with Merl to her left, an empty seat beside him and at the end of the table. On Elsa’s other side sat my father dressed in a corduroy jacket with a patch on the elbow. But as annoyed as I was at his inclusion, it was the guest seated beside him that made me stop in my tracks, forcing Julian to pause before tugging me firmly forward.
The queen of the Seelie court sat, glamoured to look like a beautiful human woman with long silver hair and a gossamer gown the color of a clear sky, holding a glass of wine in one long fingered hand. She smiled knowingly at me.
If I’d been a human, my heartrate would’ve given me away. As it was, one slow thump jerked against my ribs like a drumbeat. No one knew that she hadn’t released me from my bargain to serve her in exchange for Julian’s life. Especially not him. He’d be so angry he might do something stupid.
Please don’t say anything, I prayed silently as I climbed the steps. Merl stood and pulled out the chair beside him for me. I felt Julian jerk slightly, but otherwise he simply smiled and waited as I took the chair before sitting at the empty one next to me on the opposite end from the queen. At least I wasn’t next to her. That had to count for something.
“Help yourselves,” Elsa said politely, indicating the food and drink we literally had no need for. As far as I knew, neither did the queen. But she sipped casually on her wine, eyes pinned on me.
I lifted my own glass and took a fortifying gulp of alcohol as I waited for her to continue.
“I understand you know her highness?” Elsa said by way of introduction.
I nodded, setting down my goblet hard enough to make the liquid inside slosh against the sides.
“I’ve invited her since fairies are the natural enemies of the self-proclaimed demons,” Elsa explained. “She may be able to help us with our little problem.”
“This is far from a little problem,” my father said, throwing his napkin down on his plate. “My daughter is in serious danger from all-powerful beings.”
The queen snorted then passed it off as a sniffle before setting her own glass down politely and standing. “They are far from all-powerful.”
“Would you be so kind as to share with us what you know of their powers and weaknesses?” Elsa asked, tilting her head slightly. She was clearly comfortable behaving appropriately in front of royalty. Even insane self-aggrandizing royalty like the fairy queen.
“For a price,” the queen answered and stabbed a piece of something on her plate that looked like raw meat.
“I could do the same.” Merl’s voice boomed across the empty expanse of the room. “Why pay you in a bargain that will likely be more expensive than it’s worth?” He grinned, saluted with his merlot and took a loud sip.
The queen sneered, tiny, pointed teeth slipping through her glamour as her cheeks flushed pink. “I bargain fairly.”
Merl guffawed, slapping the table and making me jump. “Sure you do, your highness.”
“You should fear me, human,” the queen whispered, a stark contrast to Merl’s spectacle. But it carried just as well.
He grinned, his eyes suddenly glowing like tiny suns. “You know what they say, Shaleighaoife, eventually every bully finds a bigger bully.”
“How dare you use my name?” the queen hissed, rising into the air and landing on the table where she smashed her way toward us and directly through the platters of food in the way.
“Because,” Merl said calmly, standing and folding his hands in front of himself. “That gives me power over you. Now sit back down and stop making a spectacle of yourself.” He flicked two fingers and the queen sailed through the air and back into her seat with a crash.
Everyone at the table stared, dumbfounded, except for Elsa and Julian who remained nonchalant. I wondered if it was an act they had both perfected, or reality. But I was too busy gawking at what Merl had done to try to assess either one further. There seemed to be no doubt now as to Merl being THE Merlin. No one knew the queen’s name. Or so I’d thought.
“Please,” Elsa said after a moment. “We are not here as enemies. We are here because we have a common enemy. Let’s focus our energy on working together instead of squabbling.”
“I suppose it’s a matter of deciding which enemy is worse then,” the queen said, standing and stepping away from the table with a pointed look at Merl, who stuffed a tiny quiche in his mouth.
I grimaced, rubbing my temples. At least she was distracted enough to draw her attention elsewhere. Julian slid a hand over my knee beneath the table as he took a sip of wine, appearing mildly interested in the dramatics.
Staying out of this dispute is best, he cautioned in my mind.
“I will take the fact that you haven’t yet left, despite the rudeness of a certain member of the table, as a sign you are open to hearing more,” Elsa said, inclining her head toward the queen, who folded her arms across her slender chest.
“How does aligning myself with you benefit me?” the queen demanded. “As far as I can tell, I am the one you need to help you out.”
“Quite the contrary,” Elsa said with the kind of cool smile that sent shivers down my spine. “It would seem the younger Dr. Devaux has the upper hand in this situation.”
I choked on the sip of water I’d just taken, and Julian squeezed my knee in response. “Me?” I squeaked.
Elsa flashed a look of pity my way, and I wasn’t sure how to take that. “We knew they were after you because of your psychic powers, and your father has confirmed that he indeed mutated your genes to increase your abilities as a child.”
“Charlotte is a vampire now, so it is a moot point.” Julian’s spine went so rigid, I was afraid he might snap in half.
“We…believe that is not the full story,” Elsa said gently.
Don’t do anything rash. It was my turn to caution Julian despite my own body going stiff and cold. “How so?” I asked out loud, trying not to watch the queen’s reaction but failing to avoid the hungry interest on her face.
“It’s the research I’ve been doing.” My father rose and cleared his throat, all eyes on him.
The world spun. Only Julian’s hand kept me from falling from the chair. I should have kept a closer eye on my father instead of avoiding him. What had he done now?
Perhaps it isn’t as bad as we suspect, Julian offered.
“My genetic research has been funded by many through the years,” Dad continued, gesturing emphatically with his hands now that he had everyone’s attention. “And those that have competed with me,” he glanced pointedly at Julian, “have made no secret of what they were truly searching for. We all wanted to find a way to enhance supe abilities—to take the best qualities of each type and combine them into the perfect being.”
That wasn’t Julian’s purpose at all. He’d only ever gotten involved in psychic research because of me, his mate. My father on the other hand? He’d made it quite clear what his motivations were, and they coincided far more with those like MorningStar and SHADE, who were both willing to do anything that suited them to gain power.
Watching my father’s eyes lit from within, the almost manic way he moved as he spoke, I wondered how I’d ever been so blind to what he really was. Maybe some part of him loved his family, but that part didn’t hold a candle to his obsession with genetic manipulation. A mountain sized lump formed in my throat as he continued, beginning to pace back and forth behind Elsa, who merely watched everyone else’s reaction with interest.
“Sure, we all had different methods, and different reasons, but the desire was the same. And the demons, or gods as they introduced themselves to me, had the most pressing reason of all. They wanted freedom from the longtime war between themselves and the fae, who were the only race capable of decimating them.”
The queen snorted again, not bothering to cover it. “They’ve been a thorn in our roses for centuries. We’ve constantly had to prevent them from destroying an abundance of worlds and upsetting the balance of the universe.”
“Regardless of the true intentions, the demons perceived you as a nuisance,” Elsa said calmly. “We must understand their motives in order to take them down. Please continue, doctor.”
“The demon DNA has been by far the most promising outcome of all such research.” Dad’s blazing eyes fell on me with a too-wide smile that beamed with pride. It turned my stomach because it wasn’t that I was his offspring. It was that I was his most successful experiment.
I looked away.
“Recently, thanks to my daughter, I have come to see that working with Elsa was what I should have done all along instead of running from her. It was with Elsa’s support and a place where I can finally focus on my own ideas without fear for my life or my benefactor’s own priorities influencing it that I have finally been able to unlock the complexity of supe genetics. What we’ve found is that not only is blood the key—it is the catalyst. It’s why vampires who were once psychic can drink from others and absorb some of their abilities for a short amount of time. When there is even a hint of demon DNA in the blood, the power in a psychic victim’s blood absorbs into the system. My theory is the original psychics were born of demons mixing with witches ages ago, which leaves today’s average psychics with miniscule amounts of demon DNA. Unfortunately for the ones that become vampires, they lose the blood injested quickly, and the power doesn’t last.”
Silas had done that for centuries, slowly draining psychics to retain his powers. It was why he’d tried to find a way to turn me while keeping my abilities so he could take from me daily to steal them. I shuddered, and beside me, Julian clenched his jaw.
“With this knowledge,” Dad continued, “and the help of my assistant, I was able to create a serum that temporarily brings a vampire’s system back to life long enough to absorb higher amounts of demon DNA and retain their abilities, and…” He paused for dramatic effect as my stomach bottomed out. “Other supe’s abilities as well if they are drained completely after absorbing the initial demon DNA.”
Silence rang as my father finished with a hand held high in triumph.
He’d found a way to give vampires enormous power—the kind the demons were searching for. He made Silas’ dream come true posthumously. But one bit of information was worse than any of the rest of his speech. The assistant that helped him had to have been Lydia. And bringing the vampire’s system back to life, I didn’t want to believe it, but it made too much sense. My cure for vampirism was created mostly with Lydia’s help. She’d used that information, whether purposely or not—which I hoped to be the case with all my heart—to help my father do this twisted thing. He’d stolen my research.
“You’ve made it possible for vampires to do what the demons have been trying to accomplish?” the fae queen asked. Her anger was apparent by the loosening of her glamour and the way her fingers had turned into the long twigs of her real body as she clutched her crystal glass, now empty.
“Not yet,” my father answered, still flushed with fervor and the blood of whomever his last meal was. “You see, the demons were missing an ingredient despite having been working on this for so long. I asked myself what ingredient would these incredible beings never have contemplated?” He moved around to the other side of the table.
“Through the program at SHADE’s base, they’d experimented with all form of supes and combining DNA’s.” The cold tone he used to speak of the monstrous way they’d kept Em and the other children had me bending a fork in half with one hand. “But they were missing one type among the shifters and witches. Their enemy.”
My father’s scribbled note flashed through my mind. Fae blood. The demons’ enemy.
All heads turned toward the queen, who backed away from the table immediately.
“You are saying that if you add fae blood to the mix, you’ll create the perfect creature.” Merl voiced with amusement what we’d all realized.
“Only because we’re already perfect,” the queen huffed. “And I will not be sacrificing any of my kind to add to the power of vampires.”
“We wouldn’t dream of asking you to do so,” Elsa said. “But of course, knowing that Charlotte here became a vampire with ample demon DNA already in her system means it’s quite likely that she retained her abilities when turned. Only she and one other who has taken the serum Dr. Devaux created have these excess abilities. I’ve instructed the good doctor to withhold the serum from anyone else until and unless approved by the vampire council. We must be careful with such power.”
Did she just out me? And in front of the queen to whom I owe my service? Panic seized my body and my vision tunneled.
“What vampire council?” Julian asked. Was he crazy? That’s what he got from Elsa’s statement? Or was he trying to redirect? It was pointless.
“I’ve created one since SHADE is no longer in place. We must retain law and order among supes.” Elsa leaned back in her seat like royalty and smiled. “You’ve been a bit preoccupied, understandably, Julian, or I would have obviously asked for your input. And I have reserved a seat for you on the council, of course.”
“What is the point of all of this?” the queen demanded. “If you are so all powerful now, why waste my time here?”
“To aid in the doctor’s research,” Elsa answered, all politeness gone from her voice. “We must test his theory about fae blood, and who better to offer such power than the queen herself?”
“I will rip you into tiny slivers and feed you to the fires of hell,” the queen whispered, meeting Elsa’s stare with deadly promise.
“You can try. But I’ve laced your food and drink with iron. So you won’t be able to wield much for a while. And by then, our vampire who took the serum will have drained you to a useless husk.”
The queen’s face paled as she stared at her half-devoured plate and empty glass. “You said you wouldn’t dream of asking.”
Elsa stood slowly. “Oh, I’m not asking.”