The Vampire Queen

Prologue

Nablyudatel Royal Palace, Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Even from more than a mile away, the putrid stench of death hung heavy in the air as Luca and Viktorija approached the palace. The siblings had been in rare agreement that they would handle this task and had left their mother Queen Kittania at the foot of the mountain as they addressed the worst of the former king’s carnage. Being pulled into the vision and forced to watch as her mate slaughtered their children and hundreds of innocents had been horrific. They had wanted to spare her the additional trauma, and she had allowed it.

The siblings knew what awaited them inside the palace. Nikoli had ensured that they’d seen everything. The thought of walking through the familiar halls pricked their nerves and twisted their stomachs into knots. Though they dreaded the task, it was necessary, and it would not become more palatable if they delayed it. Before their people could even begin to move past the madness and terror Nikoli had wrought, they had to face and acknowledge what had happened there. The first step into their new future was to bury their dead and reestablish order in the high Therian kingdom.

The palace witches had either been murdered or had fled, so the magical wards were fading without someone to maintain them. Since the entrance portals were unreliable, they’d contemplated shifting and flying to the summit, but they had decided against it without much deliberation. They would take the long way and assess the damage as they went.

Approaching his former home, Luca was painfully aware that only a few people were alive in the palace. The expression Viktorija leveled at him said she’d noticed the same thing. Neither could sense much past the fear radiating from those still breathing in the ancient fortress. Luca and Viktorija fought the survivors’ fear and sadness as they climbed the mountain.

The palace was normally awash with life and bustling with activity no matter what the time of day or night. When they neared the first entrance to the tunnel system that ran through the mountain, it was undisguised and unguarded. That was the first sign that things had drastically changed.

The siblings hesitantly stepped into the tunnels and had only traveled a few dozen yards before they saw blood. Dark splatters adorned the walls and floor and got thicker with each step they took. They also found puddles of viscera, congealed and dried on the pale stone. The true scope of the horror King Nikoli had wrought upon his people started to sink in for Luca, and it made him sick. When he glanced at his sister, her violet eyes darted around the tunnel, wide with sadness and disgust.

When they reached the palace, the doors were flung wide. Judging by the pile of tattered and shredded clothing pasted with blood to the cold, stiff bodies that lay scattered about, these were slaves who unsuccessfully fled the carnage.

Luca stepped gingerly around them and offered a hand to Viktorija, who glared at him to cover her horror and stepped through the bloodbath on her own. They moved deeper into the palace, finding more gore as they went. In several places, they found badly damaged armor still attached to pieces of the King’s Guard. Nikoli’s rampage hadn’t ended when the vision had. No one had been safe from his unhinged rage, not even his loyal guardsmen.

Viktorija led the way as they followed a trail of blood toward the entrance to the dungeons. They intentionally avoided the throne room. Neither was prepared for what they knew waited for them there. Though they knew the reprieve was only temporary, they chose to grant themselves a few more moments without those images in their minds.

What they discovered in the dungeon made their stomachs roil in disgust. In dragon form, their father had torn through the halls, hell-bent on reaching the people he’d imprisoned in the dank cells. They’d been the most vocal against him, and he’d ripped off rather than open the doors. The pieces he’d left behind told a grisly tale.

Luca tried to make sense of what had happened after Nikoli had stopped transmitting the vision. The high king had rampaged through the palace, leaving few alive. Luca guessed that anyone still alive had been, and likely still was, well-hidden. It was impossible to know how many had died. They could only make rough estimates based on the number of body parts they found. His heart sank further with each new discovery around every corner.

The siblings could have covered more ground if they’d split up, but neither had the strength to make this walk alone. Luca stayed close to his sister, experiencing her emotions through their family connection. She brushed her shoulder against his as they walked to reassure herself that she wasn’t alone, even though he was next to her. As cold and calculating as she was, she needed him.

As he explored the tomb that the opulent palace that had once been his home had become, Luca had to fight the impulse to change shape and burn it to the ground. He wanted to destroy every reminder of Nikoli’s reign—the terrible memories and his crimes against their people.

They needed to start anew. Rebuild and recreate the kingdom with just laws that served the people rather than being based on a madman’s whims.

Luca grimly looked around. No Therian would ever feel safe here again. He didn’t, and given Viktorija’s emotions, neither did she. He decided that this palace would not be the new hub for their people. The lives that had been stolen here called to him, and his soul was marked by their blood.

Guilt almost overwhelmed him. I should never have let it get this far.

Viktorija turned to him with a sharp look. “No! You will not do that. We need a decisive king. There is no room for your self-pity, Luca. You must be strong for our people. This was not your fault. For once, let the blame fall where it belongs.”

He nodded in agreement and took a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn’t destroy everything. Their people needed a place to remember the evil the former king had wrought and an enduring warning of how far they could fall as a race. To move forward, they needed to address their challenges with a unified front and work together to build their new world.

In the lowest levels of the dungeons, below the corridors large enough for dragons to pass, Luca and Viktorija found a few slaves who had survived the violence. He could feel their fear before he reached them, and he didn’t want to terrorize them further, so he stopped halfway down the passage and called to them.

“It’s Luca and Viktorija. The king is dead. You are safe now. We will be upstairs if you wish to speak with us, and you are free to leave if you choose.” He kept his voice soft and calm, cursing his resemblance to his father.

Luca imagined that seeing him would not bring those people much comfort. It was likely his mother the people needed to see, and they had work to do before that would happen since he couldn’t fix things as easily as his father had destroyed them. Reluctantly turning away, he and Viktorija grimly strode toward the throne room.

When they reached it, they silently stopped in front of the massive doors. Luca extended a hand that only shook a little but couldn’t make himself touch the handle. Stepping through these doors would take something from the siblings that neither would ever get back.

Luca shook himself and squared his shoulders, then took a deep breath for courage. He was now the king, and he did not have the luxury of shirking his duties for the sake of personal comfort. He owed the Therian people the truth about what had happened, and to provide that, he had to go in. He would stand as their witness to the devastation, even though the weight of his duty and the heavy burden of his grief felt like they would crush him.

He couldn’t put off seeing his siblings’ desecrated bodies strewn around like refuse, so he reached for the handle. Before he could pull the door open, Viktorija touched his shoulder, and he felt his sister’s support and strength as she squeezed.

Viktorija’s hand trembled, so he knew she dreaded this as much as he did. He didn’t know how to comfort her since Viktorija didn’t think or act like other people. She’d likely push him away—or through a wall—if he acknowledged what she would think of as weakness, so he leaned into her, taking comfort from the physical contact.

Both felt the emptiness in their family bond. When they were in the same country, it used to buzz with emotions, thoughts, and telepathic messages. Now he could only feel his mother, his sister, his grandfather, and his cousin Niletean.

So much senseless death.

“Are you ready for this?” Viktorija asked, voice quivering.

Luca shook his head. “No, and I know you aren’t either, but it doesn’t change anything. We have to go in there before Mother does. I won’t let her see them like that.”

Viktorija nodded and sighed. “The only way out is through, so let’s get this done. There are no rest stops in hell.”

Tightening his grip on the thick iron handles, Luca pulled. The massive doors refused to move at first since a thick pool of blood had congealed into a seal on the other side. When it broke, the doors opened out, and the stench of death and decay hit them like a truck. They froze in horror as the sight burned into their minds.

As they stood transfixed, a length of intestines fell from above the door and hit the floor with a sickening sound. Viktorija gagged, but she managed to choke back her bile. The carnage was worse than anything either had ever seen.

Viktorija took Luca’s hand and squeezed hard, and he gratefully returned the grip. He needed something solid to hold onto so the grief didn’t wash him away. Both were veteran soldiers who had seen terrible things, but nothing could have prepared them for this.

The walls, the ceiling, and the floor were drenched in blood and gore. As they’d seen in the vision, Nikoli had unleashed his fury on his children and grandchildren, a number of unsuspecting humans, the courtiers who had unwisely lingered, and the guards who’d remained loyal to him.

Nikoli had lined up the severed heads of his family on the floor at the sides of the throne, and their vacant eyes stared toward the doors. Luca swallowed the vomit that threatened to erupt when he saw Alessandra, then took a hesitant step inside. His feet stuck to the floor as he moved, and to his horror, he discovered that the blood was so thick it hadn’t completely dried. The top layer gave way to slick wetness beneath.

By sheer force of will, Luca held back his rising gorge as he crossed the room, bearing witness to the Nablyudatel family’s final indignity. Viktorija joined him, taking his hand again as she focused on their siblings’ remains.

They had seen this savagery in Nikoli’s vision, and the intervening two days had done nothing to make the scene more palatable. Unable to hold it back, Viktorija darted a few feet away and vomited. When she was finished, she straightened.

“How will our people ever move past this?”

Luca went to his sister and embraced her, shielding her from the worst of the carnage. Her silent tears soaked into his shirt, and his heart broke with her. Viktorija never allowed her vulnerability to show, so he was glad she let him be there for her. They would need each other to get through the next few hours and the years to come.

“You, Mother, and Grandfather are all I have now, Vik.” He was glad she couldn’t see the tears that dripped into her hair. “We can’t let this destroy us. We will clean this up, and they will all have a royal funeral.”

Viktorija nodded against his chest. “I can’t ever live here again, Luca. I won’t.”

He agreed. Luca couldn’t imagine finding a moment’s rest in the king’s bedchamber. “I thought about burning it all down, but we need this place. All Therians need this place.”

She pulled away from him, confused and offended. “What in the actual fuck for? This place is a tomb. It’s far worse than that, but ‘tomb’ is the only word I can think of.”

Luca sighed. “We need it to remember. It wasn’t just humans or royals who were slaughtered here. You saw the halls. He murdered the slaves, the servants, the guards, and even the damned children! We Therians can’t just forget about it and move on. We can’t tear down the palace and pretend this tragedy didn’t happen.”

He pulled away from her, convinced that was the right choice. “We must prove to our people that nothing will stop us. We will not hide from the terrible events of the recent past or the threats we face in the future, and we will overcome them and grow. I’ll take back the kingdom our father ruined, and we will see the best of the old ways return as we bring our people into the future. The laws will change so that no king can ever fall so far again.”

Luca had spent much of the time since his father’s death contemplating the future. His first official act as king must show the Therians that he wouldn’t brush what their people had endured aside.

“I see your point. I’ll support you, brother.”

Thinking about the future made Luca’s thoughts turn to Ash. His blood family wasn’t all he had, and he should be planning this with her.

She had become a vampire, the first of her kind, to save his life. His family had fought the vampire queen Nadya and her minions for five thousand years. It would take the Therian world time to accept a vampire as a royal, but he was confident that they would value Ash when they learned more about her. He couldn’t imagine that anyone could help but love her and the bright spark she brought to the world.

Luca thought about the last words they’d shared. She’d said that things had to change before his people would accept her and set off to prove that all vampires were not the same. His part of those changes started here.

His chest ached, and he felt hollow without her by his side, but his longing made him all the more determined to fix his world. He could feel her through their mating bond, and that would have to be enough for now.

“You miss her already, don’t you?” Viktorija asked, jolting him out of his thoughts.

“Is it that obvious?”

Viktorija rolled her eyes, sarcasm overpowering her emotions as she waved a hand at the room. Then her expression turned somber. “We can talk about your lovesickness later. We have other things to worry about right now. I will say that I’m sorry for my part in her turning. You know how she is when she sets her mind to something.”

He did. “There’s nothing to forgive. We were all thrown into terrible situations where there were no good choices. She will be with me again.”

“Your odiferous bloodsucker is kind of growing on me.”

Luca shot her a quizzical look. “’Odiferous bloodsucker?’”

Viktorija shrugged. “She inspires creative insults, and you can’t deny her colorful use of language. I once heard her call someone a ‘useless piece of fuck.’”

He stifled a laugh. “That sounds like her.”

“All joking aside, she has earned my respect, not that that will stop me from giving her hell.” She shuddered. “Seriously, how are you going to get used to that vampire smell?”

Luca rolled his eyes. “I love her, so we’ll find a way around it. Besides, Ash doesn’t smell like Nadya or her children. It’s not that bad, and it doesn’t matter right now. I need you to stay by my side and help me earn the trust of our people as we rebuild, Vik. They won’t blindly follow me.”

Tears shimmered in her eyes as she looked around the room. “I would kneel, but…gross. I swear my life and service to you, Luca. I’ll stay by your side, my brother and my king. I will not rest until your throne and rule are secured. More than that, I want to be a better person. I’ve got so much to make up for.”

Luca sighed and looked around. They needed to get to work. “We both do, and we’ll start here.”

Neither spoke as they began gathering body parts. They could not tell whether it was human, Therian, or one of their relatives, but that was the extent to which their innate magic helped. The work required sweat equity, and the siblings each did their fair share and then some.

The dead deserved a proper funeral. His soul ached from the state Nikoli’s victims had been left in. The piles grew as they sorted through the devastation, as did Luca’s fury at his father’s atrocities. The worst moment was when he found a tiny foot attached to a distinctive shoe. His five-year-old niece had proudly shown him the shoes when he’d returned for Alessandra’s wedding.

Luca wished Nikoli was still alive so he could kill him again. His death had been far too swift.