CHAPTER 24
VEYA
Present Day — One Week Later
DEL AND I STEP onto the balcony in the underground Goreon barracks. Blood stores from the Night Kingdom finally arrived today, enough to satisfy the hunger of thousands of trapped, starving warriors.
Males stare up at us.
“Hail your queen!” Del announces.
Silence hangs in the air, and then deafening cheers and celebration rattle the railing beneath my hands. I smile at the throbbing mass of warriors.
Del raises his hand, and silence restores itself.
“If you choose to serve me,” I begin, “I’ll reward you with a life worth living.
No more pain, no more pointless killing.
You’ll never step foot in this prison again.
If you prefer to return home to a family or start a new life, please do so.
There will be no shame upon you, but you will follow the new laws in this land.
And if you choose to fight for the crown, you will protect those laws with your life.
We’ll usher in an era we can all be proud of.
But if you don’t want this life or don’t follow our rules, I’ll give you the honor of killing you myself.
” I stare down at the army that could slaughter their way through any kingdom.
“I look forward to releasing you from this horrible place. Blood will be brought to you shortly. Please drink your fill, and then you are free to leave and live your life. Otherwise, please make yourselves comfortable upstairs.”
One by one, the warriors take a knee before me.
“Thank you in advance for your cooperation. And for those who choose it, thank you for your service.”
Doors open below as Night Kingdom guards haul crates of blood stores into the barracks and Goreon soldiers rise from their knees.
I turn to the exit, climbing the stairwell, Del just behind me.
We already eliminated the soldiers Del confirmed participated in unspeakable acts under Nerian and Balor.
After the first several offenses came to light, supported by testimony from fellow soldiers, I didn’t need to hear any more.
Those who remain are at least without transgressions.
How they choose to live from this moment on is up to them.
The farm was our first act once Nerian was dead.
We removed the ports, and every kitchen and every household in the nearest villages have sent broth and food, blankets and clothing.
The humanity of Goreon is now just as it once was, a community, once we nursed it back to life.
Families were reunited, and the beginning of a new foundation was formed between vampires and humans in Goreon.
We breach the threshold of the stairwell and stroll into the evening outside toward the castle.
“I need your help destroying something later tonight,” I tell Del.
“I thought we agreed not to destroy the pretty castle,” Del says, shoving his hands in his pockets against the nip in the air.
A rueful laugh escapes my lips. “Just the cellar.”
His eyes spark against the night. “I will gladly help you destroy that.”
“I thought so.”
A soft smile whispers across his face under flickering torches, and thankfulness warms my chest. Del is the one who convinced the king to invite me here.
Del handed me the secret to find and kill the king.
He fought by our side and trusted us to finish what we started.
He was the catalyst for everything, and it culminated in Hunter magic dancing in my veins and me walking in the sun again.
And my promises fulfilled. I am in his debt.
“I can’t believe Raven is a vampire,” Del whispers, Aurelia’s vampire name sliding off his tongue like he can barely stand to say it.
I peer up at him as we walk. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want that for her.”
“Don’t be. She’d still be in that cage, death imminent, if it wasn’t for you.”
“Good thing I accepted that invitation from Nerian.”
He smirks. “Good thing.”
“We’re going to be late,” Del says as we reach the castle’s entrance.
I laugh. “It’s not like they can start without us.”
His smile is devastating when I turn to face him. “True,” he says.
“Are you ready for an official change in leadership?”
“Yes,” he says without hesitation.
We climb the steps into the fortress and make for the antechamber.
Hartley stands a breath from Emmanuel, not touching, as instructed, but close enough that I suppress a smile. The fabric of her gown is draped over the edge of his boots, and the male stares down at her, eyes locked on his doe.
Emmanuel’s gaze flicks to me as Del and I approach. “Nice dress,” he says to me, and Hartley nods eagerly in agreement with a curtsy.
I laugh. “Hopefully the last gown I’ll wear for a long time. And thank you for your service, Em. For helping us get this far to see this day.”
“Our work is just beginning,” he says.
I nod. “I keep my promises. We’ll go to the Southern Continent next, I swear it.”
“My queen,” Emmanuel says with a dip of his head.
Hartley swivels her joyful face to him. “What’s in the Southern Continent?” she asks.
Emmanuel looks down at her. “My homeland.”
“Aye,” she says. “I’d love to see it.”
“Not until it’s safe,” he says.
She scowls at him. “I’ll train. I’ll be ready to go with you.”
“It’ll be a decade before I even consider that as an option.”
She dismisses my assassin with a wave. “We’ll talk about it.”
“We won’t,” he assures her, and I turn away to hide my smirk.
Nix, Ellie, and Samantha, accompanied by Charlotte and Second, wait by the door to the throne room, and Raven rushes to Del’s side. He tucks her under his arm.
“You ready for this?” Charlotte asks with a prideful smile.
I nod, and movement catches my attention as Officer Cave steps out of the shadows.
“You came,” I say, voice breaking and tears filling my eyes.
The vampire leans into me. “Your father and brother are bursting with pride. I know it in my bones,” he whispers.
I glance up at the male who has stood by me for two hundred years, never faltering. “Thank you, Rhett,” I whisper back, bursting with gratefulness. “Thank you for being here.”
“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world, Grace.”
I fight back my tears, and my heart warms with my appreciation for Rhett all these years.
He joined Riot and me in our mission, twenty years after our first siege on Goreon Castle, knowing he would lose his magic, too.
Because the gods stripped Riot of his magic when I turned him.
Still, Rhett followed him into that hell.
That will never be a price I ask any Hunter to pay.
Rhett’s wife, Rosy, understood his choice to follow us and uphold our promises to Kade.
After all, Rosy had a life because Kade rescued her from the dungeons below us and sent her to Lou’s when she had nowhere to go, and that’s where she found Rhett.
They fell in love in a way I know better than most. But then Rhett turned, joining us, and watched Rosy and their children age and die.
They’re now buried in Lilygate. Rhett is still suffering in that pain.
It’s a cruel thing, a Hunter losing their magic if they choose to turn. You become everything you hated and lose all that you loved. Riot was the first to ever do that, and the loss of his magic almost killed him. He lost the man he was. A Hunter died, but the gods forced his heart to keep beating.
Immortality for the price of his magic.
I can’t imagine losing what runs through my veins now. Yet I’m still unsure what balance will be demanded from me; I'm a vampire and Hunter magic simmers and twirls within me.
“Are you ready?” Del asks, eyes skirting to mine.
I smile at him. “Yes.”
He summons the doors open, and we emerge into the crowded hall.
Night Kingdom warriors line the aisle wearing armor and proud faces. We’ve all been waiting for this moment.
Del and I drift down the center, moving with unburdened hearts, side by side, with our populace surrounding us and Second behind us.
The throne room brims with Goreon citizens, humans, and vampires waiting to witness the crowning of their new queen.
It turns out, most of Nerian’s court hated life here; their fear kept them in line and in debt to Nerian.
I forgave those debts, but it’s going to be a long journey as we deal with bloodlust addiction and wealth that needs to be dispersed to the people.
“How do we kill a thousand years of belief and poisoned ideology?” Del asks as we approach the dais.
“I have a plan.”
He scoffs. “Of course you do.”
“There is always a way,” I tell him and glance at my crown resting on the throne before us. “You know, I’ve thought more about the appointment of the Goreon second.”
His responding smolder coaxes an eye roll from me.
“Don’t roll those stunning emerald eyes at me, my queen.”
I unleash a smile, my heart stuttering unexpectedly at the compliment.
I’m ready for the next chapter. For the next life. My humanity avenged, my kingdom on the brink of peace, my promises fulfilled.
I finger the Hunter pendant at my chest, starving to insert the crest in its intended place and lay eyes on Mortifer once again.
And a visit to Castle Ruthlessness is due. My kinsfolk wait for me.
Del, Second, and I climb the first riser to the dais.
“Did you come to a decision?” Del asks as Second approaches the thrones, lifting my crown, and steps up next to me.
“We’ll talk about it afterward,” I say as the officiant speaks the inaugural words of Goreon rule, with several amendments we made over the past few days.
Del shakes his head at me and my delay in his appointment, but his smile is relentless underneath the joy in his eyes.
“Congratulations, Grace. Forever may you reign,” Second whispers as he places the crown on my head.
“Thank you for everything, Riot.”
“Until my last breath, in this life and the one after that,” he says, sweeping a thumb across my cheek as he secures the crown. “Swords at our backs.”
I shudder a breath. “Hearts at our fronts.”
“Aye,” he whispers hoarsely.
And then Riot disappears within himself, and Second steps aside.
I turn to face my people as the Queen of Goreon and claim the crown that will herald the era of the Hunter.
Suddenly, a Night Kingdom soldier bursts through the doors, eyes red and wild, breath heaving, and collapses, his summoned wings limp around him.
He flew here.
I snap to him, kneeling next to the warrior as Second and Del drop down beside me a moment later.
Officer Cave lifts his head. “Warrior,” he says, jostling him.
The vampire’s eyelids slide open. “The Southern Continent has attacked—” he whispers hoarsely.
“Where?” I demand, my guilt surging.
How did they get past the warriors we sent?
His cracked lips part, gaze pinned to mine. “Lilygate has fallen.”
I shake my head in disbelief, and my breath leaves me.
Our humans. The lives I swore to protect.
All I can do is desperately hope Ben and Victoria and the rest of Lilygate made it to Ruthlessness in time.
Cave curses, and my eyes dart to Second. “We must go. Right now.”
“Aye,” Second snarls, then screams, “Horses, now!” The Night Kingdom soldiers snap to action.
I’ll be able to get there first, traveling in daylight. I can make it in less than two days if I don’t stop. My heart and adrenaline race, and if I weren’t the one everyone was looking to for poise and purpose, I would scream at the top of my lungs and let my tears fall.
But I am queen, and I wrap myself in my duty instead.
I look away from the chaos, turning sharply to Del crouched beside me.
“Decision made—you’re second of Goreon,” I command, and then my voice catches in my throat, worry freezing me, and my thoughts spin as fear for Lilygate attempts to blot out my ability to think.
“I’ll send word,” I finally manage. “We may need your aid before it’s over—”
He smiles kindly as my voice breaks. “You’re going to want my aid now, Grace.”
My chest tightens with my human name on Del’s lips, but my gaze narrows. “What do you mean?”
Del’s plum eyes darken as we rise. “You’ll need me, and my brother, to finally take the Southern Continent.”
I shake my head, bewildered.
He smirks. “You wanted to know my story. I hail from below the Southern Continent, and I am Prince Deleos of Farson.”
My eyes blow wide. “I—I don’t know what to say. But I need to leave now, and I can’t stop until I get to Lilygate.”
Del’s charming smile curls. “Lucky for you, my queen, daylight has never been a problem for me.”
With no warning, thick streaks of shadow blast into the air around us, and my magic surges in my veins, rejoicing as Del’s power envelops us in darkness.