“But every so often, after inconsistent amounts of time, the Queen would once again wither and starve and die. She would be gone for unpredictable stretches of time and then eventually be reborn somewhere in the Royal line.”
“That’s why the King keeps such close tabs on his posterity,” I conclude.
Jasmine nods.
“How long has the Queen been gone for this time?” I ask. It’s creepy and dark, but I can’t help but feel sorry for the King. To keep losing his love like that, to not even know her face. It really is a curse.
“Two hundred and seventy-one years,” Markov says.
“So the King…” I trail off, trying to put the pieces in all the right places. “Once the King hears about me, he’s going to come here and see if I’m this reborn Queen.”
Most of them nod, looking at me expectantly like I’m missing something important.
And then it hits me.
“But he won’t know if it’s me until I resurrect,” I say quietly. “As a vampire.”
“And he’ll do it himself,” Anna says softly.
The King will come here and kill me. I’ll come back. But he’ll kill me.
Welcome to the House of Royals.
THEY ALL BREAK OUT INTO opinions and debates and shouts. I can’t distinguish one from the other, but there’s fear and anger roiling through the room. It’s overwhelming and terrifying.
“Enough!” Jasmine bellows. She shoots to her feet, commanding the room in an instant and her eyes flare red. Every one of them falls silent and their eyes turn to her. “Alivia will have to make choices soon enough. She has a fate over her head that no one can stop. When the time comes, it will come. But for now, she’s come to us with a warning, she says.”
And I feel every one of their eyes shift to me, heavy and hot. I can’t look around at them all, I’m too scared. I can’t deny that. They are giants, and I am a tiny ant. So I just look at Jasmine. “You want me to tell you in front of everyone?”
Once again, Jasmine’s eyes grow soft and kind. The woman is hot and cold. A small smile plays on her lips. “My child, whatever warning you feel inclined to give me should be a warning for the whole House. These people are my family.”
Family. I never knew such a word could be so complicated.
I swallow once.
“I have to protect certain identities,” I start. “You have to let me do that, or I can’t say anything else.”
The look in Jasmine’s eyes tells me that she doesn’t like this. She isn’t used to bargaining and giving leeway. But this is a game of politics right now, and we both have to step carefully. “Alright. Proceed.”
My heart is threatening to beat clean out of my chest. I wipe my palms on my skirts. “There’s someone here in town who can make a toxin that is supposed to be poisonous to vampires.”
“We know about the toxin,” Markov says.
“It doesn’t feel good,” Cameron says, shaking his head. “Feels like death, a swift kick to the balls, a thousand volts of electricity all at the same time, and knocks you out for twelve hours.”
“Sadly, yes, we’ve had experience with the toxin,” Jasmine says.
I nod. “An entire cabinet of it was stolen from the maker just a few days ago. No traces of who took it, but mass amounts are gone.”
If I’m going to survive this new world I’ve been thrust into, I need to earn some allegiance points. I need a chance at loyalty and trust from these people who are currently more powerful than me.
Collectively, everyone falls silent for the count of five breaths.
Then there’s shouting and noise again.
No one notices when Jasmine stands and crosses the room to me. She takes my arm roughly and drags me to one corner of the room.
“How much of the toxin are we talking, exactly?” she demands. And I see the tips of her fangs extend behind her lips. The hint of red flares in her eyes.
I shake my head, trying not to tremble in fear. “I don’t know, I never saw how much was in the cabinet before. I only saw the aftermath of the raid. But probably fifty doses.”
Jasmine swears under her breath. Her eyes draw inward, and I can tell she’s mulling over how to deal with this threat. “And you have no idea who took it?”
I shake my head again.
She takes a few moments before she speaks again. “Thank you for warning us,” she says. And she means it, I can tell. “I really am sorry for all the fear that is happening right now. I know you didn’t ask for any of this. It will not go unnoticed that you risked much by warning us—”
Glass shatters and wood splinters bullet throughout the room. Two figures with yellow eyes explode through the boarded up window.