The Vampire Gift 2: Kingdom of(23)

Some of the Royal Court will even see it as a threat, I imagine. Well. Time enough to deal with that later.

But when I make my entrance into the common room or the compound, it’s not my name that’s on everyone’s lips.

It’s my brother, James’s.

“Have you heard what the Queen has done?”

“His sentence is horrible!”

“She’s banished her own son!”

“If he’s not safe, what does that say for the rest of us?”

“James was a fool.” I stop short when I hear a gruff voice make that proclamation. “He went against the Queen, and now he has to pay the price. It’s justice.”

I look at the vampire who said that. He’s an old-timer, one of those who has been in The Haven almost as long as I. He doesn’t rank very highly in power—none of them here do—and usually it would be blasphemy to speak against a member of the royal family like that.

It seems things have drastically changed while I was locked away.

I approach him. He notices me and stands taller.

“Well, well, well,” he says, puffing out his chest. “If it isn’t Phillip Soren. What brings you to spend time with the peasantry around these parts?” The vampires around him chuckle. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d ever demean yourself by being seen with us.”

There’s pure venom in his voice, in his stance, in the way he regards me. He’s still stronger than I am—April’s blood hasn’t given me an immediate boost in hierarchical strength—but I feel stronger than any of the vampires here.

I don’t answer until we stand nose-to-nose. “I heard what you said about my brother.”

“Oh? Good thing, that. I meant every word.”

“It’s dangerous,” I warn, not backing away. “To make proclamations like that where others can hear.”

He laughs. Right in my face, he laughs. “Is that so? Well then next time, maybe I’ll speak a little louder, so there’s no confusion. I want everybody to hear. I am my Queen’s man through and through. My loyalty is to her. Not to James. And certainly not to you, weakest.

He stabs a finger in my chest on the last word.

I just lose it. Before I can consciously reconcile what’s happening, I have his palm pinned behind him in an arm lock. I press down and apply pressure. He cries out in pain.

“Don’t,” I warn him softly, bringing my lips right to his ear, “ever make the mistake of calling me that—” I press down. He squirms against the table, “—again.”

Then I let him go. A space has cleared around us after the brief scuffle.

The other vampire picks himself up. He looks at me, then spits to the side.

“That’s what I think of you,” he says. “Don’t assume mommy will keep you safe forever. One of these days, you’ll get what’s coming. Just like your eldest brother did.”

With that, he storms out the room, cutting a sharp path through the crowd.

I straighten and pull my sleeves up as I watch him go. I make a slow survey of the room.

“Does anybody else here have a problem with me?” I ask. I scarcely recognize the voice coming from my throat. I definitely don’t recognize the aggression pulsing through me. ”Anybody? Anybody at all?”

The vampires closest to me take a step back. Those in the far reaches of the room crane their necks up, curious about what will happen next.

“Thought not,” I say. “Now that that’s over…” I bend down and pick up the table that had fallen in the fight, “—will somebody tell me why James is the object of everyone’s conversation?”

Silence greets me. But then, from the back:

“The Queen has ruled that he’s to become one of The Convicted.”

“What!” My head snaps to the vampire who’d spoken. It’s Bella, a bland woman of medium build, unremarkable in every way except perhaps for the spark of passion in her eyes. “When did this happen?”

“Not more than an hour ago, my Prince,” she replies. “Surely, we all thought you would know…”

“Well, I didn’t,” I snarl. Anger washes through me. It nearly takes me over completely. Anger at my Mother, anger at the vampire who’d challenged me, anger at April’s frailty…

These are exactly the emotions I’ve managed to suppress for centuries. Now they’re out in full force.

It frightens me, the things I might be capable of, should I let that anger take over.

I make my voice extra loud. “Where was the Queen seen last? I was just in her castle, she wasn’t there.”

Murmurs of uncertainty greet my question.