The Vampire Gift 2: Kingdom of(25)

By the momentary look of surprise that crossed his face, I know I’m right.





Chapter Thirteen




JAMES



I pace back and forth in the small enclosure of the underground cell. There’s dirt all around me. The roof of the place is low enough that if I stand absolutely upright, my head would brush the ceiling.

My thoughts are stormy and chaotic. I’d gambled everything when I told Mother that story. She called me out on it right away.

I’d gambled, and I lost.

How had I been such a fool? How have I allowed myself to be so transparent?

But never did I think she would sentence me to such a fate. Even now, hours after her proclamation, it doesn’t seem quite right.

I am to become one of The Convicted. I am to become one of those wretched, despised creatures doomed to dwell forever underground.

It doesn’t seem real… and yet, the chained silver collar hooked to the wall beside me reminds me that it is.

After Morgan brought me here, she took one end off her arm and hooked it into the wall. The other, she kept around my neck. She did me one small mercy before leaving, by uttering a spell that lessened some of the silver’s effects on me.

For that I should be grateful. She could have easily let me endure here in misery. But the sense of betrayal, the horrific sense of injustice at what she sentenced me to?

Well, it makes gratitude just a little bit difficult to muster up.

There must be a way out of this. There must, there must, there must. The Hunt is not for another few weeks. Maybe—just maybe—that gives enough time for Mother to change her mind.

But such thoughts are ludicrous. Mother may be precarious, yes, but she has not once reneged on a decision after announcing it publically. Those made in private, yes, or those that she only consulted with me, Raul, Phillip, and the other members of the Royal Court about. But those that all vampires of The Haven heard?

Never. Not even once.

By now news of my fate will have spread. Hell, I’d bet even the humans know about it. Anger, fury, hatred—all those words are too soft for the emotions raging through me right now.

Countless hours pass. Nobody comes. The silver collar made it impossible for me to keep up with how far Mother led me down through the earth to reach this cell. So I don’t even know where I am.

Can anybody ever find me here?

Suddenly, a light appears in the distance. I jerk forward and nearly wrap my hands around the bars. I stop short at the last moment, after remembering that, yes, they are made of silver, too.

I have to squint against the lantern being carried toward me. But once I see past it, I realize that it’s none other than Raul who’s approaching me.

“Brother!” I exclaim, my voice threaded with all sorts of relief. “I didn’t think you’d come.”

He stops just short of the bars and puts the lantern out. In the darkness, everything is easier to see.

“I wouldn’t abandon you,” he says. “But I had one hell of a time finding this place.”

“Where are we?” I ask.

“Miles beneath the castle,” he replies. “I had to go through passageways that haven’t been used in decades just to get to the proper level. I’ve been searching for hours.”

“Tell me you brought good news.”

He frowns. “Mother’s been unwilling to speak to anyone. She won’t entertain visitors. The only person she’ll talk to is Eleira.”

“The blasted girl.” I cannot stop the venom from reaching my voice. “It’s all about her, isn’t it? Dammit! I should have drained her dry when I had the chance. Then all of this would have been avoided.”

“No,” Raul says. The word comes out soft and dangerous. “That, you should have never done.”

“Oh that’s right. I forget. You’re in love with her. Ha!” I bark a laugh and then sneer. “Love is the domain of fools and idiots. It weakens you, it makes you vulnerable. Or haven’t you figured that out yet?”

“I’d watch your tongue, James,” Raul warns. “Remember which of us is standing on the wrong side of the bars.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” I grunt in annoyance. I’m not used to issuing apologies. “Being locked away in here has given me a short temper.”

“Not much shorter than usual,” he quips. “But I accept your apology.”

“Thank you,” I grumble. “Now, back to the topic of Mother?”

“I think she’s grieving,” Raul admits. “For having lost you.”

“But she hasn’t lost me!” I snarl. I slam a fist into the dirt wall in frustration. “I’m right here, beneath her castle, forsaken because of her.”