“Y-yes,” he stammers. The other humans take a wide berth around us. None step in to help their own.
“Then get to it,” I hiss, shoving him away. “If I catch you slacking again, it’s right back to the underground.”
He mutters a few frightened placations and turns to run the other way.
I watch him go. He doesn’t know how close I came to taking his blood. It’d be against the rules governing The Haven… but not such a big transgression that it couldn’t be overlooked for the Captain Commander of the Queen’s Royal Guard.
I take a moment to consult with the guard from the caverns, Leonardo. He’s watching over and directing the humans in their restoration work along with fifty other vampires.
“Keep an eye on that one,” I say, pointing out the human who had gotten in my way. “He seems likely to make trouble.”
Leonardo nods.
“The Queen wants posts around the outskirts of The Haven,” I continue. “How many can you spare?”
Leonardo looks around at his team, and then at the humans milling about. “Half,” he says.
“Good. I don’t need more.” I count out the guards who will come with me. “You’ve done a good job keeping order. Make sure it lasts.”
Leonardo gives me a salute, and I walk away with my new retinue.
Half an hour later, all the guards are where I need them. It seems like an awful waste of resources. If the Queen would listen to me, she’d understand that the danger comes from that upstart young vampire-witch she keeps beside her. Eleira.
Not from an imagined, unseen foe from the Outside.
But my temper has cooled off, and I understand now that I have to do exactly as she says for me to get her complete trust. Our shared history gives me a slight leg-up, but not as much as I had assumed when I first arrived.
Once my duties are complete, I decide to turn my attention to the one vampire in here I know is not all she pretends to be. Victoria.
I look through the view-latch to the cell. She’s sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room at the top floor of the tallest tower in the castle. Her eyes are closed. She seems to be meditating.
I snap the view latch shut and undo the main lock. I take a moment to prepare myself for the assault on my senses that all the silver on the other side will bring.
Then, taking a deep breath, I push the door open.
Victoria looks up right away. “About time,” she says. “I was beginning to grow bored. I thought you’d forgotten all about me.”
“Don’t move,” I warn. I shift one hand to the pommel of my sword. “This isn’t a friendly visit. I’m here for answers.”
“About what, my darling?” she wonders. She cocks her head to one side and gives a little laugh. “You don’t need to be so guarded all the time. You must know that if I wanted to kill you—” she shows her teeth, “—you’d already be dead.”
“Your co-conspirator, James, broke free today.”
Victoria’s eyebrows shoot up. “You don’t say. Where is he now?”
“Far from here. Out of the Queen’s reach.”
She bats her eyes. “You wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would you, Smithson?”
I spit on the ground and growl. “Don’t insult me, wench. My allegiances are to the Queen alone.”
“So you say,” Victoria mumbles. In a smooth, flowing motion, she stands up. She stretches her bound hands over her head like a cat, not bothered at all by the silver surrounding her.
In fact, she seems perfectly at ease in this place.
“Your strength is fading,” I inform her point-blank. “You’re weaker than when we first met.”
She shoots me a dangerous look. “It’ll still take many weeks until I’m as weak as you.”
“Don’t test me.”
“Nothing of the sort,” she promises. “It’s just… an impartial observation.”
I scoff.
“So, you said you want answers?” She steps toward me. I shift my grip on Witchbane aggressively. She stops. “If you want answers, you need to first ask questions.”
The one thing that’s been bugging me the whole time I’ve known her comes to mind. “How can you stand the silver?” I demand. “It’s not pure strength. Otherwise vampires would become less susceptible to the metal as we age. We do not. So why you?” I narrow my eyes at her in consideration. “It has to do with The Ancient’s blood, doesn’t it?”
“Oh no.” She shakes her head and gives a perverse grin. “The Ancient has the same weakness that all vampires do.”
“Then what? Is it magic?”