“The village is starting to take shape. The humans are working fast. Since your display in the caves, there have been no dissenters.” I allow myself a smug grin. “Of course, my guards keep watch to help ensure things stay that way.”
“Of course,” the Queen echoes, sounding almost bored.
It rubs me the wrong way.
“Is there something wrong, my Queen? You asked for a status report. Things are going according to plan, ahead of schedule. The humans haven’t even considered rebelling. The disquietude amongst your vampire population has simmered down. And—”
“Can I trust you, Smithson?” she interrupts. “Can I really trust you?”
I drop to one knee. “With your life,” I swear. “I am forever your loyal subject.”
“As you so often say,” she murmurs.
She glides down the steps and stops right beside me. “Stand,” she commands.
I do. Even though I’m taller than she is, she cuts an imposing figure.
“You know…” she traces a hand along my jaw. “I always thought you were exceedingly handsome.”
I clear my throat and look around. “Is this appropriate?”
“There’s no one here.” She runs that hand down over my chest, over my torso. “This is my castle. Here as in all The Haven, my word is law.”
“I do not doubt that,” I say. Her wandering hand reaches my waist. She tugs me to her.
“I’ve been so lonely, Smithson,” she says. “It’s a hard life at the top. Your subjects are either scared or intimidated. That’s the way it was to be. But now, even my own sons have abandoned me. James is gone. Raul and Phillip are both plotting against me. Andrey is dead. There are few left for me to rely on… few left for me to expose myself to.
“And besides,” she brings her lips to my ear and finishes in a whisper, “I’ve seen the way you leer at me when you think my attention is turned. You want me, Smithson. Coincidentally…” her sharp teeth come out, and she nips my ear. “I want you, too.”
Heat rises to my chest and my breathing becomes heavy. “You are a beautiful woman,” I tell her.
She throws her head back and laughs. “The most glorious woman to live for centuries, I would think.”
She grabs my hand and leads me to her private rooms. As she takes me to bed, the whole time, my prevailing thought is:
You are no match for the wife I lost because of you.
***
For hours after our tumble we just lie together, unspeaking. She is curled up on my chest, content as a happy cat.
My thoughts, on the other hand, are stormy.
I gave in to my desire without thought to the consequences. If word escapes of this affair, I’ll have to deal with endless problems from the guards stationed under me. Not to mention even more friction between her sons and me.
“Be a dear and raise the blinds, would you?” she asks. “I wish to look into the night.”
I get out of bed, wrapping the sheet around my body, and go to the window to pull the drapes open.
A gust of cold air sweeps into the room. I take a deep, invigorating breath.
“What do you see?” the Queen asks.
I look past the window frame. The stars are shining down over The Haven. From this high up, I see the lights from the village bleeding into the night. Beyond that, the vampire treetop quarters are also visible, peeking through the dense redwoods.
“It’s quiet,” I tell her. “All is still.”
“How I wish it were more than an illusion.” The Queen rises. She does not bother to cover herself as she walks across the room to the fireplace, where her staff is secure on a spectacular mantle.
She takes hold of it and comes to me. “It’s beautiful outside, isn’t it?”
“Not as beautiful as you, in the glow of the moon.”
“Oh, you charmer.” She laughs. “You’ve already had me in bed. I don’t need to be showered by your compliments.”
“They are true,” I tell her, “coming without subterfuge or deception.”
“How refreshing.” She sighs. “If only I could believe you.”
I turn back to the window.
“This won’t last, you know,” she says after a moment.
I look at her. “What won’t? Us?”
She gives a small laugh and shakes her head. “You are welcome in my bed so long as you don’t bore me. No, not us, Smithson. This.” She sweeps a hand out to take in the tranquil landscape. “After the attack that freed James, I thought more would come. That hasn’t happened, yet… but it will.”
“We’ll be ready,” I promise her. “The guard—“