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  With his quiet intensity, Trehan said, "We vowed allegiance to a king and a queen. "

  Viktor added, "We swore to protect Queen Elizavetta-"

  In a flash, Lothaire lunged out of his chair, tracing forward to slam Viktors head against the table. "I told you never to mention that name to me!"

  Viktor freed his sword and launched a strike, but Lothaire caught the blade, squeezing it. "If youre not with me, youre against me. " His blood gushed over Viktors disbelieving face. "Youve erred for ill. " Lothaire gave a brutal yank, hurling the weapon from him.

  When the others drew their own, Lothaire swept through the room with a speed they couldnt comprehend. Claws bared, he disabled his opponents-rending a tendon in a dominant arm, slashing a hamstring. . . .

  Back to Viktor. He palmed his cousins head. "Now," he grated as he began crushing Viktors skull. "Do we all concede that we do not fuck with Lothaire? That I might be your relative, but I will always be the Enemy of Old?"

  Stunned, reluctant nods all around.

  "Above all things, I am your king. " He stared each one of them down as they fought to catch their breath or stanch a bleeding wound. "You obey me. Your undivided allegiance is to me. Vow this. "

  Unlike Elizabeth, theyd be bound to him. But Id wanted her loyalty more than anyones, more than anything.

  Once each royal had made his vow, he released Viktor, who crumpled to the floor. "Lothaire endeth the lesson. "

  They dragged Viktor away, then traced from the room, all but Stelian, who clamped a gushing arm. "Youve earned a lifelong enemy in Viktor. "

  "Ive earned respect!"

  "Viktors too much like you to take the lesson you set out to teach him. "

  Lothaire absently licked the gash in his hand. "Then hell soon perish under my rule. "

  Stelian shook his head. "Now that political ambitions have been neutralized among us, your cousins are a good and true lot. They could unite as a family once more, if you would but lead them. "

  "Youve missed the point, Stelian. They might be good and true. " Lothaire bared his fangs. "But I am not. "

  Hag strode in then, clad in conservative Dacian garb-stained with hot-pink and neon-green potions. "We need to talk, Lothaire. " Shed told him shed address him as sire as soon as he called her Balery.

  Or when hell froze over.

  "What is it, Hag?"

  "I dont know what, exactly when, or how-but the first threat to your kingdom looms . . . soon. "

  Chapter 56

  Where am I gonna go?" Ellie asked Nix as she scratched at her new bandage. She and the Valkyrie, who seemed lucid today, stood on the front porch of Val Hall, waiting for the sun to set.

  Though most of the coven had wanted Ellie to stay, Cara had put it simply: "She lingers; she dies. "

  Despite being penniless, with only a single change of clothes, a hoodie, and a quart of blood packed in a grocery bag, she would heed Caras decree.

  "It was never supposed to go like this," Ellie told the soothsayer. "How will I feed myself or protect myself from the sun? How do I make a living?"

  Nixs palms flew to her cheeks. "I meant to teach you how to join the typing pool!"

  "Im serious, Valkyrie! I cant exactly use my degree to get a job. I dont even have an identity I can use. Hey, maybe I can go to New Orleans, get a job in a Lore shop somewhere?"

  "I suppose this would be a bad time to tell you that many beings will kill you on sight just for being a vampire. Werewolves, Furies, berserkers, and witches would try to do you in before they ever got around to figuring out who you are and why they should fear you. Ive been sending out memos, but these things take time. "

  "Why would Lothaire cast me off like this? Rot in hell? What was that?"

  "I know, right! Over one near decapitation? Unfortunately, hes still stewing-could stew for decades. Time doesnt mean the same thing to the very old. Think of it this way: Lothaire has lived so long that three weeks would feel like scant hours. His internal clock is telling him hes been away from you for an afternoon. "

  "So I should just wait for him to see reason? After that package, why would I want to be with the unbalanced undead?"

  "Well, dont forget that he came to me for help to save you. Considering that he loathes me-thinks I betrayed him-this was huge. "

  "Did you betray him?"

  "Yes. Often. " She shrugged. "Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. "

  "I dont follow-"

  Nix shoved her into the front yard, into the light of a blazing afternoon sun. "Flap your wings, little butterfly!"

  Ellie traced back in; the wraiths tossed her back out. She hunched and hissed, but her skin . . . wasnt burning.

  "What is this, Valkyrie?" She stared at her unmarked arms. "How is this possible?"

  "Did you hear Lothaire when he made his wish to turn you?"

  Ellie shook her head slowly.

  "Hes exceedingly bright. Surely he would have phrased his wish to, say, make Elizabeth a vampire with all their strengths and none of their weaknesses. "

  Lothaire had told her he had a surprise for her. He had listened to her when shed told him how much she would miss the sun.

  And hed given her a gift no other man could.

  All the sunrises for eternity.

  Unfortunately, shed all but beheaded him before he could present his offering to her.

  She raised her face to the light, still in disbelief. Im truly free.

  After years of captivity, of answering to others, she could go wherever she liked, do whatever she pleased. She could travel the world-without fear of burning.

  But Lothaires selfless gift-after all, he could never enjoy it with her-only reminded Ellie that there had been a chance between them. When tears welled, she dashed them away, embarrassed for Nix to see.

  Needing her family, if only just to watch them from a distance for a spell, Ellie collected her bag and hastily waved good-bye to Val Hall, to the wraiths, to Nix.

  "Adieu, Queen Ellie!" the Valkyrie called.

  "Thank you for everything, Nix. " Ellie shrugged into her hoodie, pulling it over her head, just in case someone happened to spot her. Then she traced to the woods near her mothers trailer.

  The forest blanketing the mountain was old growth, the pines and hardwoods so dense that sunlight barely reached the moist ground-not that she

  had to worry about that any longer. As she strolled along familiar paths,

  she gazed up, watching the taller treetops rake a steady ridgeline breeze.

  Her senses were so acute now. Here, she could smell the very earth. The sound of the cicadas was like a roar in her ears.

  Every time she stepped on green pine needles, their crisp scent erupted. A bite of evergreen.

  Like Lothaires scent.

  Dont think about him, Ellie! Look forward, never dwell.

  From the edge of the woods, she spied her old trailer, finding it dingier than ever in the daylight. The aroma of cooking food carried from within. Though no longer appealing to her appetite, it smelled like home.

  How would she ever be able to leave this mountain again? She knew she couldnt stay, but where could she go?

  Ellie briefly considered living in one of the exotic locales Lothaire had taken her to. And how exactly would I get blood from Bora-Borans-

  Oh, there was Josh! He played with some of his cousins on a broken-down, rusted swing set.

  Look how much hes grown! His dark hair had more of an auburn tint than hers did, but their eyes shared the same color.

  How shed missed her baby brother! As she watched him, she got lost in memories of him as a chubby toddler, recalling how hed barreled around the trailer like a Weeble, always leading with his stubborn chin.

  Those tears of hers gathered and spilled-

  "Hands where I can see em, or Ill blow your head off!"

  Uncle Ephraim. In the woods behind her.

  She froze. Oh, my God! So much for not making contact with her family.

  And he was such a quick trigger, she wondered if she could even trace away before a bullet plugged her. Trace away to where, Ellie?

  "Hands up, I said!"

  She dropped her grocery bag, raising her hands. "Its me, Uncle Eph. Its Ellie. " She eased around, then uncovered her head.

  His weather-beaten face paled, his wide jaw slackening as he lowered his gun. "Ruth!" he yelled in the direction of the trailer. "Ruth, come quick, your daughters losing her eyes!"

  Ellie cried, "What?" Oh, the tears! "Wait, Im not losing my eyes! Dont call her-"

  Too late. Mama came charging out in her house slippers, nearly tripping down the steps. "What is it?" She shoved her thick red hair out of her face, tossing a cigarette.

  Ephraim covered Ellies shoulder with his callused hand. "Just stay calm, girl, and well get you to a hospital fast as lightning. "

  "Im fine. This is just how I cry now. " As if that made any sense.

  But when her mother reached them, she took one look at Ellie and shook her head sadly. "Ellie Ann, are them tears? Whatd that feller do to you?"

  When Josh came bounding toward them, Ellie whirled around. "Send him down the mountain. I dont want him to see me like this!"

  Mama headed him off, shooing him back to his friends, then said to Ellie, "You best come in. "

  She nodded, and the three of them trudged to the trailer in silence. Inside, once her mother got a closer look-her gaze darting over Ellies tear tracks, black claws, and small fangs-comprehension dawned.

  "Oh, Ellie," she murmured, "dont you know that when you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas?"

  She knows what I am! How would she react? Will she shun me? Be disgusted?

  "Dont mean I aint gonna love your flea-bitten hide. "

  Ellie wanted to sag with relief. When Mama opened her arms, she was tempted to run to her, but stopped herself. "I cant be hugging anybody yet. Im kinda strong-like. "

  Ephraim gazed back and forth between them. "Ellie, I think you got a heap of talkin to do. "

  Nodding gravely, she sank onto the living rooms shabby couch, unleashing dog fur and dust motes to float through the sunlight streaming inside. Then she began to outline her new abilities and immortality, her need for blood. . . .

  Once shed finished, Ephraim appeared dazed. "Gonna have to ponder all this awhile. But the fact is: youre a Peirce. No matter what you got turned into. And we do right by our kin. So just tell us if youre gonna need"-he swallowed-"to drink or anything. Ill hunt, help out where I can. "

  Mama crossed her arms over her chest, huffily leaning back in her recliner. "I want to know more about the vampire that did this to you. "

  So Ellie told them about Lothaire as well-leaving out the mind-blowing sex, of course-summing up with: "And then he gave me his heart in a box and told me to rot in hell. He didnt even want to talk about what had happened, just sent me a kiss-off!"

  "Ill kill him," Ephraim grated, his eyes glinting, which made Ellie choke up all over again. When he saw her blood tears, her uncle vowed, "Ill kill him dead to rights, Ellie Ann. He sets one foot on our mountain and hes a dead sumbitch. "

  Chapter 57

  You have a visitor, Lothaire," Hag called.

  "A visitor? In my supposedly hidden kingdom?" He bared his fangs at Stelian, who merely raised his brows. "By all means, show in my uninvited guest. "

  It was Nix, carrying a small gift box.

  "How did you get in here, Valkyrie?"

  She peered around, golden eyes wide, then whispered, "Get in where?" Her hair was windblown, and she had dark smudges under her eyes. She wore a crinkled peasant blouse, a long flowing skirt-and one boot.

  "Youre getting worse. " Why didnt he have the energy to hate Nix as she deserved to be hated? On the island, shed told him, "There wont be a next match, vampire. " Because he couldnt be bothered?

  "You were getting better," she said. "Before. Not so much now. "

  "If youre here to negotiate Elizabeths release, save your breath. " An eighth of an inch. Took my goddamned happiness away.

  "Im not. Im only a messenger from Elizabeth. You sent her your heart in a box, and she responded. "

  At once, he traced to Nix, snatching the package from her. As Lothaire lifted the lid with a sense of dread, Nix murmured, "Hint: its the middle one. "

  Elizabeths fragile finger. Seeing it severed like this brought on a visceral reaction-pain shooting through his own hand, radiating throughout his regenerated heart.

  He closed the lid with a swallow, sentimentally pocketing the package.

  "You gave her your heart, and she gave you the bird. " Nix sighed. "Songs will be written about this. "

  Stelian laughed, choking on his mead.

  Then Elizabeth truly does hate me.

  Dont give a fuck.

  "My coven went wild over this, by the way," Nix said. "Absolutely adored that feisty vamp. If I dont find our queen soon, theyll probably put her name on the ballot. "

  So much for their tormenting Elizabeth. The Valkyries had never seen her coming.

  "And now your queen is on to the next chapter of her eternal life. "

  Which is, which is . . . ?

  No, dont care! Dont-

  Damn it! He seized Nixs arm, then traced her to his private suite, high in the castle. Too late, he remembered the state of his rooms. Since hed allowed no one inside to clean, they were in . . . disarray.

  "Remodeling, vampire?" She surveyed the area, taking in the furniture hed destroyed and the wall hed punched so many times itd finally collapsed.

  All because of Elizabeth!

  Nix frowned. "I liked it the way it was before. "

  "Before? Naturally, youve been here?"

  She shrugged. "So you dont want to know what your Bride is up to?"

  Cant lie. "I havent come for her, have I?"

  She strolled to the sitting room window, peering out. "Understandable. They say even you are frightened of her. And by they, I mean me. But the rumors catching on. Youll thank me for that later," she promised, sauntering to his desk and rooting through papers. "It must have taken you days to regenerate a heart. All that pain . . . If only I could find a male so romantic. "

 

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