Scarlet Mirror (Rise of the Vampire Princess Book 3), page 10
Over tea…like she could drink it.
Then again, she just gained substance from a fellow vampire. Where the hell was Zayne? “Zayne?” I asked as I sat up slowly. A moment later, he was by my side.
“I’ve got you Abby.”
I leaned on him, not caring where he’d come from. “Blood.”
“Of course.” He helped me stand and looked at Sasha. “Where are the other donors?”
“We have a special donor for the Princess, as is customary for territory visits. First door on the left. Let me know if she requires something more suited to her taste.” Sasha walked out with Valencia at her side, and I wondered what kind of fucked up situation we had just walked into.
The door shut behind the two, and I looked at Zayne. “I need blood before I even think about what’s going on.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get you fed. I can’t believe what I just saw, but maybe they’ll provide an explanation.” He helped me to the door. “Are you okay?”
“Well, you know, I think that was less terrifying than when Ira fed on me. So, I think it’s an improvement. However, I dislike how she gave a command my body followed instantly.” I cringed as we got out the door. “That’s…”
“Unsettling, I know.”
“Where were you?”
“I was walking the witch out of the room. When I got back, Sasha told me to trust and read the situation. You weren’t in pain. I figured Valencia would back off when she realized you couldn’t heal her. Then she healed, so I waited a moment.” We got to the next door, and he knocked. I stepped away from him, even though my body shook. I wasn’t just hungry, my body was reacting to blood loss as well.
I frowned at that. “I’m feeling…human-ish.”
“Do you want food instead of blood?” Zayne offered, but I shook my head.
“No, I need blood. I can feel that need inside me, too. It’s…It’s weird,” I said honestly. “Blood first.”
“Then tea with the vampire that attacked you. I love your life, Abby. I need to send Levi an update.”
I shook my head. “Please don’t tell him that Valencia attacked me. I have a feeling I’m what she needed.”
“Okay. I’ll let him know that we’re okay and leave it at that.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
A man opened the door when I knocked. His dark hair was cut too close to his head to tell what color it was. His hazel eyes held a gleam in them that said he could be trouble. “You must be Princess Abigail.”
“And you are?” I forced a smile.
“Your donor for the night.” He bowed, making me realize he was just a little taller than me when he came back up. “A pleasure to finally meet you after seeing you all over the news.”
“I assure you I’m nothing like the media portrays me.”
He chuckled. “No, you’re not. My name is Dagger.”
“Nice to meet you. Sorry, I’m not up for pleasantries. I’m a bit hungry.”
“Of course.” He moved so Zayne and I could get in. The room was decorated in pastel colors, giving it a much more vibrant look than the rest of the castle that I had seen. In the middle of the room was a fainting sofa done in a light pink, and I had to hide my smile.
“The colors help new vampires relax and show we aren’t all doom and gloom here.” He held his hand out to me. “Come, let’s get you fed so that you and Valencia can chat about what’s going on.”
I glanced at Zayne, giving him a silent order not to leave me alone. Zayne crossed his arms and leaned against a blue wall to watch.
I took Dagger’s hand, and he spun me around in a theatrical manor and then shoved me gently back on the fainting couch.
One thing Dagger did not live up to was the threat of his name. He was gentle in every movement and graceful as he kneeled in front of me and offered me his wrist.
“My Princess.”
Yep. This was the weirdest place I’d been in a long time.
When I was well fed, Dagger led us to the tearoom. I thought the pastel feeding room was bright. I was wrong.
Bright pink and white flowers decorated the tearoom. The type of flowers painted on the walls matched the ones on the teapot and cups that sat on the table.
Valencia smiled at me over her teacup. She set it down and stood, giving a sweeping bow. “Princess Abigail.” Her black dress was a stark contrast in the room, but with a pink ribbon at her waist and tying her hair back, she somehow still matched the decor.
“Stand, please.” It was always awkward when people bowed to me. It wasn’t something I was used to, and some people would not come up from the bow unless I asked them to.
She motioned for Zayne and me to sit. “You must be so confused about what happened in my…room.” She sat back down once Zayne and I sat.
She motioned, and both Dagger and Sasha left the room. I waited a moment before speaking. Their footsteps never faded, just stopped. Either they were outside the door or they just poofed themselves somewhere.
“I am,” I said, finally answering. “I don’t understand how you called me here like you are my sire, and I don’t know why you could gain significant substance from my blood.”
She gave a sly smile. “My ability allows me to temporarily bind a vampire with no sire to me. It’s not an ability that I normally use, but desperate times and all that.”
“I have a sire. King Levi is my sire.” I tried not to panic at the idea that she could tell I had no sire.
She chuckled. “Oh, Princess. Your secret is safe with me.” She picked up her tea and took a long sip. I waited for her to cringe or show that it had turned to ash in her mouth. But she let out a long and happy sigh. “I love the taste of tea.”
I knew then. I knew what I was looking at. She was like me. She hadn’t changed in the traditional way.
“Don’t look so shocked, Princess. That tablet had to be tested when it was written.”
The tablet that Tobias and my mother used to keep me alive. The life spell they were translating for Levi. That meant that she was… “Holy shit.”
Zayne put a hand on mine, and I wondered if he was planning on disappearing.
“I’m just like you, Princess.” Valencia smiled. “So please, have a cup of tea and let’s talk about what’s going on.”
I glanced at Zayne, who pulled his phone out to text Levi again. I’m sure we were going to get an earful when we got back.
I fixed myself a cup of tea and debated on drinking it. She could have laced it with something.
“I didn’t put anything in there,” Valencia promised.
Sighing, I took a sip. “How did you use your ability when you were so weakened? And at such a distance? The place you reached me isn’t near here.”
She sighed. “It was a last-ditch effort. I used the last of my energy to throw my power out as far as I could. It hit you, and I knew instantly who you were and what you were. I’m sorry I latched on so harshly that you were taking on part of my bloodlust.”
Yeah, that wasn’t a great experience. The timing of her abilities had to have been just coincidence with the search of Grayson’s location. “Have you met a vampire named Grayson Yorkingson?”
Her lip curled up. “Yes. I believe he’s behind the pictures that Sasha says we’ve been getting.”
I glanced at Zayne. “Grayson’s dead. Like truly dead.”
She let out a gleeful laugh. “Wonderful. Who killed him?”
“I shot him after he betrayed me.” I shrugged my shoulder. “He had it coming.”
“If he’s not the one, then someone he associated with is doing it.” She put her teacup down. “I would like to meet with King Levi, properly. Meeting you like this, Princess, was because I needed you. Needed help.”
“Which brings me to my next question. Why could you gain substance from me? I’m still a vampire, sire or not.”
Her tongue darted out, and she licked her lips. “There’s a power to your blood, Abigail, magic or otherwise. There’s something about it. I knew it would help me, because I’ve fed a vampire from my blood, and it worked.”
Great. Another weird weakness that I would have to watch out for. “Are you a day-walker?”
She shook her head. “Sadly, I seemed to have kept most of the vampiric weaknesses. Silver, sun, and the need for blood.”
“What about your magic? Has it returned?”
She smiled. “It has, slowly, over the years.”
There was hope, maybe. “Thank you for sharing.” I stood. “We should return before Levi worries. I will set up a meeting with him on your behalf and I would like to see the pictures you’re receiving. I’d like to see if they match up to some that I have.”
“Of course, Sasha will get you the pictures.” Valencia stood and gave me a hug. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Princess. I think we’ll be good friends.”
I hoped that would be the case, because I could feel her power, her abilities, and I did not want to have her as an enemy.
Chapter Eleven
Levi
Ihad heard little from Abigail or Zayne since I left them at the castle. Zayne sent me a few texts saying that they were trying to fix something, and that they were waiting on Sasha, the woman from before, to get something. That they were talking with the lead vampire about something.
Vague bullshit details.
But I had to trust him to keep Abigail safe. That’s what she had asked for. Trust. And she’d thought about the situation. She’d transported herself and Zayne there with no problems, and she stood at the doorway of a castle with an unknown vampire in it.
I’d felt the vampire. The sensation was weak, but it was there. I wondered if it was the vampire Abigail was begging me to find.
And if it was, were they an enemy or a friend?
My phone dinged, and I looked at the message, expecting it to be Zayne. No, Catalina’s name appeared on the screen.
“Where are Abigail and Zayne? I need to speak to Abigail.”
How was I even supposed to answer that? I could tell her that the two of them went off to some unknown territory. Our maps had the land listed as no-man's-land. Neutral territory.
Mario walked into the office. “They aren’t back yet?”
I shook my head. “No, they aren’t. Whatever they are doing is taking time. I should have sent you as extra security.”
“I’m sure it’s fine. Zayne knows how to get her out of situations. Abigail knows how to handle situations. The two of them make a good team.”
I grunted something that might have been an agreement, but my mind was elsewhere.
A moment later, Catalina appeared in my office. “I can sense that Zayne isn’t in the mansion. Which means neither is Abigail.”
“They had something to take care of,” I said easily. “They will be back before dawn.” So I hoped. “Abigail asked me to trust her on this.”
“She needs to learn that she can’t just jump around places without informing people, without the proper channels. I know she didn’t have to as a witch, but now—”
“She was called to the location. Zayne is with her. Abigail transported herself.”
“She popped herself out of the mansion?” Catalina stared at me. “So, she’s out of her chains, then?”
I nodded. “She was coherent and fed. I saw no reason to keep her in the chains since the concern had passed.”
A moment later, I felt Zayne and Abigail reappear in the mansion, and the pressure in my chest eased. I stepped out of the office and walked down the hall to Abigail’s room. Before I could reach it, Abigail and Zayne stepped out of the room.
“We need to talk,” Abigail stated. “Now. And we might want to bring the council in on this meeting.”
I looked at Catalina and then back to Abigail. “What happened while you were gone?”
“We met Valencia,” Zayne stated. “And she’s a lot more than I thought when we first met her.”
“The same Valencia that caused a riot at the spring solstice? When was it?”
“1750,” Zayne said and grinned. “That was a crazy festival.”
I glanced between the two of them. “Will she be an enemy?”
Abigail shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. I also think she’ll be a powerful ally. But like I said, we need to bring the council in on this discussion.”
That she was insistent on a council meeting had me worried about the events that happened when she was with this Valencia. “Catalina.”
“I’m on it already. I’ve sent out a group text.”
A moment later, all our phones dinged. Abigail was the only one who actually pulled hers out to look at it. She shoved it back into her pocket. “Okay, let’s go. I’ll see you at Catalina’s.” She closed her eyes, and a moment later, disappeared.
“She really can…how…when did she learn that?” I asked. “It took me years to master that.”
Zayne shrugged. “I don’t know, but my job just got a lot harder.” He disappeared, and I took a moment to process everything that had happened in the last two or three hours.
Catalina kissed my cheek. “She’s growing up fast.”
Too fast. Damn it.
Mario chuckled when Catalina disappeared. “Zayne’s right. His job just got a lot harder.”
I motioned to him. “Come on, let’s go.”
Abigail sat next to me with Zayne at her back. Mario stood at mine while the other council members took their seats. Once everyone was seated, Abigail stood up.
“I want to share something I discovered tonight. When Liz and I were out following a lead on the dismembered bodies, another vampire’s powers overtook me, making me act as if I was their fledgling and they were my sire. She could use that power to lead me to where she was located.”
Oscar raised a brow. “I’ve only heard rumors of such things.”
“Well, if you think that’s the weirdest part, hold on to your trousers, Oscar,” Abigail said. “Valencia is the vampire I met. She’s extremely powerful. She was blood-starved when I found her, trapped in her own castle. Her power over me was her last-ditch effort to save herself.” She glanced at me and then back at the council. “Valencia is like me.”
Everyone started talking over each other with questions and yelling. Oscar insisted Abigail was wrong.
I sat there quietly, watching and waiting. Tobias and Elizabeth had once said there could be someone else like Abigail, but they weren’t sure. The spell had to have been created for someone, but there was no way to prove if it had been used or not.
I hadn’t expected the first subject of the spell to still be living. That hadn’t been a concern of mine. Until now.
“Would you all stop?” Abigail growled. “You hurt my ears when you do that.”
I suppressed a laugh. “Please, let Abigail expand on what she’s saying.”
“Valencia claims we were both created by the same life magic spell. She has no sire. She was a witch and her magic slowly returned. She’s like me, where she can consume food. The weirdest part is that she could take substance from me because there was magic in my blood.”
I wasn’t sure what she was saying, truly, and by the stunned silence around the table, I don’t think anyone else understood either.
“Does this mean your magic is returning?” Tabitha asked.
Abigail shrugged. “I don’t know. I think all we can do is wait and find out. Valencia would like to request a formal meeting with Levi, through the proper channels. She wants our help to find who is leaving the photos on her doorstep. She thought it might have been Grayson, but obviously, that’s not an option.”
“I will reach out to her about an official meeting,” Catalina said. “She might be an excellent ally for us.”
“I agree.” Another vampire like Abigail shouldn’t have been possible, but since it was, it was better to ally with her than have her as our enemy.
Abigail nodded. “It sounds like that’s what she wants. She knew about my nature, but I don’t know if it’s because she could put the clues together or if it was her ability. She knew Levi wasn’t my sire because she could push her powers into me.”
“Meaning she knows that there’s no one that can control you, to keep you in line.” Oscar frowned.
“Except for her.” I finished the thought. “We’ll need to work on a way to prevent that in case Valencia betrays us.”
Abigail crossed her arms and lines formed on her forehead as she frowned. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“It’s just something we have to consider.” Catalina shrugged. “It’s not a common ability. There have only been rumors of it, but here we are.”
I nodded. “Is there anything else we need to know, Abigail?”
She shook her head. “No, I think that covers all of it.”
There were grumblings around the table about how this could change things for the better or for the worse. I stood. “Everyone is dismissed. Once we have met with Valencia, we will discuss what comes next.”
Everyone stood and disappeared. Abigail grinned at me. “See you at the mansion.” She disappeared, and a moment later, Zayne did as well.
Mario raised a brow. “How are we going to keep that from being a problem?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure exactly. I guess we hope she uses her newfound ability for good. Not evil.”
Mario snorted. “Maybe we can get a tracker put in her.”
“She’d kill us, but it’s not a bad idea.”
We met Abigail back at the mansion. When Mario and I arrived, she was already in the kitchen making herself coffee. I wasn’t sure how I felt about all this new information she’d stumbled upon tonight, but at least she was no longer chained to her bed screaming. “Are you sure you’re alright?” I asked her as she turned around with her mug in her hand.
“I’m fine, Levi. She let me feed while I was there. We had tea, we talked. That’s it.” She shrugged. “We have someone like me now. I can ask her questions. See what it’s like to live like this for eternity.”
I let those words sink in. I would have my daughter forever now, and even though she was a grown adult, I found myself happy that I would have family. “You’re happy about this development?”
