Chasing Mildred

Eight

SHE'S COMING.

I saw it all as I slept: the packing, the teary goodbyes, the stern look of resolve reflected in the mirror.

YOUR LIFE IS A LIE. It had finally sunk in. And all it had taken was one bit of intrigue, one well-delivered threat and a stern ultimatum.

I almost wish it had been more of a challenge, more of a hunt. Or that she'd tried to put up more of a defense.

Either would have sweetened what comes next. "Make her take the oath," Arthos advised. "Bind her to you and this enclave legally as well."

Though extremely nontraditional, it admittedly was a wholly elegant solution: make her my subject. Why take by force when I can take by law?

Of course, there's still a chance she'll refuse, but Arthos promised he had that covered. All that's left to do now is wait. 

The sorceress is coming, and it hardly feels real.

Today she'll kneel before me, offer her neck and swear fealty to me, and once again we'll make Nosferatu history.

Arthos says it's my destiny and once she's here the dreams will stop. Boras says I should learn from the history books, from Garstatt's demise.

I just want to taste her - and make her pay. Everything else I'll worry about later. 

She needs to understand who she's dealing with. What comes next depends entirely on her.

Only one of us wears a crown, after all.