Spurned Queen

Chapter 14: An Audience with the Queen

Lexi

Operations about the coven always happened fast. Less than twelve hours later, just after dusk, I stood at the right of one of my teammates, Mirabel, who had the ability to split into several individuals. At her left was another favorite of mine, the warlock Rowan, a mind-control specialist. Though I was the most powerful witch of us three, Rowan and I were posing as attendants to Mirabel.

In front of us loomed the imposing Vampire Palace.

At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than an old, dark mansion. It was far larger than the Crescent Pack house, but the silence here was deafening. Bats hung strategically in trees or at eaves, keeping silent, brooding watch. Inside, the footfalls of the vampires were so light and graceful that they were nearly noiseless. Our visit, apparently, had not thrown them into panic; it had thrown them into an even deeper, moodier silence than before.

I gulped.

Somewhere, in there, we might find Aevran.

If that is really his name, I reminded Lattis. For all I knew he could be the very one we were targeting.

I had followed him here before, so I knew he might have ties with the royal family. The way he carried himself, too, was worthy of a high ranked vampire, and his arrogance was top notch.

For that reason, I had changed my look completely, going for a short, small girl with bouncing black curls of hair and eyes so dark they could have been black too.

Today, I was simply Gianna, an elemental witch who could control fire and wind.

Vampires with dark, distrusting eyes challenged us and demanded to see our identification. Mirabel handled the situation with her usual fun and flair. When they finally let us through, we passed snickering. They begrudgingly allowed us through the gate, leading us up into the castle. As expected, the interior was spacious, dim, and silent, just like the outside. ("Like some haunted cathedral or something... if that makes sense," said Mirabel.) We swept through the passages, following our escort to what I assumed was the throne room.

I was curious to see the Vampire King. He was one of only a handful of supernatural royals whose face I did not know.

We stopped before a giant pair of doors that were decorated with age-old tapestries, with beautiful depictions of dragons and vines and even a few Fae. I admired that tapestry.

"Hold on," Mirabel said to the herald just before he announced us.  She turned to us. "Is anyone else feeling nervous?" she whispered.

"No," I replied.

"Apart from you, I meant," she said.

"I'm not nervous," I whispered indignantly.

"Yes you are," Rowan butted in.

"I am not," I insisted.

Mirabel sucked in a gasp. "Oh no," she whispered in despair.

"What?" Rowan and I asked.

"I'm in my silver heels. I just realized that the white ones would have looked so much better," she cried.

The herald tried and failed to stifle a laugh.

"So?" Rowan demanded, glaring.

"So?! So I look like a disaster in these!"

Rowan cursed under his breath while I asked, "Is that all, Mirabel?"

"Hey, we're going in there to meet vampire royalty. Excuse me for trying to be presentable," she snapped.

"You're just now thinking about that?!" Rowan cried in exasperation.