Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 99529 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99529 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“My loyalty? I put you two together.” She pointed to us.
I nodded. “And for that we are grateful.”
“You don’t want to start our partnership on the wrong foot, son.” Queen Regina glared at Xander.
“I never said I would be king or unite with you,” Xander said. “I’m freeing these women because that is what I do and I do it well.”
“Remember that you’re in a castle surrounded by many guards who will crowd this room if I scream.”
A deep, bubbling laughter came out of Xander’s chest as he prowled toward his mother. His face was an inch from hers. His fangs expanded well beyond his bottom lip.
“You can scream and the room will fill with guards, but your blood will be down my throat before the guards take out their swords.” Xander’s gold eyes glowed. “And no one will remember Queen Regina. You’ll be forgotten and replaced by tomorrow night.”
She inched back. “You wouldn’t kill me.”
“I will rip your throat out in seconds if you endanger my queen.” Xander flashed a fang-filled smile. “Shall we put this to a test?”
Her bottom lip quivered.
I moved toward them and placed my hand on the center of his back. “Let’s stop all of this nonsense and get back to the plan, please.”
If she puts you in danger, I will kill her.
Xander’s voice echoed in my head.
You can’t hurt her or any other woman. It’s one of the many reasons why I’m falling for you. But I think your mother doesn’t know it’s a bluff.
Xander’s fangs retracted as he stepped back.
Queen Regina’s focus went to me. “You have a lot of control over him, don’t you?”
I blushed. “No.”
“I think you do.”
Xander chuckled to himself. “My queen has more control of me than you will ever have.”
Queen Regina glared and within an instant straightened her face to an unemotional look. “Well, she’s your first queen. The first one begins the prince’s ripening into full maturity and will always have the King’s heart.”
She sauntered back over to Leeta and touched the woman’s now unaged face. “The Quiet King wasn’t always a treacherous mute. He was once a fair prince like you, Xander.”
“So, you were around during those years?” I asked.
Xander had figured his mother was just a child then and believed that she ingested lots of blood and potions daily to live so long.
Leeta and he had no idea how old she really was.
“Yes. I was just a baby, but my mother served as a maid for the Quiet King’s family. She told me that the King and his brother used to rule with one queen, one with hair as red as Camille’s.” Queen Regina let her fingers travel over Leeta’s cheeks.
Leeta stayed still, unmoving as if she were afraid of Queen Regina.
Ian’s voice sounded hoarse as he spoke. “What happened to the King, his brother, and the queen?”
“There are so many stories that have spread in this castle.” The Queen stepped away from Leeta and sighed. “But the similar details are that a greedy vampire king from the East Lands invaded the castle. He tied the Quiet King up with a rope that had wooden spikes all over it. None of the castle guards helped. My mother said the kingdom believed that he and his queen were abominations.”
Ian growled. “Abominations?”
“The legend says that him and his brother shared her like a common blood whore.” Queen Regina twisted her face in disgust. “None of his guards or soldiers protected the Quiet King. Therefore, the greedy king from the East Lands had no trouble in seizing the castle and killing the first queen right in front of him. I’m not sure whatever happened to the brother. Some say he was the Greedy King. Others claim he ran away like a coward.”
A dark growl left Ian’s chest.
Everyone’s faces snapped to Ian.
The sound carried throughout the room. Xander shoved me behind him as if Ian were going to hurt me.
One of the queen’s guards peeked his face inside. “Is this also a part of the entertainment, mistress?”
The Queen’s voice squeaked. “Yes.”
Ian stormed over to the queen and stopped a foot in front of her. “What happened after this East Land king killed the queen?”
“Who are you?” She inched back.
He lowered down until his nose was a few inches from hers. “What happened?”
“They say that the greedy vampire king died by the hands of the Quiet King.”
I cleared my throat. “How?”
She moved away from Ian and looked at me. “You see, his queen’s death triggered this blinding fury. It heightened his powers.”
Ian put his back to us.
I wondered what was going through his mind.
Queen Regina continued, “The Quiet King forced himself to use all of his power in one burst as he tore out all those wooden spikes from his body. And when he freed himself, he killed the greedy vampire in such a horrific manner that the Greedy King’s soldiers and his own guards feasted on his blood.”