Royals and Realms (Vampires of Crescent Cape Book 4) Page 2

  We had made it to the bottommost part of the castle. I never noticed it before, but near the entrance to the dungeon was a wall sconce that was hung askew. When you tugged on it, a section of the hallway that had appeared to be solid stone separated itself from its surroundings. The stones grated against one another as they slid back, revealing the entrance to an elaborate tunnel system.

  It made sense for the Royals to have a way to escape the castle. Even before they were supernaturals, it would have been prudent to prepare for a worst-case scenario should the villagers or, more likely, a warring kingdom launch an attack on Crescent Cape.

  Of course there would be a way out.

  And, if what the siblings discussed earlier was true, the tunnel would lead us straight to Quarter Square.

  I gave Grace a hesitating nod. It was impossible to be truly sure. It wasn't like we'd ever been in a situation like this before. But we were running out of time, and no one else had offered up any other ideas. Believe me, if they had, I would have been open to other suggestions. This was the last thing I wanted to do.

  My stomach quivered at the thought of setting fire to the only place Julian had ever called home.

  It was strange. For so many years, I had stared at this Gothic-style structure, dreaming of the day I could take this kingdom down. I would have given anything to see the castle go up in flames. To watch everything the Blood Heirs and their immortal werewolf brother held dear burn to the ground.

  I was getting everything I'd wanted. So, why did the thought of it makes me sick?

  I knew the answer. It was because of Julian.

  If I'd never met him, never known him, never loved him, then the thought of the mystical Kingdom of Crescent Cape falling would have thrilled me. It was funny how my perspective could change so drastically in such a short amount of time... In recent months, I was summoned to the castle to compete for Prince Aiden's heart and had a deranged princess sick her hybrids on me. Then, I died only to come back transitioning into a hybrid and realizing that I was falling for Julian. The last person I ever should have ended up with if my heart had listened to my head.

  And that was only the beginning.

  Since then, Xander was cursed by Grace’s father and was dead-set on destroying me, so Julian and I had fled together to the Kingdom of the Silver Seas to search for a Silverleaf sapling, only to return empty-handed. But thanks to Ben finding that bracelet made of unicorn hair, and thanks to Grace’s terrifyingly impressive powers, I was safe.

  That is, until the boundary spell went down, revealing the Kingdom of Crescent Cape to the human world.

  Now, here Grace and I stood, a witch and a hybrid. Two former captives of this land, protecting the people who inhabited this castle of horrors.

  Grace hated this place even more than I did. But even though she didn't say anything about it, I think she felt obligated to help. Because if Julian and the others were discovered, chances were that I would be, too. And Grace was as loyal of a friend as they came.

  Grace and I stood with our arms folded across our chests, nerves sparking with anticipation of the events to come, when we heard cries coming from upstairs. Seconds later, Julian emerged from the stairwell carrying Charlotte over his shoulder. She held a small box of her things in one hand while she beat against her brother’s back with the other. She was shouting and cursing, begging him to reconsider this plan. This is our home, she cried. The remains of our parents and sister are out there. We can’t leave.

  But then Xander appeared, too, and he told her they were officially out of time. He had just peeked out the window. Whoever was out there... they were coming.

  If they wanted to flee from Crescent Cape without risking being discovered for what they were, they needed to leave this instant.

  Grace and I dipped our heads, taking no pleasure in watching Charlotte’s heart break.

  We stepped aside so that the siblings could pass through the entrance to the tunnel system.

  Fiddling with his bracelet, Xander brushed past us and quickly became engulfed in the shadows of the cool, damp unknown.

  Julian took a step, too, but then stopped. I could sense the conflict warring within him. No doubt, part of him must have hated the idea of what we were going to do. And yet, if there is one thing I knew about Julian, it was that he would always do whatever needed to be done in order to protect the people he loved. Even if that meant watching the only home he'd ever known for the past thousand years go up in flames.

  He gave an appreciative nod. "See you on the other side."

  I forced an assuring smile, but he saw right through it.

  After that, it was like things were moving so quickly I couldn't even process them. I'd hardly finished getting the word goodbye out to Julian before he and his siblings had reached the depths of the tunnel system—supernatural abilities and all.

  A loud banging came from upstairs. Even all the way down here, it sounded as if a mob had torn through the castle’s entrance.

  And then the voices came.

  My heart exploded from my chest, banging against my ribs. My senses became acutely alert to every little stimulus.

  The color from Grace’s face gave her fear away.

  I swallowed. Part of me was glad I wasn’t the only one who was afraid. On the one hand, it seemed silly. We both had supernatural gifts. And yet, I didn’t want to have to confront anyone. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. And neither did she.

  “I don’t know if I can do this,” she whispered, staring blankly ahead. “I’ve made sparks and stuff, but I’ve never cast this big of a spell. What if it doesn’t work?”

  “It’ll work.”

  “But how can you be so sure?”

  Lowering my voice, I reminded her, “Think about how much your powers of grown in the few months that we've known each other. You come from a long line of powerful witches. Good or bad, it doesn't matter. That power lives in you, too."

  Grace chewed her lower lip as she readied her stance. I guessed my pep-talk worked. Because as her chin raised, she looked like a freaking superhero. Ready to take on any enemy, if it came to that.

  In that moment, I was glad that she and I were friends. Because I would not want to be the poor soul dumb enough to try to cross her.

  "I'm going to try to create a barrier around the castle so that the fire can't extend to the tunnel system," she said quickly. "We don’t want it to spread any further than it needs to.”

  “Good thinking.”

  “Danielle—as soon as this place goes up in flames, run."

  My eyes narrowed. Somehow, I felt like there was more to that statement than she was letting on.

  Didn’t she plan to run, too?

  Like hell I would run, I thought to myself. I knew this was her way of saying to go without her. Save myself if I had to. If it came down to it.

  She should know me better than that.

  I nodded, knowing arguing with her was futile. We didn't have time for bickering. Like Julian, I’d do what I had to do to protect the people I loved. And Grace was at the top of that list.

  My ears perked up, tuning in to the sound of the doors upstairs splintering into pieces.

  We weren’t alone.

  The voices grew louder, and now there was shouting.

  I placed my hand on Grace's shoulder and squeezed it. "Grace, it's time."

  I released her and took a couple of steps back for good measure.

  Her hands balled into fists. She closed her eyes, going into a trance-like state of concentration. And in a flash, her hands opened, and flames shot from her palms like she was holding blowtorches.

  Instinctively, I jumped back, but I forced myself to regain my composure. I wasn't leaving without her.

  Swirls of thick, dark smoke filled the room, seeping its way down into the depths of my lungs. Could hybrids survive fires? Yes, I was now immortal. But I had a feeling there were limitations.

  Grace and I coughed uncontrollably, our bodies rejecting the ashy gul
ps of air we were so desperately taking. Between breaths, I managed to spit out, "That's enough. Let's go."

  Not even sparing an ounce of concentration to look back at me when she said it, she replied, "I told you—I've got this. Run, Danielle."

  I watched in shock and horror as the flames filled the room, licking and snapping at the air as the entire place when ablaze. Like a snake, flames slithered toward the stairs, slinking up them.

  There were more shouts and cries as whoever was up there became alerted to the smoke.

  I gulped down a lump in my throat. It hadn't occurred to me that people could be inside the castle as it burned. I wanted to get rid of the evidence. I wanted to make sure Julian and his siblings couldn’t be tied to this place. But what if those people didn’t make it out in time? It was one thing to defend ourselves. It was another to burn them alive when they didn’t even know we were here.

  What had I made Grace do? Did she realize this was a possibility when she agreed? I shivered, not wanting to finish that thought.

  I considered shifting into my werewolf form. Maybe if I did, I could be fast enough to beat the flames before they spread too far, get upstairs, shift back into my vampire form and then compel everybody to get the hell out of here.

  I was ready to act, until it hit me that there were cameras.

  Cameras outside, and probably body cameras as well.

  I couldn't save anyone without revealing myself for what I was. Which defeated the entire point of this plan.

  My chest caved. I was a monster. How could I have this happen?

  Grace was shouting now. "Go! You have to go!"

  The flames had reached the top of the staircase, devouring the steps along the way.

  The entire room was ablaze.

  Seeing no other option, I did exactly what Julian had done to his sister. With brute strength, I grabbed Grace and flung her over my shoulder, feeling more thankful now than ever for the incredible powers being a hybrid gave me.

  Grace cried out, frantically yelling that the containment spell may not work if she wasn’t there to hold it.

  I didn't care.

  I may already be responsible for who-knew-how-many deaths today.

  Hers would not be one of them.

  I whirled around and sped through the tunnel system at full speed.

  The tunnel was utterly repulsive. The floor was sludgy, wet and cold beneath me, squishing with each fast stride. My stomach churned.

  We were blanketed in darkness, save for the eyes of whatever rodents those were that were scurrying about. Hissing sounds sent a crawling sensation up the back of my neck. And I swore that I stepped on something that was definitely alive.

  “Gross,” I muttered. "You okay back there?" I shouted at Grace.

  No answer.

  “Grace?”

  She felt a lot heavier. Deadweight, even.

  A rush of smoke blasted from behind, and I realized then that Grace’s protection spell around the castle hadn't held.

  “Grace?” I yelled again. “Now would be a good time to wake up.”

  I exhaled. Not only were there people in that castle, but it was also surrounded by woods. Was there a chance that the fire could reach that far?

  “Grace?”

  Again, no answer.

  I thought about stopping to give her some of my blood—I assumed it would heal her since I was part vampire—but since I could tell she was still breathing, I decided to push ahead. Stopping came with the risk of those flames reaching us. And I wasn’t ready to die... again.

  As I swerved around a curve in the tunnel, I caught a glimmer of moonlight. We were getting close.

  Using sheer will, I pushed ahead even faster.

  I could worry about Grace as soon as we were on the other side.

  As soon as we were safe.

  My mouth was as dry as bone, and the smoke that was now enveloping us made it hard to swallow, let alone breathe.

  A few more strides, and I carried her through the exit.

  Julian was there waiting along with his siblings.

  Panting, I set Grace down. “She needs blood,” I said between gasps.

  “Don’t look at me,” Charlotte scoffed. “I’m done being a blood bag for mortals.”

  I hunched over, resting my palms on my knees while I expelled ashen air from my lungs.

  Xander stepped forward as he sank his teeth into his wrist. “I’m on it.” He knelt beside her and allowed the blood from his wrist to pool into her mouth.

  Meanwhile, I managed to get the words out between coughs: “Fire... spreading...”

  Realizing what I was saying, Julian bolted for the exit and yelled for Charlotte to help him push. Together, they rolled a massive boulder over the opening, concealing the evidence of what Grace and I had done. Hopefully, that would be enough to snuff out the fire.

  I collapsed, utterly exhausted.

  I needed a minute to allow myself to heal. I pressed my hand to my forehead, staring up at the stars sprinkled across the night sky, feeling more like myself with each passing second.

  We had made it out of the castle.

  Now, I could only hope that the humans had made it out, too.

  Danielle

  By the time we returned to Ben’s, I felt totally fine—physically, that is. Emotionally, I was a wreck. All I could think about was those poor people in the castle. Sure, they were a threat to us. But they were only doing their jobs. And I couldn’t blame them for wanting to investigate an ominous structure situated in a realm no human on the outside of the boundary had ever seen before.

  I shifted in my seat, recalling the time I first discovered Crescent Cape myself. I was young. So young. Eight years old. Somehow, I wasn’t afraid. Aiden must have compelled me not to be...

  Fear wasn’t the predominant emotion that surfaced from those memories. It was confusion. Complete and utter confusion.

  I’d heard of strange lands in fairytales, but my parents usually read the more lighthearted ones. In my head, you only got whisked away to mystical castles to marry a handsome prince... My stomach lurched. I guess, in a way, that was what happened. Only, the marrying-the-prince part came many years later. And I ended up choosing his brother instead.

  Before that, though, I had endured much suffering.

  Thankfully, I could already read when I was first taken to the village. So, I had that advantage. But life was hard. Yes, we were given bountiful feasts on Donation Days. But the rest of the time, we had to harvest our food, or take whatever scraps the vampires discarded.

  I had to grow up way too young. I had to learn how to fend for myself. How to stand up for myself. How to grow into myself. All without my parents to guide me.

  But that wasn’t the hardest part. The hardest part was wondering why this had happened to me. And struggling to find meaning in it all. To find something to live for.

  It was challenging getting out of bed each morning when I knew each day would be the same as the one before.

  That’s where art came in. In a way, it saved me.

  I had enjoyed sketching and painting as a kid—back before vampires and werewolves and other legends became part of my everyday vocabulary. And for years, I’d forgotten all about it. Or maybe buried the desire. After all, my surroundings didn’t exactly fill me with inspiration.

  But I’d never forget one scorching afternoon when I took a quick break from the day’s work to get some water. I sat down at a rickety picnic table, and right there on top was an old scrap of paper and a pencil. It seemed to have been abandoned. And back at the village, anything left out in the open unattended was fair game.

  For whatever reason, something compelled me to pick up that pencil. And before I knew it, I was drawing. And, more importantly, smiling. Smiling. I think that was the first time I had genuinely smiled in the first two years since being taken.

  After that, I began bartering with fellow villagers, doing anything I could to get my hands on art supplies of any kind—papers,
pens, broken crayons, I didn’t care. If I could use it to create something, I wanted it.

  There was something so gratifying about taking a blank page and bringing it to life. Sometimes I kept my art to myself, and sometimes I shared it with close friends. Or boys. I smiled inwardly at the thought.

  But then the feeling dissipated as I remembered that everyone in that village was now gone, thanks to Aiden’s bloodlust rampage. That seemed like so long ago already.

  And to think, the same person who caused all that suffering among humans was now one of them...

  Perhaps now he could have a shot at redemption.

  He could never make up for the pain he caused or for all the people he hurt. But he could honor their memory and the people who had cared for him through it by making his mortal life a good one. After all, what a waste it would be to leave this world without leaving some goodness behind.

  I, on the other hand, had an infinite amount of time in front of me. I hoped I could use it well. I had hated vampires, and all supernatural creatures, for so long. But now, I was one of them. And I had a bad feeling that it was only a matter of time before we were exposed...

  Julian knocked on the door frame before entering the media room upstairs—the same one where Grace introduced me to the wonders of reality television when we first came here.

  The others were asleep now. Or at least trying to get some rest. But Julian and I were too worked up.

  “This was all I could find.” Julian set the plate of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches down on the table in front of me and plopped down beside me on the couch.

  I grimaced. I couldn’t even think about eating.

  “Yeah. Believe it or not, I don’t have much of an appetite, either.” He rubbed his eyes before propping his elbows on his knees. He looked over at me. “Are you okay?”

  I blinked. “I think I’m in shock. You?”

  He nodded. “Same.” He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, which was still set on Bravo. I guess Ben didn’t come up here much. Or maybe he was a fan of the Real Housewives. Hey—who was I to judge?

  Julian scanned through the channels until he found the news. I expected to feel sick when the imagery flashed on the screen, but instead, I felt numb. Julian didn’t flinch as he watched footage of flames shooting out from the windows of the castle he’d grown up in.