Chapter 73

ALEXANDER

I scanned the crowd. It was getting rowdy. Purebloods getting drunk and draining the humans, humans trying to escape, the music getting louder.

I stayed by the wine barrels, sipping my drink and making small talk with Orion Eternelle.

Eventually, our conversation went sour, and he wandered off in search of his son.

I was unable to relax. I could feel Phoenix’s eyes on me. She’d been glaring at me all evening. She’d even avoided me during the day, going to sleep in her old bedroom.

She’d dressed to stun. I knew her well enough; she wanted attention.

Her red dress demanded that I tear it off her. But I couldn’t be bothered to pay her any attention. She’d pissed me off too much last night. And I had more important things to be concerned about.

First, my grandfather was on his way, and second, was I going to see Eleanor again?

She and Aric had disappeared last night. The hours drew on. Rose and Demetrius had vanished earlier, and still no signs of them. I fidgeted with the hem of my jacket.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Phoenix marching away with her grandparents toward the barn. Pursing my lips, I fell into step behind them.

They went into the barn and closed the door behind them. The noise from the party was drowning out the words they were saying.

I drew closer, partially interested in knowing what the hell they were saying and partially drawn by the sweet-smelling blood bag I had scented with Damon earlier. His scent reminded me of Eleanor’s.

I drew closer to the barn, and I could hear the hum of their voices. Cocking my head to the side, I focused on their words.

“Phoenix, how attached are you to Alexander? Really?” Damon was asking bluntly.

“Enough. But I’ll always be loyal to my family, of course.” I wasn’t surprised by her response. How could I be? We were lovers, but we certainly weren’t in love.

She was stunning. She’d make the perfect queen for me. But there wasn’t anything stimulating with her. Her dislike for my family was always too visible.

“What’s going on?” she pressed.

“We need your help Phoenix,” Elizabeth whispered. “But you’re not going to like it.” I craned my head closer.

“I already dislike this,” I heard her snap. “Help with what? To spy on the Nights?” I frowned, shutting out the sounds of the party behind me to hear more clearly.

“Not quite,” Elizabeth breathed out heavily. “Phoenix, we’re going to overthrow them. And we need you to do it.”

Well, that was unexpected. Treason. By my own dear great-aunt.

I had to admit it hurt a little. I had obviously been fooling myself into thinking that Elizabeth remotely respected or enjoyed my presence.

I know the Mcnoxnoctis family had strong ties. They were also direct heirs to the crown, which was why I wanted to marry Phoenix to quash any risk of Aric coming after me.

I never did trust that guy.

Elizabeth was a surprise, though. Her own brother? That I had a hard time believing.

There was a long silence from inside the barn. Then Phoenix spoke. “You’re not joking, are you?” She sounded shocked.

At least she hadn’t been planning on murdering me in my sleep.

“We’re not,” Damon answered. His tone was cold.

“Why?” Phoenix wanted to know, and so did I.

“Because they’re potentially a threat to our family. And because we don’t trust William nor Alexander to be fair rulers.”

It felt like a punch in the gut. I had always thought that my subjects liked and respected me. Apparently, they didn’t even respect my father.

I began to bristle with anger. Wanting to overthrow the royal family was one thing. It was understandable, frankly, but blatant disrespect was something I had never been able to handle.

“Lucius is king now. Can’t we wait for him to pass?” Phoenix was asking.

“He’s the threat to your father, and he could also be one for you. You live within his reach. He’s not a gentle vampire, Phoenix.”

“I’m aware,” she whispered. “Where does that leave me? I was supposed to marry Alexander. You told me to.”

Phoenix sounded pissed. She usually did. I did feel my heart warming at her slight defense of my family.

“It makes you an heir to the throne after Angus or Demetrius take it. And between yourself and your siblings, I do believe you would have the strongest drive to claim it after his passing,” Elizabeth explained to her.

“Venus doesn’t want it, and Aric would rather live his discreet brooding life,” Phoenix agreed. “They’d give it up for me as you did.”

I bristled with anger. They wouldn’t get away with this shit. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and began searching for my grandfather’s contact.

I had called him last night after the whole Demetrius and Eleanor debacle, telling him the news.

He had insisted on coming, which had made me feel weak. Now, in retrospect, I was suddenly glad not to be the only Night around.

At that moment, the wind shifted, rustling the leaves and bringing a new scent—dried blood. Undeniably Eleanor’s.

I tore away from the barn, moving faster than I ever had, not spending a second to consider my decision. I could smell her blood, but I couldn’t hear her heart beating.

I needed to know if she survived the turn. I needed to see her.

I raced through the trees, keeping my nose facing the wind, closing in on the scent of her dried blood. Within seconds I caught Aric’s scent, and the smell of blood grew stronger.

I pushed through the saplings and burst onto the riverbank. I froze. She was there on the bank, bathed in silver moonlight.

She was wringing her hair out, dressed loosely in the same tattered blue gown she’d worn the night before. It was coated in her dried blood, mud, and an accumulation of other filth. But she’d washed.

She was laughing. Her head was tossed back, and her skin was glowing. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

I had no idea where my sudden obsession with her had come from. But I felt tremendous relief to see her having survived the turn. Alive and happy.

The water rippled. Aric burst through the surface, roaring and making Eleanor laugh even harder. He grabbed her in his arms and crushed her against his chest, showering her with kisses.

She giggled and playfully pushed him back.

“You’ll get my dress wet,” she protested, giggling.

“It’s already in rags,” he pressed her with a chuckle. “I’ve changed my mind. We could stay here all night. What do you think? Wait until tomorrow to go back?”

He was waggling his eyebrows as he gathered her into his arms, where he locked her in his grip. She was shaking her head.

“No, Mother and Father must be worried sick,” she insisted.

At that moment, the wind shifted, and they were downwind from me. Eleanor’s head snapped up immediately, and her gaze locked with mine.

Her eyes were bright crimson. For a split second, I missed her green-blue color.

Her mouth dropped open with surprise, and her brow furrowed.

“Alexander,” Aric snarled, stepping in front of her. I moved closer to them.

“Aric. Eleanor, you look alive,” I told her. She was scowling at me.

“I am,” she replied.

“What do you want?” Aric snapped.

His disrespect annoyed me. Yet, his grandparents’ plot to destroy my family was even worse.

“I was in the neighborhood,” I replied nonchalantly.

My gaze locked with Eleanor’s. Her expression was cold. She didn’t reek of turned vampire, I suddenly realized.

Turned vampires were typically known to reek of dirty blood, a mixture of vampire and human blood.

They were abominations in the animal kingdom, more powerful than humans, bloodthirsty but always weaker, and revolting to purebloods.

Eleanor’s scent was new, like dewdrops and vanilla. She held herself straight, staring me directly in the eyes.

“Are my parents with you?” she asked quickly, looking past my shoulder.

I shook my head.

“They’re looking for you, I expect,” I answered, gazing at her more closely. There was something odd. I could smell her new vampire blood.

Her face looked the same, maybe a little clearer. Her hair was a little darker, her eyes brighter. She was calm. I couldn’t hear her heart racing. She was unmoved by the slight rustling of field mice in the grass.

She was stoic. I’d never seen a turned vampire so in control. I hadn’t even been able to have so much control in my youth.

“Let’s get back,” Aric growled, blatantly glaring at me, his hand pressing lightly on the small of her back, guiding her toward the castle.

“What happened?” I asked them, falling into step beside Eleanor. Aric hissed at me. His possessiveness of her was spiking my jealousy.

“What happened when?” Eleanor asked, looking confused.

I winked at her. “You don’t smell like a turned vampire,” I told her, glancing at Aric. “So, I want to know, what happened? You were half dead falling off a balcony last I saw you.”

I snickered. Eleanor’s face paled.

“Is there something wrong with me? Did the turn not go correctly?” she was asking Aric. He shook his head vehemently, his arm holding her tight to his side. She was molded against him.

“Nothing, everything went normally,” he answered, casting me a slight mystified glance. He had no idea what was going on either. Eleanor looked annoyed.

“Then what the hell are you talking about?” she snapped at me. I was taken aback by the harshness of her tone.

“You’re not a turned vampire,” I told her. “We can tell.” I indicated to Aric. “So, what are you?” Eleanor was looking more pissed by the second.

“What the hell else can I be if I’m not a turned vampire?” she snarled. Aric retained a small amount of pressure on her waist, pulling her against him.

“Eleanor.” Aric pursed his lips.

He spun her around in his arms, gripping her shoulders, gazing down at her.

“You don’t smell like a turned vampire, and you completely ignored my command. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

“There are many vampires at the castle who have been around for thousands of years. They’ll have more experience to tell us what’s going on,” he said.

Eleanor was scowling at him. “Aric, what else could I be?” she breathed.

“I don’t know, Eleanor,” he answered. “But we’re going to find out.”