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I drew as close to them as I dared before dropping to one knee before their ruby-encrusted thrones. Clothed in one of my mates’ shirts, I was almost naked before those who would judge me ready to ascend. I forced myself to remain focused on what lay ahead, and not what I had left behind.
It was strange to be able to see so clearly. The past days had been a blur, our love-making so passionate, my sight consumed with the men who loved me, but not enough to let me go.
“Lift your head.”
I met the harsh glare of Amaranth, throned between Cerise and Carmine. I steadied my gaze. It had been fifteen years since I had seen them, only a month before my mother disappeared. They had not changed - they never would.
Amaranth was a forbidding woman; they all were, in their own ways. Each clothed in assorted shades of red, each one frozen in time, the prime of their youth preserved when they ascended at only eighteen.At twenty-five, I would be the oldest queen to ascend in centuries, and all because of my father. That is, if I did ascend at all.
The Grandmothers were powerful enough that no one could hold power over them, despite knowing their names.
Amaranth’s crimson eyes bore into me, her red hair tied up, highlighting her sharp cheekbones and thin lips. Her dress fell to her ankles, though it was clear from her bony fingers how skeletal she was. Carmine draped herself in sheer fabrics, a slit through her long skirts rising to her hip, falling open to reveal curved calves, her large breasts nearly spilling from the low neckline. She lay across her throne, her back resting on one arm, her legs hanging over the other, her wide lips twisted in a grimace as she sniffed the air.
“She stinks of wolf,” Carmine said.
It wasn’t a stink; it was a mark. If I had not run, they would have bitten me, and I would have spent my life burying myself in these scents and the joy that came with them.
“Well,” Amaranth snapped. “Step closer, child. You have kept us waiting. There is hardly enough time to judge you.”
“Come now, sister. Surely she can be forgiven for the sins of her father?” Cerise watched me curiously, her legs crossed, her throne enormous compared to her smaller form. The tales said she was half-dwarf, her father hailing from the Cadmium Territories. Instead of a dress, she wore trousers and a loose shirt, her blood red hair cut to a bob, suiting her childish face perfectly.
“It is not her father we are here to judge.” Amaranth’s stare grew heavier, yet I did not falter.
Instead, I rose and walked closer as Amaranth stood from her throne and descended to me.
Her fingers clutched my chin, sharp nails reminding me of Lucien’s touch.
She turned my head, inspecting me. I did not think to cover the bruises that littered my neck, each one a sign of my mate’s desire. Not when I heard the gunshot, and terror flooded through me at the thought of losing Lucien.
“She has been taken.” Amaranth’s disgust was clear. Her lips pulled back into a sneer as she released my chin.
I let my heart tremble, aware of how keenly attuned their hearing was.
“Well, princess,” Carmine said, her legs swinging over the side of her throne, straightening as she watched me closely. “Did they force you?”
How could I answer that question?
I was tied down, my purity stolen, even though the sensation of being filled had brought me closer to them.
I was kept in a dark dungeon, blindfolded, chained to a wall, yet every one of them had visited me, folded under the bond between us, and taken care of me.
And that I had been left to starve without food or blood for days, yet their love had fed me the moment we had connected?
“Could I ascend if they did?” I asked hesitantly. There was no point in lying to them.
“No...” My heart jumped as Carmine continued, clenching my fists to stop the trembling of my hands. “Look at her bite marks, sisters. She wasn’t forced. At least not at the end.”
I grit my teeth, revealed so easily. Yet these women had probably seen so much that nothing surprised them anymore.
I had to ascend. I would not have given up so much - given them up - if not for this.
“Hmph.” Amaranth’s harsh stare softened, her lips pursed. “We shall have to make do.”
My body stilled, shock fluttering through me, followed by relief. “I…I can ascend? Without my virginity intact?”
“Oh, please, darling,” Cerise giggled, relaxing back onto her throne. “That is just some nonsense your father made up.” She waved her hand at me, brushing away beliefs I had held since my mother disappeared. “You’re a vampire, we were made for sex. If your virginity was a requirement, our line would have died out centuries ago.”
“But still, we cannot allow a tainted queen to rise.” Carmine observed me closely. “She is already corrupted. We could accept her body, but her soul and mind are impure. She has too much sympathy for the beasts who took her.”
