AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The Waters of Lethe then?” Cerise unfolded her legs, grinning as she edged forward on her low throne, her feet not even touching the floor.
I swallowed my protest, despite my shock. They could not be serious. I would lose not only my memories of the wolves, but everything from my life. I’d be reduced to a shell, nothing inside me, starting my life again like a newborn child.
“What would be the point of allowing me to ascend if there is no part of me left to rule?” I asked, biting back the urge to scream. I had promised to return to my mates. How could it be done if I did not remember them?
“We have control.” Cerise shrugged. “We know enough of these magics to erase only the last cycle of the moon.”
Carmine sighed, her elbow coming to rest on the arm of her throne, holding her chin, assessing. “It is better than letting another wolf lover rise to the throne. We would never accept it. The people would never accept it. Not after everything your mother put us through.”
And there it was. Again. The consequence of my mother’s curse that rippled down through the years.
Cerise shot me a grin. Despite proposing to erase my memories, she appeared to be the kindest of the three.
“So, drink the potion, ascend, return to the Carnelian Palace, and force your father to abdicate.” She sounded so casual, as if uprooting my father could be achieved in one day.
“Surely I can ascend with my memory intact?” I said.
Cerise released a burst of laughter as a sultry smile curved Carmine’s lips.
“Sweet child.” Carmine’s voice was low as she shifted on her throne. “Do you really think we would let you return to the Cardinal Kingdom when your heart is so corrupted?” Her skirts fell around her as she straightened. “There are three black stains within your body that must be removed.”
My eyes widened, surprised she could see so deeply inside me.
“You have a choice, my dear.” Amaranth looked down at me, her thin face disapproving. “Either drink the Waters and ascend. Or refuse and watch those wolves die before you.”
It was not a choice.
I had to agree. And, once I did, they dismissed me with ease. I was to clean myself and prepare for the ceremonies. The first to wipe my memories. The second, tomorrow, at the highest point of the Empusa moon, to drink the blood of the Grandmothers and ascend as pureblooded vampire, and to the role of the Scarlet Queen.
TWENTY-TWO
Ruby
Ihad asked for privacy while I stripped to bathe. The maids ferried away my shirt as soon as I entered the room, taking the only piece of my wolves I had. The Grandmothers had already spelled them to resist my compulsion, and they saw no reason to leave me until I snapped. “I have escaped from the clutches of wolves, barely survived the Black Forest, and am to have my memories erased. Surely you can afford me a moment to rest?”
But I did not have long.
Thankfully, the room was lavishly dressed and decorated. I would remain here for three moons as the Grandmothers trained me in the ways of a queen.
Enough time to find the messages I scattered throughout the room.
There was a writing desk, already stocked with paper and ink.
I do not know how many notes I wrote, but they all bore the same message:
“Valko, Lucien, Fillian. Wolves. Black Forest. Your mates. Jasper knows.”
It was all I could afford. Any more and the notes could be discovered.
I folded them as tightly as I could. Pressed them behind paintings, into pockets of clothes, one into the cushion of a chair, another behind the headboard of the bed. Under the bed, tucked into a windowpane, at the bottom of a closet, stuck between drawers. Any place I could think of that would not be unearthed by the maids, but that I could one day find.
For the last, I undid my mother’s pendant, rolling a note and slipping it inside. If she lived, she would feel the effect of it, though it would be too late for her to stop it even if she tried.
There was only one other pendant like this in the world, and it was held by her. If I released the power of my pendant, she would feel it through hers, and the same for me. But, in all of the fifteen years since she vanished, I had never once felt a stirring from the magic held within.
The pendant was where my hope lay. If the other messages were found, I was certain it was one place they would never look. No one knew its true power except my mother, Jasper, and I. I thanked the Gods I had not managed to use it when the wolves first attacked us.
One of the maids - at the top of the hierarchy, judging by the decoration on her red uniform - entered as I finished screwing the top in place.
