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“As much as I crave your presence beside me until the end of forever, I’m sensing a ‘but.’”
“I can’t stay yet. I’m not even sure I should stay for the coronation. I have so much to learn about being a vampire. I don’t know the limits of what I can do, and I meant it when I said I had to prove to myself that I am worthy of being your queen. Nadya has put so much evil into the world, Luca. I need to be out there counteracting it.”
“I know!” he grumbled, hating the idea of an extended separation. “I want twenty-four hours before you take off after the funeral for you and me. No war talk, outside agendas, or interruptions. I need it. We both need it. I will work around the clock until then to create enough tasks to occupy everyone.”
“What do you need me to do?” she asked, loving the idea.
“Just say yes.” His voice was low and smooth.
“For you, I always will. I love you, Luca.”
“I will never get tired of hearing that,” His pleasure was clear in his tone.
“You better not,” she teased. “Damn it. Zia’s here for my lesson. I have to go. Can I call you when we’re finished?”
“Of course. Be careful, Ash.”
“When am I not? I’ll call you later, my love. Go tell your sister she’s a crotchety old bitch. It’ll make you both feel better.”
Luca laughed. “You think?”
“I do, and imagining it makes me feel better.”
He was grinning when he left the library.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Cleaning the palace after Nikoli’s massacre had been a brutal task, and the newcomers had been vital throughout the process. Luca was particularly grateful for Bastien and his magic. Since Luca shared the spell’s cost, they sorted the human and Therian bodies to ensure that the families received the correct remains.
They’d discovered that Nikoli had eaten some of the body parts he removed, so they were glad they would be cremating the victims. The families didn’t need to imagine the violent end their loved ones had met. It would serve no purpose and allow Nikoli to extend his destruction from beyond the grave.
When the sun rose, the first of thousands of Therians arrived in the dragons’ kingdom, with more appearing every hour. An army of loyal shifters had scrubbed the palace’s public areas from top to bottom, and carpenters had worked around the clock to produce hundreds of carved urns to house the cremains. The remaining dragons labored in shifts to prepare the dead.
The moment Queen Kittania received word that the worst of the mess was gone, she led an army of Therian nobles, peasants, and former slaves into the palace to claim their dead and ease the burden of the rebuilding efforts. Her silver eyes shimmered with tears as her band made their way through the palace. She’d lived here for so long that every tiny change stood out to her, so she saw the echoes of Nikoli’s violence even without the evidence. Her steps slowed as they neared the throne room, though the air now carried only the scent of wood and cleaning supplies.
Thanks to the madness of her husband, Kittania had a clear mental image of what had happened, and she dreaded crossing the threshold. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she entered the throne room. She gratefully glanced at her children, and her voice held only the hint of a quiver. “I know this must have been almost impossible for you both. There is barely a trace of what happened here.”
She took Luca’s and Viktorija’s hands, squeezing them to reassure herself that they were alive and well. The queen didn’t think she would ever stop the new habit. Her world had shrunk in such a short time, and it would be a difficult adjustment. “It breaks my heart to know that you will forever be plagued by the memory of seeing our family that way, and I don’t think I would have recovered from that. I am barely holding on.”
“Better us than you, Mother,” Viktorija replied. “Even the heaviest burdens are manageable when we share the weight.”
The blood and gore had been removed using a combination of Bastien’s magic and determined effort. The rubble had been cleared, and aside from the occasional stone that was beyond repair, the palace looked much as it always had. Luca still found it cold and unwelcoming, but he was grateful it was no longer painted with their people’s essence.
Hundreds of carved urns covered the throne room’s floor in neat rows, filled with the ashes of Nikoli’s victims. True to his boast, the carpenters from Gregov’s clan were talented woodworkers, and they’d kept up with the cremations.
“I agree with Vik. Being trapped in that vision and forced to watch was a torture beyond imagining. Without a doubt, you are the strongest woman I have ever known, Mother, but I would not have let you walk into the palace as it was while I had breath in my lungs.” Luca hugged the queen. “There are some things you cannot block out. I got to know many because of Nikoli, and it will be a very long time before I close my eyes without seeing them.”
Luca refused to ever call that monster “Father” again. He didn’t even want to acknowledge him as their former king. He planned to strip Nikoli of his former titles in death and send him into eternity in shame. “Are you ready to see them?”
Kittania stiffened but nodded. “As ready as I can be.”
When he turned to accompany his mother to the chambers in which their family’s bodies rested, Viktorija stopped him. “Why don’t you let me go with her? You’ve taken so much onto yourself, brother. Let me do this. Go find a quiet place and rest, or reach out to your vampire.”
Their mother continued walking. Viktorija looked hesitant to speak but shook herself and continued. “I’ve been looking into mental health and what we can do to protect yours, Luca. I’m serious. You can’t push yourself without taking breaks to punish yourself for what happened while you were exiled. If anyone is to blame for allowing this to happen, it’s me.”
The queen had rounded the corner, so they didn’t have time for this conversation. He grabbed her arm and spun her. “Fine. We will talk about this later, but you better haul ass since you can’t let her walk in there alone.”
Viktorija nodded and ran to join their mother. Luca looked around to verify that he wasn’t required at the moment, and without giving much thought to his destination, he went to his former chambers. A lifetime of memories assaulted him as he stepped through the familiar door into the room in which he’d spent a substantial portion of his long life. As expected, Nikoli had destroyed nearly everything, but Luca didn’t care. It was just stuff.
