AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She’d been a mere bargaining chip, a means to draw his enemy into the open where her defenses weren’t as strong. He’d saved Dani’s life since knowing she had only survived at Maksim’s whim would irritate the vampire, and she would have to live with the knowledge that they could walk in and take whoever they wanted. At least he still had that.
As much as he’d hated it, Maksim was grateful that he’d allowed Jules to convince him to leave. The coward was terrible at strategy, but he excelled at self-preservation.
As the unsuccessful attacks against the new Therian empire and the traitor vampire continued to mount, the two leaders grew more frustrated and less trusting in their partner's ability to function effectively. Maksim had retreated to the bedroom he’d shared with Nadya, preferring to sulk in solitude rather than solve their problems.
Jules let him go. He had to inspect the site and determine how many from the reserve packs he could realistically call in. Getting them halfway across the world without attracting attention would be a logistical nightmare, and he no longer had minions.
While the hyena shifter bustled around the estate to ensure they had everything they needed to house his army, Maksim sought to employ a different set of resources. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, seeking the connection to all vampires he’d inherited when Nadya named him her successor.
It took him a long time to understand the swirling images and feelings he received in response. He recognized that they were not his, but they seemed like a current flowing through his mind with incredible force, which he envisioned as a riptide. If he jumped in, he could be swept away.
He sensed outliers as tendrils attached to the central mass, so he focused on them first. He reached out, touched one, and fell into someone else’s mind.
Her name was Ksenia, and the young vampire was awash with nervousness at the thought of presenting herself to the new vampire queen after walking for days to ask for mercy. Rage overwhelmed Maksim and broke the connection. His people were defecting to the traitor? To their oppressors?
All the outliers he touched were on the same mutinous path, and he left each mind more furious than before. It became apparent that the only way to contact her loyal children was to connect with the fearsome mass that could tear his mind to shreds. What would he risk to preserve his beloved’s empire?
Everything. He would die before he let Ash and the Therians walk away after murdering Nadya. They deserved to burn.
Before she’d turned him, Nadya had explained that there were five million vampires in the world, more than the witches, but few compared to the hundred million Therians. The entire supernatural world was tiny among billions of humans.
While there were more Therians, they were spread across the globe, like the vampires. If he got enough to respond, perhaps they could overwhelm the Therian capital with sheer numbers and take it by force. Better yet, they could lure the leaders into an ambush.
Maksim sent as much of himself as he dared into the central mass, and the instant connection was disorienting beyond anything he’d ever experienced. The thoughts and emotions of millions hit him with the force of a speeding train, and Maksim held onto himself only by force of will. He lost track of time but eventually acclimated to the roar and let it fade from his awareness. He didn’t need to hear them. They needed to hear him.
My children! Our queen was murdered but named me to rule in her stead. I am Maksim, Nadya’s mate and greatest triumph. Our world is threatened, and we must shake the oppressive boot of the Therians from our necks to rise. It is time to claim the superior position nature granted us rather than cowering in the shadows.
Come to me, children, and we shall remove the false queen who seeks to usurp Nadya’s throne and subjugate us to human will.
YES! they cried as one. We will avenge Nadya. It would have burst his eardrums if it had been a verbal sound. As it was, his mind spun like flotsam in a whirlpool.
I am at her home in Russia. Those who are close, come to me. Everyone else, gather at the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve in Alaska. Our force will obliterate the Therian scum and that murderous traitor, but we sustained significant losses, and I require support to protect everything Nadya built.
Come, children, and we shall strike them where it will hurt the most.
Maksim had let Jules try things his way. Now, it was his turn to choose their path.
Vampire Underground City, Saturday, January 26, 2013, Morning
“Mama!” Adrianna pleaded, her terror growing by the second. “Mama, what’s wrong? Mama, please answer me!”
Zia regained awareness of her body before Maksim’s second demand. She was curled in a ball on the floor of the home she shared with Adrianna in the newly established underground vampire city, which they had called “Mayak.” The name meant “lighthouse” in the local language, and it was appropriate. However, Zia felt anything but illuminated as she registered the stark terror on her seven-year-old daughter’s face.
“Shhh.” She opened her arms, and the girl dove into them with relief. “It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s fine now. Can you tell me what happened?”
“We were setting up our tea party.” The child gestured at the shattered remnants of a porcelain tea set scattered across the stone floor. “You fell and grabbed your head like it hurt real bad, then yelled at me to get out of your head. Yelled ‘No!’ really loud and scary, with your eyes flashing bright red. Then you kept screaming and held your head. It was so scary, Mama. Please don’t do that again.”
Zia rocked her daughter until the child’s anxiety faded. Children bounced back quickly, and the world’s first vampire mother was beyond grateful for that. Her sweet child had already seen far too much, and it seemed their hard-won peace was being challenged.
She stayed on the floor with Adrianna until the girl fell asleep. After gently laying her in bed, Zia cleaned up the broken glass while she called Ash to inform her of the latest development.
Therian Palace, Saturday, January 26, 2013, Morning
Ash was on a conference call with the United Nations, working to detail the legal protections of vampires and to establish guidelines for dual citizenship for citizens of Gaia Vampira and the countries they called home. It was a productive conversation, but Ash wasn’t sorry to end the call when Remy knocked to inform her of urgent business that required her immediate presence.
“What’s happening?” Ash asked. “Is everyone okay?”
Remy nodded, his mismatched eyes gleaming with curiosity. “There have been no attacks so far, but there is a sizable force of vampires in the distance, and a small group is at the palace gates, asking to speak with you.”
