Page 298 of Sorrow & Strangers

That would have been over a decade ago. Alice was barely eighteen at the time.

“They believe Alice violated a sacred ceremony to make herself the Heir of Dracula, and the crown princess,” I say, moving to Summer’s side.

Summer’s eyes turn black, and her power flickers in the room, the gas lamps providing light extinguishing. I put my hand on her shoulder, keeping it contained to the room and preventing her from obliterating the building and her target.

“There’s evidence!” he yells, thrashing in Summer’s hold.

“You have ten fucking seconds to convince me to spare your pathetic life. Ten. Nine. Eight,” Summer counts. Her voice is steady, but I can see the bloodlust flooding her body. The ocean of power she contains is starting to leak, rousing my darkness.

“Never shall that bitch be queen,” the vampire grinds out unwisely.

Summer’s sai hums as she slices his head off, his blood sluicing over her. “Ew. Fuck,” she says, wiping the blood from her face.

I brush her hair back, enjoying how stunning she looks covered in blood, the vengeance in her eyes making them glow. “If they’ve been printing this since she was named heir, that means she’s been the subject of a public perception campaign for over a decade. Perception has turned from belief to truth in the eyes of her people.”

The constant barrage of a story with no voice to the contrary has led the public down a dangerous path. No one has spoken up for Alice, or has attempted to challenge these beliefs, so they have become the truth. No doubt with the regent dead, even more of her people have turned against her. She is a queen reviled by her people.

Summer’s eyes flicker, and she turns to the broken press. Cutting her hand, she uses the blood to draw the rune to ignite the pieces. The fire flares and grows, her eyes mirroring the flames. I hold my hand out to her as the lies turn to ash. She slides her hand into mine, and I am the only one who will ever know that her hand is trembling at this moment. Only I will know her rage and despair. Only I will ever see the resolution in her eyes and the plan forming there.

Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Three

Summer

The lies they are posting about Alice have enraged me, but I know I need to be smart here. Right now, I feel as if I could destroy the whole realm, kill every single vampire who aligns with this belief, but I need to be smarter. Yet my darkness swirls inside me.

The stranger pulls me down a dark alley and toward the outskirts of Drãculea. The only sound is our labored breathing as we run from the flaming building, the cobbles making it more difficult. He pulls me into a dark doorway and uses his body to hide mine.

“I can take them,” I whisper against his neck.

“Who?” he asks, pulling back enough to look down at me.

“The vampires. The council.” I may not be able to destroy every person who resides in Drãculea, but that doesn’t mean I can’t give the aristocracy who are spreading the lies a good go. I can go after the government that is in cahoots with the sovereign.

“You plan to take them on?” he asks, placing his hand above my head and leaning deeper into me so that if anyone might see us, we will just look like a couple locked in an embrace.

I look up at him, realizing I like this glamour less than the others I’ve seen. That doesn’t mean I’m not wildly attracted to him. He’s still my stranger.

“Why not?”

“Because who will sit on the council under Alice’s rule? Who will she even rule? Their ashes?” he asks, brushing his lips along my ear, and I know he is still unhappy that he can’t feel the pointed tip.

“I simply meant everyone currently residing in the castle,” I say, the corners of my lips tilting up. “Besides, it’s a better alternative than the defamation Alice is facing.”

“Little fae, if you wished, you could leave the realm full of rotten corpses, with Alice atop the carnage, sitting on a throne of their bones.”

I glance at his lips, and for a second, I swear I can see past the glamour. Fuck, I want to kiss him. He fuels my murderous rage in the best way, tempting me to look deeper into it.

“But what of those who want to believe in her? Who don’t know any better than the lies that they’ve manufactured and force-fed them? A war of information waged unopposed is a war won.”

My gaze flicks back up to meet his, and I feel myself tense. If they’re stupid enough to believe baseless rumors, then perhaps they don’t deserve to live. “Fine,” I say, pressing back against the wall, trying to put a little space between us. It is a reluctant relent but a relent, nonetheless.

The stranger looks down at me and smirks. Stepping in close, he leans his body against mine, refusing to allow me any barriers. “I like your darkness, princess. It’s so incredibly sexy,” he growls, his lips brushing against my ear.

Feeling annoyed, I shove him, wiggling my arms between us and crossing them over my chest. It was unreasonable, but I was enjoying him letting me delve into my darkness, and his words shone a light into it, making it retreat. I hated it.

“Not enough to keep from making me feel guilty about it,” I say, ducking under his arm and moving out from between him and the wall. “Let’s go.”

He yanks me back and pushes me against the wall. He fits his body close, and I can feel just how my darkness has affected him. “I can think more clearly in these situations because I have been in them before. Many, many times. This is cold rationality. I will do what is needed to ensure that the future you wish for comes to pass. One where your best friend has her crown and her people.”