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“He’s valuable. Just trust me,” I said, not wanting to admit the truth. That he was the servant who attended to Gwen’s room, lit her fires, ran her baths. “Did he agree?”
“Of course.” He lounged into an armchair. “Are we going to turn him?”
“Not yet. We can ask Sargon for his permission if he proves himself worthy.”
“I still don’t understand.”
I put my hand up to stop him. “Servants hear everything. Words fall from the lips of nobles so easily around mortals. They don’t even see them.”
He offered me a drink. “Smart. So, you ready to introduce them? I got back our old space to hold the meetings. Of course, we’ll need to initiate them first.”
A sadistic smile stretched my lips. That was always my favorite part. “Let’s go.”
THIRTY-ONE
Olivia
Azia ran a hand over his tattooed head, looking at me from across his desk which stretched out ten feet wide, covered in maps, and the various tools for reading them. The rain thudded against his cottage window, thunder grumbling the gray skies as morning slipped into afternoon.
“How are you feeling?”
“I get nightmares,” I admitted, placing my hands in my lap as I adjusted my posture against the hard chair. “I keep replaying the moment I found Draven, and every time we saw each other before then.”
“You’re wondering if there is anything you could have done?”
I nodded, and he cleared his throat. “There isn’t,” he said. “Everything happens for a reason.”
I glanced at the fireplace crackling next to us, emitting heat over my bare legs under my knee-length, green dress. “I don’t want to hear that right now.”
He picked up his steaming cup of nettle tea, breathing in the vapors before taking a sip. “Let’s move forward with our lesson then. I’m surprised to see you back so soon.”
“I need this.” My stomach dipped as thoughts of Draven flooded my mind, but vengeance buried them somewhere deep within my psyche.
Kalon had to pay for all of it, and my father, who’d come around over the last few days, was trying to spend more time with me. My heart tugged with guilt, but I quickly reminded myself of all the pain he’d caused. I was using him, and I’d never done anything like this before. But things couldn’t continue the way they had.
If I had to sacrifice my father to help thousands of mortals out of slavery, to bring justice for Draven, then it was a small price to pay. But first, I needed to control my powers, to become something so frightening that the vampires would respect me. With Sebastian at my side, and Erianna, my mom, and Zach—four of the strongest immortals I knew—we could rule this kingdom as the gods intended.
It would just take time, and I understood now that I’d been too hasty before. Sargon did have a point. They would not accept me as their queen if I took away all their pleasures, so we had to do everything slowly, insert ourselves and leave no doubt behind when it came to the king and his brothers’ deaths. I couldn’t be accused of regicide.
The invigorating scent of lavender and jasmine calmed me as a candle flickered from the mantel, mixing with the smoke and burning pine wood from the fire. A crackle sounded between two logs as a flame licked against the sap.
“I wish I could live here,” I admitted, rolling my shoulders back as I took in the relaxing atmosphere. “I hate the castle.”
He smiled. “You can make your room your own, too. You must feel at ease where you rest your head at night. I recommend taking candles of your favorite smells and lighting them in the evening. I sometimes use incense and different colors in each room depending on the mood I’m trying to achieve. For example, I like to use shades of purple in my office area.” He gestured to the lilacs in a vase, and various ornaments. “Helps creativity. I also keep an amethyst close by.”
I looked at the tall crystal quartz glistening from the stone, moving up into a point, noticing the blues and reddish tones within the purple. “You believe in crystals?”
“I like to give everything a try, and if it works for me, then I’ll keep doing it.” He leaned forward, squeaking the legs of his chair under his weight. “We will be splitting our lessons in half, in the future,” he said, changing the topic. “Your father wants me to teach you about the history of Sanmorte, your bloodline, politics, and the origins of your magic. In the other half of our lessons, I would like to continue working on harnessing your empath gifts with your magic and controlling your emotions. All are imperative to growing into who you want to be, and to rule a kingdom. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, so the saying goes. If you are to be their princess and heir, your head must rule your heart.”
I nodded, tucking the inside of my lips between my lips. “Where do we begin?”
He pushed a map of Sanmorte across the desk. I trailed my gaze over the entire kingdom, gliding my fingertip down from where the castle was in the north-east. Surrounded by mountains and forests running all the way down the coastline of east, where a large tower stood overlooking an ocean. Close to it, moving westerly, was the Black Mountain Retreat where Sebastian had taken me before our first visit to the castle. It was the first time we’d shared a bed, while tucked into a luxurious room in the most elite hotel in Sanmorte.
“I’ve been here.” I pointed at the collection of buildings, then glided my finger to just left of the center of the kingdom. “The City of Nightmares. I’ve been here, too.”
“It used to be called something else, but everyone knows it by its nickname. They even changed it on the maps.” He let out a heavy breath, shaking his head slightly. “It was originally named Cinnatua. The walled city was originally a beautiful place, I’ve seen old drawings. Now it’s a playground for the lawless.”
I swallowed thickly, tracing my eyes over the rest of the map. “Lake of Laveniuess.” I pointed at the beautiful lake north to the city, bowled in mountains. “Sebastian took me there, too. He thought it would help enhance my powers.”
