The Vampire Nightmare

Chapter 10

The hooded vampire smiled.

It wasn't warm.

It wasn't welcoming.

It was the smile of someone who already knew how the story would end.

My pulse quickened.

"Who is he?" I whispered.

Cassian didn't take his eyes off the palace balcony.

"His name is Lord Varek."

"He is the High Chancellor of Noctis."

"The most powerful man in the kingdom, after the King."

Varek's crimson eyes flickered with amusement.

"So cautious, Cassian."

"You always were."

With a graceful step, he leaped from the balcony.

Instead of falling, he landed effortlessly in the center of the avenue.

The crowd instinctively moved aside.

No one dared stand in his path.

He stopped a few feet from me.

For several long seconds, he simply stared.

Then he bowed.

"Welcome home..."

"...Your Majesty."

The title sent an uncomfortable silence through the crowd.

"I keep telling everyone," I said, forcing myself to meet his gaze, "I'm not your queen."

Varek straightened.

"Perhaps not yet."

"But destiny rarely asks permission."

His words reminded me of Darius.

Everyone seemed obsessed with destiny.

I was beginning to hate the word.

Cassian stepped between us.

"Enough."

"Aria has been through enough for one day."

Varek's expression remained unreadable.

"I don't doubt it."

He turned toward the palace.

"The Council is waiting."

"The Council?" I asked.

Cassian nodded.

"The rulers of the ancient vampire houses."

"They'll want answers."

"And they'll expect proof."

"Proof of what?"

"That you're truly the Blood Queen."

My stomach twisted.

"What if I'm not?"

No one answered.

That silence frightened me more than any monster.

---------------

The Royal Palace of Noctis was unlike anything I had ever imagined.

Towering black marble columns lined the entrance hall.

Silver chandeliers floated beneath a vaulted ceiling painted with stars.

Ancient portraits watched us from the walls.

As we walked deeper into the palace, I noticed something strange.

Several portraits looked exactly like me.

Not similar.

Exactly.

The same eyes.

The same face.

Only the clothes were different.

I stopped in front of one painting.

A young woman wearing a silver crown stood beside a man with crimson eyes.

Cassian.

"You knew her," I whispered.

His reflection in the polished floor trembled.

"I did."

"What was her name?"

He looked at the portrait with quiet sadness.

"Queen Aurelia."

"And she looked just like me."

"Yes."

I swallowed.

"Was she my ancestor?"

Cassian hesitated.

"I don't know."

Before I could ask another question, the enormous doors at the end of the hall swung open.

A guard struck the floor with a silver staff.

"The Royal Council!"

Inside, twelve ornate thrones formed a circle.

Eleven were occupied.

The twelfth remained empty.

At the center of the chamber stood a crystal pedestal.

Resting upon it...

Was a silver crown.

It glowed softly, filling the room with a gentle light.

The moment I saw it...

My head throbbed.

Fragments of unfamiliar memories flashed before my eyes.

A woman laughing.

A child reaching for the crown.

A battlefield beneath a crimson moon.

Then...

A scream.

I staggered.

Cassian caught my arm.

"Easy."

"I'm okay," I lied.

One of the council members rose from his throne.

He was an elderly vampire with silver hair and cold blue eyes.

His voice echoed through the chamber.

"If she is truly the Blood Queen..."

He pointed toward the glowing crown.

"...let the Crown choose."

Every eye in the room turned toward me.

The chamber fell silent.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

I took one hesitant step toward the pedestal.

Then another.

The silver crown began to glow brighter.

Suddenly...

It rose into the air by itself.

The council members gasped.

Cassian's eyes widened.

Varek smiled.

Slowly...

The ancient crown floated toward me.

And stopped just inches above my head.