Valentine

Chapter Twenty - Orion

When Meredith bent over Elizabeth, I turned away; every instinct inside me urged me to race forward, to stop her before it was too late. It was already too late. I reminded myself that with Elizabeth’s transformation, she would be betrothed to another man, a prince of the neighbouring coven. I would have no rights, as a knight of the coven, and the son of the queen, it was my duty to respect her position. In over two hundred years, I had never failed in my duty. I would not dishonour it, or my queen, now.

It was a matter of seconds before Meredith pulled away from Elizabeth, leaving no sign of a wound on her neck. I knew she would have licked the bite, healing it instantly to stop her bleeding to death while the serum took effect.

I watched as Elizabeth grew still, even her breathing slowing until there was no sign that she was still alive. I wanted to walk out onto the stage, take her hand and reassure her that everything would be okay, that I would not leave her side until the transformation had finished.

I knew that doing so would ruin her chances of ever successfully holding her place as queen. The coven would frown on my disregard for tradition, but more than that, they would sense weakness in the woman chosen to lead them, and they would never trust her decisions. There was no room for doubt in the queen.

“It is a sad day when a man cannot be with the woman he cares for, is it not, Orion?”

“Lisbeth,” I dared not turn to look at her. It would give away the sudden surge of anger I felt at her insinuation. “I have no idea what you speak of.”

“No?” her voice was smug. “You care for the girl.”

I did turn to look at her then, meeting her bold stare with a calm gaze that belied none of my fury.

“I care for her as I would any woman destined to rule our coven. If she does not make the shift successfully, the entire coven will be at risk. You, as the Queen’s second, should know that better than anyone.”

“Of course, Orion.” Her smile was gentle, pacifying, but I felt it hid a callous cruelty that I had been unaware of before. Her slender hand reached out to me. “Let’s not fight. We both want the same thing: the survival and wellbeing of the coven.”

I ignored her hand. Once, many years ago, Lisbeth had been my lover. She was much older than me, of course, but as vampires, age was meaningless. When you lived for millennia, centuries meant little when choosing lovers.

Contrary to popular mythology, vampires were not a promiscuous race. We chose our lovers with care, often remaining with one for years before separating.

Lisbeth and I had spent several years together, until I’d become a knight of the court and had distanced myself from her. It was unseemly for a knight to consort with the second-in-command, especially when he would be expected to take orders from her.

Lisbeth had fought my decision, coming to my chambers several times in an attempt to change my mind, but I had remained steadfast. The last time she had visited me, she had railed against it, convinced that my mother had acted in her position as Queen, forbidding me from seeing her.

“That b***h has never wanted to see me happy, and now she’s taken you from me as well!”

I would never forget her poisonous barbs against my mother.

“Your words are treason against the crown, Lady Lisbeth. The Queen has nought to do with my decision. As Knight Templar, it is unseemly for us to be together outside of marriage, a union I am sure neither of us wants.”

Her face had flushed, then paled. She bowed her head.

“I beg your forgiveness, Templar Valentine. I spoke in haste and anger. I shall not do so again.”

She’d left my rooms without giving me a chance to reply, and I’d breathed a sigh of relief and regret. I had not wanted it to end like that, and I feared what she might do, but when I’d next seen her, it was as though the incident had never happened.

Indeed, in the centuries since our tryst had ended, it sometimes felt as though it had never been at all, except for moments like now, when Lisbeth seemed to forget her place, reaching out to me as though we were still lovers.

Her hand had fallen back to her side, her smile disappearing.

“The Queen has asked for you, Templar Valentine.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her formality, knowing that she only ever used it to hide her anger at me. Lisbeth no more cared about my title, than she did about my dedication to my duties.

True, she was a loyal and steadfast second to the throne, and her dedication to the coven could not be doubted. She had risked her life on more than one occasion to keep Lamia safe. Nonetheless, I was aware of a side of her that few people knew of, and I’d kept her secret out of loyalty to the affection I’d once held for her.

“Very well. I will attend to her immediately.” I began to leave. Noticed she was not with me. “Are you coming, Lisbeth?”

She turned to me, a brittle smile in place. I saw a flash of some unnamed emotion in her eyes; shrugged it off as my imagination as she walked to my side.

“Of course, Orion.”

I nodded to Meredith, who’d watched our exchange, my glance at Elizabeth more telling than I realised as she bowed her head in response.

Meredith would guard Elizabeth with her life, not just because she was to be the next queen, but because she could see how much the girl meant to me. I wasn’t sure if I was embarrassed that my feelings were so transparent, or relieved that Elizabeth would be safe in her hands.

As I left the wings of the stage with Lisbeth at my side, I decided it was best to assign my conflicting emotions to the burden of responsibility I carried as the man assigned to protect Lamia’s future queen.