Sophie Reese
Royal Hunting Lodge
I was angry. It took all my self-control not to grab Rayne by the lapels of his fancy suit and throw him through a wall.
He had played with me by feeding me lies about prophecy, destiny, and being a great queen.
All this time, he had been feeding me lies to serve his purpose. First, he told me I was destined to become the next great Queen. He had spoken to me about destiny and prophecy, but none was true.
I was the result of a sick breeding experiment between demons and vampires. I had been bred to slay demons - but why? Surely, someone as powerful as Rayne could kill their own enemies. Why did they need me to do their dirty work for them?
"So, should I start calling you Uncle?" I asked dryly.
"I'm not your Uncle. Me and my sibling were made, not born. We have no parents. Each of us is unique," Rayne replied, pushing himself off the wall and taking a step towards me. "My brother Kain was the first to father a child. Kain was created from a vial of pure destruction my father stole from the angels. Luc is descended from Kain and carries that essence of destruction within him. However, we quickly found that the descendants of Kain were prone to madness and melancholy. They were unable to fight a demon without burning down an entire city. So we tried again."
As Rayne spoke, veins of black mould crept across the walls as Luc's power spiralled out of control.
"Hali was your Grandfather," Rayne explained. "Unlike Kain, his temperament was calmer. Hali was made from a single drop of angel blood mixed with a spattering of violence. He was war personified. A mighty leader who we hoped would sire the perfect demon-slaying hybrid. When his son was born, we thought that the experiment had failed. Gustave was a poet, not a fighter. However, imagine our delight when we discovered Gustave had a secret daughter. Sophie Reese, the girl destined to become the next great vampire queen."
Rayne drew uncomfortably close and skimmed his fingers across my cheek. I flinched away from him, and he smiled.
"You are Hali's granddaughter. You carry the element of war within you. That's why under the right pressure, you can destroy your enemies. You are more demon than Luc. So much stronger than the ordinary vampire."
I pulled away from him and asked, "What do you want from me?"
"For now, nothing," Rayne replied cryptically. "But there will be a time when I call upon you for a favour, and you will obey me."
I raised my eyebrows when he said 'obey'. Then, folding my arms across my chest, I replied, "And what if I refuse?"
A cruel smile crept over his face, and he said, "You can't. You owe me a debt."
My stomach dropped as I recalled the bargains I had struck with Rayne. First, I asked him to help Mia and Luc. Then, I'd asked him to help save Christie from Rudolph.
Each of these requests had come at a price.
"What do you want from me. You have to tell me," I asked.
"I told you, for now, nothing," he said. "I would ask that you avoid telling your husband about our little deal. I don't think he would approve of it."
I said nothing.
Rayne studied my expression and shook his head. "I'm not the bad guy, Sophie. We wouldn't be doing this unless it was essential. Try not to dwell on it too much. It's best to focus on saving Mia, which reminds me."
Rayne held his hand, and over his palm, shadows started to swirl and form into a small black knife.
He plucked the knife from thin air and handed it to me. I took the strange knife in my hand and noticed the intricate black engravings that covered the blade.
"It's a gift from your Grandfather," Rayne explained, "A spirit blade made from the broken souls of the damned. It's the perfect weapon for killing demons."
I tried handing the blade back to Rayne. I didn't want to pay the price that came with taking the blade, but Rayne refused to take the blade back.
"Take it and keep it close to you. You may need it one day," Rayne replied and glanced down at his watch, which looked suspiciously like Rolex. "You'll have to excuse me, my time on earth is limited each night, and I must now return to Hell. I hope this conversation has been enlightening."
He dipped his head in a fake bow and dissolved into nothingness.
Casper came out the bedroom door, looking concerned. He glanced around the darkened corridor to see where Rayne had gone.
"He's disappeared," I said.
"Why didn't you run out of the room like that? You know it's not safe to be alone with a demon," Casper said.
I thought about what Rayne had said earlier about not telling Casper about my demon heritage. I wondered how Casper would feel about me if he knew I was part demon.
"I should call an exorcist to the palace to get rid of him. The sheer arrogance of that man, to think he can just shimmy in and out of my palace like he owns the damn place. Horrible, wretched, demon scum," Casper growled and then paused. "Are you okay, Sophie? You have gone pale."
I reached up and pressed the back of my hand against my frozen cheek. The colour was draining fast from my face as I realised that Rayne might be right. Telling Casper, I was part demon would be a bad idea. He would probably tell Nico, and my food and drink would forever be spiked with silver and holy water.
"I think I need a drink," I said, backtracking down the corridor.
Casper followed behind me, and we began to head down the spiral staircase.
As we neared the ground floor, I could hear some kind of commotion coming from the foyer.
"The King has declared it. She is mine," Rudolph's voice echoed up the stairs.
There was a scuffling sound, and Nico's voice yelled, "Stop it, Jacques. He's taunting you."
I glanced anxiously at Casper and noticed his demeanour had suddenly changed. He reached out and grabbed my arm to stop me from taking another step.
He said in a low, pleading voice, "Come back to our bedroom. Please, Sophie."
I glanced back down the stairs and heard the muffled sobs of a woman.
"Come here, darling," Rudolph said in a saccharine voice that grated against me. "Give me a kiss."
"Don't you dare fucking touch her," Jacques yelled.
I yanked my arm out of Casper's grip and ran down the stairs. I could see that Jacques was being restrained by three security guards at one end of the foyer. At the other end, Rudolph was standing with his arms wrapped around Christie.
I froze when I saw Christie's eyes red and swollen from crying. She stood staring at Jacques, unable to hide the tears of anguish rolling down her face as he fought wildly against Nico's guard.
Behind Rudolph were his mother and pregnant sister, who were watching the spectacle with disapproval. Finally, the mother whispered into Rudolph's ear, "That's enough sport for one night. Let us head back to the city."
Rudolph ignored her. His attention had switched to me as I came down the stairs. He bowed his head with a cruel smile and said, "It's so good to see you in the Palace, Your Majesty and not a common whore house. I had no idea you enjoyed spending your evenings in the company of your husband's best friend, frequenting the Silver Taverns."
I winced at the accusation.
Behind me, Casper growled in disapproval and said, "Do not test me, Rudolph. I will not allow you to speak to my Queen in that tone."
"My apologies. I owe you so much for making the union between myself and Christie possible," Rudolph replied, pressing a kiss on Christie's cheek.
Jacques roared angrily and broke free of Nico and his security guards. Pure panic flashed across Rudolph's eyes as he let go of Christie and dived behind his mother. Jacques raced across the room to Christie, standing frozen on the spot. He wrapped his arms possessively around Christie and yelled, "I will kill anyone who tries to take her from me."
Rudolph glanced over his mother's shoulder and yelled at Casper, "We have a deal, Your Majesty. I get Christie, and you get the photos."
I spun on my heel and faced Casper. The bastard didn't have the nerve to look me in the eyes. Instead, he lowered his eyes to the floor and repeatedly muttered, "I'm so sorry. So fucking sorry."
I shook my head at him, unable to hide my disappointment and disgust. He had sold Christie out to save my public image. Rudolph had photos of me at the Old Mermaid Inn and used them to blackmail Casper.
Rage bubbled up inside of me. I turned to Nico and asked, "Where is your sword?"