Mid-morning came quickly with sounds of death and mourning. Adolph’s men gathered the bodies of the fallen to be burned and packaged their personal effects to return to their families. The death toll for the werewolf kingdom wasn’t as large as it had been. The vampires who had not been slain surrendered easily, staring at Eden’s dead body as it was hauled onto the pyre. Adolph had never seen a corpse like Eden’s. He looked regal and just sleeping though he was not breathing. If he had a pulse, it was imperceptible, yet something was unnerving about the sight of Eden. He may have died a half-breed vampire, but he had drunk from the vampire queen, his mother. Much like the Raymond family had a tie to the moon goddess, he considered the idea that perhaps the vampire’s royal family also had a connection to the moon goddess that would account for any surprise powers they had. Adolph watched them stack brambles and sticks around the pyre before pouring oil over the pile. He would feel bet
After the troops from the capital rested a bit, they loaded up the prisoners into carriages and headed back. Laurel sat on Adolph’s horse with him, leaning against him as Adolph refused to be separated from her. Chasel gave him an amused and grateful smile, but Adolph could only grin back, pressing stray kisses to Laurel’s head. The ride back to the castle was longer than any of them had realized after the battle and the initial ride up to the border. Laurel was dozing against his chest as they traveled through the forests between the border and the imperial city. The city did not receive them as they made it nearer to dawn than Adolph had hoped. They rode through the night until the sight of the castle rose out of the distance. The guards of the gates greeted him cheerily, gratefully, and they opened the gates for them. The servants came to help put away the horses and the supplies. Adolph dismounted carefully and brought Laurel into his arms and carried her through the palace. Wit
Adolph was sure that his head would be ringing for at least a few days after the celebration ended. He’d sent the fastest riders out to every pack to announce the official fall of the vampire queen. As far as he knew, the entire country had broken out in celebration. The men who had fallen in the last battle were lauded as national heroes in their packs and Adolph’s heart. He would add them to the list of people to be given title and status posthumously. While the entire nation celebrated, he still wasn’t sure what to do with the vampire territory. The news from the border said that there had been no suspicious activity and no signs of the castle, meaning that both Annwn and the vampire queen’s castle maintained their protections despite the death of Morrigan and Eden. He didn’t know what that meant, but until they found a way around it, they would need to be cautious. He wrote out an order to advance the order a few miles towards cliffs overlooking the sea every week. He would be
It had been mere days since the celebration ended when Adolph called a formal meeting again, but instead of the usual meeting room, the meeting was held in the throne room. To Gavin’s surprise and dismay, he was dressed in full ceremonial dress and he had no idea what was happening. Every noble of the court was in attendance, including the ministers who had been dismissed. Laurel was dressed in a fine gown that made Gavin purple with fury. Olivia had been the luna yet she had never had a gown as grand as the one Laurel wore, or perhaps she had never seemed so natural standing beside Adolph. The sight of her irritated him to no end. “Your Majesty, what is happening?” A minister asked, almost timidly. Adolph looked at him from his throne with a little smirk, “Do you not recognize open court?”Gavin’s stomach churned. He didn’t like the sound of open court. They never held it while he was at war as a matter of course. What did they care about the problems of peasants? “The first orde
“I think we should talk about the prince,” Laurel said as they lay in bed early the morning after they’d held open court. Raven had been beside herself after the dinner was over, teary and emotional as she was shown back to her old rooms. Irene dabbed at her eyes and tried to maintain a brave face, but he had a feeling that Henry, Dorian, and Liam would all be dragged through the castle exploring all of their favorite places from their old studies to the gardens. The rest of his cousins would be doing the same, likely, happy to explore the castle with new eyes. Maybe they would end up chasing a frog or two around the pond. Whatever they did, it would be nice to have more than him, Laurel, and Basil at formal meals going forward from time to time. They would return to their packs at the end of the week to check up on things and carry on with their duties, but there would no longer be such a ceremony around them coming to visit. He imagined Basil would be pulled out of his drunken s
Laurel and Adolph came down for a formal breakfast just before Raven, Henry, and the rest. Basil and Delia were already inside the formal dining room. It was unnerving to have so many people at the table now, but a glance at Basil told her that he wasn’t uncomfortable if a bit timid. The food was served by a small team of servants and taste-tested in front of them before they began to eat. As always the food was delicious, but it was hard to focus on it with them talking so much. The cold older women who had come to the castle as lunas of nearby noble packs had been replaced with women laughing happily with each other, teasing and chatting amicably. They were so sickeningly happy that Delia had to tune them out. She’d had sisters once, but they had never been like this. She knew that Raven was Adolph’s sister, but she didn’t know the exact familial relationships between the others and she didn’t care. She supposed living at the top of society meant that people could be happy.“...
Gavin looked at the seats where the other ministers used to sit and seethed. In their places were elevated commoners and warriors as courtiers along with all the pack leaders, the alphas, and lunas. He sat across the table from Basil, but he never felt so alone or powerless. Adolph had been cruel in the way he’d allowed his ceremonial title to remain, a cold gleam in his eye every time he glanced at Gavin. He would pay for this but Gavin held his tongue as people began to speak about their options. Annexing the territory of the vampire queen was partially in their interest. More land typically meant more power, but the land had been barren since time immemorial. If the land was truly barren, then annexing the land would just bring more mouths to feed. After all the upheaval, they wouldn’t have the food stores to make it through the year. Adolph watched Gavin contemplating it. His thoughts were clear on his face, and to a degree, Adolph agreed, but there was no way around it.“I th
She was nervous, pacing the little parlor of his rooms. While he had her things moved into the queen’s rooms, she hadn’t spent much time in them. She held the drafts of the birth announcements that Raven had the royal calligrapher create for them. They wouldn’t be going out until the baby had arrived, but it was the best way to tell Adolph. “Laurel?” She stopped and turned as Adolph entered the room with a surprised expression. “What are you doing here? It’s almost dinnertime.”She smiled, “I thought… we could have dinner together in private.”Adolph smiled, coming closer, “Private, hm?”His tone set a flush in her cheeks and lowered her gaze, “Yes… Though I have something to tell you…”Adolph frowned, flinching as he eyed her, “What is it?”Laurel startled, shaking her head and drawing closer, “Nothing bad. I promise. Sit down.”Adolph sunk onto the couch and she sat beside him. She set the drafts in front of him, but his eyes widened at the first one she placed in front of him. He