The Darkest Crown (The Eternal Darkness Duet #2)

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I woke up feeling determined. It was like Marius’ pep talk the night before had flipped a switch inside of me. Of course the fact that I was even hearing his voice probably meant I was going insane, but I’d worry about that later. I left my room, intending on gathering everyone together, and luckily ran into Alfred at the top of the stairs.

“Good evening, My Queen,” he said, bowing his head to me. I sighed at his formal tone, missing the funny, flirty side of him.

“Hi Alfred. Could you tell everyone to meet me in the library?”

“Of course, My Queen.”

“Thanks,” I said, starting down the stairs. He fell into step beside me, and I glanced at him. “Adam and Julian are around here somewhere. Could you let them know too?”

“Here in the castle?”

He looked so surprised, I almost laughed. “Yeah.”

He nodded. “Of course, My Queen.”

We parted ways at the bottom of the stairs, and I continued to the library. It was a large room, with floor to ceiling shelves covering each wall, leaving space only for an enormous fireplace. There was a long wooden table in the center of the room, and several comfortable looking chairs scattered around the edges, close to the shelves.

I moved around the room, feeling suddenly anxious. Was I making the right decision? I didn’t have time to contemplate that, because a second later Michael walked in, followed by Eskel and the other guards.

I looked at them with surprise. “That was fast.”

“My Queen,” they all said in unison, bowing their heads.

I looked past them to the door and saw Adam enter. He paused just inside the room, his eyes moving over the guards before settling on me. He said my name as he started towards me, and Hugh stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

“She is your queen, and you’ll address her as such,” Hugh said, his hands fisting at his sides.

I hurried forward to put myself between them. "It’s okay, Hugh.”

“Hugh.” That one word from Eskel caused Hugh to stand down.

“Everyone, please sit down,” I said, looking around at them all. No one moved. I almost rolled my eyes, but then Julian walked in.

He strolled into the room as if he owned it. He went right to the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. Then he looked at me and raised one dark eyebrow. I looked away, under the pretense of seeing if everyone was present.

“We’re missing Alfred and Marc.” As soon as the words left my mouth, Allie rushed into the room, carrying a piece of toast in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Alfred entered right behind her.

“Sorry I’m late!” Allie exclaimed, sounding out of breath. She looked around the room. “Good morning! I mean-” she smiled and shrugged a shoulder.

I stared at her, realizing three things all at once. First, everyone just woke up, and I’d probably interrupted their breakfast. I hadn’t consumed any blood since Marius died, but they still needed it on a regular basis. Second, my poor sister had most likely had to run down here to keep up with the others and their inhuman speed. And third, I had completely forgotten about Allie when I told Alfred to gather the others. It wasn’t that I forgot she was here at the castle, but I didn’t think of her when I called this meeting. Like it didn’t concern her. Why, because she was human ? My oversight shamed me.

“Is everything okay?” Allie asked, making me realize I’d been staring at her while mentally scolding myself.

I forced a smile. “Yeah. Come sit down.” I motioned to the table, and Allie walked past me and sat down next to Julian. My guards all rushed to sit down, as if afraid to let her sit there alone with him. Adam sat at the furthest end of the table, leaving several empty seats between him and the rest of the group.

Eskel remained standing, and I caught his eye. “Where’s Marc?”

“I sent him to deliver a message,” Eskel replied, and I nodded, understanding. Marc had gone to speak to the witches. Shit, this was happening fast.

“Okay,” I said, a little too loudly. I walked to the head of the table, which placed me next to Adam, but I didn’t sit down. Instead, I stood, gripping the back of my chair. “Okay,” I repeated, feeling nervous. “Let me start by saying sorry for dragging you all here first thing like this. It didn’t even occur to me that you might be having breakfast. I mean it should’ve occurred to me. Everyone’s hungry when they wake up.” I shook my head, trying to regroup my thoughts. “Anyway, I called you all here to tell you that I’ve decided to be queen. Officially. I mean, I am the queen, but I’m going to start taking my duties seriously. And since I don’t know what those duties are, I’ll need your help. I’d also like you all to stop calling me queen, which I know sounds weird considering I just said I would be queen, but just stop calling me that. Just call me Sarah.”

I was aware that I was rambling. I could see the interest on their faces, as well as confusion, and concern. All but Julian, whose face was blank, his expression unreadable. I stared at him, wishing I knew what he was thinking. Allie took a bite of her toast, and her crunching snapped me out of it, allowing me to look away.

“You all know I’ve gained Marius’ magic.” I said, glancing around the table. “I don’t know how to control it, and neither do any of you. So I’ve decided to ask the witches for help.”

“Witches!” Allie exclaimed, shooting upright in her chair.

I smiled wryly at her. “I know, right? I’ll fill you in on all that later.” I looked around the table again. “Anyway, Marc left last night to deliver a message to them, so now we’re just waiting to see if they’ll help.”

I waited for a response, and my guards looked at each other with unease, but said nothing. Adam was quiet, looking down at the table, and Julian looked pissed.

“I suppose this was your idea?” he said, glaring at Eskel.

Eskel met his stare. “It was.”

“Are you insane?” Julian slowly stood, and every one of my guards tensed.

Eskel didn’t look bothered. “Do you have a better idea?”

“Better than handing Sarah over to the one thing on this planet deadlier than her?” Julian’s hands fisted, and Gregor stood, then Michael.

“Julian, sit down.” I tried to sound firm, but no one paid any attention to me.

“She needs to train,” Eskel said, “but she's afraid she’ll hurt someone. A witch could create a shield to contain her magic, thus eliminating the threat to the rest of us.”

Julian’s eyes darkened. “ Contain her magic, or steal it?”

“Easy now,” Gregor warned, his hand hovering over the hilt of the blade at his waist.

“Julian,” I snapped, but his eyes were on Gregor now. I looked around, frustrated, and noticed that Allie had gone still. Her face was pale, and her pulse was fluttering wildly at the base of her throat. She was scared. They were scaring my sister.

My heart began to pound. Not faster, but harder . Like a powerful drum in my chest. It echoed in my ears until it was all I could hear.

“Sit. Down.” My voice was a command. Every head in the room whipped towards me, and everyone sat. Allie’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head. Was she scared of me now?

I tried to quiet the pounding in my chest, but it didn’t work. My breath started coming faster, and my vision wavered. I began to feel hot. Very hot.

“Well, I think it's a good idea.” Adam’s voice startled me, causing my body to jerk. I looked at him and exhaled shakily, and he returned my look, his expression smooth and unbothered.

The others all looked tense. I did that to them. Without even trying, I’d used Marius’ power to make them sit. I felt sick. “I’m sorry,” I told them. “I didn't mean to do that.”

“It’s not your fault,” Eskel said.

I shook my head. “It is my fault, because I haven’t learned to control my power.” I looked around the table meeting each of their eyes in turn. “This is exactly why I need the witch's help. The second I got angry-” I laughed harshly. “Over what? Because Julian wouldn’t sit down?” I looked at him and he had the decency to look remorseful. “The second I got angry, I lost control. I used my power without even thinking about it. You’re lucky all I did was make you sit down. I could’ve dusted you all.”

I turned my attention to Julian. “And you. ” He raised his chin as he looked me in the eye. “I literally just said I was accepting my role as your queen, and you still won’t listen to me. You still think you know better.”

“You may be queen,” Julian acknowledged, “but that doesn't change the fact that you’ve only been a vampire for a few months. You don’t know anything about our world, and you don’t know anything about witches. You don’t know the danger he’s putting you in.”

I threw my hands in the air. “So maybe it's dangerous. No more dangerous than you all staying here with me, risking death every day just by being in my presence.”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

Julian clenched his jaw, but didn’t respond.

“As I said,” Adam interrupted. “I think it's a good idea.”

I turned to him. “Why?”

He leaned back in his chair. “Because it's time for a change. Your guards might tell you a war is coming because not everyone accepts you as queen, but the truth is, a rebellion has been building for centuries. The elders created rules to suit them. Rules that keep them in power, and keep younger vampires like myself, subservient. No vampire turned in the last five hundred years is happy with the way things are. They are an army that will eventually rise up against the elders, and let me tell you, we outnumber them a thousand to one. Show them you’re different. Show them you’re going to change things, and you’ll have their army on your side.”

Julian glared at Adam. “You seem to know an awful lot about this rebellion.”

Adam inclined his head. “My loyalty is to Sarah.” He looked directly into my eyes. “My loyalty is to you . The elders, the rebellion- Burn it all to the ground. Burn me as well if you wish. My life is yours.”

Love for Adam swelled in my chest, and I swallowed.

“As is mine,” Eskel said, placing a fist over his heart.

Harald brought his fist to his chest. “And mine.”

One by one my guards swore their lives to me. I looked at them all, overwhelmed. Allie’s eyes were brimming with tears, but she was smiling. Julian was silent, but that was okay. I knew what was in his heart.

I exhaled heavily, then huffed a laugh. “Okay then.” What was I supposed to say after all that? Meeting adjourned? “Thanks everyone.”

Eskel stood, and the others followed suit. They each bowed their heads to me as they left, and I wanted to roll my eyes. I should have specified, no 'My Queen' and no bowing.

Alfred was the last guard to leave. He bowed deeply, then lifted his head and winked at me. “Sarah.” He turned on his heel and strode out of the room, and I grinned. Then I turned around, and the smile fell from my face. Julian and Adam remained, and neither of them were smiling.

Allie gave me a knowing look as she stood up from the table. “Good luck,” she whispered, as passed me on her way out.

And then it was just the three of us. Aside from our walk in the rain last night, this is the first time the three of us had been alone since… ever. To say it was awkward would've been the understatement of the century. They both stared at me, waiting for me to speak. Well fuck. Might as well get it all out in the open then.

I took a deep breath and started to pace. “I’m going to speak, and you’re both going to listen.” I glanced at them and saw Julian’s jaw clench, but I pretended not to notice. “I’m sure you’d both like to talk to me privately, but I don’t feel like giving this speech twice. You both hurt me. You both lied to me, and I don’t trust either of you. I know you both care for me. You risked your lives to rescue me from Marius, together , which I’m still in shock over. But things have happened that you don’t know about. Things I’m not ready to discuss with you. Things I might never discuss with you. You’re both welcome to stay, but you need to understand that things have changed. I have changed. And if either of you are staying because you hope to resume your relationship with me, don’t.”

I stopped pacing and looked at them. Adam’s emotions were plain on his face, but Julian might as well have been made of stone. “I care about you both.” My voice wavered when I said it, and the muscle in Julian’s jaw ticked. “I know it's hard for you to understand, but I’m grieving right now. And I know that doesn’t make any sense to you. If you knew the truth, you’d understand. But like I said, I don’t trust either of you. So the truth stays with me. If you choose to leave after hearing all this, I understand and I wish you well. If you choose to stay, I’ll remind you that I don’t have any control over my powers, so don’t piss me off.”

They both regarded me silently for a moment, then Julian bowed his head to me. “My Queen,” he said coldly, before walking out of the room.

I watched him go, fighting the urge to stop him. I wanted to grab him and hold him. And slap him. Instead, I let him go. I turned to face Adam, who was watching me intently.

“I meant what I said,” he said, stepping closer to me. “My life is yours, Sarah. Tell me what I can do to help you. If you need to practice your magic, practice on me. Take control of my body- of my mind. Whatever you need to do.”

I shook my head. “I won't risk hurting you.”

He laughed sadly. “If there’s anyone who deserves to be hurt, it's me. I did this to you, and it's killing me. Pain would be a welcome distraction.”

I stepped closer and lifted my hand to brush a curl back from his forehead. He grabbed my hand and pressed it to his cheek, holding it there, and for a moment we were lost in each other’s eyes. Then I tugged on my hand and he released me.

“While the thought of causing you pain does bring me pleasure,” I smiled wryly, “I have a better use for you. Julian said it seemed like you knew a lot about the rebellion. Do you?”

Adam straightened. “I am not personally involved, but I know someone who is.”

“Would they help us?”

“I believe so.”

“Do you trust them?”

Adam nodded. “With my life. He helped me escape after our trial in New York, and from my sire long ago.”

He was talking about Valentina. God, how I hated her. “Would you speak to him for me?”

“What would you have me say?”

“Tell him if he wants change, this is his chance. Let him know that I’ve inherited all of Marius’ power, but that’s where the similarities end. I will use my power, and my position as queen, to reshape this kingdom. If he wants a say in how I do it, I’m ready to listen.”

Adam nodded once. “I’ll make the call now.”

“Thank you,” I sighed, relieved. “Now I need to go find Allie.”

We left the library together, and each went our separate ways. I was going to head upstairs to Allie’s room, but found her sitting on the stairs waiting for me.

She stood when I approached, and attempted to curtsy. “Your majesty,” she said sweetly.

I laughed. “Don’t even start.”

She grinned. “So that was a fun start to my morning. Evening.” She laughed. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being nocturnal.”

My smile fell. “Actually, I need to talk to you about that.”

Her expression sobered. “Yeah. I figured.”

I looked around. “Do you want to go somewhere private?”

“Let's go to the roof,” she suggested. “It’s been a while since I saw the view, and we won't have a guard trailing us this time.”

I nodded. “Okay, come on.”