“Killed them all,” Ivan interrupted.
“The king, queen, and even the prince himself.
They all lost their lives in the woods, and they were buried there as well. No respect was given to them, no fanfare…and no burial rights.”
“The coup was a success and the people celebrated.” Sasha shook his head.
“Foolish humans.”
“The royal family rose as vampires and took the kingdom back,” Irina finished. “Believe it or not, I did know about that particular bit of history. It was part of what inspired me to fight for freedom.”
“The people responsible for the coup were killed and burned. Their ashes were spread to the four corners of the world except for the heads that were kept on pikes until Father Time himself rotted them away to dust.” Ivan shook his head. “What about that inspired you to follow in their footsteps?”
“That coup failed because the people were ignorant in the ways of the world beyond the veil,” Irina protested. “They had forgotten the old ways. If anything, that coup was a rebirth, an awakening for the people. Since then, the people have resumed their worships, paying respect and tribute to the fey, minding their paths in the woods, and watching their children even when they sleep. They’re smarter now and soon their fear will lessen. Vampires will not be so terrifying and they will see them once again as an over privileged monarchy that—”
“Vampires never grow less fearsome,” Ivan snapped. “You just wait until you meet one of them, then you’ll see.”
“Why wait?” Irina stuck out her chin. “Perhaps I’ll pay the prince a visit. Thank him for rescuing me.”
Ivan’s eyes widened. The entire cottage fell into total silence.
“How did you know about that?” Sasha spoke finally.
“Akilina told me. The better question
is,
why didn’t you?”
“Irina, please don’t be angry. We didn’t think it was important,” Sasha pleaded. “And besides, we thought that the less interaction you had with the prince, the better.”
“We were afraid if we told you, you might get some fool idea in your head that you shouldn’t fear the prince, that somehow he wouldn’t kill you just as dead as if you were any other woman who got in his way,” Ivan insisted.
“You can’t seem to mention a member of the royal family without including death in the sentence,” Irina observed. “I’m starting to wonder why he saved me when his reputation makes it seem more probable that he would leave me to
die?
”
“Well that wouldn’t make a lot of sense now would it?” Ivan muttered. “Vampires who go around killing all their subjects wouldn’t have much of a kingdom left after long, would they? Maybe Prince Kirill is just assuring that he has as many subjects as possible when he takes over. With all the effort he puts into wooing every species that populates this kingdom, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he did a head count each evening to assure himself that no one has been poaching his future subjects.”
Irina raised an eyebrow. “Wooing? Why is he wooing people?”
“Well it’s not like he’s going to become king the old fashioned way,” Sasha pointed out. “The king is a vampire. He’s already dead and still ruling. If Prince Kirill wants to become King Kirill…”
“Wait a minute, so you’re telling me that the prince…is planning a coup?”
Ivan scowled. “How do you not know that? Everyone knows that.”
Lifting her shoulder in a half-hearted shrug, Irina turned her concentration inward. If Prince Kirill was planning a coup against his father, and wooing all manner of creatures in the process, then now was her chance. She had to find out what sort of man Prince Kirill was, what sort of ruler he would be. Perhaps if he was negotiating with people now, the groundwork could be laid for a more egalitarian system.
The wheels in her head whirred as she reluctantly thought back to her early days with Serafina. There had been a time when the sorceress had actually groomed Irina, when she’d treated her stepdaughter like her own child. There had been lessons back then, careful instruction on politics and manipulation.
Perhaps it was time for Irina to come out of hiding and meet the prince that had saved her life.
Kirill blinked. The brain that he so relied on for plotting and planning seemed to fail him, offering him absolutely nothing that would help explain what he was hearing and seeing.
Nothing that made sense anyway.
He narrowed his eyes.
“I’m
sorry,
could you say that again, please?”
The woman standing in front of him scowled and planted her hands on her hips. Her dark eyes flashed at him as she pursed her lips. Kirill stared at her mouth, enchanted by the deep red hue that reminded him he hadn’t eaten yet tonight.
“I came here with rather high hopes,” the woman said, slowly as if she were speaking to a dimwitted child. “But thus far, you have not impressed me. I’ve asked you a very simple question and you can’t even seem to hold it in your mind long enough to formulate an answer.”
His eyebrows shot up. There it was. She’d insulted him.
Again.
“Didn’t I save your life less than a month ago?” he inquired. Perhaps his memory had failed him and it had been another fair skinned maiden he’d plucked from the snow. Surely this couldn’t be her.
Not this sharp-tongued female with not even a hint of gratitude in her tone.
The brief flash of guilt that flickered across her face surprised him by hinting that it was indeed the same woman.
“Bringing personal matters up in the middle of a political discussion is rather a cheap shot, don’t you think?” she demanded.
“We are not having a political discussion,” Kirill said calmly. “Not the least reason for that being, you are not a member of my court. You are merely a subject of my kingdom—”
“Your father’s kingdom.”
Shock widened Kirill’s eyes and anger erupted like a volcano inside him. He flew from his seat and snatched the woman’s wrist, tightening his grip until a tic in her jaw told him he was hurting her. To her credit, she didn’t whimper, just continued to bore holes through him with that black gaze.
“You are a foolish girl,” he ground out. “You think that just because I saved your life I won’t kill you for—”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” the woman snapped. She tried to jerk her wrist from his grasp, clenching her teeth when he refused to loosen his grip. “I do not think you are going to give me special treatment just because you saved my life once. I am more than aware that you may kill me if it pleases you to do so, being the bloodthirsty vampire you are. What I am asking you, or trying to anyway, is what
are your plans for the kingdom
if you take over?”
“When I take over,” Kirill snarled.
“When.
I’m a subject of this kingdom, as you so kindly reminded me, and I have a right to know what my life is to be like under your rule!”
“No, you don’t. This is not a land of chaos where every person in the kingdom gets a say in how things are run. This is a monarchy, it will soon be my monarchy, and I will run it as I see fit. And however I decide to do so is no concern of yours!”
“It is if you want me to help.”
Kirill dropped her wrist and stepped back. His anger receded, chased back by the incredulity caused by this woman’s insistence on speaking nonsense. Never in his life or death had he been spoken to in such an insulting and perplexing manner. “What is your name?” he asked finally.
“Irina.”
“Irina what?”
“Just Irina.”
Annoyance flashed through Kirill and he clenched his hands into fists. The woman was trying his patience, a risky move at any time, but even more so now when he was fighting off the hunger he had ignored for too long.
“You refuse to tell me your last name? Is there a reason you don’t want me to know who you are?”
“Yes.”
He waited, but she didn’t offer any more information. Instead, she stood there, staring at him. If he hadn’t been able to hear her pulse pounding just beneath her skin, he never would have suspected that calm expression was a façade. Kirill straightened, drawing his hands down his clothes as if he could smooth his emotions as easily as his garments. The woman was afraid of
him, that
was as it should be. She was not a threat. Though she spoke mostly nonsense, it wouldn’t hurt him to find out exactly how she thought she could be of value to him. And he could always use his own resources to discover her identity later if it behooved him to do so.
“Tell me, Irina,” he said finally, offering her a political smile. “Exactly what makes you think I want your help?”
“You want to take over the kingdom. To do that, you’ll need support from the creatures beyond the veil. You’re trying to woo them on your own, but that will only get you so far. There are creatures in this kingdom who just don’t like you and nothing you say or do will change that.”
Sad but true
, Kirill admitted to himself. His mind wandered to the trolls and the goblins. There were definitely fences to mend. “But you can change that?”
Irina shrugged. “I’m not sure if I can make them like you.
But they like me and having me on your side would go a long way to earning you a treaty with them.”
Kirill rubbed a hand over his chin, considering Irina with new eyes. As a general rule, Kirill did not partner with anyone. He had no intention whatsoever of sharing his power when he became king, not even with his own queen. One of the reasons his…relationship…with Serafina moved so slowly was because Serafina wanted more assurances than Kirill
was
willing to offer. The woman dangled information over Kirill’s head to try and lure him into a pact, but thus far Kirill had resisted. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to find out what Irina wanted…
“And why would you want to help me?” he asked finally.
“My people deserve to prosper,” she answered immediately, her gaze never leaving Kirill’s eyes. “Right now they are far too dependent on the lords and ladies of the territories, begging for whatever scraps the members of the court deign to throw their way.
Dacia
is a great kingdom, people from the other four kingdoms come here to trade and bring in new ideas, new medicines,
new
industry. The lords and ladies benefit from all of it, but the people themselves are too poor.” She sucked in a deep breath. “I want you to cease the tithes.”
Ah, there it is.
“You want me to tell the people they no longer owe their king his due?
To keep all their money to themselves?”
Irina shook her head. “No. A good king provides a service to his people, protection, law, and order. For those services you should be paid. However, the lords and ladies of the territories push the tithe up every year. I’ve seen for my—”
Kirill leaned forward, his interest piqued at the way Irina’s cheeks had flushed as if she’d stopped herself on the cusp of a revelation.
“Do go on,” he said smoothly. “You have seen for yourself, what?” He smiled. “Are you a lady of my court, Irina? Should I call you Lady Irina?”
The woman glared at him with a look so black, Kirill thought the moon itself would drown in darkness. “If you want my help, you will cap the tithes. Let the people keep enough money to prosper.”
“Well, I suppose it does behoove me to have a prosperous people,” Kirill murmured. He stood and stepped closer to Irina, reaching out to trail a hand through one lock of ebony hair. Irina’s heart sped up, pumping blood ever faster through her veins. The sound echoed in Kirill’s ears, weaving through his senses and coaxing his fangs to slide from their sheaths. His hunger reared its head, demanding to be satisfied.
Ever so slowly, Kirill raised a hand to Irina’s chin, tilting her head so that he could better stare down into her eyes. A little press of power, a minor flexing of his vampiric muscles, and she would soften toward him. He would hypnotize her, just enough so he could feed and she wouldn’t remember. The connection would make it easier for him to affect her later if necessary.
Irina tilted her face up at the last second and pressed her lips to his. Kirill froze, momentarily shocked into inaction by her initiative. Her eyes drifted closed and her lips caressed his own, an achingly seductive sensation that drew an appreciative sound from his throat. She tasted like the winter air, fresh and crisp, with just a hint of bite. He parted his lips for her, encouraging her to deepen the kiss. Her tongue slid past his lips and he pressed forward, eager for the inevitable moment when she learned the risk of kissing a vampire with his fangs extended…
A sharp pain pricked the inside of his thigh. Kirill froze. Irina pulled back just enough to
speak,
her lips still close enough to brush Kirill’s with every syllable.
“Biting me would be a mistake,” she said softly. “I’ve come here with nothing but the best of intentions. It would be awfully ungentlemanly of you to take advantage of me.”
Kirill almost laughed. He raised a hand to run over Irina’s hip, up her back, until he cupped her neck. “I could kill you with very little effort,” he whispered, lightly pressing his fingers against her neck. Despite the threat of his words, Kirill couldn’t resist leaning forward
slightly,
letting his lips brush hers in a chaste kiss even as they stood in their stalemate. He couldn’t deny that part of him was excited in a way he rarely was. Irina was bold, almost to the point of foolishness, but her spirit added a spice to their encounter that Kirill appreciated on an instinctual level. Now that he’d tasted her, he found he wanted a little more. How sweet would her blood be?
How delightfully wild…
“I have a dagger ready to sever your manhood,” Irina replied softly. Her voice only wavered slightly and Kirill’s respect for her ratcheted up a notch. She pulled her face back, seeming to gather herself. He didn’t miss the slightly glazed look in her eyes. The sight only sharpened his hunger.
“I am a vampire, little Irina,” he reminded her, his voice rough with hunger and arousal. “As…strategically placed as it is, your dagger won’t kill me.”
“Oh, but won’t you wish it had?”
Kirill’s eyes widened. He stared at Irina as if really seeing her for the first time. “You, my lady, are…” He didn’t even know how to finish the sentence. She was beautiful, driven, bold… Dropping his gaze, he searched her dress.
“The dagger, where did you have it hidden?”
“Strapped to my thigh.”
“You didn’t life your skirt,” Kirill murmured. “I’m certain I would have noticed.”
“There’s a slit at my side, hidden by the folds. I can draw the dagger and still remain quite ladylike.”
A laugh burst from Kirill, a full body sound that warmed him from the inside. A plan formed in his mind, a stroke of sheer genius. Perhaps Irina was the key after all.
He stepped back, holding his hands up to show he meant no harm. Irina watched him, a slight frown tugging down the corners of her mouth.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I have a proposition for you,” Kirill answered instead. “Due to a rather unfortunate event a few moons ago, my relations with the trolls and goblins are rather…strained. You will come with me to visit their courts. If you can win them back to my side, I will cut the tithe owed to the territories by ten percent.”
“Fifty.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Fifteen.”
“Fifty.”
“Twenty and if you argue further I’ll make it a fifty percent
increase
.”
Irina pressed her lips into a thin red line. Kirill fought the urge to lean forward and draw his tongue over that delightful expression of exasperation. If anything, her constant disagreement convinced him that at all costs he must taste the blood that fueled such a passion.
“Done.”
She started to turn away.
“Wait.”
He paused, waiting for her to return her full attention to him. The suspicion in her gaze would have made him smile if his hunger wasn’t wearing his patience so thin. He took a moment to collect himself, drawing upon his willpower. A vampire without control over his bloodlust was an animal, not a man, and certainly not a king.
“I may be willing to make it a twenty-five percent reduction,” he said casually.
Her eyes narrowed and he fought off a smile.