Discovery of a Queen: Chapter 28

Caleb and I are curled in bed together, basking in postcoital bliss, when I realize I haven’t told him what the ladies and I decided on. It is mildly important that he knows the plan since he’s the one about to give up power to a bunch of kickass women. Just a little while ago, I wouldn’t have believed he would actually do it. But now…now I believe it with everything I am. He’s just as invested in making a change as I am. I’m stunned, pleased, proud, and nervous. It’s a heady mixture.

“The ladies and I made a few decisions.” I settle my head on Caleb’s shoulder, pressing my body against his.

“Oh?” His voice is sleepy and low. His arms wrap tightly around me.

“We discussed how we want to lead together as queens. It’s going to be a baptism by fire sort of thing because we know that the way the old queens did things didn’t work well, but we aren’t necessarily thrilled with a Council-like setup either, no offense.” He merely shrugs. “We’re thinking an Arthur and the round table type of deal, sans an arrogant head. Everyone is equal. We’re not sure where we’d set up, or if we’d divide territory or anything like that yet, but we know we want to be far more close-knit than past queens.”

“That makes sense.” Caleb nods. “And I think it’ll help the supernatural community transition if you all show a united front. To many of the younger generations, queens are myths. The older generations only know queens as female dragon shifters. This new breed will take some getting used to.” He pauses, frowning slightly in thought. “Do you think Kelly and Darcy will shift? From everything we know, queens are supposed to be a perfect blend of magic-user and shifter. And Darcy is a vampire.”

I put my finger against his lips to stop his musings. “The goddesses didn’t tell me. But I assume they’ll be able to shift into something. As for Darcy being a vampire, they’re part of the supernatural community, so it only makes sense for a queen to have a little bit of vampire in her as well.” Caleb continues to frown thoughtfully, mulling over what I said.

“You’re right. And I’m focusing on the wrong issues right now.” He grins down at me, placing a quick kiss on my lips. “Now, what else was decided?”

“We’re going to transition power slowly. We don’t want to shake things up too quickly, not with Kelly and Darcy not having their powers yet and my sisters still sleeping. So you can be all Lord Alpha for a while yet,” I joke. “We’re also planning to split up for the trip to Ireland. We’re going to keep Kelly and Darcy here. If we need them, Kelly can portal them across the pond in a blink. But I want people here I can trust.” I sit up and run my fingers through my hair. “We can’t assume that Malick won’t attack here while we’re gone. There’s no telling what he’s going to do. I want to be prepared either way. We’ll all keep training, but we’ll need to do it separately.”

Caleb sits up and places his hand on my thigh. “You’re doing what’s right. I agree that we need to divide and conquer for now. What about when we need to head out to find your sisters?”

“That depends on what we find in Ireland. But I’m going to want to stick with Olivia for as long as possible since she’s still learning to control her powers. Ideally, I’d like us all together when we go to hunt down my sisters. I was thinking about leaving Xin in charge.”

Caleb leans back on his arms, staring at the ceiling as he thinks. “That’s not a bad idea. Xin is old, powerful, and has a lot of leadership experience under his belt. Plus, he’s pretty damn loyal to you already. He was able to mobilize the vampires in moments when we needed him.”

“I think we should also have someone from the Council helping him.” The thought just popped into my head as Caleb was talking, but it feels right. “Even though my community doesn’t really trust the Council, they trust and believe in you. If you appoint someone, they’ll listen. And it will help ease the burden on Xin.”

“Might as well have someone else from the community too. Have a vampire, a shifter, and a witch keeping an eye on things.”

“I could just kiss you sometimes!” I lean over to place a kiss on his chest since he’s still leaning back and I can’t reach his face. “That’s excellent!”

I make my way to Kelly’s room, still mulling over my choices for who to leave in charge when we all leave to find my sisters. I realize it’s still a while before I really need to worry about it, but I like to be prepared. Patrick has always been helpful, or Kelly’s mother. It really depends on who Caleb chooses from the Council.

Speaking of the Council, they’ve taken over my little town. Caleb hadn’t been kidding when he said he called in reinforcements. The town is bursting at the seams. He’s assured me that most of them will head on back to the U.K. once things are settled and the queens take over more securely. Which is good, I can feel the unease and discomfort of my community through my bonds. They’ll work alongside the Council, but they aren’t overly thrilled about it.

I knock on Kelly’s door and walk in when she calls out. I blink several times, trying to take in the state of her room. Normally very well organized and tidy, Kelly’s room looks as though a library has just been dumped everywhere. She has books on every available surface, including on top of the two lamps on her nightstands. Kelly is standing in the middle of it all with her hands out at her sides and her eyes closed. She’s reading them all with magic Awe fills me as I watch her.

Several moments pass before Kelly finally lets her hands fall and she opens her eyes. She smiles broadly at me, gesturing for me to come closer. “I’ve been doing a little research.”

“A little?” I gesture around us. “I’d hate to see what some serious research looks like.”

“Oh, shut it.” She laughs. “I’ve been trying to figure out what kind of spell your mother might have used to put your sisters to sleep. I know we don’t have a lot to go off of, and we won’t until you and Olivia travel to Ireland, but I wanted to get a head start. Some of the counterspells require very specific timing or ingredients to work. Since we have no idea when Malick will show up again, I don’t want us sitting around twiddling our thumbs while we wait for your sisters to wake up.”

“That’s actually a fantastic idea. Are there any that we can prep ahead of time so we can bring everything we need with us when we go to find them?” If we can wake them up where we locate them, that would be ideal. Carting back an apparently lifeless body isn’t high on my to-do list.

“A few. We’ll have to see where they’re hidden. I’d hate to have to wake one of them up with a bunch of dead people around.”

“Valid point. Very valid point.” I groan. “It’s been four hundred years since they were last awake. How are we going to handle that?” I run my hand through my hair and start to pace, making sure not to step on any books. “I didn’t even think of that. I’ve been so focused on finding them so we can wake them up, I didn’t even stop to think about how they’re going to handle waking up in a completely new century. Things have changed a lot in the last four hundred years.”

“You’re right.” Kelly, as always, is rational and calm. Sometimes I envy her ability to just snap into responsible adult mode. “But they aren’t going to be waking up alone. You’ll be here, and so will we. I can see if I can gather some of the community to put together a crash course on all the major things they missed, as well as how to 21 Century.”

“Teaching them to use a smartphone is going to be like handing one to an exceptionally old human.” I start laughing. “Am I horrible for admitting that I want to see that?” I start miming exaggerated texting with a single finger. “I’d have something to finally hold over them.”

“I see we’ll be getting right back into sibling rivalry.” Kelly crosses her arms with a grin as she watches me. “Do they have a lot of embarrassing dirt on you from when you were little?”

“Kelly…” I stare her in the eye. “I am the youngest. Of course they have a ton of shit on me.” We both laugh. It feels good to have a semi-normal conversation with her again. I’ve missed this so much it makes my heart ache.

Sensing the shift in my mood, Kelly comes over and wraps her arms around me. I sink into the hug, basking in the touch of a much-loved friend.

“You’re back and you’re healthy,” Kelly states quietly. “That’s all that matters. Goddess, Ayla, I was so worried. I wasn’t sure how the hell we were going to keep you alive. I tried everything, but it didn’t feel like it was enough.”

I pull back from our embrace a bit to study Kelly’s face. “Hey. None of that. You are one badass witch, and you did everything you could. Between you and Caleb, I was able to survive. You’ve always got my back, and I’ve always got yours. I love you, you know.”

“Sisters from different misters.” We hug again. “It’s good to have you back, Ayla.”

Later that night, we’re all sitting around the dinner table, talking about our game plan. I take a moment out of the conversation to study my little family. Kelly and Connor are in a heated debate about the best way to wake a shifter from a magical sleeping spell. Malcolm is side-eyeing Olivia in a way that has me thinking the witch has the hots for my bestie. Dante is in a discussion with Caleb about training, and Darcy is watching the two as though she thinks they’re amusing but slow.

I realize I never got the chance to really introduce Darcy to the rest of my family. Thankfully, she seems to have settled in with everyone just fine while I was recovering. As if sensing my gaze, Darcy turns her head to look at me.

“I filled everyone in a bit on Katia,” Darcy starts, studying me as she speaks. “I know you learned quite a bit about her before you took out the trash. I’d like to talk about it more, but to do that I’m going to need to tell you who I am.”

“How long were you with them?” I ask, having a feeling I’m not going to like the answer. It’s off-topic, but for some reason, I just need to know.

“Almost ninety years.” Everyone goes silent, and all eyes turn to Darcy.

Damn. I’d only been with them a few weeks. I can’t imagine having to be subjected to that every day for almost a century. A new respect for the woman in front of me starts to blossom in my chest. She isn’t just physically strong, the woman has a fortress for a mind. My own mind starts to whirl as the length of time truly begins to sink in. Had Malick tried to have a child with her? Perhaps he couldn’t get her pregnant. I shudder at the very thought. Had he forced himself on her? White-hot rage fills me just thinking about it. If he had, he’s going to experience what it feels like to have his balls ripped off and fed to him.

“You’re no ordinary vampire. Or you weren’t even before Malick experimented on you,” Dante remarks, drawing my attention away from my rage-filled thoughts. “I could sense it the moment we met.”

“You’re right.” Darcy sighs, looking each of us in the eye before continuing, “I’m an original.”

Shock sends little electric jolts through my system. An original vampire. One of the first of her species. I stare at her in wonder, taking her in all over again. Her shiny ebony skin that seems to absorb and reflect the light at the same time, her glowing golden eyes. She had her hair tightly woven while I was unconscious, interlacing several brightly colored red, blue, and purple strands throughout. The contrast against her dark skin is incredible. The woman has cheekbones for days, and I’m pretty sure I could cut myself just looking at them. She’s not as curvy as I am, but she isn’t slim like Kelly either, falling somewhere in the middle to make her look just feminine enough to draw you in without you realizing that she’s a damn powerhouse.

“We thought the originals were all killed.” Dante’s tone is filled with the awe I feel. “There was a great cleanse a thousand years ago that wiped them all out.”

“Just as you thought there had been a great cleanse to kill all the queens?” Darcy raises an eyebrow. “As far as I know, only a handful of us survived. We took on new aliases and decided to live as quiet a life as possible.”

“What line?” I’m surprised at the strength in my voice considering I feel as though I’m standing in front of a famous movie star. Darcy smiles over at me, pleased that I’ve asked.

“My birth name was Lilith.”

“As in the first wife of Adam, Lilith?” Connor inquires, staring intently at Darcy.

“I do believe the bible made a few things up there, but yes.” My mouth drops open. She’s not just any original, she’s the original vampire.

“You’re the matriarch,” Dante whispers. “You’re the very first vampire.”