Page 181 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

Aurelia did, too, because she lowered her head and wept.

“Come on.” I bent and placed a hand on her shoulder, urging her to her feet. “We need to go. Whoever did this might still be here.”

Her body shook, the sounds of her grief intensifying until it pealed from her, shrill as a bell. The sound jarred that instinct inside me and I took a step back even before she lifted her face.

No longer Aurelia’s face.

“Mariana?” I whispered.

Her blood-red lips curved into a smile that sent a warning as sharp as a missed note through my veins. I ran for the door, reaching it just as it slammed shut.

I pounded on it with fists, with magic, with every bit of will I could summon, knowing what waited behind me. But it held, locked in place by the terrible magic that permeated the throne room.

“Oh, Thea,” Mariana crooned, “stop trying to escape. We both know you aren’t going anywhere.” She rose, tossing a disgusted look at Zina’s body as she stepped over and swept toward me. From the folds of her skirt, she lifted a dagger crusted in blood. “Every spell must have a counterbalance,” she reminded me as she lifted it. “Meet the Queen-killer.”

“Where’s Aurelia?” I sounded surprisingly calm, but Mariana’s smile grew more hideous.

“Probably with the others.” The hand holding her dagger dropped to her side. “You should hear what I did to them.”

My composure cracked. “The others?”

“Your friends, your family, and all the simpering magical snobs they invited here. They’re all dead, even your precious mate.”

I couldn’t breathe. My lungs fought to fill with air, but nothing happened. “You’re lying.”

She had to be. If Julian was dead, I would know. I would feel it.

She laughed, the sound like shattering glass. “Okay, I’m exaggerating. But they might as well be. This time, they will stay asleep.” Her face lit up at my slackened jaw. “All those weeks you’ve had Lysander looking for the origins of the curse that put magic to sleep. You were so busy looking for answers, so convinced the important piece was who was behind the curse, that you never considered someone might be hiding it for a different reason.”

“To use it,” I said numbly. Mariana’s confession had gutted me, hollowed me out. I didn’t know how I was still standing.

“Yes, but this time, we did a better job. There is no breaking it this time. It was a potent spell. We had to deliver it directly as a potion. It held us up for weeks. How were we going to get a bunch of suspicious vampires and familiars to ingest a potion? Even at those stupid Rites some of them won’t ingest anything. The older and more paranoid ones. Granted, they were wise to be cautious. Then the perfect opportunity presented itself. Your lovely little wedding. Jacqueline didn’t bat an eye when I suggested a toast, practically drooled when I insisted she let me order two cases of Cristal. And the best part was that I knew you wouldn’t drink it.”

“Because I’m pregnant.” I covered my womb with my hand as another staggering stab of pain wrenched through me. The baby...

“Yes.” She shimmied with delight. “When I heard about the wedding, I knew our time had arrived. But I didn’t want to put you to sleep—couldn’t do it. And then you told me you were pregnant, and I knew you’d refused to drink, thanks to your human past. I couldn’t have planned it better.”

“But... you were nice to me.”

“Much nicer than Zina.” She nodded. “In truth, I don’t hate you. Not completely. You’ve done me more than a few favors.” She toyed with the dagger, pressing her finger into its tip. “You’ve paved the way for our bid to take the throne.”

Our. We. I’d been so distracted that I hadn’t connected the clues in her words. She wasn’t doing this alone. Of course, she wasn’t.

“When you made Julian take the throne, proclaimed him King-Consort...” She shivered, a dreamy smile on her face. “When we ascend, no one will fight it. Not after you already broke it.”

“Who?” The word sank from my lips, even though I already knew the answer. There was only one person who corrupted this thoroughly, charmed this easily.

“I think you already know the answer, Daughter.” Willem stepped from the shadows, whatever glamour covering him evaporating.

“I’m not your daughter. I never was,” I snarled.

“He doesn’t care,” Mariana said, stepping closer to him. “What a king he will make. When we ascend the thrones—“

“There are three of them,” I reminded her. “And if you think I’m going to join you, you’re as deluded as he is.”

She flew forward, only making it a step before Willem caught her and held her back. “You don’t deserve that throne, but don’t worry, we won’t need you for long.” She looked affectionately at Willem, placing a hand on her stomach. “We’ve been working on that. Soon our child will join us, and then we won’t need you.”

“Can’t stop sticking your cock where it doesn’t belong, can you?” I bit out to him.

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