Page 2 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

“Waiting for you,” a female voice interrupted.

I lifted my head to find two vampires approaching. The speaker’s black hair cascaded down her back, catching the light from the lanterns overhead and glinting like seawater. Next to her, the other female was silent like a statue carved from black stone, except for the silver platinum hair that waved past her shoulders. They both wore high-necked gowns of ivory chiffon, but each had different crowns resting atop their heads.

“I understand now why the visions told me to invite Guiliano back to our court,” she continued. “I assumed it was to make peace with his mother—to offer her our empty throne. It wasn’t until tonight that the veil lifted, and I saw the truth. It’s you we’ve waited for, sister.”

Sister? I lifted an eyebrow, glancing to Julian’s brother to see what he made of all this. He only stared at the Queens.

And I didn’t care. “I don’t give a shit about your visions,” I snapped. “All I care about is saving my mate.”

“And what price will you pay?” the silver-haired queen asked. Her lips barely moved as she spoke.

I knew my answer as surely as I knew the heart beating inside my chest. “Anything.”

There was no price I wouldn’t pay to save him. I would give up my soul, my very life, if it meant saving him.

“Your mate experienced true death,” the other queen told me as she climbed the few steps to the dais where the thrones sat. “To save him, you must offer him your own life.”

“I will,” I said quickly—too quickly because Lysander clamped a hand around my wrist.

“Think of what you’re doing,” he said quietly. “Julian would not wish to live without you.”

“And he will not,” she interrupted us. “She must offer her life to call him here. Vampires do not enter the underworld. He walks in limbo. He must be bound to something here to call his soul back to his body.”

I swallowed. It couldn’t be that easy. “We’re mates,” I said, adding, “and we are tethered.”

“Yes, you are mates.” She inclined her head as she came to stand before me. “But you are no longer tethered. A tether cannot survive death.”

Her words hit me with a fresh wave of grief. It swelled inside me, and I fought to keep breathing. Even though we had never wanted our tether, it had linked us together. And Julian had never abused that power over me. But that power…that power had killed him.

“How?” I finally asked. “How do I do it?”

“To bring him back, you will call upon the song of the living and offer it to him. If he accepts, his life will be bound to yours.”

“What do you mean by bound?” Lysander asked suspiciously.

“As she lives, he will live.”

“And if she dies?” he demanded.

“Julian will die as well,” the silver-haired queen continued. “But there are other things to consider. You will grant him access to our magic.” There was the bitter edge of distaste in her tone, and I wondered if it was because she didn’t want to share her power, or if Julian had pissed her off in the past. Probably both.

“I will pay any price,” I said fiercely, tears swimming in my eyes. “Any.”

“You are too weak,” she replied, her lips finally moving into a slight sneer. “You will require our assistance, and I am not convinced he is worthy of using our magic.”

“Zina,” the other said, her voice full of warning. “This is not the time.”

“I believe it is a perfect time, Mariana. We do not know this siren. She is not like us. Will she sit on the throne? Will she reign?” I opened my mouth to protest, but her next question was like a blow to my stomach. “Will she give up her life to this court?”

“I already told you I would,” I said hotly. How many times would she make me say it, wasting precious time?

“Do you even know what it means?” she snarled, her stone-like features contorting into that of a beast.

“Anything. I will give you anything,” I swore again, and as I spoke, I felt something heavy circle my head. I reached up and felt a crown—one that came from nowhere—now resting on my head.

Lysander’s eyes widened at the sight of the crown, and I knew what it meant before Mariana spoke again.

She smiled at me, and the crown felt heavier like a weight confining me to this throne—to this life. “Magic has chosen you. Welcome, sister. Now let’s bring your mate back to life.”

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