Page 81 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

It had a seal on it—a crescent moon being devoured by a snake.

My heart started to pound.

I stared down at the symbol that represented my throne. “What is this?”

There was no denying the mark.

He shrugged his massive shoulders. “We have held that in safekeeping, tasked with waiting for a new Queen to ascend. It is meant for you. We have no idea what’s inside.”

“What do you mean, tasked? Who tasked you?” I hoped he didn’t see my fingers tremble as I took it from him. Magic rippled against my fingertips as though the paper itself was enchanted.

“Your predecessor,” Sabine’s lofty voice called from across the room. “Ginerva left it in our care.”

That didn’t make sense. It was pretty clear the Queens and the Council didn’t get along. Why would she trust them with it? “With you? Why?” I blurted out.

There was a flash of white teeth and then Sabine swept toward me. Her cloak dragged across the ground behind her, its stiff fabric swishing ominously. “You aren’t asking the right questions, daughter.”

It was far from a term of endearment. It felt a lot more like a warning.

My eyes met hers as she neared me, searching for answers as to what the envelope contained. But if she knew, she showed no sign of it. “What are the right questions, mother?”

Her eyes pinched together. “Tell me, is your insolence purposeful or do you hide behind it, so no one sees how stupid you are?”

I drew a deep breath, exhaling it shakily. It seemed things were back to normal with Julian’s mother and me.

“Sabine,” the male called.

“What, Marcus?” She didn’t bother to turn toward him.

I saw his jaw tighten, but he looked past her at me. “We have no wish to quarrel with the Queens, but this letter has been a source of some interest.”

“She left it with you before she died.” I nodded, turning it over in my hands. Magic thrummed through my skin wherever the paper touched it. “Why? What’s inside it?”

“Now you are asking the right questions,” Sabine said, her words as sweet as arsenic. “Like you, Ginerva was young when she ascended the throne and equally impulsive and foolish—”

“We get the point,” Aurelia cut in, glaring at her.

“You take offense at how I speak of your Queen.” Sabine lifted her eyebrow. “Perhaps if you had protected her better—”

“Enough.” I wasn’t about to let her drag Aurelia into this mess. “She couldn’t have been more than a child when Ginerva died. She isn’t to blame.”

“A child? No.” Sabine shook her head, a wicked smile playing on her red lips. “Those who dwell at court do not age like other mortals. Aurelia is much older than you.”

I bit back a surprised exclamation, not wanting to feel like an idiot for not expecting something so obvious and common.

“We assume that is why you are staying at court. You have been cursed with mortality.”

“So has your son,” I whispered. “Our lives are bound.”

“That is the other reason you are here,” Selah interrupted. “We have fulfilled our duty to the late Queen by giving you the letter. Now you will do us a favor.”

“I will?” I barely contained my laughter.

“Yes,” Selah said, her voice pitched low. “You will become a vampire. We cannot accept a siren sitting on the throne.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I said, my hand going to my hip. “A favor is watering your plants while you’re on vacation. You can’t force me to become a vampire.”

But Sabine was noticeably paler than usual. Her eyes tracked me, seeming to whisper for me to be silent. Was this news to her too?

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