Page 13 of Red Queen

“A future you see fit to dictate?” My voice rises. “Our customs are our identity, our very essence. My father’s legacy shall be upheld.”

Alexandru steps closer, the gap between us simmering with the heat of our argument. “And what of our essence when all around us is in ruin?”

“Once we restore things there will be no ruin, only revenge.”

He moves in close and my senses spark.

“Then,” he says, “you are no better than Catarina.”

I grab his arm. He glances at my hand then at me. I wait a beat before releasing him. “We are vampires?—”

“Once you talked of real change.”

“I was a stupid child.”

“No, Eleanna,” he says, moving a lock of hair from my face, his fingertips brush my cheek and his accidental touch burns, “you let ambitions blind you, the crown seduce. You want what’s best, I concede to that, but you refuse to see what that is. You are strong, and you must learn to be a new kind of ruler.”

“I am the ruler they want?—”

His mouth turns into a bitter smile. “There are enough who don’t want the old, draconian ways. Be the ruler who can see and bend when needed. Lead into the future, don’t drag everyone back into the past.”

“I can’t.”

“Then go.” He shrugs.

Fury sweeps through me and I clench my hands. I need him. I know that. “How…” I swallow. “How do you expect me to do that and not be destroyed as a weakling?”

“Weakness isn’t a word you understand,” he says. He takes another step closer and brushes his mouth against my ear. “Iwill help you, Eleanna, in your quest for the throne, but on two conditions.”

A bitter laugh escapes me. “And what conditions would those be?”

“First, you must share my bed. And second, you agree to let me rule by your side as equal once we defeat Catarina.”

His words pierce the armor around my heart as the heat of his body seeps into mine, but I stand steadfast, unwilling to concede to all he asks. “I will never share your bed again.”

“Then,” he whispers, “we have no deal.”

I step back and look up at him and his hard gaze. My heart trembles as I shiver; he’s too close. And that proximity ignites a fire within me, one that wars with my pride.

“You dare to presume I would share my power, my throne, let alone have sex with you on your demand?”

“It’s not presumption,” he says, his presence overwhelming. “It’s the price of my alliance, Eleanna. Our combined strength could be unstoppable, but it requires unity, in every sense.”

I’m tempted, I can’t deny the shiver of anticipation that races down my spine. But I step back, putting space between us. I focus on the anger as I ignore the unwelcome spark of desire.

“Your conditions are audacious, Alexandru. You can’t expect me to agree with your terms.”

“Consider it, Eleanna.” His voice softens with a hint of the intimacy we once shared. “Together, we can reshape our world. But it requires compromise, from both of us.”

His words hang heavy in the cold air, his offer as perilous and enticing as a winter’s thaw. I look away, hiding the passion and yearnings his proposal has elicited. Yet, I must consider the cost of power over the price of my heart.

“Alexandru, your conditions are...intimate.”

“Intimacy can be a weapon, Eleanna,” he murmurs, “like pleasure and pain. One I intend to wield if we’re to defeat Catarina.”

“Your bed is no battlefield,” I snap. Yet beneath my skin, an inferno rages.

“Isn’t it? You and I, we’ve always been at war, even when our bodies speak otherwise.” He lowers his voice, a dangerous timbre that resonates within my chest.

---