Page 72 of Queen of Vampire Hearts

“Atreus?”

“Atreus! Your lying family has concealed the Regina line for a thousand years.”

The Atreus line was dull in that temple, but the Regina line was lit up. Why hide a witch line inside another?None of this made any sense. I pinched the bridge of my nose, my head pounding.

I focused on the other visions I had at Întuneric, the other things I saw in the past. Hadn’t Lucien said most immortal species hadregents? Because if immortals had the chance to argue every issue to death, they would. Could that be why they’d hidden me? Was Regina theroyalline?

I gave a bitter laugh, dropping my hand. “You’ve got the wrong girl. I’ve never even heard of the Regina line.”

The Council erased our history,myhistory. They had tried to strike the royal line from memory. They must have killed all who remembered a time before the Council. I was never an Atreus, neither was my father. That dream with Hekate, that was the first witch, the first Regina. That’s why Bast looked so familiar. She had protected my line for centuries, since the first.

Alfonso flew at the bars, gripping them in his fists, his eyes wide. True madness lingered there, far beyond what even Cassie’s eyes held. I took a step back on impulse, but he didn’t seem to notice. “Foolish girl! You think you can lie to me? I was there when we killed the last Regina! I felt her blood on my hands, and heard her heart stop!”

That must have been the woman I saw in the cathedral, the one who gave away her baby. She was the last witch queen and my ancestor. I was a witch queen on top of a vampire queen? I was quite the overachiever.

Well, I wasn’t a vampire queen anymore, so I might as well take the witch queen title if it was up for grabs.I refused to give any hint of my thoughts to Damian, keeping my face blank and a bit bored. “Had enough of that queen bullshit. I’m good.”

“We knew the last witch queen had a child she hid in the Atreus line. We just weren’t sure until you were born.”

I tuned out his rambling, his spittle hitting my cheek as he told me of the glorious battle that took place. The things I saw at Întuneric were all leading me to this. My parents hid me because Cassie warned them. They did it to save me, to bring me here, to this moment.These dominos had been falling for thousands of years.

“Did you kill my parents?” I snapped, interrupting his tirade.

Another evil smile answered my question. My hands fisted, rage making my body vibrate. “You were supposed to be home. We needed to find an excuse to execute you.”

They made an example of me in front of the entire Council. Fury like I’d never known coursed through me, everything piling on top of me at once. I was drowning under the fury of my parents’ murder, my trial and execution, my betrayal by Malcolm, by Lucien, by everyone. My skin burned, the cuffs binding my magic warping, and my vision was awash in red.

Alfonso was still crowing about his success and how he’d plotted to destroy me since birth, unknowingly signing his own death certificate. He had taken my parents from me. I remembered my mother’s lullabies, my father throwing me into the air in delight. It was all stolen from me by the witch in front of me, the very dead witch.

I concealed my arms behind my back and let the anger free, melting the metal binding my powers. I would never be bound again. No man would ever take what was mine again, not Lucien, not the Council,no one. It was time to be the monster they all feared. If they thought me a threat before, they hadn’t seen anything yet.

Once my magic coursed through me unimpeded, I shot a bolt of pure power at him. The cell door blew off its hinges, landing on top of Alfonso. He didn’t even have a chance to brace himself, blindsided, just like me.

I strode out through the smoke, stepping on top of the door, pressing the heavy steel into his bleeding chest. He was still alive, but barely. Another powered-up kill shot glowed in my palm. I held it over his face, his skin blistering and melting from the heat.

“Who else was a part of this? Which of you conspired to kill my parents?” They were all dead, every single witch who took my mother’s soft embrace, my father’s furrowed brow. They were all going to die. This was going to make my trial look like a warmup.

He said nothing. Instead, his lips pulled back from his bloodied teeth, and he hissed at me, “You will never be queen. We will not bow again.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck if you bow.” I launched the kill shot, leaving a smoldering crater right next to his head. He whimpered in fear when I powered up another immediately.

“This will not bring them back,” he groaned, “they are gone. Forever.”

“Yet, I remain. Give me their names.”

His eyes flickered, and he leaned closer to me, his words a whisper almost lost in the cold, damp dungeon. With his last stuttering breath on the last name, I pressed harder on the door, making him scream. A part of me wanted to drag this out, to listen to his cries for mercy for the next millennia, but that would make me just like him.

“I want you to know that I would have never done this, never become queen, had you not killed my parents. I should thank you. You handed me my destiny. Now begins the age of the witch queen.”

Witch Queen, Bitch Queen. All hail!

I launched my kill shot, and his body froze, slowly turning to dust. The door clanged as it hit the ground.One down.There had been eight Council Members who bound me.Seven to go.

I cracked my neck and glared at the entrance to the Council chambers, where I knew they were deciding my fate. No one decided my fate but me.My smile was wicked as I ascended the stairs. They had taken my family from me and stolen ten years of my life. There would be no escape.

The Council was in full swing, arguing over each other, no one able to get in a word as they debated my sentence. Several were against executing me, defending my actions on the day of my trial. They could live.Others were adamant that my death was necessary, or all witches would think they could defy the Council. There was absolute truth in that. The Council was a farce and had no genuine power.

Slowly, one by one, they noticed me standing on the floor and fell silent. I put my hands up, gesturing for them to continue their arguing. “No, no, don’t let me interrupt. You were talking about how I’m evil incarnate and deserve nothing but death, blah blah blah.”

---