Page 11 of Queen of Vampire Hearts

I’d heard the legends, though I thought themslightlyexaggerated, and I’d never thought to experience it. According tomyth, vampires recognized their predestined mate by the scent of their blood. The clouding scents of the fae realm must have muted the call, even when she stood in front of me. I’d wondered about my fascination with her, but I was in such deep denial that I couldn’t see the obvious.

The obsession and jealousy now made sense. I was such a fucking moron. I pinched the bridge of my nose and slumped on my throne, struggling to recall the rest of the myths and legends surrounding the fated mates of my species.A matedvampire could not take the blood of others, not that I ever understoodwhy.

What if, say, a fucking dumbass vampire never got his mate’s name, and she vanished? What then? Did he starve to death? Mother would never have considered that when she cursed us. No one could be that stupid. Well, surprise! Her only child was, in fact, that stupid.

The curse was a never-ending spring of delights. It wasn’t enough that vampires were bound by fate to asingleperson. She had to add all the extra stuff, too.Thanks, Mom!As I was fast finding out, the longer I went without claiming my mate, the weaker I would become. The bloodlust, which plagued all of my kind, required me to feed on the blood of others in order to survive. The hunger was chipping away at my sanity. I was already experiencing fits of rage and unexplainable blackouts, and it was only going to get worse.

Two weeks, it had been two weeks and not atraceof her. What would happen if I didn’t find her? Would my grip on reality finally slip? Would I be wandering the streets of Budapest, irretrievably mad? Already, I was more unpredictable, and soon I wouldn’t be able to tell reality from fantasy. Had I once thought the yawning emptiness inside me was bad? I would take that isolating loneliness, thatvoid, over this. I was an immortal accustomed to control in all things, and after the slightest taste of her, I was struggling for even a glimmer.

Two. Fucking. Weeks.

In Tír nAill, Titania controlled and policed the one stationary rift in and out of the realm, but when my mate vanished, the rift was inoperable. Titania wanted to ensure that no one would stumble in or out of her ball without her say. That news had given me a flare of hope at first. If there was no other way in and out of the realm, she had to be somewhere in the area.Right?

Wrong.A week wasted scouring every inch of the fae plane without even the scantiest scent of cherry blossoms. She was gone. It was almost as if she’d never existed. In the beginning, I’d entertained the thought that she was some conjuring from my mind. But Titania saw her. Even Erik was able to catch a slight trace of her scent. So she was not an illusion.

There were a few spirit shifters, shapeshifters between life and death, who had the power to become intangible, even invisible. My mate must be one of their ilk. It was the only way she could have slipped through the fingers of so many powerful immortals.

With that realization, I returned to the human realm, back to my castle in Romania, sending servants to post bounties in every known realm. Shame filled me as I recalled my answers when Erik asked what I wanted on the bounty.

Name & Species: Unknown

Physical: 5’5”, red hair like the embers of a dying fire, eyes lilac like the freshest blooms.

Last Seen: Tlachd Ball, Unseelie Court, Tír nAill

Offered by: King Lucien of the Vampires

Reward: Absolutely Anything

Erik shook his head in amusement, not bothering to ask why I couldn’t offer any further information about my fated mate. Erik knew me well enough to guess why, and even though the wolf didn’t say anything, I could practically feel his judgment.

All of my old contacts were on the lookout, but it was impossible to even know where to begin without a name or species. Every moment that passed without news of her, I lost a little more hope and a lot more sanity.

I needed help, or maybe—

“A little divine intervention?” a voice called.

My eyes flashed open, and my hand dropped to the arm of my throne. I could barely believe my eyes. The previously empty throne room now contained a small child with flaxen hair tied into braids and swirling white eyes. She was licking a rainbow lollipop and was the very image of innocence.

I was on my feet in a flash but wavered as spots formed in my vision. Fuck, I was far weaker than I thought. Instead of rushing forward to embrace her, I was, instead, forced to place a steadying hand back on the onyx throne behind me.

“Cassie, welcome home,” I croaked. When was the last time I’d spoken out loud? My throat felt raw from lack of use. “You don’t need the guise. We’re alone.”

Known throughout history by various names, often Pythia, the Norn, Ma’at, Matres, and more, Cassandra of the Sibylline steered immortals and mortals alike for almost two thousand years. She used her foresight to shape and change the future, altering her glamour to suit her needs.

Though many versions of her were littered throughout history, no one realized they were the same person. Few knew of our connection, something I ensured. None knew that once upon a time, I’d found a squalling babe and gave the child shelter in this very castle. Her foresight was a gift, a terrible curse, and something Ineverexploited. Her visions came at far too high a cost to me.

Cassie departed this very castle for the first time well over two millennia prior. She reappeared sporadically, sometimes staying for a day, sometimes for a month. But like clockwork, she sent me a letter every week. Most often, it was anI’m finemessage, but occasionally I did receive anI need your helpmessage. Fuck, I just realized I didn’t get one last week. I hadn’t even noticed. I was such a fucking asshole.

The glamour melted from her, a flicker of white glowing over her body before revealing her true form. In place of the small child with a lollipop stood an ethereal blonde, appearing to be in her mid-twenties. Her hair was in two high lopsided pigtails, and she was absently sucking on a blow pop. The enchanted amulet I had given her on her sixteenth birthday hung around her neck. Her eyes were a bright blue but lucid. I’d heard the rumors of her losing touch with reality over the centuries. Every time she changed someone’s fate, even slightly, she paid with her sanity. It was a heavy price, and the toll added up.

It was often the fate of Oracles, many unable to handle the pressure of steering the future or losing their grip on reality. Cassandra was the oldest living Oracle in memory, by far the most powerful and definitely the most mad. When she had left the safety of Întuneric almost two thousand years ago, she mentioned it was her destiny to bethe person who prevented immortals from constantly fucking shit up.

I hadn’t envied her that mission, but apparently, I’d made the list of immortals fucking shit up.

“Do you have something to say for yourself? Or are you just planning to stand there gaping at me like an idiot?” she said, reveling in my discomfort. She always lacked a filter with me, enjoying her immunity to the rage and reputation that sent other immortals cowering.

“You could have given me a heads up, you know? A littleHey, dad, you’re about to meet your mate, don’t cock it up!” I snapped, my eyes narrowing on my pseudo-adopted daughter. “Would a phone call have been too much to ask for?”

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