Page 30 of Our Sins in Blood (Coven of Sin 1)

I could feel Vincent’s pointed glare drilling into the side of my skull like it was somehow my fault he’d been a dick and gotten caught.

“She’s alive, isn’t she? I even kept Corry from biting her.”

“Way to throw me under the bus, bro,” Corry gritted beneath his breath on the other side of me.

Sharpe cleared his throat. “Regardless of how the princess was recovered, she’s here now. I trust you know your purpose here, Ms. Baxter?”

“Oh, yeah. Apparently, I’m the biological daughter to the vampire king, and as a way to stick it to his progeny, he named me, a sheltered, half-human who’s never ruled anything in her sad life, his heir.” There was a sharp suck of breath from everyone in the room, but I kept going. I stuck a hand on my hip, curling my lips at Sharpe. “Of course, that would have been a really neat thing for you to mention all those times you came over for a ‘check-up’ Dr. Sharpe. Are you even a doctor?”

The tension in the room was hard enough to chip a tooth on. Everyone was looking at Sharpe with bated breath as if waiting for him to snap. But the doctor was as emotionless as always. He’d have to be to lie to me like he did. Instead, it was Sterling who spoke next.

“Indeed, he did name you his heir, Ms. Baxter. Which came as a surprise to all four of his progeny, as none of us knew of your existence. He kept you a secret from everyone, save for his most trusted council, Sharpe among them.”

Was that supposed to make me feel better? I guess, in a way, it did. For some reason, I was under the impression Corry and Vincent had known about me all this time, that maybe my existence came up as talk of the pathetic little halfling locked up in her bedroom, and everyone would have a good laugh about it. But now that I was thinking about it, Vincent had been surprised to find me in the living conditions that I was in. Meaning Sharpe and Thomas Knight had kept it secret from the princes.

Suddenly it made more sense why Vincent had been so worked up. He’d spent all this time thinking he would be the next king, then news of me was dropped on him like a bomb. And when he went to spring the princess from her tower, he found me. A sheltered little nobody.

“You can’t possibly be considering making me the vampire queen. Everything I know I learned from TV or a book. Tonight was the first time I’ve stepped into a pharmacy even. Hell, the first night I went anywhere. The first night I tried alcohol, the first night a guy made a pass at me.”

Corry and Vincent exchanged scathing glares at one another, but I kept going.

“Dr. Sharpe, you know all this. I don’t know how to do basic human stuff like operate a microwave or drive a car, or pay bills. I don’t know how to be a freaking vampire! How could you even begin to consider letting me rule? That’s like slapping a toddler into the oval office.”

It was the woman who spoke next. She looked to be the oldest among them, with silver hair like Sterling’s but countless lines etched her papery skin. “Believe me, Princess, this is not our tradition. In all my years, I’ve never heard of a mortal ruling the vampires. It’s highly irregular and, if you ask me, inappropriate.”

The disapproval in her aged tone was evident, but it was weird hearing me addressed as “Princess” without the layers of cynicism whenever Vincent called me that.

“Yes, but this was the parting wish of our long-time leader and my friend,” Sharpe interjected. “Mrs. Murta is right. Traditionally the honor is bestowed to the eldest of the king’s progeny. Seeing as Sterling has declined the honor, the throne would have gone next to Vincent. But instead, he named—”

“I don’t want it,” I blurted.

The room went eerily still. The other Elders shifted uncomfortably. Sharpe’s expression shifted into a stony glare, and Sterling’s ghostly physiognomy was unreadable. Vincent looked at me, almost like he was stunned that I had told the truth when I said I wouldn’t be sticking around.

“You don’t…want it,” Sharpe repeated slowly, blanching.

“I. Don’t. Want. It.”

More silence. Jeez, did these people have hearing problems? Thankfully, Vincent came to my aid.

“There you have it. She isn’t qualified in the slightest. She’d have too much to learn, not to mention it’s too dangerous for someone like her to even be here. Making her queen would make this coven a laughing stock among our kind, and we’ve spent too many years trying to improve our image. On top of that, she doesn’t want it.”

I shuffled awkwardly where I stood, my eyes dropping to the floor. Why did his words hurt so much? They had only been the truth.

Sharpe made an irritated clicking sound with his tongue. “I understand your argument, Mr. Feral, and you do make an excellent point. But we are an old coven. Our traditions run deeper than the roots of the oldest trees. And it is tradition to honor the wishes of a good king, should he have had the fortune of expressing them before one passes. And in your case, your king and master. Regardless of his intentions, he wanted her to take the throne. She does not need to be crowned tonight. First, she will be taught how to feed, how to mesmer, how to—”

A flurry of angry voices rose up from Vincent and all the Elders. I looked at Corry, who just shrugged helplessly.

After several seconds of furious arguing, Sterling cleared his throat, and everyone fell silent. “Very well, we’ll put it to vote. Who among the Elders believes the biological daughter of Thomas Knight should be allowed to take up the throne as vampire queen?”

Three raised their hands, Sharpe among them.

“And who is of the opinion that one of the king’s sons should take up his legacy?”

Sterling and two others raised their hands.

Clearly, Vincent and Corry weren’t allowed to vote, so that made it a tie.

My breathing was coming in short and heavy, to the point where I was growing light-headed. My fate was being determined for me, and apparently, I had absolutely no say in it.

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