Mark of Betrayal (44 page)

After a tense pause, I inhaled a deep, shaky breath of nerves and held it, closing my eyes. The words of my speech rolled across my eyelids, and my mind flashed to the memory of the day Mike delivered this same speech to the knights—when they were still human. He stood so tall in front of the hundreds, as if they were a small group of friends—confident, comfortable in his own skin. “For generations,” he’d said, “the Lilithian knights have survived in secrecy; trained by night, kept underground, unknown to exist. We have been few and ineffective. Now, with the rising of a new queen, we too have clambered from the ashes of insignificance. We will become strong, impenetrable—a force to be reckoned with.”

And listening in my head to his words, my own part of the speech came to mind. “The legend of the knights began with the first
Created
Lilithian,” I started, my voice clear, unwavering. “Queen Lilith, whose source of nourishment saw the deaths of many vampires, discovered that her brother sought to imprison her and take the throne. Knowing the creation of vampires to be possible from a bite, she attempted the same on a human man named Lancelot.

“
The transformation turned this meagre mortal into a powerful being, giving him the ability, like Lilith, to end the life of a vampire. An army was created, and after pledging their creed upon the Stone of Truth, the Guardians of the Pure became known to all as,” —pause for effect— “Lilithian Knights.”

The crowd cheered; the energy in the room had a different feel now—almost like the last day of school before summer break.

“
And now,” I continued over the noise. “Rising from the ashes of a long forgotten tradition, is a new era of guardians. Five men will be sworn in; five men have taken their oath. On their honour, on their blood, they will serve with their lives—protect queen and country—Lilithians, Vampires and Humans—
united
.”

The roar of elation spread further this time; those at the back of the room wildly applauding; their thunderous calls infecting the hundreds outside who came today—all of them to see the new Lilithian revolution begin.

I moved away from the lip of the step and sat in my throne, quite satisfied that, even with an exhausted brain and shaking knees, I still managed to remember the whole speech.

A gentle, quiet calm blew in like a breeze, and the Court came to a standstill. In one, sweeping movement, all heads turned to the back of the room—watching, waiting.

Walter banged a giant brass stick three times, and the glass doors parted. My eyes adjusted to the warm yellow glow of the afternoon that entered, making silhouettes of five figures. As they marched forward, the anticipation beating in my heart made my blood run warm, and the silhouettes sharpened into men before my eyes. My knights. They looked like nineteenth-century officers of the Queen’s Navy, in uniforms of white—with long, double breasted jackets and ropes hanging across their chests, which I knew were special kinds of rope—earned by doing some act.

“
Love the new get up, Em,” I whispered.

“
I know.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “Wait ‘til you see Mike.”

The five men turned to one as they filed into a line and marched down the centre of the aisle. Blade came first; his head held high, his face straight—for once—one arm by his side and the other resting over the hilt of his sword. I just wanted to leap out of my seat and jump around, telling them all how great they looked.

As Blade moved to one side, Quaid, Ryder and Falcon came up the step, forming a straight line in front of the throne. Then, Mike came into view. My heart skipped audibly in my chest and melted all over the floor. Time slowed down, making everything spin as he took the last step toward me. He looked so…debonair, so strong, so—knightly. His sandy hair was brushed back, revealing most of his face—the scruffy, half-shaven look he usually sports was gone, giving way to the smooth, square shape of his jaw. He looked right at me, a bright smile lighting up the spirit behind those caramel eyes, but absent on his lips.

As I walked toward them, each knight dropped to one knee, his head lowered.

I’d been given a few options on the knighting ceremony, told that, traditionally, the knights were slapped hard with a glove or a hand to make them remember their oath. But I didn't like the idea of that, or the whole tapping the shoulder with a sword thing. We opted for a different method. Although, if Blade continued to look up and grin, I might consider slapping him.

“
You have sworn your promise in blood.” I spoke loud so the whole Court would hear. “You are bound to the throne for eternity, to serve with your honour.” I touched Mike. “Your strength.” I touched Falcon. “Your blood, your soul.” I touched Ryder and Quaid. “And with your heart.” I touched Blade, and he smiled up at me. That slap tingled in my fingertips. He looked down instantly when I scowled at him.

“
For eternity, you will serve your queen and your people with these gifts you possess. Today, you kneel before me as men.” I touched Mike on the shoulder again. “But arise as knights. Sir Michael Christopher White.” Mike stood as I moved on to Falcon, kinda nervous about coming into physical contact with him. My hand shook a little as I rested it to his shoulder again. “Sir Brett Wesley Falcon.” He stood too, and I touched Ryder’s shoulder. “Sir Zeidyn Gable Ryder. Sir Shamus Arian Quaid, and—” My hand warmed as it fell on Blade and the sudden jump to his heart made me smile. “Sir Thomas James
Blade
.”

He looked up at me, eyes wide, lips parted into a half smile.

“
New life, new surname,” I whispered, but most of the court, being vampires, would have heard it anyway.

Blade rose to his feet as the others had done, and they all turned on their heels to face the crowd; their hands behind their backs, chins high. I straightened my spine to feel taller beside them.

“
Ladies and gentlemen of the Court, I present to you—” I held my hand out. “The Queen’s Guard.”

As the joyous applause unified the court with warmth again, they took off on their right foot and marched down the red carpet. I sat back down in my chair—throne—whatever they want to call it—it was a giant, overgrown cushion as far as I was concerned—and slumped lazily on the arm. But the knights broke apart suddenly and a few gasps came from the back of the room as the doors burst open again.

“
Your majesty,” Orion called, appearing from within the crowd, hauling a man by the arm. “We have a messenger.”

He thrust the man forward, who fell to his knees, then stood up, straightening his clothes. “How dare you treat me in such a manner.”

I walked over and stood on the edge of the step above him. “You say you have a message.”

He dusted himself off again, melodramatically, and glared at Orion. “I do. It is from his majesty, King Drake.”

Everyone laughed.

“
There is no Blood King,” Walter said. “Only a queen.”

The uniformed man scoffed. “I know of no queen. Now, read the message. I must be on my way.”

Walter took an envelope from the man. “Would you like to read it, Majesty, or shall I do the honours?”

I hadn’t noticed my knights stayed in the room until Mike stepped up from behind me and held his hand out. “I’ll read it.”

“
Very well.” Walter passed him the letter.

He cleared his throat, holding it up. “Dearest Niece, it saddens me that we have come to war after centuries of peace. If you turn yourself over and hand back the manor and the throne, I will be merciful.” His voice slowed a little; he looked at the crowd then continued reading; “Your death will be quick, as will that of your people. You have until sunset, a month from today, to turn yourself over, or I will attack and forcefully take back what is rightfully mine. Sincerely, Uncle Drake.”

Everyone laughed, even me.

Mike refolded the letter and looked down at the messenger. “Tell your king he will have word in a fortnight.”

The messenger nodded and spun on his heel, then walked down the aisle, with Orion behind him. I looked around for Arthur then, to see what he thought, but he was gone.

“
Ladies and gentlemen,” Walter said. “I announce this session of Court closed.” He banged his stick three times and the crowd turned away, quiet chatters of both joy and fear among them.

I spun around to look at my knights. “Is he serious? Drake?”

Walter came up and took the note from Mike then laid it out on the House table so the others could paw over it. We watched for a second.

“
Sounded pretty serious,” Eric said, popping up beside me.

“
It sounded like an unreasonable demand,” Mike said, wrapping his arm over Emily as she came up and hugged him. “I think it’s a distraction from the truth. He wants something else.”

“
What makes you think that?” I asked.

“
Think about it.” Mike moved away from Em so he could pace. Walter and the others looked up with interest. “He knows his opponent. He knows you won’t accept those terms. You might sacrifice yourself, but never your people.”

I smiled; it was nice that Mike, for all his opinions on me, actually knew that one truth.

“
I agree,” Falcon said. “He’s up to something. He wants us focusing on an attack—it’s a trick of the hand.”

“
I concur,” Walter said, turning back to us, with the letter in hand. “Question is, what doesn't he want us focusing on?”

“
Good question,” Blade said, rubbing his jaw.

“
Well, clearly he knows you’ve been crowned now, and clearly knows you're alive,” Quaid said. “Maybe he knows we plan to attack him. Maybe he’s, by giving us a month, buying
himself
more time.”

I nodded. “Yeah, maybe.”

“
No. That’s too simple.” Mike waved his index finger like a drumstick. “He wouldn't send a demand to buy time. He’d ask for a truce—knowing Ara would accept—then he’d just attack.”

“
Well, he’s waiting for a reply in a fortnight, right?” Quaid said. “I say we continue with our plan to attack next week—take him by surprise.”

“
No. We have to cancel the attack,” Mike said.

“
Why?” I said.

“
Because he’s probably aware of our plans,” Falcon said. “He would know about the crowning process, the powers it will give you. I bet he’s expecting us to attack.”

“
I agree,” Mike said.

“
So…we don't attack?” I asked.

Everyone looked at everyone else.

“
We could wait,” Morgaine suggested. “We could send out spies to investigate Elysium and see what he’s got going out there—see what we’re up against.”

“
Maybe we can let him attack us here, and we’ll just wipe him out,” Blade suggested.

“
That would be fighting fire with a garden hose, Blade,” Mike said. “There will be no attack here; we have families living on this land.”

“
Right, and the
queen
,” Falcon added.

Mike looked at him. “That goes without saying.”

“
So, what, we’ll send knights in to investigate?” I asked.

“
That would also be a bad idea,” Arthur said from the base of the stairs.

“
This is not your concern,
vampire
.” Mike spun around to face him. “It is House and Private Council business.”

“
Then speak in private quarters,” Arthur said and stepped away.

“
Wait, Arthur?” I ran down the steps and grabbed his sleeve. “Why? Why would it be a bad idea?”

He looked at Mike, then back at me again. "Because, my queen, he may be all too aware of immunity, for examp—”

“
What!” Morgaine gasped. “How do
you
know about that?”

“
Immunity?” Walter walked closer. “What immunity?”

Arthur took my hands, ignoring the rest, who went on with a conversation behind us. “My dear, he may be looking to get his hands on a Pure Created. A mere Created Lilithian would not protect his army against your swords. He is a master of strategy. Everything he does has been planned out to make you think you have looked past the first two options and are clever enough to guess his real motive.”

“
Okay.” I nodded. “So, we won't send Pure Created knights in there.”

He looked over at the bunch of old and new immortals arguing and waving their hands around as the House learned about immunity for the first time. “I am sorry I had to bring that up, but it is no longer a card you hold.”

I nodded. “How did you know?”

He smiled. “You let something slip.”

“
I did?”

“
Yes.” His eyes darkened. “I only wish you had known of this before my sons died.”

I touched his shoulder, feeling Mike’s vehement glare on the side of my face. “I'm sorry, Arthur.”

He bowed and turned away. I watched his back until he disappeared into the crowds outside in the afternoon sun.

“
You told him about immunity?” Mike grabbed my arm.

“
I…he said I let something slip.”

“
Ara, this is exactly what I was afraid of.” He shoved me away softly and rubbed his brow. “Now Drake probably knows.”

“
Probably. But I don't think Arthur would have told him, or he wouldn't have just admitted that he knew about it.”