The Silver Eyed Prince (Highest Royal Coven of Europe) (3 page)

“We finally meet, Sir Henry,” Prince William spoke as if he had known him all along.

Dumb
founded at the unexpected encounter, Sir Henry managed to mutter a polite response to Prince William Erik XIV, the center of his purpose.

“Well?” The King cast a sardonic glance at Sir Henry as they all sat down. “Does he look like The R
edeemer to you?”

Sir Henry studied the Prince, who slid his tall, well-built frame into the chair opposite him. He had the same cynical expression as his father, and he regarded Sir Henry with inc
isive eyes that were undeniably silver. Something about the Prince validated who he was, but also chilled Sir Henry as he met the scrutiny of those metallic eyes. An odd sensation that the Prince was leafing through his thoughts and examining his true intent made him feel vulnerable in his presence.

“It is he! I've no doubt,” Sir Henry heard himself proclaim. “He came to make the Purification and Rest
oration of the European Covens possible, Sire!”

The King frowned. “And how is that possible, Sir Henry? The great Omni has denied us the blessing of a Pure One for the past two centuries!”

“My King—,” Sir Henry said with urgency, “that is the reason I am here. Prince William Erik the Fourteenth must come with me to America to fulfill his destiny.”

The King inhaled sharply and leaned back in his chair.

An uncomfortable silence ensued.

Sir Henry willed the courage to take the opportunity and plead his case. “I implore you, Sire! This is the right time in history—the only time. It may never come again. And then the European bloodline will wea
ken further. The Royal Covens from other continents are well aware of your predicament. It will only be a matter of time before one of them succumbs to the allure of power and wage war to gain supremacy. If your people fail to be the fittest and strongest bloodline, the Highest Royal Coven of Europe shall not survive!”

Sir Henry paused to observe the King and Prince, their eyes riveted on him. He flushed, hoping that his t
irade didn't offend them both.

“Guards!” The Prince stood and motioned to the men.

Sir Henry's heart dropped. He bowed his head in resignation, waiting for his arrest.

“Is that all, Sir Henry?” The King said.

“Yes, my King.”

“Then you may go.”

Dejected, Sir Henry headed toward the open doors where the guards stood waiting with the Prince.

“I regret to inform you, Sir Henry, that you must cancel your flight to America,” the Prince said in a grave tone.

“I understand, Your Highness.”

“Splendid!” The Prince’s expression changed. “I would be delighted to have you fly in the private jet with me. Your luggage has already been loaded together with mine. We leave in a half hour with my cousins.”

Sir Henry gaped at him in bewilderment. “But the King, Your Highness! He will have my head if you come with me!”

“I can assure you, he shall not.” Prince William turned to walk towards the hallway. “You see, I was e
xpecting you,” he said over his shoulder. “I flew in from Switzerland three days ago with my cousins, anticipating your visit.”

Sir Henry hurriedly caught up with him. “But no one knew about my visit except for my assistant, Ric
hard Stapleton and my councilors! How—?”

Prince William paused
with a meaningful smile, raising his hand to silence Sir Henry. “I am the Silver Eyed Prince. The Wise Historians call me the powerful Son of the Omni for a reason.” Then, in a more serious note, “I've been waiting for my destiny for more than one hundred years, Sir Henry.” Patent longing graced his remarkable eyes. “It's time for me to find her.”

Sign of the Omni

Four days earlier

Mansfield High, Connecticut

Northeastern United States

       Everyone forgot about her birthday. Elizabeth stood by the exit gate and sighed. Everyone that is, except for tall, blond, green-eyed, Bryan McKnight—Captain of the basketball team, God's gift to women, her one and only BFE (Best Friend Extraordinaire.)

She waved as his white BMW pulled up in front of her.

“Hey there, birthday girl!” He leaned over and opened the passenger door.

“Where are we going?” She hopped in and buckled herself.

“You'll see.” He grinned. “But first, let me take you home so you can change.” He eyed the grimy sneakers and sweaty T-shirt she wore in P.E.

“Do I have time to shower?” She fished out a scrunchie from her bag and tied her waist
-length strawberry blond hair into a ponytail.

“Yeah—, but do it fast. I got re
servations. We can't be late.” He maneuvered his car into traffic and turned towards the direction of her house.

“Oh, Bry, thank you!” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “No one remembered except you! My mom left to catch her translation deadline before I even woke up, Sue and Vanessa went to band practice, and Anne and Charlie had drama rehearsals!”

“Hey—no moping on your birthday, Lizzie-bee.” He glanced at her and winked. “You still got me.”

Elizabeth crinkled her nose at him. He made up her pet name when they met during her first week at Man
sfield High. She was tearing down the hallway, late and flustered, and he was rushing around the corner. The collision sent their things flying in all directions, but somehow, instead of getting angry at each other, they ended up laughing non-stop.

“See you later, Lizzie-bee,” he said over his shou
lder after they had introduced themselves. And he did—with his friends, Sue, Vanessa, Charlie and Anne in tow. They've been friends ever since and her pet name stuck.

“Here we are.” Bryan parked in front of the leased yellow cottage situated on a quiet tree-lined street where she and her mom lived.

“I don't think my mom's home yet,” she said, as they crossed the porch to the dark, quiet house. She inserted the key in the lock and swung the door open.

The lights switched on, confetti rained and horns blared. “Surprise!” Her mother, Sue, Anne, Vanessa and Charlie exclaimed in unison.

Elizabeth shrieked as everyone rushed to greet her.

“Happy seventeenth birthday, sweetie!” Mom hugged her tightly.

“Thanks, Mom!” She laughed. “I thought you guys abandoned me!”

“I baked you a cake.” Vanessa pointed at the pink confection adorned with seventeen candles. “Hope you like it.”

Elizabeth walked towards the dining table. “I love it! Thanks, Chef Vanessa Blake!” She put an arm around her shoulders.

Mom lit the candles and they all sang the birthday song. Charlie pr
etended to be the conductor, waving a fork in time to the music.

“Everybody gather around Elizabeth so I can take a picture,” Mom said when the song ended.

Anne, Charlie, Vanessa, Bryan, and Sue crowded on either side of her. The camera flashed as she blew out all seventeen candles. Everyone cheered.

“Time for presents!” Sue clapped in excitement, her brown curls boun
cing.

“We got you some cool gift cards!” Charlie held up a small envelope. “iTunes, babe!” He wiggled his brows with a comical look on his freckled face.

“... and eBooks.” Anne waved a red card, pushing her glasses upwards on her nose.

“Last but not least—” Sue pulled out a card in the shape of a burger. “Dinner at Granny Louise’s Diner!”

“Gee—thanks, guys!” Elizabeth gave all three a group hug.

“Here's something you can use with eBooks.” Mom handed her a gift bag.

Elizabeth rummaged through the tissue and pulled out an e-book tablet. “Oh, Mom, thank you!” She kissed her cheek. “This is perfect!”

“And this is for your music downloads
and personal communication.” Bryan handed her a small box.

She placed the tablet on the table and took the box, ripping off the wrapping. “Oh my gosh—an iPhone?” She jumped up and down and flung herself at Bryan, knocking him backwards on the fat chair behind him.

“Whoa! Lizzie-bee!” he yelled as she toppled on top of him. “Get your knee off the family jewels! Yikes! Ouch!”

Sue, Anne, and Vanessa collapsed in fits of laughter on the sofa.

“I feel sorry for you, bro.” Charlie guffawed. “You should've just gotten her a gift card.”

“This is too expensive!” Elizabeth said. “Are you sure—?”

“It’s no big deal.” Bryan shrugged. “Barely dented my allowance.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is my
best birthday ever!” She dropped a loud smack on Bryan's nose before scrambling off him.

“Okay, kids, grab some cake!” Mom hollered over the excitement, placing slices of chocolate cake with vanilla icing on paper plates.

They sat in the living room eating, and for the next few hours, chatted while playing games. But as the evening wore on, Elizabeth felt fatigued. She stretched and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Tired?” Bryan asked.

“Yeah, I didn't sleep well last night.” In fact, she hadn't had a good night's rest since her nape started bothering her a week ago.

Bryan looked at his watch. “Well, it's almost ele
ven. We better get going.”

“No—stay.” She placed a hand on his arm.

“It's a school night.” He stood and grabbed his jacket. “Besides, I have to give everybody a ride to my dad's ranch. We left all the cars there so you wouldn’t suspect anything.”

“We got you, didn't we?” Charlie reached for his coat behind her chair.

Elizabeth chuckled. “Totally. You guys rock!”

“We've been avoiding you the whole day.” Sue laughed.

“And thank God it's winter or your cake wouldn't have survived in my car!” Vanessa chimed in.

“But it was all worth it,” Anne said. “Happy Birt
hday, Elizabeth.”  

“Thanks, everyone.” Elizabeth rose as they shrugged on their jackets. “You guys take care, okay?” She hugged each of them by the door. “See you tomo
rrow.”

“I'll pick you up at seven twe
nty,” Sue said.

Bryan was the last person to go. “Thanks, Bry.” She hugged and kissed him on the cheek. “You're the best B.F.E. ever.”

“Anything for my Lizzie-bee.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Get some sleep.” He ruffled her hair and said goodnight to her mother who was coming from the kitchen.

Elizabeth stood on the porch and watched him go into the chilly night. He climbed inside the BMW with the rest of the gang and waved as he drove away. She laughed and blew him a kiss. She was so lucky to have him as a friend, though at first everyone thought they were dating. Her lips twitched at the memory of the sharp looks thrown her way by jealous girls during those first few weeks of school.

True, Bryan said he liked her and she liked him as well, but the attraction between them was special—hard to explain. Like her, Bryan was an only child raised by a single parent, a wealthy father who traveled frequently. Both of them were lonely in some way, and like kindred spirits, they gravitated to each other, forming a bond as strong as that of a brother and sister.

Elizabeth smiled as she remembered the first time they sat on the hood of his car one starry night and talked about their dreams, ambitions, their lives and where they wanted to be, five, ten, twenty years from now. It felt good to have a true friend to share things with. No wonder their closeness raised a lot of ey
ebrows.

Elizabeth sighed. Of course, Bryan's groupies eve
ntually realized that their relationship was strictly platonic. Eventually, she found herself the object of unlikely attention, which she could only justify as
popularity by association
.

Virtually overnight, almost every girl in school, from the quiet brain
iacs to the hot cheerleader types, like that waspy, plastic, queen bee, Jessica Myers, suddenly wanted to be her friend—just to get closer to her BFE.

Elizabeth cringed at the thought. Bryan attracted females regardless of phyla or genus.

She turned to go back inside the house as his car taillights disappeared in the distance. She was exhausted and a little dizzy. Her knees began to buckle.

“What's wrong?” Mom asked, as Elizabeth leaned heavily on the doo
rframe.

“I don't feel good,” she grimaced. “My neck has bothered me all day—.” She gripped the doorknob, fee
ling faint.

Her mother rushed to her side and helped her onto the sofa. “Show me where it hurts.”

“Here.” Elizabeth slipped a trembling hand under the veil of her hair. She felt so weak and drowsy; she couldn't keep her eyes open. Slowly, she sagged forward.

Mom caught her and gathered Elizabeth’s waist-length hair, lifting it up to inspect the spot. A perfect circle had materialized on her nape, as if stamped with a hot iron. She shuddered in disbelief, but the evidence glared before her.