‘Stop.’

‘A-and we could get you someone to speak to about … about what has been done to you. You don’t have to tell me who it is if you don’t want to, but—’

‘Stop.’

Thousands of beads leapt back off the swelling surface of the water in the fountain, lapping over the stone walls. The grass was flecked with white, like a frosty morning and the sky split open with a ferocious crack, the grounds of Varnley lit up by a flash of lightning.

‘No, I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. Tomorrow night, I’m going to become a vampire. Then in two weeks time I’m going to go to Athenea and so are you. But before that, you, Lily and those other two men are going to go home and you are going to hand in your resignation from your position and the party. Eaglen will accompany you to ensure it is done. You leave early tomorrow.’

I left the window, passing his dumbfounded face, splitting into a temper like the sky.

‘Is that it? I lost my son, I almost lost my youngest and now I shall lose my daughter?’

I paused at the door, gripping each side of the frame with my fingertips. ‘Don’t you know the Prophecy? “Destined to betray her kin.” That’s how it is.’ Even I was surprised at the hollow tone of my voice. ‘Now don’t you have a letter of resignation to write?’

I didn’t hang around to hear his reaction. It was cruel, it was cold-hearted, but I needed him to resign. I couldn’t worry about my family’s safety as well as everything else. And more importantly, I wanted him and Lily away when I turned. Far away.

‘Fate truly does choose well.’ My eyes, fixed on the floor, shot upwards to see Eaglen, his tiny, frail frame leaning, quite casually, against the wall of the corridor. The impish smile of a much younger man was perched on his lips. I narrowed my eyes and glanced back at the door of my room, swinging shut and sealing my father in.

‘You heard all of that?’ He bowed his head and raised it again in reply. ‘Then will you do it? Go with him and ensure he resigns?’

He chortled. ‘I am duty bound to do whatever you tell me to do, young He**ine. If you were to order me to throw myself from a cliff, I would do so.’

I bit my lip. Right. ‘Well, that’s good. Not the cliff part though. That’s not good. Don’t do that.’

He continued to chortle, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and tugging at his beard with an amused expression of someone in on a private joke. ‘I suspect Athenea are going to find you quite … intriguing. But I will ensure that all you told your father will be done. Good afternoon, My Lady.’ He bowed and still unused to such treatment, I stood for a few more seconds before realizing now was the polite moment to move away. But I had hardly made it to the top of the staircase when I stopped, cocking my head to one side.

‘Eaglen, just one question.

‘Did you know all along? That I was a He**ine, I mean.’

‘Yes, My Lady.’ I definitely preferred Miss Lee to My Lady. ‘I had my suspicions from the moment I heard the young Prince had taken you. When I first encountered you at the dinner for the council members, those suspicions were confirmed.’ I cast my mind back to that dinner, straining to remember my first introduction to Eaglen. He had stared at me. Is that when …?

‘How did you know?’ Silence. I waited, but he did not speak. I felt my palm clench, frustrated that yet again, I was being denied answers. ‘Well, why didn’t you say anything? None of this would have happened if you had.’

‘In a game of chess, My Lady, one has to make certain moves at the right time in order to win.’

What sort of an answer is that? I had been imprisoned, almost raped, bitten and almost killed in the past few months. Somehow, it seemed there was a little more at stake than in a game of chess.

‘Then at least tell me this. What’s going to happen after these two weeks?’

‘Why, My Lady, you, along with the entire court, will go to Athenea, where further decisions will be made,’ he replied in a flat, unemotional tone. I whipped around to face him, the anger in my face and voice evident.

‘You know what I mean,’ I hissed. ‘All I want are straight answers. Why won’t you give them to me?’

He straightened up, drawing himself to his full height – he always stooped so I never realized his true size, which left me feeling considerably smaller.

‘And neither, My Lady, does one know of the next move in a game of chess. Now excuse me, I must attend to your father and I believe His Majesty wishes to speak to you.’ He pointed one of his crooked fingers towards the staircase and bowed, disappearing into my room. I scowled at the spot he had been standing in for a few seconds before someone behind me cleared their throat.

‘Your Majesty!’ I dropped into a curtsey as soon as I saw him, forgetting I didn’t need to, just as he swept a hand behind his back and bowed.

‘Lady He**ine, may we speak?’ I nodded and he gestured towards the door to Kaspar’s room, which was nearest. A little hesitant, I followed him in. He closed the door behind me and I watched as his eyes glided over the contents of the room – first the wrought-iron bed, which was untouched, not used for weeks – not since I slept in it. They moved to the closed French doors; the voiles; the drapes and the falling hail behind, hitting the balcony and producing a constant drumming. From there they slid to the grate of the fireplace and the cluttered mantle, strewn with paper and deodorant cans; and just above that, they settled, hovering on the great picture of himself in his younger days and his beautiful, kind-hearted wife, her eyes staring at the bed she would never again lie in.

How long is it since he has been in here? I wondered. His eyes did not leave the painting, his Adam’s apple rising as he swallowed hard, his hand frozen on the doorknob.

‘Your Majesty?’ I began as tentatively as I could, thinking that this was perhaps not the best place to talk.

He turned towards me, looking like he had only just realized I was there. ‘Forgive me. I would suggest my study, but it is presently in use by the Sage.’

The King released his hand from the door and returned to his usual manner, moving to the centre of the room in one brisk motion and, I noticed, turning away from the painting.

‘I thought it time that I offered you an explanation for my behaviour over the past few months.’ Damn right it’s time. ‘But first, Kaspar tells me that you wish to turn tomorrow night.’ I nodded. ‘And he asked permission to turn you. That is your wish, correct?’ Again I nodded. He nodded too, like he was absorbing that information. ‘I think it best that we do not inform the rest of the household about your chosen date. And perhaps, to also ensure your privacy, it would be best for you both to retreat into here tomorrow evening.’ He nodded to himself and almost as an afterthought, added, ‘Is this agreeable to you, My Lady?’

Again I just nodded. I couldn’t do anything else; I didn’t trust my tongue as a knot of nerves squeezed its way through my gut.

‘That is settled then.’ He took a step forward. ‘He also asked my permission to court you.’

I seized up. Frozen, like a wide-eyed rabbit in headlights, I held my breath, waiting for his next sentence. I knew that if the King said no, that meant no, He**ine or not.

‘My son is quite devoted to you, My Lady, quite devoted, and I have known that for some weeks now. I have no shame in admitting that it was therefore a great evil of me to try and prevent such an attachment from forming.’

I loosened the tiniest amount, but inside, I was begging him for a straight yes or no answer – the rest could come later. He, on the other hand, seemed intent on explaining himself first.

He clutched his hands behind his back, beginning to pace between his spot near the door and the bed. ‘Rumours began circulating about the He**ines months ago, long before you came to us. Those that believed the Prophecy, myself included, knew that the time was coming and that the first He**ine would be found sometime in the next decade or so. Although I never expected it to be this early,’ he added in an undertone, speaking to himself more than me. ‘Long ago, in the time that the Prophecy was written, my wife had a most extraordinary experience—’

‘I know,’ I interrupted. ‘She met Contanal.’ He froze mid-pace, looking quite astounded. ‘I read your wife’s letter to Kaspar. It was an accident. It was how I found out about being tied,’ I admitted, feeling sheepish and trying to make my voice sound apologetic.

‘You know about that?’

‘I know about it all. I know you knew the Prophecy was coming true and acted out of love for your family, and to protect me and the Kingdom. I understand now.’

His eyes couldn’t find any one spot to settle as he absorbed that information and I watched in utter astonishment as something extraordinary happened: he held out his hand for me to shake.

‘I lost my temper, My Lady. I punished you and Kaspar for events beyond your control. And for that I am deeply sorry.’

His hand never dropped in all the minutes that I allowed to pass, and I knew that his determination was how he showed his sincerity, because Kaspar did the same thing – he never gave up. So I reached forward, and I forgave him.

A gale whipped up, passing the windows which shook in such a violent way that I could see the frames vibrating and one of the French doors burst open, springing back on its hinges and slamming against the frame, letting the fierce wind in. I jumped and clutched my chest in surprise, breaking our handshake; the King’s abruptly hunched shoulders relaxed and he pulled both doors shut, pulling the drapes straight again.

He sighed and he was back to his explanation. ‘And then in the early hours of yesterday morning, we were alerted to the fact the borders between this dimension and the first had been reopened, quite out of the blue. Athenea utterly denied involvement, claiming that it had been the first He**ine. Yet just a few hours later, the guards notified us that two Sage had entered the three mile border around Varnley, and were headed towards Varns’ Point. Immediately, I ordered the lighting of the beacons to call the council, but it had the reverse effect. Only minutes after the beacons were lit, I received a note.’

I averted my gaze as he pulled something from an inner pocket of his jacket – a crumpled piece of paper, which he passed to me. I took it, smoothing out the folds.

‘Do you recognize the hand in which it is written?’ I watched as he retreated to lean against the bedpost, looking every bit the picture of his son. I blushed, realizing what I was thinking and quickly redirected my attention to the note.

It was crumpled, but scrawled across the centre of the sheet was a message, short and to the point:

Michael Lee struck bargain with hunters for Carmen’s death. Lee girl knows. Pierre will confirm.

It was not signed and I didn’t recognize the handwriting: it was scribbled and half-joined, like it had been written in a hurry. It was unsettling to know that I was holding the same piece of paper that whoever had betrayed me held. It was more unsettling that they had specifically mentioned that I knew. They must have anticipated what would happen to me once the King found out about my father’s involvement, which meant somebody didn’t want me around. I swallowed.

‘No,’ I answered, handing it back.

‘Sadly, you are not the only one,’ he sighed. ‘It did occur when I first read it that it was a hoax, but the dates of when your father’s party was elected into government and the time in which my wife visited Romania correlated. Pierre confirmed it within the hour and the rest I am sure neither of us wishes to voice.’ Even in the relative gloom of the room, I could see his eyes were tinged with pink and as he caught me looking, I turned away, pretending I hadn’t seen.

‘But you are a He**ine, and it does not do to dwell upon that which has been. I told Kaspar that I have no objection to his courtship of you, although I recommend you keep it a private affair at least until December. I see that you have given Eaglen orders concerning your father, and I am most grateful that you intend to remove him from our company until we leave for Athenea.’ He bowed, but stopped when he reached the door, turning back with the first true smile I had ever seen on his lips. ‘Welcome to my Kingdom, Lady He**ine.’

Just twenty-four more hours of being human.

SIXTY-ONE

Violet

The cold wrapped itself around my skin, caressing my sides and shoulders like hands. Drops of rain bounced off the stone of the railing in front of me as I took shelter in the alcove beside the main entrance. Like tiny shards of shrapnel, they ricocheted in all directions, some hitting my shirt, flecked with damp; I caught others in my outstretched hand, turning it, watching, mesmerized, as the drops raced across the curvatures of my palm and fingers before eventually plummeting to the ground. Puddles were forming on the grass, reduced in patches to mud as the rain fell as hard as when it had started, six or seven hours before.

‘In a relationship with a girl I would have been an idiot to let go yesterday. A girl who breathed life into this place. A girl who made me feel again. How natural.’

I wrapped my arms around my middle, imagining his arms around me, his touch, his breath …

I shivered, more from the temperature than anything else, but I savoured the feeling. I wanted to remember how the night air felt cold, and how my toes curled so they wouldn’t touch the frosty stone, and how each drop of rain on my skin felt like it left an icy burn behind.

‘Mine,’ a voice sighed in my ear. ‘All mine,’ it repeated, as arms clad in a black shirt placed themselves just above my own arms, wrapped around my middle. His hair tickled my neck as he bowed his head, his lips finding a vein and kissing their way down it, hands not hesitating to find my br**sts, pulling me closer as I cupped his hands with my own and took an involuntary step back into his chest.