His Divine Queen

The Research

“I’m not trying to bring the mood down or anything, but we’ve been here for hours and we still haven’t found anything. Are you sure you didn’t just imagine this book?”

Arabella sighed at her friend’s complaint, rolling her neck to stretch out the aches from leaning over her desk and latest failed book attempt. Kylia’s mood had only steadily declined since they had first entered the library in the early hours of the morning. At first it had been amusing, but even Arabella’s upbeat attitude couldn’t deal with the monotonous droning for much longer.

Kylia, Demetri and herself had been scouring the library’s extensive collection of books for any sign of the bloodthirsty demons that Arabella could have sworn she had read about when she was younger. She remembered it clearly, for it had given her nightmares for weeks afterwards – even after she’d sent it back to Alaric in dismay.

“Yes, Kylia,” the Queen finally replied, stretching her legs as she walked towards the bookshelf that she had nearly finished browsing. “I’m sure I didn’t imagine it, it’s definitely here somewhere.”

Her hands skimmed the spines of the books in front of her, stopping on one that she had yet to look through. The room was silent behind her, yet when Arabella retook her seat at the table, book in hand, she looked up to see Kylia glaring absentmindedly at the table.  

Arabella let out a long breath, “what is it Kylia? You’ve been in a terrible mood all morning.”

“What, aside from you waking me up early to trawl through some mindless books for strange, mystical demon creatures?” Kylia retorted sharply, hesitating when she saw Arabella raise a poised eyebrow. Her mind seemed to be torn as she glanced to the quietly studious Demetri sitting on a separate table.

Arabella followed her glance, immediately catching on to its hidden meaning. “It’s fine, Kylia,” she reassured softly, “He’s safe, he won’t speak about anything outside this room.”

Kylia exhaled noisily, removing her hands from her book to rub at her face wearily, “I’m just worried about Camila. I have no idea where she is.”

“Kylia…” Arabella sighed, finally understanding what had made her friend so snappy the whole morning. “I’m sure it’s nothing. She’s always going astray, you know that.”

“Yes, but not when I’m here.” Kylia groaned, “she’s always tried to spend as much time with me when I’m back in the city.”

“My scouts spotted her leaving the city a few days back, heading West.”

“What?!” Kylia probed, turning to Demetri who had pushed himself away from his latest perusal to join their conversation. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“See!” Arabella piped up quickly, interrupting Demetri before he responded. “She’s always doing this, probably to shift somewhere quiet. She can’t as well do it in the city!”

Kylia paid no attention to her, the General’s brown eyes narrowing into a glare that was directed straight at the indifferent guard.   

“Kylia…” Arabella groaned exasperatedly, “stop this. She’s a big girl, she can take care of herself.”

The Duchess glared once more at Demetri, whose dark eyes only stared back at her in defiance, before sighing dramatically, “I know. Sorry.”

They all continued to work in silence, an awkward silence that smothered the late morning air in tension. Arabella was just ready to give up for the day when a strangled sound erupted from her left, at the table where Demetri was stationed.

She glanced up in surprise, meeting Kylia’s perplexed expression before turning to her guard. “You okay, Demetri?”

“I’ve found it,” he muttered, showing the most expression he had all day when his gaze met hers. Arabella had spent enough time around him to know that he was not an expressive man, that the only emotion he would ever show was in his eyes. At this moment, their deep brown shade, only a touch darker than his skin, sparkled in excitement as they locked onto hers.

Arabella felt a breath catch in her throat, her own book completely forgotten as she jumped from her seat and raced to stand beside him. She leant over, scanning the opened page before she smiled delightedly, “that’s it! Excellent work Demetri, this is exactly what I remember!”

The Queen felt rather than saw her friend come up behind her, peeking over her shoulder at the illustrated pages of the ancient book. She felt Kylia’s breath quicken at her shoulder, a slight tremor detectable in the strong frame that curved around Arabella’s smaller one. She was afraid, because the words in front of her meant that these demons were real. It was a reminder that this wasn’t just a nightmare anymore, but a real terrifying hell that had come knocking on their front door. It was a reminder of just how unprepared they were.

But Kylia would never admit she was scared. She would hide her fears and walk to meet these creatures with her head held high, because that was just who she was. She would fight with every fibre of her being, would give her life for this city. But Arabella couldn’t let that happen, couldn’t lose her like they’d lost Killian. She would give her own life before that happened.

The Queen turned her attentions back to the page in front of her. A double spread with a vicious looking demon-creature at its centre. “Vampires…” She muttered as her eyes continued to scan the page before her.

The Vampires. Deadly night demons that feed on only the lifeblood of living beings. Preference: human blood. Terrifyingly fast and quiet, can blend into the shadows like they have crafted them themselves. Practically indestructible, yet is weakened by sunlight and werewolf venom. The only way to kill a vampire is with a wooden stake to the heart.

That was it, Arabella thought with a sinking heart. The only things they knew about these creatures that had been terrorising her people. It didn’t exactly inspire confidence.

“My grandmother used to tell me stories about these things,” Demetri whispered with uneasiness, “but that was all they were. Just stories. Just the vorvolakas that would steal you away at night if you were a bad child.”

They were all quiet for a moment, so silent that the soft winds rushing past the window could be heard. The demon creature sketch was unnerving, its red eyes glaring out the pages and into Arabella’s mind, taunting her, killing her. She’d had enough.

“Apparently not,” Arabella replied eventually, sliding away from the desk in her attempt to clear her head of those gleaming red eyes. “All stories must come from somewhere.”

Her mind spun with the new information. It was bittersweet, that they finally understood what had been attacking their city, yet they were still no closer to being rid of them. She had no idea what to do now, what the next plan of action was. She had to speak to Lorcan.

A sharp snort came from Kylia, who was still leaning over the desk with Demetri. “Bella, come look at this,” she laughed, moving aside and allowing the Queen to tentatively approach the book again. This time, the pages had been turned to show a sharp drawing of a beastly looking wolf, its thick fangs dripping with blood and sharp paws and claws curved in a way that made them look like hands – human hands.

“What is this?”

“Us!” Kylia exclaimed in relief, “This is meant to be what a shifter looks like – a werewolf! I’m not sure we can trust anything this book says after all.”

“For all we know,” Demetri joined in with a deep chuckle, “the vampires could be hungry little bats just looking for a cave to hang upside down in.”

As she watched her two friends laugh and joke together, Arabella let herself smile. These were the moments that she lived for. The small moments that she may have once taken for granted, but after experiencing so much loss she knew that they were the most important moments in the world. She would never take them for granted any more.  

A sharp twinge dug into her heart as she thought of all the people that couldn’t be here any longer, of all the people she had cherished and lost. But as the pain came, she welcomed it with open arms. She let it feed her strength, soothe her grief and placate her mind, as her thoughts turned only to the future.

She had come so far, and she wouldn’t stop until her city was finally safe.