Tamm need of your help
ivy crosses her arms over her chest defiantly. “And what does a vampire need of us? More feeders for your dungeon? Kindling for your bonfires?”
wince at the reminder of the witch hunts “Crimson Peak is at war We need
you! assistance in order to win the battle that is to come
The villagers murmur among themselves, their outrage and disbelief unmistakable among the cacophony of voices.
“Aher what has been done to our people why should we fight for you?” Ivy stresses. “After what was done to you, how can you fight for them?”
look over the angry faces of the villagers Rainer is strong and fast, and
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should the witches attack us, he won’t go down without a fight But bloodshed is the last thing I want to happen. I don’t want to hurt any of
Π.
“May we talk in private, Ivy?” I ask. “At least hear me out before you reject me completely. It’s what Bryony would have done.”
Ivy looks conflicted. She turns toward her people and then back to me. I don’t know if she ever even met Bryony or if they were close, but I’m hoping that the familiar connection between us gives me enough advantage that she will listen to me. I know what’s at stake if I fail here today.
Women come forward and whisper to Ivy. My superior hearing lets me catch what they’re saying. They’re all telling her to not listen to me and demand I leave. They have to recast the barrier and protect the village.
Ivy takes in their concerns, and I wait with bated breath. I grab Rainer’s hand and hold on, needing his strength to get me through this. I have spent a century hiding myself, and now I must be seen as I am. No more hiding.
Finally, Ivy turns to me and makes her decision.
An Unlikely Amazon
Bryon never stopped hoping you would come back And it’s because of her, I will tosten to what you have to say,” by declares. “V ill speak alone in my
home”
Rebel washes over me “Thank you, Ivy
She raises a hand to stop me. “Only you He can’t come into the village.”
Glancing down my intertwined hand with Rainer’s, I give him an apologetic look. He whispers in my ear, “I don’t like this. If you’re in danger, yell for me. and fight off the hoard to get to you.
“Ttl be fine,” I assure him. Try not to piss off the witches any more than they already are
His blue eyes bore into me. “Be careful.”
“I will.”
I squeeze his hand reassuringly before moving away from him. I feel the weight of dozens of stares as I follow Ivy into the village. We walk past buildings until we reach the largest house. It’s a two–story limestone building covered in foliage. Vines wrap around the metal railing of the balcony on the second floor. It makes the house look like it sprouted from the earth..
Ivy opens the heavy oak door and lets me in. She leads me into a kitchen which has dozens of labelled jars. Herbs, spices, and other ingredients that I recognize are used in potions. There is a large pewter cauldron on a table that looks well–used.
Ivy puts the kettle on the stove to boil water for tea. She takes out two delicate china teacups and saucers and carefully places them down on the round. kitchen table. I watch as she makes tea like my mother used to, placing mint leaves into the kettle. When the whistle blows, she takes it off the stove and pours us each a cup.
I wait for the tea to cool before even attempting to touch it. Gingerly, I pick up the teacup and take a small sip. The minty taste reminds me of a life I was
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An Unlikely AllS
taken away from a long time ago. This kitchen that smells of herbs reminds me of a home that doesn’t exist anymore.
Ivy hasn’t touched her tea. Her hazel eyes feel like they’re piercing straight to my soul.
“Well?” she prompts. “How are you going to conv e me that fighting your war is a good idea?”
I place the teacup down. “For what it’s worth, I didn’t want to involve the witches in this at all.”
“Then why did you come?”
“I’m here because Crimson Peak has become my home. There are people l care about there that I want to protect. If I don’t do anything to help in this war, they’re as good as dead or imprisoned should King Kane lose the fight.”
“I still don’t see how this is any of our business.”
“Do you really think King Peter’s going to stop at Crimson Peak? Once he’s conquered one of the largest vampire kingdoms, what’s to prevent him from marching forward and claiming your territory?”
Ivy glares at me. “You truly have become one of them, trying to intimidate us into doing what you want. What will you do if I say no? Hunt down every person in this village?”
“We won’t hurt anyone,” I insist. “But you must
See that Crimson Peak is the only thing standing in the way of Scarlett Thunder taking over land in the north.”
“That may be a possible problem in the future,” she counters. “It still isn’t enough of an incentive for us to risk our lives for the very people that hunted us down not that long ago. Besides, without a witch, they won’t get past our defenses.”
“I know what happened. I was there,” I remind her.
“What they did can’t just be forgotten.”
“No, but we can move forward,” I say. “King Kane isn’t like his father. He’s had a child with a shifter woman. He would be open to forging an alliance with this coven if you would give him the opportunity.”
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“An alliance?”
I nod. “An alliance could prevent any more witches from being hunted ever again. You would benefit from an arrangement like that. You would be equals.”
Ivy’s fingernail traces the rim of the teacup, her expression contemplative.” What else would King Kane be able to offer for t alliance?”
“The man that came with me would be able to tell you more,” I explain. “He is King Kane’s right hand man.”
“And you are friends with this man?”
If I could blush, my face would be red. “We are friends.”
She raises a dark eyebrow at me. “More than friends?”
1 clear my throat, trying to hide my embarrassment. The last thing I want to do is have to explain my relationship with Rainer to my long lost relative.
“It’s not important,” I say. “Are you willing to speak to him?”
“I will hear him out.”
This has gone better than I expected. I’m about to thank Ivy when she reaches across the wooden table to touch my arm. She turns my hand over with calloused fingers to trace the veins on my pale wrist. I know my body temperature runs colder than a human’s, almost like ice.
“How did you break the barrier?” she asks. “A vampire shouldn’t have been able to do that without the help of a witch.”
“I still have access to my magic. My father’s expertise was in warding magic. He taught me how to create and unravel spells of that nature.”
Her dark eyebrows furrow in confusion. “How did you keep your magic even after becoming a vampire?”
“I don’t know,” I answer. “I thought it would have disappeared after I was turned, but somehow, I can still access the magic in the earth.”
Witches are taught that losing their magic is a sign of a lost soul. A witch unable to access the magic in the earth, the leftover tools from creation,
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means she is dead in all the ways that matter. A witch turned vampire that has magic shouldn’t be possible at all. And yet, here I am, proof against those beliefs.
Ivy nods, her hand slipping away from me. “Bring your friend here. I would like. to listen to his offer now.
Kane
I tried not to be too hopeful when I sent Rainer and Willow looking for her old coven. I know trying to find witches that will be willing to ally themselves with us in war is not going to be an easy task. So when I receive word that, against all odds, Willow and Rainer have succeeded in granting me an audience with the high priestess of Willow’s former coven. I have no time to waste, and I make the trip to the village in the north.
I bring only a handful of guards with me, knowing the reception from the witches will not be warm and welcoming. There is a lot of bad blood between. our species. I can’t blame them for their distrust and anger. I have to leave my guards outside the village, only escorted by Rainer and Willow.
They lead me to the house of the high priestess. I expect an old crone, but the woman I find looks barely twenty. I can see the resemblance to Willow in the shape of their eyes and their noses. Ivy is a child compared to me, but the defiance in her hazel eyes reminds me that she is only young but not naïve.
“King Kane,” she says when I enter her living room. The simple furniture and herbal scent of the house is exactly what I expect her home to be like. “I have heard a lot about you.”
“All good things I hope,” I reply, trying to be charming.
She doesn’t smile. I try not to let it get to me. I have dealt with difficult royals and nobles my entire life. I’m able to hide any discomfort I’m feeling easily.
Ivy carries herself like a queen. We sit at her kitchen table and discuss terms for the alliance. I agree to relinquish my ownership of this land back to her coven as well as a certain amount of gold. This village has plans for expansion, and that always requires money.
in return. Ivy will recruit witches from hercoven and the ones she is associated with to give us the numbers we need for the upcoming wer Despite her youth, fry is a skilled negotiator and is able to sway people to her side. She would make a formidable energy I’m glad she is on my side instead of against me
Rainer presents the contracts we’ve written, and sign them, Ivy using her magic to make sure I cannot back out of her terms even if I want to Her magic pricks into my skin like needles. I force myself not to wince until she finishes casting the spell. When all is done, there is a chain of glowing runes around my
right wrist
An identical chain of runes appears on Ivy’s wrist. She asks, “How quickly do you need us to fight?”
“Sooner rather than later,” I answer. “I will send word when you and the witches are needed.”
She nods, getting up from the table. I follow her to the kitchen cabinet where she pulls out a bottle of bourbon and two glasses. She pours and hands me
one
“To a long alliance.” She raises her glass. “And to not dying in this war.”
“To a long alliance–and long lives.” I clink my glass against hers.
We both swallow and the burning sensation of the liquor down my throat helps unwind the knot of tension in me. After months of failed alliances, I’ve finally succeeded in my efforts, and this can turn the tide for us. With the shifters and witches on our side, suddenly our chances don’t feel so dismal. The most unlikely of alliances might be what saves my kingdom from ruin.
“I heard you had a child with a shifter woman,” Ivy says. “Is that true?”
I nod. “I have a son with Emory Moonraker. She’s the Alpha of the Moonraker pack”
“I’ve heard of her father.” She frowns. “He wasn’t a pleasant man to deal with.”
“You met him?”
“My mother did. She didn’t like him.”
“Not a lot of people did I agree “His daughter is different. She’s selfless and puts her pack first”
She looks contemplative “How did a vampire king and an Alpha shifter end up having a child together?”
“It’s a long story”
“Perhaps you’ll tell me the story someday
I nod. “When there’s time, I’ll be glad to do so
Even with the more genial air in this house, I can’t ignore the heavy ball of guilt I’ve been enduring since the bloody history with the witches was brought up. I’m very much aware that each person in this village has been affected by the actions of my family. I can’t brush everything under the rug and never acknowledge what my own father did to these people
I put my glass down on the kitchen table. I would be remiss not to bring this up. For what my father has down to your coven, to your kind. I am truly sorry And I know there’s nothing I can say that will make up for the grave wrongs that were done to you, but this is me trying to try to make amends.”
Ivy is quiet, clutching the half–empty glass of bourbon in her hand like a lifeline. Finally, she replies, “I grew up terrified of vampires. I heard the stories about the witch hunts, and I can feel the pain and sorrow of those that came before me. Their suffering cannot be wiped away with just an apology.”
I nod, expecting this reaction. “I know.”
“But….” She glances over to where Willow is standing with Rainer. “We can move forward to a better future. For the sake of my people, I must create a better path for them.”
Ivy’s hazel eyes stare into mine as she concludes, “I appreciate the apology. but actions speak louder than words. Keep yours, and we’ll be allies for a long time. Break your word, and you’ll wish we’d never met.”
I look right back at her. “I believe you.
