Vampire Heart

Chapter 8

Sunday next was an empty, frosty day. As per my latest habit, I went out walking in the empty gardens, with Yuri the only other creature keeping me company. I felt Damian’s absence more acutely now, because I was all alone, and the silence of the frozen grounds was eerie and almost absolute. Except for our footsteps in the cracking snow, there was no chirping of birds, not a gust of wind. It was as if the entire world had gone quiet, holding its breath for something ominous to come. And it did.

She appeared before me as though she had already been there, only my eyes could not see her. Against the white landscape, Alzbeta’s rich, red and gold attire was creating a stark contrast, her copper hair loose, draping long below her breasts. I stopped at a safe distance, quite startled with the apparition.

What was she doing here? Alzbeta had always made it clear she hated this part of the gardens. Beside me, Yuri crouched on his hind legs and began to growl lowly. I put my hand on his tan head and stroked his thick fur, murmuring soothingly.

‘Hush, Yuri. Down, boy.’

He nudged his warm body even closer against my legs and went quiet, but I could still feel the slight trembling of tension.

‘Alzbeta. I wasn’t expecting your visit in the garden of my mother,’ I very blatantly stressed the last word. ‘Was there something you required?’

The Queen Regent was measuring me and my dog in a strange and malicious way, her silver eyes unblinking. From the tips of her long fingers, I could swear I saw little sparks of light.

‘What I require, Irena, I already have. And what I still need, I shall possess very soon,’ she said softly, her red lips curling in a sort of grin. ‘I came here to find you today, because the other obstacles are no longer in my way, and because I wish to deal with this disturbing situation personally.’

At first, I frowned, not understanding.

‘If by that you mean my betrothal to Lord Turek, you may rest assured. I have had no part in it, as you very well know,’ I said quickly. ‘You may even marry him yourself if you so wish.’

‘Oh no, silly girl,’ she laughed. ‘You and that fool are well suited for one another. Besides, Jan has already provided me with what I have been yearning for most.’

Her pale hands descended to her lower abdomen and settled there in an unmistakable gesture. My eyes flashed up to her in astonishment, then anger.

‘You would do this? Betray Father in such a way?’

Alzbeta laughed again.

‘Oh yes, and I betrayed him many nights, and many times a night, in various ways, each more satisfyingly sinful than the next. But you wouldn’t care to know such things, would you, Irena?’

Alzbeta made a few steps closer to me until I could sense her amber and musk perfume in the crisp frosty air.

‘No, you would not. You are yet too young and frigid to even want to know,’ she murmured, lifting a hand to lightly caress my face.

I recoiled from her touch.

‘That’s why he left you, didn’t he? Your dear guardian Damian,’ she pressed, her eyes almost hypnotic.

‘He left because he had to. Because Father and the Council sent him into exile,’ I managed, my mouth dry.

‘No, stupid girl. He left because you didn’t give him what he wanted,’ Alzbeta retorted maliciously. ‘Because you were coy and inexperienced and couldn’t satisfy his true needs, his deepest desires. Only a real woman would stand up to him. Only a real woman could dream to accomplish the most secret yearnings of a man such as he is. And I am that woman!’