A Muse of Night

TWO

     The crack of a new dawn began the next risen dusk, Alex was King. Finally, he had been anticipating this since I met him. Only now would we know if he was truly going to be the man he needed to be, I told him a year and a half ago that he would be a great King.

Now we just needed to wait to see if I was right.

Kate sat still next to me, we attended the trials of all the Keepers who rose against me today. Those of them who were still alive anyway. He sat across from me, with a frightened smile on his face. Doom crushed into his look at his eyes slimmed down to crease at me. Words mushed together and I couldn't understand what anyone was saying, as if it mattered.

A shadow hauled around the corner of my glare as I turned to face to see Kazimir watching from the distance. The King's Hound waited for his moment's right, court wasn't supposed to know about his existence. Alex promised me he would be taken down as a witnessed, but secretly the King knew he would need to use Kazimir like his mother did. The Hound would remain a nameless weapon until he wasn't desired anymore.

Our eyes locked only for a second, I tore my gaze from him as I watched back the crown that rested on Alex's head.

He was watching me, I didn't falter from his eyes as I dropped my gaze to the Keeper on trial. The Keeper defending his actions as flashes of that night came to mind. The chains that bound me, stopping my voice. That image filled my nightmares, without Ithe it made things unbearable for me. "We could not break from our orders." The Keeper tried.

"And what we're your orders?" Alex asked, knowing they would all say the same thing.

A shudder of his voice filled the room, not a soul knew what to do with the words crossed. I was branded for death and now that I have died- only a bigger target was on my back. "Kill Cordelia Greerson and the traitors that walk with her." The traitors, that list was longer than anyone knew. Theron was just someone who warned me and Amelia didn't know anything about what I had done. They were simply examples and I was only able to save one of them.

Anger blistered out from Alex's mouth, the room watched as their King nearly broke his chair. "You dare use that name for my fiancé?" The hair rose on the back of my arms, Alex didn't give a damn about what name was used for me. He just didn't like it when another man thought about me, Alex was an obsessive man.

He needed to own his things.

The Keeper froze, not knowing what to say as he was lost. Kate and I both fixed our gazes. Leon stood next to me and Jean was on the other side of Kate. I knew no one could touch me where I was without a fight- but I knew even Vampires could not escape death. It's what I was born to do. "That is her name." The Keeper conjured up with what was left over of his confidence.

"She was taken into my mother's house, making her a Petri." Alex shook his head, "Say her name right." He commanded but his eyes looked straight at me with a smile in the light of them. He was enjoying this, he was amused by the Keeper's reactions. Alex liked to play with his prey.

I knew that very well.

The Keeper only grew enraged, trying to rise his the handcuffs under his body caused him to stop. They all spat the same curse. "She's a witch, she's a whore! She has no right to any name! She will be condemned to death!" Once he started, he quickly stopped. A hand clasped around his mouth as a Vampiric Guard dragged him off, knowing he would be known in prison for possibly the rest of his life. Alex would make sure that happened.

Even if the new King didn't want to admit it, he missed his mother. Even if the new King didn't want to mourn her death, the anger was still in his eyes. No matter how much the Keepers humored him.