Vampire Queen

Chapter fifteen

To celebrate our betrothal, Cassius held a grand tournament. It was to be attended by the best fighters from the entire kingdom. The Royal Guard was to put on a spectacular display of power. My brother was also supposed to participate.

And there was also supposed to be one little surprise that Cassius somehow forgot to mention to me.

"You will participate in tomorrow's tournament, Dragomira," he told me at the last moment.

"Not by chance," I objected.

"You have no choice," Cassius said.

"I won't fight in your made-up fights," I said. "No one will actually fight me because they'll be afraid that if they beat me, you'll cut their head off."

"I wouldn't pick you if there was even the slightest chance you'd lose," Cassius argued.

"Are you going to risk me being killed?" I gave him a challenging look.

"It will only be a fight for first blood," said Cassius. "I have invited the kings of the northern territories. Only four accepted the invitation. Each designated their champion to fight. I chose you, Dragomira. They will fight you fairly. They will want to win."

"Why did you invite the kings from the northern territories?" I did not understand.

"They are attacking us from the north. They think we are weak. I want to prove them wrong and that's why my queen must be strong too," said Cassius.

"What if I lose?" I asked him.

"I'm sure you won't lose, Dragomira," Cassius replied. "Your own pride won't let you."

"If I'm just a pawn in your chess game, why not just kill the kings when they arrive?"

"I would expect you to understand, Dragomira. I will kill the current kings and another will come and they will want revenge. They must be afraid of our power."

"We are vampires. You are immortal."

Not so much, it crossed my mind.

"If they knew the truth about what we are, they wouldn't dare attack us."

"However, our people would turn against us," he objected.

"Our?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"You will become queen, Dragomira, so our," he said.

⸸

"Welcome to Kilig." King Cassius welcomed the kings from the north who had decided to arrive. "I hope you had a pleasant travel."

At first glance, Cassius seemed like someone you didn't want to mess with. He looked like the cruel king they talk about. He was perfectly polished. Dressed in his black suit. He had an arrogant look on his face. That one unruly strand of his raven hair fell into his eyes. A golden crown shone on his head.

I stood by his side. I was dressed in a black dress with a train, decorated with gold ornaments. He also put a crown on my head, even though I wasn't a queen yet.

"I'm not the queen yet," I said to Cassius.

"You will be soon, so start getting used to wearing it," he said and put it on my head himself.

I tried to keep the same cold attitude as him. I stood proudly as if we owned the world.

"Your invitation is our honor, King Cassius." kings spoke.

"Why is your castle hidden in the dark?" asked King Noir. "Are you afraid of the light?"

From his kingdom of Odera, which stretched to the far north, the hunters used to come. Its kings were conquerors. They conquered most of the divided north and today their borders extend to ours.