Every King Needs A Queen / Book Three / Daring Spell Series / The Originals

Behind the Black Horizon

It was day, and Lucien was leading Freya and me through the woods of a town in Virginia, not knowing about the message I had left behind to Marcel and the others back home and a vial of my blood so that they could find us.

Freya's wrists were still bound but she was no longer gagged, clearly not impressed with this situation, simply glaring at Lucien. "After all that flirtation... this is your idea of a first date?"

Lucien laughed in amusement. "Think of it as a date with destiny, love. And while three is most likely referred to as a crowd, this time, it is what makes things more fun."

"Yeah, you're leaving out the part where I'm not exactly here of my own volition," I told him angrily. "The Ancestors must have lost their damn minds."

Lucien smiled. "Quite the opposite. I've never dealt with a saner bunch. See, when I arrived in New Orleans, I made them a deal. Upon my request, they would grant me access to the Regent..." He gestured to me for emphasis. I rolled my eyes. "And, in exchange, I'd provide for them a world without the Originals." Freya's eyes widened in alarm when she realized the gravity of our current situation. Lucien sighed dramatically. "Didn't take much convincing. They do despise your family." We walked a few more yards. Lucien finally stopped just a few feet away from a basin sitting upon a rock. "Ah... We're here."

I looked around irritably. "Yeah, but where the hell is 'here'?"

Lucien mocked a gasp of shock and disappointment. "What..." He sighed, giving both of us offended looks. "How disappointing. Two powerful witches who cannot sense when you're treading on hallowed ground?" Freya and I exchanged a look, realizing that we were in the place where vampires were created, sighing. Lucien gestured around us with a satisfied smile. "Welcome... to Mystic Falls. The place where it all began. Where Esther Mikaelson created the vampire species. Under the shade of the infamous white oak tree, she crafted the spell that turned each of her children... And I mean to replicate that spell. I have everything I need to become what I deserve to be."

Lucien walked toward me, looking me in the eyes.

I scoffed in defeat. "You want to become an Original."

"Do I look like the sort who'd settle for some shoddy Original model?" Lucien asked. "I intend to be an upgrade."

Freya was appalled. "You're insane to think I'd ever help you craft any spell."

"Oh, no, no, no," Lucien told her. "You misunderstand. Auria will handle the spell." I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Lucien grabbed Freya by the arm, pulling her toward the basin. "From you..." He looked at her with feigned sympathy, brushing a lock of her hair away from her face. "I need something a bit more intimate."

Lucien transformed, biting into Freya's wrist as hard as he could, making Freya scream in pain.

~~~

Lucien was squeezing Freya's bitten wrist so that the blood from the bite wounds dripped into the stone basin.

Freya whimpered in pain, getting weaker by the moment.

I was angry with Lucien and worried about Freya. "Okay. Okay, that's enough."

Lucien shrugged. "Huh. Right you are. That should just about do it."

Freya was swaying on her feet.

Lucien pulled Freya away from the basin, dropping her unceremoniously on the ground in front of where the white oak tree used to stand.

I walked toward Freya worriedly to help her with her wounds. "Here, let me see it."