Page 43 of Battle for the Shadow Prince (A Bargain with the Shadow Prince #2)

43

Kingdom Come

ELOISE

I must have passed out after I stabbed Valeska because I wake from a dreamless sleep to find myself bent uncomfortably on the stone, my daggers scattered to my right and left. I experiment with moving my limbs, straightening the leg that’s bent under me and curling one arm. Ah, that’s better. Quickly I assess my injuries, cracking my neck and testing the movement of my limbs. I blink and blink again. My vision adjusts to the lighting in the room. It’s so much brighter now. I can’t figure out why. The moon is as full as before above the silo. It looks no bigger, but it beams like a floodlight through the dome.

So beautiful.

The sound of feet hitting stone brings me back into the moment. I sit up. Valeska is jumping for the queen’s crown, but I’ve injured her enough that she’s struggling. Her fingertips just brush the gold base, but it remains stubbornly out of her reach. I lean over and wrap my hand around one of my daggers. As quietly as possible, I climb to my feet.

Miraculously, I feel good. Healed.

I creep over to my second dagger. Pick it up. The crowd has started to murmur. Some of them are even trying to alert Valeska that I’m awake. She doesn’t notice. She grunts as she again tries to catapult her weakened body toward the crown. She’s so close. I don’t have much time to stop her.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Phantom, his glowing green eyes trained on me. My body feels different, almost buoyant, but my mouth hurts. I rub the side of my jaw and then over my lips. Yep, my teeth hurt. Hurt like hell. But I narrow my focus back on Valeska. If I don’t take her out, I’ll have a lot more to worry about than some dental work.

Steadying myself, I rush Valeska from behind with unprecedented speed. This time I go straight for her throat. At the last second, she whirls to face me, her gaze widening as I smack into her. Oddly, she doesn’t even try to fight me. Her entire body goes slack. She simply gives up.

“I am forsaken,” she says through dry, pale lips.

I clutch the top of her head and slit her throat. Blood drenches my arms, my torso. It splashes over my boots. I don’t stop there. Cassius taught me too well for that. I press harder, completely severing her head from her body. I hold it before me for a moment, staring into Valeska’s lightless, dead eyes as her body flops to the stone. There’s a chiff, and then the head and the body go up in spontaneous flames. I drop her head on the pyre and back up a step from her remains. Seconds later, she’s ash.

I sheathe my daggers and brush my hands together, only narrowly aware that the silo is wild with unrest. But I haven’t finished this challenge yet. I pivot to face the two crowns, still hovering about six feet above my head. I don’t know how I’m going to reach either of them, especially if Valeska couldn’t do it, but I have to try. Taking a few running steps, I leap for the one Damien promised me, the one that looks like it was carved from black diamonds. Not his mother’s crown, but the one that pairs with his own. The magic of the challenge must be lifting me, because I easily snag it out of the air. I land softly with a proud smile stretching my mouth.

On impulse, I turn to face the box and Damien standing behind it. Our eyes meet and hold. His are red, his hair ruffled, but his smile is true as I lift the crown and place it atop my head. The silo goes eerily quiet as the smoky surface of the rectangular mirror clears and Eloise Harcourt scrawls across the silver.

I’ve won!

Damien is mine.

My mate.

We are free.

It feels like Damien and I are the only people in the room as the dome slowly dismantles itself, falling to the stone like purple stardust. The archways collapse into mirrors again that float through the air of their own volition and plop down into their storage spaces inside the box. The mirror goes blank. The box closes and locks itself.

And then even the weight on my head disappears. I run a hand through my hair, noticing the crown is gone. Everything is as it was before. The challenge is over.

In the next heartbeat, Damien has me in his arms. His thumbs are on my cheeks, his fingers in my hair. And then his lips are on mine.

The silo erupts in cheers, whoops, hollers of laughter. I hear the shuffling of money, the excited voices of the vampires I just made rich, and the lower groans and growls of the vampires who put their money on Valeska.

I draw back when intense hunger storms through me. Hunger for him. Hunger for food. Hunger for more. With a force I’m surprised to find remaining in my limbs, I drag Damien to me and kiss him once more, until a soft but persistent tap on my elbow demands my attention.

“Eloise, remember our agreement. Please,” Marabella says. George is at her side. Both of them have happy tears in their eyes. “You must do it now.”

George takes my elbow in that fatherly way of his and says, “Go ahead, sweetheart.”

Slowly, I turn to face the audience of vampires. They’ve gone eerily quiet. It’s so quiet I can hear mice scratching inside the walls. One by one, every vampire kneels.

“My queen,” Marcel says.

I see the way they’re looking at me. According to the old law, I could slide into Valeska’s position. With Damien by my side, I could rule with an iron fist. I could have power over everything. I could make this hive like the Lamia coven, a fair and just vampire community where hurting humans was punishable by death. I can eliminate how humans are used by houses like Marabella’s, save people like Ren and others in desperate situations. I could use vampires to fix problems in the human world.

Damien’s fingers thread into mine at my side.

Fuck no . If I’m ever going to rule a kingdom, it will be his. All I want to do is go home.

“I will not be your queen,” I say as loudly and clearly as I can. “No one will.” An excited murmur flows through the crowd.

Galloway’s head rises, his teeth bared. “If you do this, the palace will fall!”

I ignore him.

“All my authority as regent shall be deposed and returned to the masters of the individual covens. Marcel will lead this effort, including assignment of all military resources to the covens based on their relative size. I give him full authority to do so. Everald has agreed to provide goods and services to aid in the transition. The covens will need money initially to replace what the monarchy stole. To fund this endeavor, George and Everald will lead the liquidation of all palace art, furniture, and decor. The palace itself will remain but be transformed into a public library, open to everyone and led by Lazarus.”

Vampires are rising now and rushing out the door. Some are ecstatic, like they’ve just been freed from their cages and have to scream it to the world. Others look like they just want to scream. The latter group seems disappointed and nervous, and I can only assume they fear their previous support of Valeska might be a death sentence.

I’m not interested in killing anyone.

I only want one thing—Damien.

But when I turn around, Marcel is there. He bows low. “Congratulations, Eloise. It was a sincere pleasure to witness you win and emancipate Night Haven.”

Everald slaps me on the back. “I knew you could do it. Way to go, kid.”

George grins at me and says, “You’re free, sweetheart. Get the hell out of here and go live your best life.”

By his side, Marabella holds out her hand to me. “Thank you,” she says, beaming. “You’ve made the right choice. Come back to the house and Dr. Everline will help you… adjust. You’re going to need a donation.”

Damien grabs Marabella’s arm and whispers something in her ear.

The madam nods and offers us both a smile. “Anything she wants,” she says softly and then strides toward the door.

I watch her leave and then turn back to Damien. “What was that all about? What did she mean? I do feel strange. Maybe I should see Dr. Everline for another infusion.” I look down at myself. I’m covered in blood. “I don’t know how much of this is mine. I lost consciousness and— God, I just want to go home. And I want to eat. I’m… hungry. Fuck, I’m so hungry, Damien.”

“Eloise.” Damien runs his thumb along my cheekbone. His voice is strained. “There’s something?—”

A jolt rings through me like I’ve had one of those dreams where I’m falling. I wobble on my feet, and for some strange reason, I look up. The slightest wash of silver signals the coming dawn. It’s so bright it burns my eyes, and I shade them with my cupped hand.

“I feel like I’m going to throw up. I think there’s something wrong with me.” My head throbs, and I grab it with both hands. “Owww. Fuck. Maybe I have a concussion.”

I can’t hold myself up any longer. Thank fuck Damien catches me, holding me against his chest as he strides out from under the brightening sky. I’m barely aware of anything but my pounding head as he makes his way through the palace, but when we reach the marketplace, people are waiting for us there. And they’re cheering my name.

“Thank you, Eloise!” a woman cries.

I’m too weak to do anything but give a wave. There is definitely something wrong with me, and when Damien doesn’t make the turn toward Marabella’s I become worried. “I need the doctor. Damien, take me to Everline.”

His warm kiss lands on my head. “Close your eyes, little dragon. I’ll take care of you. I have everything you need at my apartment.”

His apartment. I’ve wanted to see where he lives since we met. I try to fight the exhaustion. If I have a concussion, I should definitely not sleep. But the second I close my eyes, I surrender to a darkness as thick as death.