Chapter 70

Arthur turned to the rest of the room, “I’ll be sending a group with her to escort her back.”

"I'll go!" Mamie volunteered.

Blade stood, "But Mamie--"

"She needs someone she can trust to go with her." Mamie beamed at Daphne, "And it's doubtful many others will agree to go."

Daphne frowned, "I don't think it's a good idea…"

Mamie smiled at her, "I'm a lot tougher than I look. I promise."

Mamie looked at Blade who clenched his jaw, wanting to disagree, but he huffed, unable to formulate an argument. Mamie was the best choice as whoever else would be sent wouldn't be as close to Daphne.

"Are you sure about this?" Blade asked, looking at Mamie.

"Positive."

Arthur nodded, "Fine. We'll send three others."

He looked at them, “We’ll send whoever can be trusted to obey orders.”

Blade nodded and looked at Mamie who gave him a comforting smile.

It’ll be fine, Mamie told him through their bond.

Blade hoped so.

Nicole exited her chambers, trailing her fingers gently along the silver trim along the walls. She'd organized the servants to make sure the entire castle was prepared for Daphne's arrival. They had done a good job. Every surface seemed to glow. Every sconce had been polished and filled with fresh oil to light the corridors, easing the shadow of the dark stone of the palace’s walls.

There was so much to do still, starting with dealing with the nobles of the kingdom. She made a note to make sure that was one of the first lessons she would teach Daphne. She marched to the meeting room where the remaining nobility and generals were.

"Noble Star," one of them greeted, smiling at her. "How pleasant to see you."

Her lips twitched, a bit of nostalgia filling her. The Queen's Star is what they called her once. They said the queen had called her from heaven to destroy their enemies, leaving nothing but fire and blood in her wake.

"A pleasure to see you," Nicole said. A pleasure to see you all. Sit, please, we have much to discuss."

She listened to the reports on the castle and the surrounding areas. The last of the major upgrades of the capital city had been completed, and the city was teeming with excitement about welcoming their new queen. Twenty years had passed in a blink of an eye. She wished they had found her sooner, but it was better now than never.

The council had a decent plan about how best to educate Daphne about their history and her position as queen, but Nicole suggested stalling her coronation a bit longer.

"Why?" Lord John Whitcomb asked, his fangs glinting in the light.

Nicole had never known another noble to irritate her the way John did. During the war, he led a battalion as a general when Nicole had been pulled from the front lines to search for Princess Rose and guard Queen Lily's deteriorating health.

Had he been remotely competent, they would have won the war. Instead, he'd led the entire battalion to their deaths and practically given the werewolves the victory. They’d had to cede a great deal of land to neutral territory, but all that would change with time. It had been the queen's command that had spared him from Nicole's wrath and allowed him to maintain his title as a lord and a general.

Now, he was building up a militia of vampires in what he thought was secret.

"This may be beyond your scope of understanding, but Her Highness has lived among werewolves and humans. What could she possibly know about her people other than their bias?" He glared at her, "We cannot put her on the throne to govern people she may fear."

Not even as a figurehead. She had known Princess Rose to be an intelligent and powerful young woman who fled the castle weeks before they had realized she was gone. Her magical power had been second only to the queen's when she left. It was likely that the same power was dormant in Daphne. She didn’t know how to awaken it, but she knew the first step would be to get Daphne comfortable with vampires and correct any misunderstandings she had about her mother’s race as quickly as possible.

"I wonder what she will be like…" John mused. "Would you indulge me in allowing me to accompany her escort?"

Nicole met his gaze, "I will not have you jeopardize her life."

His eyes hardened, "You misunderstand--"

"Watch what you say, Lord Whitcomb," another general said. "General Steward has risked a great deal attempting to negotiate with those werewolves. She needs no liabilities while bringing the queen home."

John's lips twitched and he sat back, "Of course…"

Nicole eyed him, "While we are on the subject. Keep your militia in check."

His lips twitched as she stared at him.

"You will not make me out to be a liar. Not even to werewolves." She stood, "That is all for now. I depart in a few hours."

"Thank you for your service, General Steward."

Nicole left the hall, barely maintaining her calm as her second-in-command, Kayley, stepped from the shadows and fell into step behind her.

"We should have killed him when he cost us the war," Kayley said absently. "It's not too late to make it look like an accident."

Nicole scoffed, "No one would believe it was. What has your brother heard?"

"Lord Whitcomb has… aspirations to redeem his wartime folly. His militia is well-trained, but not by one of us."

She stopped and looked at her, "A werewolf training vampires?"

Kayley shrugged, "Looks like."

Nicole hummed. Interesting. Perhaps, John was growing a spine at last.

"I'm going to visit then I will meet you and the carriage at the front gates."

Kayley bowed, "As you wish."

Nicole turned down the corridor and pulled the third sconce from the wall. The wall trembled as the sconce returned to place and Nicole entered the dark corridor.

The torches lit as she drew near, lighting the spiraling staircase leading to the catacombs beneath the castle.

As she entered the largest room, she took a steadying breath and approached the grand, glass-top coffins on the platform where Queen Lily and Princess Rose lay in eternal sleep, immaculately dressed, lying side by side.

Eternal Sleep was as close to death as vampires could go without having their bodies burned. Rose's cheeks were streaked with tears and had been since she reported the death of her lover, Daphne's father. Queen Lily looked as if she was still as at peace as she had been the last time they spoke.

"I will go to collect her soon. Your will be done, Your Majesty. She will be a fine queen… You have my word." She bowed, "If they decide to be fools, their blood will nourish next year's crops."

She turned and left the chamber to meet the carriage at the front gates. They arrived at the border within the hour and found Arthur standing there with Daphne at his side.

Her golden eyes shook her heart and Nicole dismounted, approaching the border slowly to stand and look at her. She seemed in good health. As pale as any vampire with a warmth to her presence and movements that no vampire had.

She bowed, “It is an honor, Your Majesty. I am Nicole Steward, your grandmother’s last general.”

Daphne swallowed looking at her, “Hello… I am willing to go with you, but with conditions.”

Nicole narrowed her eyes at Arthur before turning her calm gaze on Daphne.

“Speak your wishes, Your Majesty.”

“I will stay two weeks before I am allowed to leave as I please,” Daphne said. “And these four women will accompany me to be my escort back and forth when I leave.”

Werewolves on vampire territory? It wasn’t unheard of, but she nodded.

“It will be as you wish.”

“They are not to be harmed. Nor are we to be separated. They will stay where I stay.”

Nicole smiled, “I suppose Her Majesty will need ladies in wait. It will be as you wish.”

Daphne hadn’t expected it to be so easy. Nicole opened the door of the carriage trimmed in silver.

“Shall we, Your Majesty?”

Daphne took a shaky breath and looked at Arthur. She gave him a confident nod and walked forward with Mamie and the three other women who had been sent. They entered the carriage quietly.

"If Daphne is harmed," Arthur growled. "I will find you and put your head on a pike."

Nicole chuckled. She hadn't been sure about it from just his words, but seeing the way they looked at one another was enough to be sure. Their young queen took after her mother more than anyone could have thought possible, but she supposed the royal line had always been filled with strong women unwilling to bend to anyone's will.

She would have to find out how deep Daphne’s affections for the young werewolf king ran.

"Her Majesty's safety and well-being are no longer your concern," Nicole said as she closed the carriage. "Focus on rebuilding your kingdom, pup. Your envoy will return at her will."

Daphne looked out the window of the carriage as Mamie shivered a bit at the strange energy inside the carriage. Arthur stumbled forward as the cart pulled away and Daphne shook her head just so. Mamie watched Daphne stare out the window until they were too far down the path to see Arthur.

Daphne didn't care, knowing that Arthur was still standing there.

We'll be together again soon, Arthur said, but Daphne knew it couldn't be that simple.