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said, "That can't be." Shock lined his face. He didn't blink as he looked at her, and considered whether or not she was telling the truth. Kahli could see it in his eyes.

"You better believe it. He drank from two of my roommates that night as well. The King isn't what you think. He won't go quietly into the night. He started this and he'll end it by taking me away from you." Kahli rose as she spoke and moved to the bars. Clutching them in her hands, she watched Reggie, speaking with urgency, "You can't let him. You can't just sit here and act like the King's not a threat, because he is. Do something."

Reggie leaned forward with a frown on his face, his eyes drifting from hers. His mind was wandering. "What else can the King do?" he asked, lifting his gaze to hers. "Did he compel you?"

Kahli's stomach twisted remembering it. "Yes," she said softly, averting her gaze. She could feel it, the King's thrall, the way his voice snaked inside her mind and claimed her, making her body move and her mind weaken to his will.

"And he knew your true name?"

Shaking her head, Kahli replied, "No, he didn't need it."

"This is bad," Reggie said, fretting. Getting to his feet, he started pacing and stopped talking. It was then that Kahli leaned back, knowing that she just set something in motion. She just didn't know what.

Chapter 18

Sophia smoothed her skirt after she returned to her dais dressed in the most regal outfit she owned - a blood-red, silk gown that flowed to the floor and billowed around her ankles when she walked. Rubies lined her pale throat, strung tightly together on cords of gold. A golden crown sat above her brow with the matching scepter clutched in her right hand. After all the years she reigned as Queen, someone finally challenged her. Sophia grasped the scepter harder thinking about it. For decades she'd felt alone, abandoned. Being the Queen meant that she was above everyone else in every way possible. While she enjoyed the power, she did not enjoy the loneliness. When those feelings were stirred up in the past, she would laugh at herself and banish them to whatever corner of her mind they crept out from.

Breathing deeply, Sophia glanced around the throne room. It was her favorite place in the palace. It was the place her usurper - her darling husband - would come to find her, and she'd be ready. Being alone all these years made her stronger. Sophia no longer relied on anyone for anything.

Let him come, she thought.

The guards were loyal to her. Everyone was, and there was a simple reason for it - a vampire's loyalty could be bought with blood. The masses were near starving. Any promise of blood was more than most could hope for. Sophia's guard went through the lands surrounding the palace and bribed every Tracker and stray vampire they could find, but offering vials of blood was not enough, not by far. Sophia knew that she had to offer them something worth fighting for, worth dying for, and she did.

Each region that supplied the Queen with vampires to fight the King would be given one of the Queen's humans. That meant fresh blood, not vials of half coagulated blood that were difficult to digest. The bottled blood was thick, and the potency diminished by the time it was consumed. The offer of fresh blood was too great to refuse. The vampires quickly agreed to protect the Queen, and were assigned to their posts.

Sophia didn't like being forced to forfeit her own stock, but it was necessary. She wasn't sure how many opposed her in addition to the King, or when they were coming. If they found Kahli before she did... Sophia's slender shoulders cringed at the thought. That wild girl was more trouble than she was worth. No, that wasn't true. That wild girl was power beyond comprehension. Kahli's blood would ensure her sovereignty, and protect her power. She just had to find the girl first.

Irritated, Sophia straightened her shoulders, which extended her neck, and twisting her head to the side. The Queen's dark hair shifted against her pale skin. The style was elegant enough. She had a maid pin her long, inky hair and pile it into spiraling curls on the top of her head. A few stray curls cascaded down her back. The effect was striking, powerful. Everything about Sophia screamed of power