Queens and Monsters: A Vampire Shifter Romance (The Blood Falls Book 1)

I woke before dawn feeling well rested. No, energized. I also felt a need to explore my abilities in the quiet of my room. So, sitting in bed with the blankets around me, I closed my eyes and let my tether to the Plane pull me in once again.

As usual, my hands began to tingle and the whispers came out of the dark. I thought back on all the things I learned in the Wren’s library. That Gigi could “see” time and that Vic could “feel” matter. I could see the Plane but it was fuzzy. Like I needed glasses to see it properly. I could feel it but I didn’t know what to do with it. And then I remembered Aethel saying she saw the Plane as symbols to be interpreted.

I heard whispers that I had to decipher.

So I tried to focus. Instead of blurring it all out as too much, I zeroed in on one frequency and amplified it. The whispers faded into the shadows, energy flowed through my hands, and a single voice grew louder.

“Speak,” she said. “Create with your words.”

I looked down at my hands, holding them apart and moving them around, feeling as if I could make anything happen if I could only figure out what I was missing.

Fire is one of the elements that joins the Plane and the Earth. It exists in both states simultaneously

Antyne’s words echoed in my mind. Could it work? I leapt out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, turning on the waterfall shower. If one element was helpful, two had to be better, right? I took the candle from the counter and brought it with me into the shower, placing it on the bench seat. Then I lit it and backed into the waterfall.

I was so caught up in the idea that I completely forgot I was wearing a nightgown. It plastered to my skin, but I ignored it. The water cascaded over me. The sound drowned out everything but my own thoughts. I focused on the flicker of the candle. I never really let go of the Plane, so it was easy to center myself and feel at one with it again. The tingles rushed down my fingers and once again I held my hands apart, letting the energy flow between them.

“Make fire,” I whispered, moving my gaze from the flame to my hands.

Light flickered in the space between my palms, and then an identical flame appeared.

“Holy shit!” Using my hands I grew the fire. Now that I knew how, it was so easy to change its size and shape, to use the combination of my thoughts and spoken words to manipulate it.

“Off.” I clapped my hands together, knowing the fire would return to the Plane.

If I could do it with fire, why not water? “Water,” I murmured, pulling my hands apart to create a large ball of water in my hands. I threw it at the wall and it splashed apart. “Damn…” I breathed out. A little focus was all I needed.

Well, that and the belief I could do it. Now what? I played a little longer in the shower with the water and the fire, then stripped out of my soaked nightgown and dried off, going to the flower beside my sink. It had wilted overnight and appeared to be nearly gone.

They can bring back the dead.

If I had my mother’s magic, did I also have my father’s? I placed my hands around the flower and focused on the cells that made up the stem and leaves, the petals, and breathed life back into it. Before my eyes the green returned first and then the pink to the flower. It arched upward, fresh as when it was cut.

Whoa. A good start. A very good start.

By the time I dried my hair and selected a clean gown and robe, the sun was up and Seema arrived. I had breakfast on the terrace and got my first real view of the vineyards. It was a perfect day with bright blue skies, a few white clouds, and a light breeze. Below my terrace sat a flower garden, a yard, and in the distance, a little house. I could also see some of the rolling hills of grape vines.

“Lord Axl has requested you arrive at his office at eight,” Seema said, laying out my clothes for the day.

“And where is his office?”

She came out onto the terrace and pointed at a building that had to be half a mile away. “In there. His office is the entire second floor.”

“Will I have an escort?” How was I supposed to get there?

“No. You are free to move about the property at your leisure, though we don’t have time for a tour of the house until after lunch. I hope that’s not a problem.”

I shook my head. “Nope. Sounds like all I need to know is where my bedroom is and where Lord Axl’s office is located, and since I know both, I’m good for now.”

She nodded once and turned back to the clothing. “You should be comfortable in this, I should think. Lord Axl prefers business attire during the day.”

The outfit consisted of grey slacks and a sapphire blue blouse that looked as light as air. Oh, and she set a pair of matching heels beside them.

I glanced back at the building oh, so far away. Yeah, I wouldn’t be wearing those. “Thank you, Seema. I appreciate it.”

“Enjoy your breakfast and good luck at the office,” she said before ducking out my door.

Yeah. Good luck. I needed it. Today, I had a feeling, I would get a real look under the hood, so to speak. Everyone was nice enough yesterday, and while my cousin didn’t hide his resentment of me, he at least was polite. Today might be an entirely different story as the rubber hits the road.

I didn’t have much time if I was going to walk out to the office building, so I quickly straightened my hair and slathered on a light layer of makeup, making sure to enhance my natural assets, but not overdue anything. As I slipped on the chic, expensive clothes I pretended I was Gigi. She would totally rock this outfit. She’d know what to call this silky fabric and brand of heels, whereas Rhysa did not. She felt like an imposter, a child putting on her mother’s clothes. So rather than appearing uncomfortable, I’d at least have a shot at seeming normal if I channeled my inner Gigi.

I stopped in front of the floor length mirror. “I’m Georgiahana Wren and I totally love dressing this way. I rock it.”

Good enough.

In the closet I located a large handbag that matched my slacks. I slid the high heels inside along with a notebook and pen, plus my cell phone (which was off.) Then I found a pair of flats and exited my bedroom via the terrace stairs.

It was actually a lovely way to start the day. I had fresh air in my lungs, sun on my skin, and got my heart pumping. But not too fast because I didn’t want to be sweaty when I arrived.

Once I made it to the entrance I exchanged my flats for the fancy heels, and pushed my way inside. The foyer extended all the way up to the third floor with a staircase on each side. The staircases and wood beams were all a very dark, heavy looking wood, set against cream walls. Hanging high above was another candelabra with white candles set in a large circle of black metal.

I knocked on the second-floor door.

“Come!” Antyne barked.

When I stepped inside, I found an enormous office with dark furniture and large windows. Only Antyne was inside. “Good morning.”

He arched an eyebrow as he looked up from the papers on his desk. “You’re late.”

I glanced at the fancy watch I selected for the day. “I’m two minutes late. I’m sorry, but it’s a long walk from the house.”

Both eyebrows shot up. “You walked?”

It was like five high powered Broadway stage lights all turned on me at once. I was a deer in the headlights. “Uh, yes? How else should I have gotten here?”

He stared at me for a moment. “You’re like a child. You know nothing, do you?”

I honestly didn’t know how to answer that. Did he expect my Awakening to come with an instruction manual?

“Never mind. We’ll get you some…tutoring…to catch you up. In the meantime we have much to discuss.” He waved to a large chair in front of his desk.

I slid into it, placing my bag beside it. “I may not know much about the Plane or what to do with it, but I’m not a child in my mind.”

“Of course not.” He selected a folder from the stack beside him. “You’re an excellent student. Right from the very start you excelled at everything you attempted. Your college transcripts are exemplary and you’re there on academic scholarship. Even your bosses have all gushed about your independence and ability to think for yourself.”

“You’ve been checking up on me…” Which shouldn’t have surprised me since he arrived at my cottage knowing where I worked and what classes I took. Of course he did a deep dive into my past.

This all made logical sense, but I was getting sick of being the only one in the dark.

“What you lack in experience you make up for in intelligence, which is the most important part of leading the House of Axl. Which is why I believe our first order of business should be to discuss your relationship with the House of Wren.” He sat back and folded his hands over his chest.

“They’re my friends.”

“They just so happened to befriend you and just so happened to have Awakened you, as well? That doesn’t sound like a coincidence to me, Rhysa.”

I bristled at his insinuation. I wanted to defend my friends, but I felt like admitting Gigi came to my shop based on premonition was giving away too much. I cleared my throat. “I can never know what brought Georgiahana and I together, but I can tell you neither of us is faking our shared love of books. That’s how we became friends and it’s what we talk about when we’re together.”

“Explain to me how this Awakening took place.”

I wanted to fidget so bad, but there was no chunky sweater to disappear inside of today. “Georgiahana and I were eating cake at the bookshop and discussing the latest Triple M book. Draygus was on his way to pick up his sister when he was attacked in the street and shot. When we ran outside to help, everything changed. I saw his blood and froze. I couldn’t move until they put him in the ambulance and closed the doors. Then I was struck by incredible pain, went home and passed out. When I woke up Georgiahana was there demanding to know who I really was. She saved me.”

A low growl emanated from the back of Antyne’s throat. He really didn’t like that answer, and I suspect it was because he realized it was his soldiers who caused all of this to happen.

I pressed him. “It was your people, wasn’t it? They attacked Draygus?”

He studied me for a long time before answering. “Yes.”

“Why?”

He studied me some more, then cocked his head to the side. “Every so often I find it valuable to remind these Alliance Houses who is in charge.”

“Through violence?” Dray believed they were coming for Gigi, not him.

Another pause. “Usually. We do employ other means.” Then he sat forward. “None of this matters. You are Awake and you are here. The Wrens are enemies to us, not friends.”

“But why?” Was it really a matter of being threatened by their fertility or was there more?

Antyne rose from his desk, towering over me. I suspected it was a psychological move to intimidate me and make him appear more powerful. “The Wrens are weak. As are all the Alliance families. They wish to live their quiet lives on their little homesteads and make babies.”

I didn’t see anything wrong with that.

But Antyne did. “We exist alongside these humans, keeping our lives hidden and secret, when it should be the other way around. They should be in hiding. They should be the ones hoping we don’t notice them. But they’re like mice. They multiply and consume everything around them. Generation after generation we’re outcompeted. One day we’ll have to make a choice. Us or them. And it will be us who prevails. I will make sure of it.”

So Antyne saw this as survival. Survival with him at the top.

“You’re a leader.” I decided stroking his ego was wise.

He liked this. “Right now your friendships with the Wrens are of little concern to me. Perhaps it can even be an advantage to finally breaking up the Alliance. I will give you your peace. But know this, when it comes time to choose, blood is all that matters.” He sat back down. “I am giving you homework. On this tablet is a primer on the House of Axl. Our basic history, our property and businesses, and projections moving forward. Once you’ve learned all this we can move on to integrating you further. For now, I think it might be best to have a look at your gifts.”

I took the tablet and slid it into my bag. “How would you like to do that?”

“Your vibration on the Plane is so powerful that when you choose to exercise it, everyone notices, but do you have any idea how to use it?”

I remembered scaring the diners last night, the surge of satisfaction I felt. “A little.” Without water and fire right in front of me I wasn’t sure I could replicate my morning feats. I focused on my grandfather’s glass and Formed water, played with it for a bit, and then returned it.

“A good start, for a Nala. Show me there’s Axl in you, too.” To my disgust, he pulled a dead spider on a tray off the shelf beside his desk.

I took it and tried not to be freaked out. I hated spiders. With one hand beneath and another floating above, I focused on the cells of the spider, on giving them life again. A moment later the legs began to move and it hopped up. I threw the tray.

Antyne barked out a delighted laugh. “You can bring the dead back to life but spiders scare you?”

I shrugged. “They’re creepy.”

His eyes glistened. “There’s my Tiynan in you. He hated bugs.”

Another nugget of information to file away. “Can I see a picture of him?”

Antyne startled. “Yes. Of course.” He moved back to the shelf and selected a golden frame from the third shelf. “I’m sorry, it hadn’t occurred to me you’d want to know about your father.”

I studied the image of a young man with hair as dark as my own. “Should knowledge of him be something I got through Awakening?”

“No, no. But to me, I think of him every day, he’s here now. Why would I explain something that to me, never ceased to exist?”

That was terribly sad.

“I have more photos and some of his things. I’ll arrange to have them sent to you.”

I handed back the photograph. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

He took a moment to return the frame to just the right spot. “Would you like a tour of the winery?”

That was an abrupt change of plans. “Um, yes. Sure.”

“Good. It will be your first tutoring lesson then. Shifting isn’t just about changing forms, as the Wren’s do. It’s also about shifting time or space. Look out this window. You see the vineyards?”

It was a different angle from the house, but the very same rows of vines. “Yes.”

“Picturing being there in your mind. See yourself travel that distance from here to there and put yourself there. Like this.” He vanished, but as I squinted out the window, I saw someone waving to me from the edge of the vines.

He was there now. Here one second, gone the next. Like nothing at all.

And he expected me to do the same. So I picked up my bag and felt for the vibration of the Plane, focusing on his waving arm and willed my body to travel the distance.

Suddenly I was outside standing under the sun.

“Well done, little one! Well done. You are a quick study. Perhaps not all is lost.”

He had a funny way of complimenting and insulting at the same time. “Hold on.” I pulled the flats from my bag, then handed it to him.

He stood there stunned, staring at the bag.

“You put your hands just here and close your fingers.”

He kept staring at me.

It was as if he’d never seen a woman change shoes before, or held a purse. But then again, he was pretty old fashioned and probably expected me to walk around a vineyard in high heels.

“Ugh, fine.” I put the pretty grey handbag on the dirt and stuck my finger into the fancy shoe, flicking it off, then slid the much more practical flat on instead, repeating the task on my other foot before sliding the expensive heels into my bag and picking it back up. “Okay, I’m ready now.”

We toured the vines, the warehouses, and the laboratory. The operation was impressive. As we left the lab I noticed another building in the distance. “What’s that?”

Antyne glanced at to the left. “Ah, just a dormitory. Many of our soldiers live there. There are many other houses on the property as well.”

A crew walked past carrying crates. The dark look to their eyes put me off but as they drew closer it was the cold air around them that made the hair on my arm raise up. They seemed sick or not quite healthy.

As Antyne tried to distract me I realized why. They were turned humans, not samhain. Dregs.

“It’s time for lunch. Are you ready to shift to the house?” He waved me away from the Dregs.

“Uh yeah. Sure.” I watched as they disappeared into the lab, the cold receding. The hair on my arm finally relaxed and the uneasy feeling I got from the Plane released me. If they have offspring, in three generations they become full samhain. But how did that happen? Who could stand to get close enough to have sex with them? Besides, they seemed to have no spark. The whole thing sent my danger radar pinging.

“Lunch, Rhysa.”

With a final shake and a vow to learn more, I shifted to the house.