Seeds of Sorrow (Immortal Realms Book 1)

Life had certainly been eventful in Castle Aasha since Eden’s arrival. In her first week alone, she had upset the goblins, aggravated the harpies, set the revenants all atwitter for fear she was starving to death, attempted to flee from him on foot, and been the main cause of distraction for a number of human prisoners to escape.

While explaining to Travion why two of his human subjects would not be returning had been unpleasant, in the days since their first visit to Primis, life seemed to have settled. If he were being honest, it had more than settled.

From his study window, Draven peered at the garden below. At the moment, Eden was nowhere to be seen, but the evidence of her presence still remained. Her attentiveness had somehow brought a vitality to the garden, and truly the castle as a whole, that had not been there before. A spark of life Draven had thought not possible for his dark realm.

He was seeing once again the innocent and curious creature he had met the night of the ball, and it pleased Draven to know that at least he and his brothers hadn’t taken that away from Eden.

Draven was pulled from his thoughts as a soft thrumming noise sounded from the other side of the room. Glancing over, he found the granite basin on the edge of his desk glowing. Crossing the room, he stepped up to it and waved a hand over the surface. Travion’s face soon replaced the glowing light.

“Brother, I wasn’t sure you would be there to answer. I thought perhaps you may be a little . . . distracted.” Travion grinned up at him from the surface of the water.

“If by that you mean I have more important things to be doing than speaking to you, then you are correct.” Draven simply eyed his brother’s features. He could tell by how well-lit Travion’s face was that the sun was shining brightly in Midniva today. While he hadn’t felt sunshine on his skin in several millennia, he could still remember its warmth.

“How are things between you and the young one?”

“Well, she no longer looks at me as if I am the embodiment of death, so I suppose our nightly dinners are achieving some form of reconciliation.”

“You dine with her?” Travion seemed surprised.

“Well, she dines, I sip.”

“Not from her, surely . . . ”

Draven glared at his brother through the rippling surface of the bowl. “Of course not. No matter what they whisper of me, I’m actually not a bestial tyrant, at least not entirely.”

Travion was giving him a knowing grin.

“Is that all you wished to know, or was there a purpose for your summons today?” Draven’s tone was short, pushing Travion to get to his point. While conversation was easy between them, it wasn’t his brother’s tendency to use the basin for the sake of gossiping like two court widows.

Travion’s features turned somber at once. “I’m afraid I haven’t good news for you, Draven.”

“What?”

“There have been signs of vampire attacks in Hilbride, as well as in Ordine.”

Draven cursed loudly, a hand brushing over his face. This was not the first word he’d had of such tidings in the past week. “How many deaths?”

“Only two. But not from a lack of trying.” Travion’s face creased with further displeasure. “We haven’t been able to locate the culprits. However, I don’t believe they’ve crossed back through to Andhera yet. We placed patrol at the gates to the Veil, and there haven’t been any attempts to go through.”

“Do you wish for me to come?” he asked, hands gripping the edge of his desk as he leaned over the basin.

“No. There’s no need for it. By all appearances, we’re dealing with fledglings. My men should be equipped to deal with this situation. I simply wanted to make you aware.”

Draven sighed and nodded. “I appreciate the warning. I’ll bring my nobles before me and see if they know of one who could be producing fledglings in Midniva.”

“I will let you know once we have caught them.”

“Send word if you need my presence.”

“I shall. Oh, and Draven?”

Draven lifted a brow, waiting.

“Do try to enjoy yourself a little. She may not be staying for long, but that doesn’t mean you can’t partake in the gift Zryan dropped into your lap.” Leaving no time for a rebuttal, Travion was gone.

Grumbling beneath his breath, Draven called out for a revenant. When Stevron appeared, Draven requested the elderly man fetch General Ailith for him. The nobles would need to be contacted at once, brought before his people, and plundered for information until someone gave him an answer. He would not leave them to their peace while Midniva was threatened by careless fledglings.

No one made new vampires without his consent. Now there would be hell to pay.

When his door opened, it was not Ailith who entered but Mynata. She wore a gown of gold satin, which clung to her hips below her black corset, spilling down her long legs in a rippling wave of gleaming fabric.

“Now is not the time, Mynata.”

“But it must be, Draven. You cannot simply ignore me and the rest of your subjects because you have a new pet.”

Draven’s eyes narrowed at her words, his lip curling back slightly in the beginnings of a snarl. “Excuse me?” He didn’t know what she was alluding to, but he definitely did not like the direction she was taking. Nor her tone. There was only so much familiarity Draven would accept.

The vampiress took this as a sign to enter, for she stepped farther into the room and nearer to him.

“Why is she truly here, Draven?”

“I do not believe that is any of your business,” he replied in a soft but dangerous tone. His ire was rising, and if she was not careful, he would not control his temper.

 Mynata did not seem concerned and pressed on. “It was assumed she was meant to be your queen . . . but there has been no talk of a wedding. I know you, Draven! You’ve always said you would not take a bride, and if you did . . . I know it would not be some naive, simple fae maiden from Lucem.”

Draven was moving before he was aware, standing over Mynata. His hand went to her throat, and he thrust her back against the nearest wall, pinning her there. Forcing her head up with the hand still around her neck, he made certain she was looking into the depths of his cold eyes.

“Simple?” His voice was low, barely above a whisper. “Do not disparage someone simply because they possess qualities you never will.” He leaned in closer, his fangs protruding from his upper lip. “Eden holds a goodness and innocence to her that is a beacon of light in this dark hell, and I will keep her here for as long as it pleases me. The hows and whys are no concern of yours.”

Mynata’s eyes darkened with anger, and she wrenched away, stepping to the side and several feet from him.

“Say what you will of it . . . Your Majesty.” His title rolled off her tongue like venom. “But the nobles are talking.”

Draven’s eyes narrowed on her once more. “They will always talk.”

“They know you have a fae tucked away in the castle that you have introduced to no one. They find it terribly unfair that you keep a toy from Lucem to feed off of whenever you please, yet they are barely able to cross into Midniva for a human.”

Draven stilled, his rage now a low simmer. So, this was the gossip amongst his people.

“You’re feeding into their agitation. After all, what is good for the king . . . is good for his people, is it not?” she finished with a hiss.

Draven took a step toward her, which caused Mynata to retreat, some self-preservation breaking through her recklessness.

“Thank you, Mynata.” She looked surprised at his words. “You are right, my people have not met her. It is time I introduced my future queen to my kingdom.”

She looked startled, and it pleased him to find her finally at a loss for words. Without anything further to say, Draven left her standing there in his study. He found Seurat in the hallway, looking apologetic for not being able to stop the noble. Beside him was General Ailith, a look of annoyance on her features as she gazed into his study at the vampiress behind him.

“General, schedule interviews with all of the noble families. You must question them at length. Fledglings are being made in Midniva. Travion has found them in the villages just beyond the Veil.”

Ailith’s features hardened, and the harpy nodded. “Of course, Your Majesty. My soldiers and I will not rest until we have helped you unearth the culprit.”

Nodding, Draven turned his attention to Seurat. “And you must prepare them for a ball.”

“A ball? Sire?” Seurat sputtered.

“Five days hence.” He left them both then, striding purposefully down the hall.

Mynata’s words had the opposite effect on him than he was sure she had intended. Rather than making Draven rethink having Eden here, she had only made him realize that while she was here, she must be seen in every way to be his future bride. It was the best way to keep her protected in his kingdom, as well as to not leave any questions of what Draven was doing with a fae in his castle.

If the recent proceedings in Midniva were any sign of the times, he could not afford to lead the vampire nobility into thoughts of kidnapping fae to fill their blood coffers. That was not a battle he wished to partake in.

So, he would throw this ball, introduce Eden as his bride-to-be, and make certain all of his people knew she would be the only fae crossing over into Andhera.

Eden was in her room, and as he rapped on the door and stepped in, he found her down on her knees, peering beneath her bed. Draven took a moment simply to observe, puzzling over the positions he continued to find her in.

“What are you doing now?” he asked. “Is there a little man under your bed?”

Unlike in the garden, Eden did not startle at the sudden sound of his voice. Perhaps she was growing more used to his silent step.

“Actually, there is a bunny . . . Something appears to be wrong with Alder.” She turned to peer over her shoulder at him.

“Oh,” he murmured and took another step into her room, realization dawning on him. “He is transforming.”

Draven found himself down on his knees beside her, taking a look beneath the bed to see only a pair of glowing eyes staring back at him through fits of sneezing and growls.

“I had not thought it would be so soon.”

Draven peered over at her, pleased to see that she did not seem distraught at this news, merely puzzled as she thought it over.

“Andhera affects us all differently. Animals the quickest, especially those that are young. Humans also react quickly. It is why Midniva’s prisoners are only kept here for one month before being sent back, so that they do not begin the change.”

“And fae?”

“For fae, it is longer. Months, typically, before there are any signs it has begun.”

Alder released a low hissing noise that interrupted their conversation. Seeing the pained look on Eden’s face, Draven stooped low once more and locked eyes with the rabbit. Murmuring softly, he used his summoning charm to glamour the creature into slowly crawling out from under the bed.

When he had, the two of them stared down at the ashen bunny, who had sprouted a pair of black leathery wings on its back, and where he had once had a ball of fluff for a tail, it was now long and sparsely furred. From its tiny paws, razor-sharp claws glinted, and if Draven was not mistaken, the overhanging teeth had become sharp fangs.

Draven glanced from the critter up to Eden, expecting to see the worst, only to find himself shocked. Eden let out a soft coo at the sight of her pet and reached out to pick it up without a hint of fear. With the creature curled up on its back, tucked into the crook of her arm, she rocked it back and forth.

“I knew he would change . . . but what sort of creature is he now?” Her brow slightly furrowed, Eden looked from Alder over to Draven.

“Well . . . I don’t believe anyone has ever brought a rabbit here before. So I am not certain what he is.” Besides another rodent-like creature to scurry around his castle tripping him up.

“It’s silly to think, but he is a rabat.” Eden laughed and gave his wiry whiskers a tug. “You’ve lost your fluffy tail, but you have the most darling wings.”

Draven found himself, yet again, surprised at Eden’s versatility in accepting the oddities of Andhera. In her first days here, he had been certain he had brought her into a living hell that she could not wish to leave fast enough. Yet she seemed to have found a way of life here, or at least he saw that she was trying. Draven felt the surge of that foreign feeling once more.

“I’m throwing a ball,” he announced suddenly. While balls were some of his least favorite things, and thus were not terribly common at Aasha, he couldn’t help but wonder what Eden would think. Would it please her to attend one here? Or would it be a brutal reminder of the last one she had attended and her life being turned upside down?

Eden lifted her eyes from Alder to glance at him, her face showing more surprise over this than she had over the transformation of her bunny. “A ball?”

“Yes. You’ve been here a month, it is time you were introduced to the noble families. Seurat will be helping to plan it, so let him know anything special you would like brought through the Veil. Foods, jewels, fabrics . . . ”

Eden was studying him as if he were some peculiar thing she had just stumbled upon in the garden. A new species of flora that had not been identified yet and may turn out to be nothing but a weed.

“This ball . . . Will you be attending?” she asked.

“Yes, I will be attending.”

She nodded. “Very well.” A smile slowly slid over her lips. “Then I shall as well!”

Alder growled softly from the nook of her arm, his tail thumping lightly against her chest.