Chapter One

~Mariella~

I'm walking. I'm walking and walking and walking and I don't see any end in sight to this road that I'm walking on.

And then there is one. It's just blank. I sit down, lay down. Only to wake up in a field of spring flowers. They're not too big, not too flashy; just light and springy, little pieces of life surrounding me in every direction. I walk and crush them as I go by. It's unavoidable.

I'm in Katy's hospital room. I look around. I can't seem to find her bed…or her.

I'm in her bed. The tubes, the wires, the electrodes, they're all hooked up to me. The thud-thud in my chest matches the beep-beep that's calling from the heart monitor. I feel awful. My eyelids grow unbearably heavy, and one blink, two blinks, they shut to the sound of the beep (thud)-beep (thud).

Dimitri's room. He's undressing me. I've been here before, I think happily. What a nice place to be. I wrap my legs around his waist, but he plunges his fangs into my neck and I'm pulled away from the scene.

I'm back in the field of flowers. A man is walking towards me. A long, tall figure with bone white hair and bottomless black eyes. William. He's grabbing my cheeks again, trying to chant, but the pain from before won't return. He gets frustrated. His eyes bulge, veins that I didn't know were there appearing. He screams in my face. I can taste his rancid breath in my mouth.

He grabs me. He'll find a way to make this work, he says. He pats my hand like I'm a pet. Don't worry, he says. It will be alright, he says.

I want to be home. Where am I? I ask him.

In your mind, he replies. You are trapped in your mind.

It's my turn to scream.

~Dimitri~

I tried CPR. I tried adrenaline shots. I tried feeding her my blood. I even tried kissing her, just in case that would wake her up. Nothing helped.

After multiple failed attempts, I swept her up in my arms and ran the whole way home. It took a good half an hour. I was certain that I would be too late.

I blasted through the wide gates surrounding Giuseppe's estate, bounded up the steps, and flew through the house to the infirmary. Ella immediately got to work, asking all kinds of questions filled with medical jargon. I got so infuriated that I knocked over a cupboard of vials and flasks. A shard lodged itself in Ella's eyebrow. I growled at her to continue her work.

She refused to continue until she had put a band-aid over her brow. My feet began to move towards her, to knock some sense into her. They were stopped by Zair's hands pulling me backwards, murmuring quietly in my ear.

I shook with rage as Ella turned around to sterilize her wound and cover it. "It would be more harmful if she did not take care of herself, Dimitri." Zair whispered into my ear. "What if her blood spilled into Mariella? Potential disease could spread." I stopped shaking so violently. The red haze over my eyes was dissipating. "You forget how frail these humans are, my son."

Frail. Mariella was not frail. Yet, somehow, here she was, blood marring her pretty cheeks, broken fingernails oozing, bruises blooming over her face, arms, chest.

"William will pay for this, Dimitri." Zair murmured. "Giuseppe just left with a dispatch to begin their hunt. Jer is in the study, looking over maps and researching William and his motives more fully. We will get him, Dimitri, and he will pay." My mother's voice had risen to a growl. "She is family, whether she believes that to be true or not." Her fingers tightened around my sleeves. "No one touches the queen's family."

I remember Zair moving forwards to touch her hand to Mariella's forehead, murmuring quickly and quietly. A small, barely visible blue glow surrounded her hands, stretching over Mariella's body. A black flash, as if all of the lights had been extinguished.

Nothing. Ella ushered us out so that she could work in peace.

~Mariella~

I'm in a white dress. A lacey train flows out behind me like a waterfall cascading to the floor. Long, diaphanous sleeves cover my arms. The material clings to my legs in an uncomfortably tight position. The bust is too constricting. Although I am all covered, I feel incredibly bare, incredibly naked.

My legs walk through two huge oak doors without my consent. I see a church organ sitting majestically behind a waist-length podium. It looks like it's a mile away. I begin the long trek. It's uncomfortable to take steps; I look down at my feet. I'm in seven-inch high heels. It feels as if I'm on stilts. I've got to be at least six feet tall with these on.

The walk takes forever. This awful organ music starts to play; it tickles my memory. I'm so close to that little podium now. I look up.

There are two men in black. One is an older man. His sparkling bald head is marred by small wisps of clear hair protruding from random spots on his uneven skin. He is slouched over, hunched like a vulture before it swoops down to catch its prey. His eyes twinkle with a sense of longevity that he must have clung onto since his youth.

The other is the man I've feared since I've been here. His cheekbones jut out of his face as if his skull is trying to break free of his skin. His bone-white hair is combed over to one side; I think it looks silly. His black eyes twinkle with victory.

It's all a façade. I know he hasn't gotten what he wanted. He hasn't been able to access my body yet. He cannot control me. He hasn't been able to tap that part of my brain. I refuse to let him.

Today, however, he's won. I realize that as the old man begins to say the traditional wedding vows. Because even though William can't access my body in the real world, in this dreamscape of his, I am his slave. My body is not my own to command. I am literally stuck in my own mind.

My mouth speaks the words "I do" while my mind screams and claws at its restrictions. His mouth comes towards mine, and I taste the slick wetness of his mouth. I am shivering uncontrollably, but my body happily wraps its arms around his neck. After a moment, he pulls away to lean in towards my ear. "If you think this is torture, my dear, just wait. I have so much in store for the two of us."

The faceless audience sitting in the pews claps.

~Dimitri~

I paced the length of Giuseppe's study as Jer scanned the transcripts. I couldn't wait any longer.

"What do they say?" I growled. I didn't mean to be so harsh, but Mia was lying helplessly across the hall. There was no time to waste.

Giuseppe burst through the doors at that moment, Zair hot on his heels. He plucked the manuscripts off of the desk, away from Jer. Jer's eyes flashed, but he held his tongue.

"It appears that William is the leader of a rogue faction of vampires," Giuseppe said. "There have been reports for a decade or so, but I have been too busy to deal with trivial uprisings on the borders."

I stared at my father in disbelief. "You ignored this?"

Giuseppe stared me down, his cool eyes solidifying into a metallic glare. "As ruler, you must prioritize. You will learn when you are king. In the meantime, do not comment on things you have no knowledge of."

"Mariella is comatose because of you!" I shouted, my blood roiling. Giuseppe threw me against the wall; the chandelier dangling above us shivered.

"I am offering my help because I am your father," he growled. "Do not make me withdraw my offer."

"Giuseppe," Zair soothed, smoothing her hand against his arm. His muscles bunched, then slowly relaxed. He tugged on his collar to make it even before reaching for her hand.

"So why does William control such a large faction of vampires?" Jer asked, diffusing the situation.

"From my reports, he does not control a large number of vampires. Rather, he has powerful forces behind him, though they are but few. William is of a radical opinion."

"How so?" Zair questioned.

"He believes that vampires and humans should be integrated and knowledgeable of each other's existence." The three of us stared at Giuseppe. That may have possibly been the worst idea I had ever heard.

"We would be persecuted if humans knew of our existence," I muttered.

"You mustn't explain that to me," Giuseppe scoffed. "William, on the other hand…"

"So where does this leave us?" Jer questioned, pulling us all back into the heart of the matter at hand.

Zair's pointed look at Giuseppe had both Jer and I suspicious. "Mother? What are you thinking?" She ignored me.

"It may be our best option, Giuseppe," she murmured, soothingly running her fingers down the silk of his sleeve.

"It is not an option," Giuseppe growled, gripping the corner of his desk in a tightened fist.

I pointedly looked at Jer, pleading with him to say something. "What option is this?" He asked. Giuseppe's temper burst.

"It is NOT an option!" Spittle flew from his mouth as he swiped at the papers on his desk, scattering them about the study. "Leave it alone. NOW."

"Giuseppe-" Zair started.

"No more. I refuse to discuss this ludicrous idea any furth-" Zair's stare cut Giuseppe off mid-rant.

"You will listen to me. As my husband, you have the duty to listen to me, and as queen, I have the authority to command that my voice be heard."

Jer and I exchanged quick glances. Zair rarely used her power to override Giuseppe.

"Forget our qualms with them, Giuseppe, and evaluate our circumstances then. Would you continue to run to and fro aimlessly, or would you call in professionals, who understand what we're up against?"

Giuseppe ever so slightly dropped his chin—the ultimate sign of defeat for him. "You are right."

"Who are you speaking of?" I shouted, my nerves fried.

Zair fixed her gaze on me. "Mariella's parents."