I surge to my feet before the blood mist has a chance to fall. My father is old. He’ll heal far too quickly to hesitate now. It’s why we couldn’t risk a shot to the head. If he’s still able to speak, he’ll put a stop to any attack before I have a chance to finish it.
His power still lingers in the air, but it no longer feels like it’s chaining me in place. I lunge at him, taking him to the ground even as he tries to stop the bleeding. His mouth moves, but no words come out. How many seconds do I have? Thirty? Twenty? Ten?
Fear gives me strength as I hack at him with the knife. One strike hits his hands, another, and then they’re finally out of the way. It takes one glance at his throat to drive how little time I have. It’s knitting together before my very eyes. “No!” I bring the blade over my head and thrust it down, intending to impale his neck. It will be impossible for him to heal if there’s a knife in the way.
I don’t make it.
He catches the blade in the palms of his hands, the blade sliding clean through and catching on the hilt. Shock freezes me for a single heartbeat, and then it’s too late. He wrenches the knife away. The momentum sends it spinning away from us. I follow the trajectory as horror rises with the realization that it lands too far away. If I go for it, he’ll be healed by the time I get back to him.
Rylan’s voice rises from the back of my mind, memory, or something else.
Never defenseless. Never weaponless.
Do not panic.
I scream as my father strikes up at me. Instinct has me lifting my hands to keep him from hitting my face. In my fear, I almost don’t notice the tingling that spread from my fingers down through my hands. I shove back at my father and blink down as blood sprays where I make contact.
My hands are…transformed. It’s not like before. There are no dainty claws that are sharp but ultimately less than useful in a fight. No, my claws look like Rylan’s when he’s a wolf. They’re huge and wickedly curved and achingly sharp.
My father’s eyes go wide. No, he mouths.
“Yes.”
This time, when I attack, it doesn’t matter that he’s trying to fight me with his bare hands. A blow from me, and there are no more hands to speak of. Another swipe and his throat is gone entirely. I keep going, fear driving me, until his neck is entirely gone and his head rolls away from his body.
Only then do I stop attacking, sure that he can no longer hurt me.
Only then do I look up to realize the courtyard is no longer empty.
My father’s people and many of my half-siblings stand around the edges. To a person, they stare at me with fear. I push slowly to my feet and several of them flinch away from me. I hate it. I never wanted to rule like this, but the men are right. Fear is the only way to ensure I survive this coup and keep surviving. There aren’t any soldiers present, which is just as well. The men will take care of them. It’s up to me to sell this once and for all.
I grab my father’s head and hold it aloft. Someone cries out in horror. I ignore them and turn a slow circle, meeting as many gazes as I can manage, holding them until people look away. I lift his head and raise my voice. “I am my father’s heir by virtue of the babe now growing in my womb. I am now the head of the clan by virtue of his death. Challenge me now or take a knee.”
One of my brothers, William, steps forward. He opens his mouth, but stops speaking as fire pours from my palm, turning our father’s head to ash. I hold his gaze as I turn the fire on the body next. It burns hot, hot enough to flash dry the blood coating me, hot enough that the people closest take several large steps back. William shakes his head and sinks to one knee.
Fear truly is a powerful tool for a leader. The thought makes me vaguely ill, but there are no depths I won’t descend to in order to protect the people I care about. I don’t want to slaughter my way through my half-siblings, but I’ll do it if they force my hand.
William’s taking the knee starts a waterfall effect, though. One by one, all of the people around the courtyard kneel and bow their heads. I turn slowly, but not a single one of them will meet my gaze, let alone challenge me. Thank the gods. I refuse to let the relief show on my face.
Instead, I rotate to face William and lift my voice. “Gather everyone. It’s time to make an announcement.”
He doesn’t look happy, but he nods. He turns to several people next to him, “Make the call.”
It takes fifteen minutes for everyone in the compound to reach the courtyard. My hands still haven’t returned to their normal shape and I’m still covered in my father’s blood, but it’s just as well. Again, not a single person challenges me as I declare myself the leader.
There will be challenges later, both martial and subtle, but it will take them at least a few days to gather their courage to try. A few days is all I need to cement my place here. I won’t pretend that dueling will be easy, but after facing down my father, I’m not as worried as I was before. None of my half-siblings’ powers are as strong as his were. I can break their compulsions, which means I can win the fight.
There’s another matter to attend to first, though. “Allow me to introduce you to my partners.” I fling a hand over to where I feel Malachi, Rylan, and Wolf waiting. They leap over the bystanders and land at my back, a flashy move that almost makes me smile, especially when everyone gasps. Truly, my father’s people are already conditioned to fall in line behind a strong leader. I have no intention of becoming a tyrant like my father, but I am not above taking advantage of the rotten foundation he left.
I will give them the strong leader they crave. Unlike my father, though, I won’t abuse my power over them. I fully intend to be a queen they’ll grow to love over time, or at least respect.
“You will obey these men as if you would me.” I wait for the murmured assent before continuing. “Now, go back to your homes and rest assured that you are safe. Your life will not be negatively affected by this change in power.” I hate that I find myself pitching my tone to mimic the way my father talked in public, that I’m using his cadences to assure obedience from these people. I never set out to lead, but if I walk away and allow William or one of the others to take over, they will hunt me the same way our father did. I’ve made myself too much a threat to do anything but take my father’s place. It’s the only way.
“Do not force me to make an example of you.” I sweep my gaze over them. “Go. Sleep. We will rebuild after everyone rests for the day.”
The men fall behind me as I turn and head deeper into the compound. It’s only when I take a familiar turn that I realize I’m walking back to my old room by habit and that it’s not appropriate for me to sleep there if I’m supposed to be leading. It’s just as well. That tiny room holds no good memories for me, and it’s nowhere large enough for the four of us.
With a sigh, I veer in the opposite direction and make my way to my father’s home. Stepping through the front door, even with my men at my back, feels like being launched into a past I want no part of. My knees buckle.
I never hit the floor.
Malachi scoops me up. “Bathroom?”
I try to speak, but no words come. Rylan brushes a hand over my head. “I’ll get a shower going.” He disappears through a doorway leading deeper into the house.
Wolf surveys the room. “I hope you’re not attached to any of this.” I shake my head mutely and he smiles. “Let Mal wind you down and we’ll take care of the rest. You did good, love.”
Malachi carries me through the house to the large bathroom Rylan found. Steam already curls through the air, and I take what feels like my first full breath in hours. We did it. We actually pulled it off. My father is gone and I am now the leader of this compound. Holy shit. I don’t even know how to process that. I don’t even know where to begin to start. “Oh gods.” My body starts to shake, violent tremors hitting in waves. “It hurts.” I don’t know what I mean, only that it’s true.
“I know, little dhampir. I know.”
Rylan stays long enough to use his claws to divest me of my clothing and then he leaves, shutting the door softly behind him. Mal steps beneath the spray without setting me down. “Breathe. You did it. The worst of it is over.”
“I never wanted to lead,” I whisper. “I just wanted to be free.”
“Freedom in our world comes at the price of power. This was the only way.” He hugs me tightly. “Can you stand?”
“I think so?”
He sets me carefully on my feet and washes the blood from my body and hair. When he gets to my hands, he examines the claws. “These are impressive.”
“I don’t know how I did it. I just heard Rylan’s voice in my head and then the magic obeyed.”
“Sometimes it happens like that. Close your eyes.” I obey, and he keeps speaking in that low, calm voice. “Envision your hands as they normally are. Not a claw or bit of fur in sight.”
My eyes fly open. “I don’t have fur.
He grins. “Now you don’t have claws, either.”
Sure enough, he’s right. I wiggle the fingers of my very human hand. They look just like normal, feel just like normal. How strange. “That was easy.”
“I did say it would get easier.”
“I didn’t think it would happen this fast.” I take a deep breath and look at the door. “They’re going to expect information and announcements and official things tomorrow.”
“Yes. But you’re not doing it alone.” He presses his hand to my lower stomach. “You have us. I meant what I said last night. We will make this place the safest spot in the realms to raise our children. Anyone—anyone—who threatens us won’t live long enough to regret it.”
There was a time when I might say that’s too bloodthirsty, but that time and that person are long gone. I nod. “Then I guess we best get started.”
“Tomorrow, Mina.”
When we leave the bathroom, clean and exhausted, it’s to find that Rylan and Wolf have gutted the house. I look around with wide eyes. How did they possibly move this quickly? The living room is completely empty except for a plain mattress with what appears to be clean sheets sitting in the center of it. “What’s this?”
Wolf saunters through the door. “Couldn’t do the whole place in the time we had, but we figured you didn’t want to be surrounded with memories of the monster.” He eyes the mattress with distaste. “This is the largest we could find on short notice.”
My lower lip quivers at the thoughtfulness of this. I don’t want to be in this house, faced with the memory of my father, especially when it takes less than no effort to conjure how warm his blood was against my skin, how easily his flesh gave way to my claws. I shudder. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, love.” He flops down onto the mattress.
Rylan steps into the house and shuts the door firmly behind himself. “I don’t expect trouble tonight, but we’ll keep an eye out for it.” He frowns at Wolf. “Get off those clean sheets until you’ve had a shower.”
“Right. Whoops.” Wolf rolls easily to his feet and moves past me toward the shower. He brushes the backs of his fingers of my arm and then he’s gone. A few seconds later, the shower starts up again.
Rylan comes to stand before me. “How are you doing?”
“I’m shaky and exhausted and overwhelmed.” I try for a smile. “But we’re all alive, so I’m good. Really good.” I hesitate. “Lizzie?”
“Gone. I’m sure she’ll be circling back at some point for that favor, but the Radu family will be doing what the rest of the clans are now that you’ve taken over.” At my questioning look, he gives a wry smile. “Watching. Evaluating. Traditionally, there’s a year grace period when someone ascends to head of clan, so we have that long to bolster our defenses and alliances and ensure we’re too strong to reckon with.”
“Oh,” I say faintly. I’ve never heard of a grace period, but my father has ruled for a very, very long time. He was also tight-fisted with information as a way of controlling people—something I intend to change. I drag in a breath. “I guess we need to get started on that soon.
“Tomorrow,” Malachi says firmly. “Everything can wait until tomorrow. Right now, we’re going to hold you and we’re going to celebrate the fact that we’re alive and we won.”
I find myself smiling slowly as he leads me to the bed. “I kind of like that plan.”
“I thought you might.” He smiles down at me and, for the first time since I met him, it’s completely joyful and free of reserve. “I love you, little dhampir.”
“I love you, too.”
“Forever.”
I go up onto my toes and kiss him. “Forever.”
