Queen of Darkness Read online

  Queen of Darkness

  Book 4 in The Vampire Pirate Saga

  Isadora Brown

  Rebecca Hamilton

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Did You Like Queen of Darkness?

  Newsletter Information

  About the Author

  1

  The moment consciousness tugged at her mind, ripping her away from slumber, Kelia’s head throbbed with a strange, aching beat. She couldn’t help but reach up and press her hands around her temples. Although the gentle pressure of her fingers eased her pain, the threat of fresh agony if she opened her eyes compelled her to keep them closed.

  What’s going on?

  “Easy there, darling,” a familiar voice murmured next to her.

  The fine hairs on her arms and neck sparked, as if called by magic to him.

  “Is she waking up?” another voice asked. This one was low, feminine, and smooth. Emma. Kelia could recognize the earth witch’s voice anywhere. “How is she?”

  There was a tremor in her voice, as if she was worried about something. But what could Emma possibly be worried about? Emma never worried about anything.

  “She’s conscious, but besides that, I don’t know anything,” Drew replied dryly. “Perhaps you witches should go assist Wendy on getting us back to Nassau as quickly as possible. A wind witch only has control of the wind. Daniella, maybe you can do something useful and set fire to the ocean.”

  After a disgruntled snort and footsteps that sounded as though they were stomping away, a door slammed with finality.

  “Why are you so hard on her?” Emma asked.

  “You know why. What she did to Kelia—”

  “It worked, didn’t it?” Emma snapped. "Getting Kelia in the breeding program allowed Kelia to find Wendy. It also allowed you to get them off Port George and away from The Society. If anything, Daniella is the reason you got Kelia back.”

  “Only to fall into the Queen’s hands, must I remind you.”

  Kelia opened her eyes. But instead of the stinging light she expected, she was met with darkness. Aside from the two distinct silhouettes she knew to be Emma and Drew, everything was inky black. Her head pounded, but she blinked until her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

  No, it was more than that. More than her vision just getting used to the shadows of the room. Kelia could actually see through the darkness now.

  But why?

  “What happened?” Kelia asked. With her throat so dry, it was difficult for Kelia to speak. Her voice sounded foreign, as though she had not had the ability to formulate words in years. “I remember the Queen had me. And then…”

  What did she remember? The Queen had given her some kind of poison that would make her throw up. It would not kill her immediately; rather, she would slowly bleed out from the inside and the vomit would bring the blood out.

  Kelia shifted so she could sit up and nearly rolled off the bed. The movement was too much too soon. Both Drew and Emma rushed to her side.

  “Where am I now?” Kelia asked, gripping hard on the edge of the bed to keep from falling over.

  She closed her eyes and tilted her head up, her nostrils flaring as she tried to pick up the scent. Salt. Clear, crisp air. A heavy aroma that hung around ships at sea. Her ears picked up the waves lapping against the ship. Footsteps clacked and thudded on wood, and the ship groaned. Birds cawed in the distance.

  “The Wraith,” she murmured, more to herself. She slowly opened her eyes. “I’m on the Wraith. How? Why?”

  Drew placed his hands together and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “There is plenty of time to answer those questions later. For now, let’s make sure you are okay. How are you feeling?”

  Kelia leaned back so her head rested on the pillow behind her. It felt familiar, smelled familiar. Drew’s pillow. This was his room. Now she saw it, clear as day. The desk behind Emma, filled with unorganized parchments and maps. The bookcase nailed into the floor, filled with books she still had not found the time to read.

  She turned to face the window, taking great care not to move the way she had before so she would not be confronted with a strong bout of dizziness again. But the window was blotted out. Something black was pressed against the glass.

  “What’s on the window?” she asked, pointing.

  Emma leaned against the edge of Drew’s desk so she, too, could look at the window. “A concoction I created,” she said, pulling her dark braid to fall over her shoulder, the ends splaying against a plain, fitted dress which looked comfortable rather than stylish. “Similar to tar,” she added. “It’s to block out the sun.”

  Drew shot Emma a look before plastering a smile onto his face. “Don’t listen to her, darling. That’s not important right now.”

  “How not?” Emma asked, scoffing. “It’s perhaps the most important thing right now. And I will speak the truth even if it’s difficult. Especially if someone I care about, perhaps even love, deserves to know the truth. Especially if perhaps that same someone should hear the truth from me before they find out from someone else. What do you think, Drew Knight?” She crossed her arms over her chest and gave Drew an expectant look. “Perhaps Kelia deserves to hear the truth? And if so, who does she deserve to hear it from, hmm?”

  “Drew…” Kelia said slowly, fixing her gaze on the Sea Shadow.

  Drew looked tired; that was certain. It appeared as though he had been carrying a large burden that either he had given up or resolved but which still left him exhausted. Regardless, even now, she couldn’t help but stare at him. His dark eyes that seemed to penetrate to her very soul. Those lips that made her recall the times he had kissed her in all the right places. Those cheekbones, that jawline, his beautiful face that looked as though it was made from marble. His dark hair fell into his face, and Kelia itched to push the strands away.

  But as beautiful as he was, his expression belied his guilt. He was hiding something.

  “What are you not telling me?” she pressed.

  Drew opened his mouth, and, judging by the look on his face, Kelia could tell whatever he was about to say was going to be charming…a charming half-truth. He did that sometimes, thinking he was protecting her by withholding information; when, really, she would prefer the whole truth, even if she would not be pleased by it.

  “Drew?” She raised her eyebrows in hopes he would understand how serious she was. “No lies of omission, please.”

  She tilted her head to the side, hoping to stretch out her neck. A slight tug against the side of her throat made her grunt. She reached up to touch the tender area, hoping to soothe it, but hesitated when her fingers came across something sticky. Something moist.

  She furrowed her brow and brought her fingers in front of her. She had to blink once, twice, her thumb caressing her fingers in order to get a better feel for the substance before darting her gaze back to Drew, more confused than before.

  Drew’s fingers coiled and h
e placed his hands underneath his chin. The posture was all wrong for someone like Drew Knight. He looked hesitant, worried. What could he have to worry about? They weren’t with the Queen any longer, were they?

  “There’s something you should probably know,” he said finally.

  “I’ve gathered as much. And that’s why I—”

  A strange, metallic scent caught her off guard, tickling her nostrils. How did she know that scent? Why was it so familiar to her?

  Her stomach rumbled. She was hungry. When was the last time she’d eaten? Probably around the time the Queen gave her that poison.

  She shifted her focus back onto her fingers.

  “Drew?” She brought her fingers closer to her eyes. “Is this blood? Is that why my neck hurts?”

  “You didn’t think it wise to heal her neck after?” Emma started through gritted teeth, but Drew cut her off with a hysterical chuckle.

  Without turning to look at Emma, he pushed her back gently toward the door. “Don’t you have a redhead to supervise? I don’t want her burning down my ship with her fire fingers and whatnot.”

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Kelia asked, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Drew, what’s going on? What happened to me? Did the Queen do this to me? Did you killer her?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Not exactly to which question?”

  “Any of them.” He stepped toward the bed and eased his way down so he sat at the foot of the mattress, twisting his torso to face Kelia. “Listen, princess, you’ve been unconscious for three days. I think the most important thing right now is for you to get your strength back.”

  “What?” Kelia demanded, dropping her hand so it hit the sheets. Crimson splattered against the off-white sheets, but Kelia did not even blink at the thought.

  “It’s completely normal, I assure you.” Drew was using his hands animatedly now, and Kelia knew he only did that when he was nervous about something. Usually, this occurred only when he had to ask Emma something or needed a favor from her she would not particularly like; like asking her to dress like a whore in order to listen in on private conversations and obtain information. Kelia never thought Drew would need to use it on her, and yet, here he was, talking with his hands. “Being unconscious for three days, I mean.”

  “How is that normal?” Kelia sat up straighter. “You mean it’s a normal side effect of the potion? Why did you kick Emma out? Maybe she can help. And why is there blood on my neck? Did I get hurt? And why aren’t we with the Queen? I assume you rescued me, but how did you pull that off?” She blinked and locked eyes with Drew. “Please, Drew. I don’t feel…I can’t explain it. Something is wrong with me. No, not wrong. That’s not the word I’m looking for. I feel different. But I don’t know why I feel different, and that scares me. If you know what happened to me, you need to tell me. Now.”

  Drew’s dark brown eyes never wavered, though she could tell he was worried about something. Seeing him that vulnerable, again, was enough to shoot warning alarms in Kelia’s head. She grabbed the sheet bunched around her lap and waited for him to speak.

  “Okay,” he said. “I’ll tell you. But you must promise you’ll allow me to finish the story before you ask any questions.”

  Kelia nodded. “That’s fair.”

  Drew dropped his gaze to her hands and reached out so he could take one in his own. The familiar sensation of his rough skin against hers made some of the tension in her muscles dissipate, but it wasn’t enough to ease up on Drew. She still needed to know what was going on.

  “I need to preface this story with a gentle reminder that I love you and that hasn’t changed at all,” Drew said. “Anything I’ve done is for you and your well-being. I would do anything for you, anything to ensure your safety. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Kelia said, “but, Drew, you’re starting to scare me. Can’t you tell me what’s going on?"

  She looked over at the window, only to be reminded that the curtains were drawn. Kelia did not even know what time it was, if it was sunny or if it was raining.

  “Of course.” He cleared his throat, lacing his fingers with hers and squeezing them gently. “When I found you had been taken, I could not, I did not…I was not a pleasant person to be around. Because we had the map to Sangre, we set sail almost immediately. Wendy was too wrapped up in her own sorrow to muster up the ability to get us to the island faster so we had to make do with the wind as it was provided by the Keeper of the Sky.”

  “Okay,” Kelia said, tightening her grip on the sheets. She did not take her eyes off of him. He was acting strange, completely unlike himself, and that scared her.

  “We got to the island, and Daniella created a massive fire,” he continued. “Wendy flew the fire over using her power, and everything burned. A Shadow’s biggest fear is fire. It is the only thing besides being pierced in the heart that can kill us.”

  “So you burned the island.” Kelia needed him to stay on track, and yet, he kept trailing off, as though he wanted to avoid getting to the part that was most important now.

  “I ran across the water to the island and into the manor,” he continued. "I found you, and I brought you back. Unfortunately, Emma knew instantly what you were poisoned with; it’s an incredibly rare concoction that eats away your insides and causes you to continue vomiting, regardless if your stomach is full or empty. It causes internal bleeding, so your death, which could happen weeks after receiving the poison, stretches out. Each passing day gets worse. You lose more blood, and the pain increases, but the end result is the same: you die.”

  Kelia rubbed her lips together, trying to ignore the way her heart lurched in her throat. Her palms moistened with sweat, and she continued to squeeze the sheets so her hands would not start shaking. She never thought she would be one to fear death, and yet, she could not help but indulge in a moment of thorough self-pity.

  “Is there a cure?” she demanded to know. She could hear how shrill her voice was and shook her head, trying to calm herself down. It did no good. “Am I—are you saying I’m going to die? Is that why I was unconscious for three days? Emma must have found a cure, right? Because I feel better now. Please tell me she found a cure.”

  “Darling,” Drew said. He dropped her hand to reach for a stray strand of blonde hair but held back and then dropped his hand into his lap once more. “I was not finished.”

  “Oh.” She shifted her hips. “I apologize. Go on.”

  “There is no cure for what the Queen gave you, unfortunately,” he said. Each word was enunciated, and Kelia could tell that, once again, he was trying to buy time. She was close to reaching over and throttling him to speed things up. “If we didn’t do what we did, you would have died. I could not bare to think about you not here, with me, at my side. The probability of you dying…I could not let that occur. And yes, I know that makes me selfish, but I do not regret it, and I would do it again and again if it took away your pain and meant you would survive.”

  “Drew,” Kelia said. “What did you do? If you saved me, why do you look so…desolate?”

  “Because in order to save you, I had to kill you,” he said. “You were unconscious for three days because your body needed to accept the change.”

  “I don’t understand,” Kelia said slowly. “What aren’t you telling me? What change?”

  “I’m sure you’ve noticed your stronger sense of smell, your ability to see through the darkness…” Drew took in a breath and reached out to take Kelia’s hand in his. “I had to change you, Kelia. It was the only way. I had to turn you into a Sea Shadow.”

  2

  Kelia ripped her hand away from Drew and pulled her knees, still draped with covers, up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I’m sorry, Drew. You’ll have to repeat that. It sounded as if you said you transformed me into a Sea Shadow. But, certainly, you wouldn’t have done that. You would have waited until I was conscious to get my consent. Please tell me you really didn’t turn me without asking.” r />
  “There was no time,” he said, a lilt of regret in tone.

  “You said it would have taken weeks for me to die!" Kelia said, throwing her arms out but keeping her knees up. "You knew I’d just arrived at that island days ago. Why not wait? Why not make certain living life as a Sea Shadow was something I wanted?”

  “We didn’t know if anything else was done to you,” Drew said.

  “That’s shit, and you know it.” She balled her fingers into fists. Her head started pounding once more, and something moved in her mouth. At first, she thought it was painful, but, if anything, it was just a surprise. When she moved her tongue to feel what had happened, she cut it on something sharp.

  Fangs.

  She had fangs now.

  Tears sprang to her eyes. Not because of the pain, but because what Drew said was actually true.

  “Why did you do this to me?” she asked, her voice breaking. A tear streamed down her face, and then another. “Why didn’t you talk to me about it first?”

  “I told you—”

  “No lies,” Kelia snapped. “You’ve kept things from me before, things I understood and forgave you for, but do not lie to me, Drew. You owe me more than that. The Queen wanted to watch you suffer. I am almost certain she did not expect you to arrive so quickly to retrieve me, and she most certainly did not expect fire to rain from the sky and you to get me yourself. You had time. You could have waited before turning me, but you chose not to.”

  “I did what I thought I had to do to stop your suffering,” Drew said. His voice was cold, resigned. “You were unresponsive. The Queen is a vile, twisted thing. I did not want you to endure any more pain. I turned you because I thought that was our only option.”