The Queen Everyone Fears

The official coronation ceremony happened far faster than I expected. One moment I was waking up next to my infuriating new husband, and the next, heavy golden velvet robes were being draped over my shoulders and a jeweled crown was being placed onto my head.

Just like that, Rowan was officially the King of Averaine, and I was its Queen.

I stood beside his grand wooden throne at the top of the marble dais, looking down at the endless sea of human nobles filling the grand hall. I smoothed down the front of my heavy dark dress, a slow, wicked smile creeping onto my face as the full reality of the situation sank in.

My miserable family back home had shipped me across the border like unwanted trash, thinking they were dumping their cursed, monster daughter into a life of quiet embarrassment with a disabled prince. They had literally handed me a throne on a silver platter.

I almost chuckled out loud right in front of the high priest. If my father could see me standing up here right now, his cold face would probably turn purple. And Calista? My perfect, saintly twin sister was probably sobbing her fake, delicate tears into a silk handkerchief back at the estate, furious that the "monster" had stolen the ultimate crown.

The thought alone made this whole boring ceremony completely worth it. But as I scanned the crowd below, the mood in the room wasn't exactly celebratory.

Whisperings ripple through the court like a foul wind. The nobles leaned toward each other, their eyes darting nervously up toward the dais where I stood.

"A vampire on the throne of Averaine..." someone murmured near the front row.

"She's a wild beast... did you see her eyes?" another voice whispered back, not quite low enough.

"His Majesty must have lost his mind to bring a monster into the royal bloodline."

I tilted my head, my sharp ears picking up every single word. I didn't care about their little opinions, but their obvious disgust was almost cute. They looked at me like I was going to leap off the dais and rip their heads off right in the middle of daylight.

Rowan sat beside me in his custom dark throne, his expression as calm and unbothered as ever. He didn't bother defending me, nor did he tell the court to shut their mouths. He just let them murmur, knowing damn well I could handle myself.

Once the priest finished the endless prayers, the nobles began forming a long line to step forward, bow, and present their formal oaths of loyalty to the new King and Queen.

Most of them were terrified out of their minds. They shuffled forward with shaking knees, kept their eyes glued to the stone floor, and bowed so low their foreheads practically brushed my shoes before scrambling away.

Then came Lord Vane. He was a tall, fat human nobleman with a heavy silk cape and a smug, sneering face that immediately made my knuckles itch. He stepped up to the base of the dais, bowed deeply to Rowan, and offered a formal, polite blessing to the new King.

Then he turned his body slightly toward me. Instead of bowing or lowering his head, he stood straight up, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared right into my eyes with clear, shameless disrespect.

The entire hall fell instantly silent. The court held its collective breath, several guards reaching nervously for the hilt of their swords.

Lord Vane smirked, his eyes scanning my face with blatant disgust. "Welcome to Averaine, Lady Zelpunrap," he said, deliberately leaving out my title as Queen.

I didn't answer right away. I just stared at him, letting a quiet, dangerous silence stretch out across the room until the smirk on his fat face began to waver slightly.

Rowan didn't move a muscle beside me, casually resting his chin on his hand as he watched the scene unfold. He wasn't going to intervene, and I preferred it that way.

I stepped off the raised platform, my dark robes trailing behind me as I walked down the marble steps. The heavy thud of my boots echoed through the dead quiet hall.

Lord Vane tried to hold his arrogant posture, but as I stopped directly in front of him…close enough that he could feel the cold aura radiating off my skin…a tiny drop of sweat rolled down his temple.

"You seem to have forgotten how to bend your knees, old man," I said softly, my voice smooth and mocking.

He swallowed hard, puffing out his chest to cover his rising panic. "I bow to the true bloodline of Averaine, girl. I do not bow to

dark creatures dragged out of the wild."

A few nobles gasped.

I smiled bright and terrifyingly wide. Before he could even blink, my hand shot out like a lightning strike, my fingers locking around his thick throat.

Lord Vane let out a strangled choke as I lifted him straight off his feet with one hand, slamming his heavy body back against the stone pillar beside the dais. His feet dangled inches off the floor, his face turning a dark, bruised red as he clawed helplessly at my arm.

"Let... let me go..." he wheezed out, his eyes bulging in pure terror.

"Is that how you speak to your Queen?" I purred, leaning close to his ear.

I let my vampire nature take over completely. My eyes flashed a vivid, glowing red, and my sharp fangs extended past my lips, gleaming under the bright chandeliers. I buried my face into the crook of his neck, inhaling the hot, frantic beat of his pulse rushing against his skin.

Lord Vane began to tremble violently, tears of sheer horror welling up in his eyes as he realized just how easily I could drain him dry right in front of his entire kingdom. He shook so hard his knees knocked together, completely terrified for his life.

I opened my mouth wide, pressing my sharp fangs directly against his warm skin right over his jugular vein. I felt his whole body go rigid, waiting for the painful bite.

But instead of sinking my teeth into his neck, I drew back just a fraction. I raised my free hand, letting my black fingernails extend into long, razor-sharp claws. With a slow, deliberate pressure, I dragged the tip of my sharp nail right across the side of his neck…exactly where my fangs had been resting.

The sharp claw sliced through his skin, leaving a fine, dark line of blood that trickled slowly down into his high collar.

Lord Vane let out a pathetic, whimpering

cry, completely broken.

I released his throat, letting him drop heavily onto the cold floor like a sack of flour. He collapsed onto his knees, gasping for air, clutching his bleeding neck with shaking hands as he stared up at me in absolute horror.

I pulled my thumb up to my mouth, licking the small smear of his blood off my nail, and looked down at him with a cold, disgusted glare.

"Next time," I whispered, letting my voice carry across the silent, terrified hall, "it will be my fangs.”