Blood Curse

16 The Throne Room

“How will we find Jade?” Ophelia turned to Lady Brookshire. Three maids were also in the elegant dressing room off Lady Brookshire’s bedchamber, waiting to help Ophelia hurriedly into clothing. The gown she was to borrow was simple and beautiful, but still, she protested, “Why do we not wear trousers and shirts and boots? It would make everything much easier.”

Lady Brookshire tapped her chin. “An excellent idea. Much better for an attack on a dangerous vampire queen.” Her ladyship commanded gently to the two young maids, “Raid the wardrobes of my husband and Mr. de Wynter and bring us some of their clothes.” To her lady’s maid, she said, “Robbins, you will stay and will undress me.”

Ophelia felt a spurt of panic. “My lady, I was just joking. We shouldn’t—”

“It will not take me long.” Indeed, Lady Brookshire had her dress undone and removed in moments. The other maids bustled in with trousers and white shirts draped over their arms.

Ophelia hated every moment it took to dress, but at least it was quick to pull on a shirt and trousers. At first she tried to wear her shift for modesty, then abandoned the idea, and pulled off her muslin underclothes. Her breasts were free beneath the shirt, jiggling as she moved, and there was nothing between her trousers and her privates.

But she felt ready for adventure. Even her feminine clothes, she realized, had felt like a prison.

Lady Brookshire opened the door. “Good, you are ready. We must go.”

“Where are we going to go?” Ravenhunt told her nothing, probably to ensure she couldn’t stop him. There was so much pain in him. Did he want to be destroyed to escape that pain?

“I know where the queens reside,” Lady Brookshire said. “The places they go and the houses they use. As do my husbands—I mean, as does my husband. Sebastian knows these things, too. He is my brother by marriage.”

Lady Brookshire appeared flustered, but she took a composing breath and said more clearly, “We know about the vampire queens. There are three houses used by Queen Jade. We will find Ravenhunt and his sister at one of them.”

She hugged Ophelia. “Don’t worry. We will save him. I have gone up against the vampire queens before. There is always a way to give them what they want, while you get what you want.”

It was good to be embraced, but Ophelia couldn’t take much comfort from it. “I do not see how, my lady. Ravenhunt assured me I would despise him for what he did and that our love would never survive it. I want to believe it would. My love is the only thing that can save him. What if there truly is something so awful in his past that I can no longer love him?”

“We will cope with that when it happens.” Lady Brookshire faced her. “When the time comes, I will be able to help you.”

“How? How could you help me love Ravenhunt?”

“I have learned how love is the most precious thing. I think I could help you learn that, too.”

“I know it is precious,” Ophelia protested. “But it is not easy to love someone.”

“No.” A soft smile. “It definitely is not. But you understand that, and that is most of the battle.”

Ophelia did not argue. She had no time to dispute or debate love. What she must do was believe in it, believe in Ravenhunt, and save him.

Lady Brookshire strode to a wardrobe in the corner. “To go, we will need weapons. This could be a mission of combat, after all.” She swung open the doors.

Ophelia gaped at the contents. Crossbows. Stakes. Lethal daggers. Swords in scabbards. “These are yours?”

“For times when discussion will not work. They usually work better on gentlemen than on ladies. Men are much more enthralled by a woman carrying a weapon.”

“Enthralled? Not frightened? It sounded as if you mean men find it . . . arousing.”

“Exactly. Now, let us go.”

Ophelia was amazed at how comfortable the countess appeared in her husband’s clothing. As they walked down the stairs, Lady Brookshire explained, “Queen Jade is the queen of a smaller clan. We have learned that the very ancient vampires divided themselves into houses at one time, and a queen ran each house. As time went on, after many betrayals, murders, and slayings, the houses dissolved. Vampires became more independent in many ways. But the queens still have great power, and they wield it. Queen Jade is originally from the Himalayan Mountains, north of China. She has lived in England for hundreds of years.”

Ophelia nodded, drinking in every detail.

“She is queen of a lesser house,” Lady Brookshire continued. “If she demanded your power, it is probably because she wants to be stronger.”

“I can’t let her get it from Ravenhunt. The woman is ruthless—” She hesitated. “If vampire slayers know about the queens and their power, why do you not destroy them?”

“There is a long history of vampire slayers making deals with the queens.”

“Isn’t that wrong?”

“Not all slayers believed vampires should be completely eradicated. We can live together.”

“Is that really possible?” Ophelia stopped. “I am so sorry. I forgot that you and your husband are vampires. I did not mean any offense.”

Lady Brookshire smiled. “I am accustomed to it. Your doubt is quite understandable. But remember, any mortal can choose to be a threat to other mortals. Any human can become a murderer. In the same way, a vampire can choose not to be a predator and respect human life.”

“Ravenhunt didn’t.” She bit her lip. Did that not say he should be destroyed? Yet in her heart she didn’t want to believe that.

“I believe he has changed. Slayers watch the vampires. Ravenhunt has been changing his ways, and he has only chosen the worst of human society to feed upon. He drinks from men who prey on weaker people such as women and children. And he has ensured he left them alive. I suspect he has changed for you.”

“But why?” she asked.

“Perhaps love?”

Ophelia jerked in shock. She had thought a lot about whether she loved Ravenhunt. She had not really thought about whether he loved her. What was wrong with her? Most women in love thought of nothing else.

Did he care for her? He hadn’t wanted her to die when he took her power.

But that wasn’t quite a declaration of undying love.

“You think we can bargain with this woman, Jade, for Ravenhunt’s life,” she said to Lady Brookshire.

“You must show her all the respect you would show England’s royalty. They require it, and when they are angry there is always hell to pay. But yes, I believe we can. I also believe love can spare him. I know so many it has saved. He was the Marquis of Ravenhunt, was he not?”

Ophelia nodded. “He must have kept the name when he became a vampire, instead of his actual surname.”

“It is Rollingsworth. For his Christian name, we do have a Burke’s Peerage.”

Most young ladies knew the surnames of English peers, but once she had been cloistered away from the world, she had no longer been treated as normal. Why would she have to know it, as she would never be out in Society and would never marry?

Ravenhunt hadn’t told her his true name. He had required her love, but he had not even been willing to give her his name. Had he intended to embrace destruction all along?

As they reached a set of white double doors, one opened. Mr. Sebastian de Wynter stepped out, a crossbow held casually at his hip. His golden hair was loose, and fell to his shoulders. “Our evil queen Jade has acquired three buildings,” he drawled. “She resides in a new town house on the outskirts of Mayfair, owns a lavish estate in the country, and operates a brothel in the stews. As you know, my dear sister-by-marriage, many brothels are owned by the vampire queens.”

Lady Brookshire did not even blush. “Indeed, I do know that. Now, which one will she use? Do you have any clues, Ophelia?”

She remembered everything Ravenhunt had said about Jade. At first she kept me with her at all times, like a pet. “He lived in a house on the fringe of Mayfair with Jade. It was only blocks from his sister, but he was not allowed to go to her. If Jade is proud, would she use one of her more elaborate homes, such as the estate or the Mayfair house?”

“Very logical,” Mr. de Wynter praised.

“She would want somewhere she could quickly transport a mortal,” Lady Brookshire said.

Ophelia knew quite a lot about prisons. She had been kept prisoner in her house for years, then as one at Mrs. Darkwell’s. “I think Jade would take him back to the prison he had once lived in,” she said. “To teach him a lesson. I think she would have taken him to—”

She and Lady Brookshire said, at the exact moment, “The Mayfair house.”

“We think she will be using the Mayfair house.” Panting, Harry ran out into the hall, from the same door as Sebastian de Wynter.

Harry had a crossbow, held in a more ready position. Lord Brookshire followed Harry.

“The ladies have already figured that out,” de Wynter said respectfully.

But Ophelia felt a pang of doubt. She had never led anyone anywhere. “I know each second counts. What if I am wrong, Lady Brookshire?”

Lady Brookshire took her hand. “Believe in yourself, my dear. I suspect that is hard for you to do. It took me time to do so, and I was trained as a vampire slayer. I had to learn where I belonged. You told me you were kept a prisoner. Unfortunately, all along, you’ve believed you deserved such treatment. You do not. Look to your heart and your soul, and you will know what to do.”

How could she know from her heart and soul? Anything would be only a guess—

No, from what Raven had told her, she was convinced it was right. She believed in herself.

Lady Brookshire’s eyes twinkled. “You must call me Althea. All my very good friends do.”

“Thank you, Althea. And you are right. I do feel certain about this,” she said firmly.

“If you believe you are correct, that is enough for me,” Lord Brookshire said.

A footman ran up to them, breathing hard, his wig askew. “My lord, your carriage is waiting.”

“Come.” Sebastian de Wynter put his arm across Ophelia’s shoulders and gently turned her in the direction of the foyer. “Let us rescue Ravenhunt and his sister.”

But Harry grasped her hand. “Ophelia, do you care for Ravenhunt? Even though he took you prisoner?”

She nodded. “I love him.” She touched her brother’s arm. “You mustn’t destroy him. He is not bad. He’s changed. You don’t have to take just my word for it. Lady Brookshire is convinced he has.”

“He was bitter and angry,” Harry said. “He assassinated vampires, preying on them as he did on mortals. For that, the Royal Society let him live. It was advantageous to them to. But Frederica—his sister—believed he had changed after his fiancée died.”

“He was engaged?”

“Before he became a soldier. According to Frederica, he was madly in love with Lady Margaret Primworth, but she died, and he went off searching for battles.”

Heavens. That was why he had become a soldier. That was what he’d wanted to forget: losing the woman he loved.

Was that why he was willing to be destroyed now? Was he still in love with Lady Margaret? Jade had kept him from ever reuniting with his lost love, even in the afterlife, by giving him immortality.

Ravenhunt had been kept here as a prisoner. He had been forced to do this woman’s bidding. He had been forced to kill for her.

Ophelia’s heart clenched as she alighted from the carriage. They had stopped at the end of the street on which Queen Jade had her house. As they gathered in the shadows—Althea, Brookshire, de Wynter, her brother, and her—Ophelia peered down the block. The block consisted of a row of new townhomes. The fronts were of white stone, the windows clean, the railings freshly painted black.

Lord Brookshire, tall and blond, rested his crossbow on his broad shoulder. His black greatcoat snapped around his legs, lifted by the breeze. “This is how we will get into the house. Jade will have it heavily guarded and her servants will be both mortal and vampire. She no longer needs anything from you, Ophelia, which puts you in danger when you go in.”

Althea shook her head. Moonlight glinted on her large eyes. “I do not think that is true, my husband,” she whispered. “Why was Ravenhunt sent to take her power?”

“Jade wants it.”

“True,” Althea answered. “And she has forced Ravenhunt to return to her. I have conversed with Guidon, and he has explained the rules of this transfer of power. Ravenhunt needs love to survive when he gives the power to Jade. I think Jade was in love with Ravenhunt.”

Ophelia gasped, but it made sense. They had been lovers once. “You mean Jade wants him back. Could her love save him?”

“Not if he does not return it,” Althea said. “He needs true, unconditional love. Both received and given. That is why she cannot hurt you.”

“Because he would hate her if she did, do you mean?” Ophelia asked.

Suddenly she saw the truth. She had survived giving up her power. What a fool she had been. The very fact she survived must mean he loved her.

“She may need you to save him,” Althea answered softly.

Ophelia suddenly understood. “Then she will take him for herself. But until he gives the power and survives it, she does need me.”

“That is exactly what I am thinking,” Sebastian de Wynter said. “She will not hurt you.”

But she had no idea how to attack a vampire queen or how to break into a house. Though she had experience in breaking out. “I could be a distraction,” she said. “I could demand to see Ravenhunt. Just knock on the door and say I have come for him. They might let me in and they might take me to him.”

“It is very dangerous,” Althea warned.

“The risk is too high,” Harry said gruffly. “I won’t allow it.”

De Wynter looked to Althea. “What do you think, my dear? Too dangerous?”

Althea let out a fierce breath. “I think it would work. I would go with you. They would not see me as a threat. I could easily convince a queen that we females decided to do this alone, and we snuck away from the men to come.”

“No, as head of my household, I forbid this—”

“I promise you, Darlington, I will not let your sister be hurt,” de Wynter vowed. “And it would give us a good opportunity to get in. If Lady Ophelia, Ravenhunt’s beloved, is on Jade’s doorstep, I guarantee she will be distracted.”

Ravenhunt’s beloved. She had realized she might truly be loved by him. Althea had been right. She didn’t believe in herself, and she must.

“I think it will work,” Althea declared.

“I am not happy about it, either,” Brookshire protested. “I know, however, my worries won’t stop my wife. All right.”

Althea linked her arm. “Have courage.” Together they hurried down the street. It didn’t matter if they were seen, since they wanted to be a distraction. Ophelia was first up the steps and she put out her hand to halt Althea. “Wait at the bottom, please. I don’t want you to be in danger.”

“No, we are in this together.”

She had never had a friend. It was a heart-warming, wonderful thing. Ophelia grasped the knocker, and slammed it hard against the door. She would believe in herself. Believe there could be a happy ending and she would make it happen.

The door slowly creaked open. Yet she didn’t lose her nerve. Ravenhunt was in there and she must get to him.

She expected a footman, not a young blond man with long hair tied back with a velvet ribbon—hair that reached his hips. He wore no shirt, but he was dressed in black trousers and boots. Straps of leather wrapped around his bare biceps.

“I think,” Althea whispered, “we can guess exactly what sort of woman Jade is.”

Ophelia could not comment. Her mouth gaped open. Another young man stood inside the foyer, in the stance of a servant, and he was equally scantily dressed.

“We wish an audience with the queen,” Althea said.

“Yes.” Ophelia found her voice. After going to that naughty club with Ravenhunt, she couldn’t be shocked. Certainly not at the very moment she had to be brave.

“Her Highness is not receiving,” the young man said. The door began to close.

Ophelia stuck her booted foot in it. No, she was not going to be beaten by a shirtless footman and a door. “She will see me. I am the only woman who can save Ravenhunt. Tell her that and I know she will insist I am brought to her at once.”

His eyes seemed to roll back into his head. The blue irises vanished, replaced by whites. He jerked and trembled. Then he stopped twitching, and his eyes became normal again. He bowed briefly to her and Althea. “You may come with me.”

Eight doors led off the octagon-shaped foyer. The servant strode to the one directly opposite the front door. She and Althea went through the door, held open by the blond, and Ophelia gave a cry of surprise.

Two men waited in the corridor on the other side. They wore only loincloths slung low on their hips. They were hewn of solid muscle, and their hair flowed long over their shoulders and down their backs. The ends of their hair brushed the firm, rounded shape of their rumps beneath the cloths.

“Take the two ladies to Her Highness,” the blond instructed.

Althea clapped her hand to her mouth as they walked down the corridor. It was dimly lit, and other muscular, handsome men stood in a line along its length. Two at the very end, flanking a door of gold, were utterly naked.

Could a woman surrounded by these men, who obviously had her own harem, care so much about Ravenhunt, she would let Ophelia carry out her plan?

The doors opened, and Ophelia rushed through.

Jade’s drawing room looked like a Drury Lane stage set. A raised dais ran along the opposite wall of the rectangular room, and it was made of polished ebony. Upon it sat a throne of gilt and red velvet, and a slender woman lounged elegantly on the large chair. She wore a gown of gold lace, and her black hair spilled over her. A heavy gold necklace set with rubies encircled her throat. At her sides, two brawny men in loincloths fanned her with palm fronds. Another young man sat at her bare feet, massaging oil into the sole of her right foot.

She looked like a queen of Egypt, or something fanciful like that. Queen Jade gazed at her and Althea scornfully, then she kicked lightly at the lad at her feet, so he quickly jumped to attention. Jade waved him to the door. Her fingernails were inches long, like talons.

“Bring him,” she commanded to the lad.

Ravenhunt was not here. Ophelia whispered to Althea, “If he is not here, and he is still alive, it means she hasn’t tried to take his power yet.”

“I think she has been afraid to,” Althea murmured. “She is afraid to lose him.”

Althea must be correct. Queen Jade loved Ravenhunt. It meant her plan would work, but first she had to make sure.

Ophelia stepped forward and curtsied. “I hope this is the correct way to approach a vampire queen. I’ve never been presented at court, so I am not sure.”

Jade’s dark, arched brow lifted. “It will do, mortal. You may address me.”

“I wish to know, Your Highness, if you love Ravenhunt. I must know this.”

“You make demands of me?”

“Is he special to you? Is he the one man who has captured your heart?”

“You are impertinent!”

“I must know,” Ophelia insisted. “I cannot surrender him to a woman who does not love him completely.”

“Surrender him?”

Now she had the queen’s interest.

Jade pushed up from her throne, in a shimmer of gold lace. “You will give him to me.”

“I will save his life and then I will give him to you. If you promise that you will not hurt him, and you will give your word his sister will go free, and you will never hurt her again.” Ophelia tipped her chin up, facing the gorgeous woman. “But I also will only do it if I know you will not hurt him, and you will not force him to kill for you again.”

“You are in no position to bargain. I have everything; you have nothing. You do not even have your magnificent power anymore.”

“I love Ravenhunt and I know he loves me.”

Hatred flashed in Jade’s black, reflective eyes. “I love him also. I loved him long before you were even known to him.”

“But he does not love you in return. Not yet. That means you cannot save him. I can. I know you will not let me take him from you, but I cannot leave him if you are going to keep him your prisoner and force him to kill.”

“I could destroy you.”

“Yes, you could,” Ophelia said, yet feeling no fear. “But if you want his love, you cannot force it from him. You cannot keep him a captive and hope he will grow to love you because he has no other hope. You must be worthy of his love.”

“Blast and damnation, I’ll shoot you both,” shouted a male voice.

A door across the room flew open, and Harry was shoved into the room. Ophelia’s heart plummeted. Two footmen followed him. They gripped his arms and dragged Harry between them, hauling him to Jade. They were enormous, muscle-bound men, and Harry was no match for them. They had tied his hands behind his back.

One held him by the arms, while the other man stepped forward. “We caught him in the rear of the house. He was attempting to break in by the kitchen doors. He was armed with this—” The brawny servant held up Harry’s crossbow.” We lost one man to him, but overpowered him.”

“Hold him there,” Jade commanded. Then she yelled, “Bring Ravenhunt to me now!”

A raspy voice came to Raven in the damp darkness of his cell. Listen, my lord. Lady Ophelia has come for you.

“Guidon? Where the hell are you? Damn well get me out of here.” Then his wits took charge. Guidon had spoken through thought. He’d slumped against the wall, and he lurched upright. His heartbeat thundered. “Felie is here? She cannot be.”

She has come to rescue you.

“How do you know when you aren’t here?”

It was the tea I gave her. It allows me to see her when I must—when she is in danger and she needs help.

In danger? Has Jade taken her prisoner? He barked the question in his thoughts. Panic clawed at his heart. Damn, why did she come?

She loves you.

She has no right to risk her life for me. I am not damned worthy.

Close your eyes, Ravenhunt, and I will allow you to watch and listen.

Raven did as the vampire asked. He gripped the bars, and they creaked under the force of his crushing hands. He shut his eyes. He could see the room in which Jade kept her throne and her male court attendants. The queen was on her feet, barely covered by a gown of gold lace.

In his vision, a woman wagged her finger at Jade. A woman with golden curls, but who wore a man’s coat, trousers, shirt.

It was Felie. Another woman stood beside her, also wearing men’s clothing. He recognized the lady’s auburn hair. Lady Brookshire, a vampiress and member of the Royal Society.

Jade glared with rage. Her smug queenly confidence had been eroded by Felie. “I could destroy you,” Jade snapped, her usually sultry tones shrill with anger.

Ophelia had never looked more courageous. Then Raven heard her words.

“Yes, you could,” she said coolly. “But if you want his love, you cannot force it from him. You cannot keep him a captive and hope he will grow to love you because he has no other hope. You must be worthy of his love.”

Guilt writhed in him like a serpent in his gut. Everything she had said could apply to him. How could she love him once she knew the truth? As she had said, he couldn’t just take her prisoner and hope.

He saw Ophelia’s brother hauled into the room, and a servant showed Jade a crossbow while another man held her brother captive.

“Bring Ravenhunt to me now!” Jade screeched.

Everything blurred, and vanished and all he saw was darkness.

He opened his eyes. Guidon, what in hell is going on?

Lady Ophelia is trying to rescue you. She has bargained with Queen Jade. She will save you and let Jade have you, if Jade spares your sister and does not keep you as a prisoner.

I have to save Frederica. And Ophelia. But I can’t live as a pet to Jade. I would rather be destroyed. That would leave Jade with Ophelia’s power. He couldn’t let her wield that kind of destructive force. He knew Jade. She would destroy vampires and mortals by the thousands.

Guidon, is there a way I can destroy Jade?

You will be destroyed, too, Guidon warned, his tone nervous.

I know that. But if she gets Ophelia’s power, she will kill thousands of innocents. I must stop her.

Heavy footsteps sounded on the stone steps. The servant Jade had left to watch him was an enormous demon. Soon his cage would be opened.

He would see Ophelia for one last time. He knew Lady Brookshire was a member of the Royal Society but one who could be trusted. If she was here, Brookshire must be. And de Wynter, Lord Brookshire’s brother. He would ensure they rescued the two women he loved.

Then he would ensure he was destroyed and he would take Jade with him.

Guidon’s voice came into his thoughts again. You can touch Lady Ophelia, Ravenhunt. You won’t hurt her.

He knew what that meant. He could touch her for the last time.