Home > Vampire by Birth : A Paranormal Romance Mystery Novel(3)

Vampire by Birth : A Paranormal Romance Mystery Novel(3)
Author: Cyndi Faria

 

 

Tricia

 

Staring at the back of my grandmother’s head, seeing her imprisoned for her crimes, still doesn’t draw an ounce of empathy from me. It’s hard to sympathize with a killer. It’s even harder when my grandmother has focused her entire life on blaming me for her misgivings and wanting to strike me dead. Human laws barely affect her, and she resists obeying me as her new queen. With her constant devious musing, I just hope I’m not too late to stop her from carrying out her next ploy to knock me down.

The magical onyx bars that imprison her shimmer off her emerald eyes as if these walls also reflect her distorted mind. It’s not her mind I’m worried about; it’s her dark magic.

She bats at a loose strand of her auburn hair. I suspect it’s all smoke and mirrors because my grandmother is thousands of years old, and I’ve never seen her in her true form. “Grandmother.”

“Staring is rude,” she scolds.

“Marking a human is rude.”

She spins to face me, her emerald gown swishing about the white marble floor. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She approaches the rungs. “I suspect any caged animal feels the way you’ve made me feel, which is to dream about punishing her captors, but I’m not low enough to torture babies.”

“I didn’t mention anything about babies.”

“Don’t forget that I can read you, sense your uncertainty over birthing your own child. The way you resist touching your belly. Even you know what’s inside you is an abomination. I’ve heard the rumors that even your mate’s vampires feel the same way.”

I lift a strained brow. Every day, I’m fighting against those who actually believe my baby will be some kind of monster when she’s born. I am tired. Tired of being pregnant. Tired of planning a wedding I’m not sure I want. Tired of thinking that by being married I’ll somehow lose my identity as Camille has. Tired of hearing that by being married to a vampire I’ll somehow become less powerful. Tired of worrying that my little girl will grow up being different, like I did, when the world isn’t kind to those who are different. “Tell me what you know about this mark.” I present a photo from my phone.

Magic flares, little specks of light drifting all around Catherine as she nears the warded bars. She widens her eyes. “So you toss me in here when you don’t need me. Let me out, and I’ll explain the mark.”

She’s a powerful fae. She’s shielding me with her dark magic and taking on a glimmering look, but I’ve seen her stand against me before—always checking the angles, looking for a way to hurt me.

She’s taller than me and nearly my twin in looks only. Her auburn hair swirls about her petite shoulders. Her upturned eyes peek through the fan of dark lashes, giving me a pitiful look I’m not buying. “Tell me about the mark.”

“So the powerful queen isn’t so strong after all,” she mocks. “No better than the ancient Piskey queen who was no match for me…”

I swallow my irritation. Last thing I want is to listen to my grandmother boast about who she bested. Since becoming Queen of Faery and mating Riley, my world spins in every direction. Even after the Senate voted in favor of Other Kind rights, the threat on paranormals hasn’t lessened. I’m spending more time away from Riley in Faery dealing with fae politics. I miss Riley, but he’s dealing with Other Kind and humans. I’m not sure I want to bring him into my mess with my grandmother and her continued mischief, if I can handle it on my own.

In a way, riding a merry-go-round, the one that tossed me to the ground on numerous occasions, taught me to hold on for dear life. I’m clenching fists, even as I stare through the magical jail cell that locks my grandmother to the bowels of Faery. And she’s still trying to fling me to my death with her deception. “You’ve murdered innocent people. Prison is your punishment, and nothing you can say or do will change that.”

“Well.” She gives me her back, flipping her gown about her feet. “Your child won’t survive the birth and neither will you. No ancient vampire-fae cross ever has. Either the child must be aborted or your life will end. Why do you think I never had children with Kane? The mere thought turned my stomach. If I were you, I’d choose soon. If you die, bonded as you are to your mate, he’ll perish along with his entire coven. As I understand, it’s quite expansive...”

I bite back a hiss, even as my belly roils with life. The difference between most grandmothers and mine is that Catherine would rejoice in my death. Being almost eight months pregnant didn’t curb her hatred for me. But she’s lied to me too many times to count. I’m not falling for her threat now. “That’s a lie.”

“Is it? Can you be certain? I can feel the delicious tension radiating off of you.” She inhales deeply, releasing the breath on a shudder. “I can sense tension between you and Riley. You may have won the crown, but you won’t reign long. When you’re gone, so will be these walls that hold me.”

I’m no longer seeing visions of a burning world as I once had. Staring at her now, I almost wonder if she placed them there in my mind via Kane via Riley. It’s not impossible, as Riley and I are as connected telepathically as he once was to Kane, and Kane to his bonded mate, Catherine. “You know nothing about the future, except what you drum up in your warped mind.”

She smiles smugly. “You and Riley are destined to become enemies or dead. You’re both weak rulers. Neither of you has the stomach for hard decisions. Your child won’t fix the angst I feel building inside of you. That is, unless you rid yourself of that thing.”

Again my body jerks with a sense of vile repulsion from this wretched woman. I have the feeling my grandmother feeds off my inner turmoil. Every time my baby kicks, I wonder if my daughter’s urging me in her own way to get away, to reject my grandmother’s darkness and the evil she embraces. I also wonder if my grandmother can somehow transcend the warded cell with her magic and hurt my unborn child in the same way I suspect she still wants to do to me and had done to her daughter.

Will my baby be born with a mark? Can I prevent it somehow before she’s born? Can I heal Salina? I’m unsure if what my grandmother told me is true or what I can actually do, but I have a solid idea of where to start.

 

 

Chapter 3

 

 

Riley Sweetwater, Master Vampire

 

Nothing can transform a mild Wednesday workday quicker than the wall of fury and fear that emanates from my mate. Tricia enters the human realm, nearly knocking me off my chair. I dive into her mind, though we’re miles apart, tunneling past the walls she’s quickly erecting. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“The baby?”

“We’re fine.”

Only she’s not “fine,” but what am I to do? The more time we spend apart dealing with one emergency after another, even I feel myself slipping away. I’ve been feeding less. I don’t want to tax her body any more than absolutely necessary. But in doing so, our bond is weakening.

To add to the demands on me, every new vampire who pledges to join my coven carves a piece out of me. How can I let them down after the cruelty they’ve endured under Kane? Uncontrolled vampires could destroy the world as we know it. I won’t be that kind of leader. I’m here to protect them when no one else has. I’m here to rule over those who need to be ruled. I’m here to lead those who need to be led. To free those who desire to find eternal peace. But in doing so, I feel Tricia’s distancing from me more and more each day, as if her time in Faery glues a wedge between us. Perhaps it’s me? “Where are you?”

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