“Bel, you need anything?”
I woke with a start, my hand going to the dagger on my hip.
“Woah, Bel. Calm down. You don’t need that.” Trey was leaning into the car, one knee on the seat, an arm hanging over the back of it casually as he watched me carefully. “We stopped for gas. I was just checking to see if you wanted a snack or something?” His tone was low and even, but I heard the concern in it. That was my cousin. I’d almost drawn a knife on him, but he was only worried about me.
“Sorry,” I said, my voice rough with sleep. I’d been so lost in my dream that I didn’t even wake up when the Mustang stopped. I looked around, surprised to see my dad and Skye were already out of the car and in the gas station.
“Bellame, what’s wrong?”
I shook my head, needing to get my thoughts straight before I discussed what I just found out with him, or anyone else. Was it true? Did I have a sister? A twin? Closing my eyes, I whispered, “I just need a few minutes, Trey. Please.”
He didn’t reply, but after a long moment of silence, I could tell I was alone. I frowned, focusing on the dream. I’d seen the prince before. He was the same as I remembered him from my birthday party, except the past few years had not been good to him. He was gaunt from lack of food and blood, utterly exhausted, but I could tell that he hadn’t given up hope. I’d seen the determination in his eyes. He was going to do everything possible to defeat his brother and get his father back on the throne. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in a place where he could do that right now.
The queen was weak, turning away blood from my father because she knew he would need his strength to defeat Aldric. The king was suffering just as much, but he was doing it silently. I could tell he was strong in spirit, but drawn and haggard. My grandparents. Ones who obviously not only knew about me, but cared for me.
I sat there for a few more minutes before finally pushing the seat forward and getting out of the car. I needed to stretch my legs, use the restroom, and get some food. Ignoring the curious stares I received when I walked into the station — their eyes on the weapons strapped to my body — I walked back to where Trey was standing by the drinks. “Where are we?”
“Missouri,” Trey muttered, grabbing an orange juice. “If we keep pushing, we should be there by tomorrow night.”
“That’s good.”
“Anything you want to talk about?”
“Not yet.”
Trey nodded. “See you at the car.”
Ten minutes later, we were back on the road, but I still kept quiet. It wasn’t until we pulled into a truck stop parking lot at the crack of dawn for some breakfast that I had my thoughts in order.
“At least, leave the sword in the car, Bel.”
I glared at Trey. He was right, but I hated being without my weapons. After the past few days I’d had, I was hesitant to go anywhere without them. “Fine, but the daggers stay.”
Unstrapping the scabbard, I put it in the trunk, retrieving my leather jacket from my bag. It was getting colder the further east we went. While it didn’t affect me quite the same way as it did humans, I still felt the chill in the air. Slipping my jacket on to help camouflage some of the weapons on my upper body, I followed my father into the roadside diner; Trey and Skye right behind me.
Soon, we were seated in a corner booth. Trey and I on one side, Dad and Skye on the other. I waited until after we’d given our order to the waitress, but as soon as she left the table, I pounced. “Who’s Blayke?”
I saw my dad’s eyes widen in surprise before they narrowed on me suspiciously. “Why don’t you tell me?”
“So, it’s true?” A part of me had already known it was, another part was praying I was wrong, hoping my dad hadn’t kept a secret like that from me, even though I understood why he did.
Dad hesitated before giving a quick nod.
“Why don’t you fill the rest of us in?” Trey asked, watching me intently.
Gritting my teeth, I looked over at him, unable to hide the tears I knew were shimmering in my eyes. “Blayke is my twin sister,” I rasped, my hand curling into a fist on my thigh as I fought down the anger that was swamping me at the thought of everything I’d missed out on over the past sixteen years. Twins were supposed to have a bond like no other, but I’d never even met mine.
Before anyone could respond, the waitress was back, placing coffee cups down in front of all of us, filling them with what looked like black sludge before leaving the pot in the middle of the table. I watched her go, fighting the anger building inside of me.
“The prince told me about her in confidence, Bellame. He asked me to keep her existence a secret; afraid someone would kill her if they found out about her.”
It made sense, but it still pissed me off. It suddenly felt as if there were an empty void in me. A piece of me that was missing. I had to see her, to meet her.
Trey dumped some sugar and creamer into his cup, stirring it as he glanced around the table. Sending me a grin, he tried to lighten the mood by teasing, “So, you have a sister, Blayke? Does she have fangs, too?”
“Blayke was born human, Bellame vampire,” my dad said, taking a small drink of his coffee before setting it back on the table with a grimace. “Alex and Alyiah sent Bellame away with Cassandra and I at birth. Alyiah kept Blayke with her as long as she could.”
“Wait,” I whispered, aware of the tremor in my voice but unable to hide it. “Alyiah chose to keep Blayke, but not me?”
“You have to understand, Bellame. Everything your mother and father did, they did out of love for you. They sent you away to protect you. They eventually had to do the same with Blayke. It wasn’t safe for either of you in Angel’s Pass.”
“One destined to be a vampire huntress, one queen of the vampires,” I murmured, remembering what my grandfather had said.
“What?”
“Here you go,” the waitress interrupted as she appeared with our breakfast. She placed a plate of bacon and eggs down in front of me, along with a small plate of pancakes.
I waited for her to finish handing out the rest of the order and leave before I continued. “I had another dream last night.”
“Like the one you had with me?” Skye breathed, leaning closer, her eyes wide.
“Yeah.” Picking up my fork, I stared down at the food in front of me, my appetite now gone. “I saw the king and queen.” I swallowed hard, but whispering, “And the prince.”
“They’re alive?” Dad said, leaning in closer himself.
I nodded, raising my head to meet his gaze. “Aldric is holding them somewhere. I saw dirt floors, concrete walls. Bars, like a jail cell. And from something that was said, I know they are still in Angel’s Pass.”
Dad frowned, cocking his head to the side. “Sounds like he has them in the dungeon.”
I choked on the piece of bacon I’d just put in my mouth before I gasped, “You’re kidding me? Aldric has a dungeon?”
“It’s in the basement of the castle. No one knows about them, unless you are unlucky enough to become a prisoner of war.”
“Of course, there would be a castle,” Trey muttered, shaking his head as he dug into his waffles.
“Yep, and it sits high on a hill in Angel’s Pass. Close to the mountains.”
“Does it have a moat that surrounds it?” Skye asked before taking a bite of her omelet, her eyes wide with wonder.
“No moat,” Dad replied, shaking his head, “and no gate fencing it in. But the king’s army lives in small houses surrounding it, so they can protect the royal family.”
“What you’re telling us is that it’s going to be a hard rescue mission,” Trey guessed, taking a sip of his coffee.
Rescue mission? Were they saying what I thought they were saying?
“Hard, but not impossible.”
“We’re going to get them out of there?” I asked the question quietly, already knowing I was going no matter what. I just hadn’t realized I would have help.
“Of course,” Dad replied, braving another sip of his coffee. “I think that needs to be our first objective. Once they are safe, we can start planning.”
“For?” Trey paused, his fork halfway to his mouth, his gaze going from my dad to me and back again.
“War,” Dad and I responded in unison.