“We need to set our plan in motion soon.” The voice was low, urgent.
The prince stiffened from where he sat on the floor, his back up against a wall, his head bowed over the man’s wrist as he drank. That was the only indication he showed that he heard the man’s words.
“We can’t wait any longer. You won’t survive. None of you will.”
Prince Alexander slowly pulled his fangs from the man’s skin, sealing the two holes he had left behind before replying, “I agree.”
“The girls,” the queen rasped from where she lay on the floor, her head in the king’s lap. I caught my breath at how ghostly pale she was.
“We can’t wait any longer for them,” the prince said quietly. “Darius is right. We have to make our move soon. I refuse to die in this hell.”
“But our granddaughters,” Queen Bronwyn whispered, weakly trying to lift her head. “What if they come and we are gone? You said they are coming, Alexander.”
I willed myself to move toward her, unable to stand the sight of her so weak and frail. There was no doubt in my mind that she would normally be a force to be reckoned with, she would have to be to be married to a king. But right now, I was afraid she could breathe her last breath at any moment. The thought scared me.
There was silence, and then the prince sighed. “They are here, Mother. They’ve both been nearby for weeks now. They must not be coming, which is probably better.”
“Not true,” I whispered, reaching out to touch my grandmother’s cheek. She gasped, her eyes widening as her hand came up as if to grab mine.
The prince froze, his gaze scanning the cell they were all in. I saw Darius’s hand go to a gun strapped to his side as he slowly rose, his back against the wall.
“Who’s there?” the king demanded gruffly, leaning protectively over his wife.
I didn’t respond right away, in shock that the queen had been able to feel me when I touched her cheek.
Queen Bronwyn smiled, tears filling her eyes, her hand still resting on the cheek I’d just touched. “My granddaughter. You have come for us, haven’t you, child?”
I fought back tears of my own as I once again reached out, this time resting my hand on hers. “Yes, Grandma. I’m here.” A tear fell as I realized I may never meet this woman in person. Not if we didn’t hurry. “You need to feed from the prince,” I whispered, raising my head to look at the father I’d never known. “We are coming for you, but you must feed.”
“What the heck is going on?” Darius demanded in a low growl, now clutching the gun tightly in his hand. “Who is that? Why can’t we see her?”
“Calm down, Darius,” the prince ordered as he moved closer to his mother. “It’s just one of my daughters. She won’t hurt you.”
“I can’t fight what I can’t see,” Darius hissed, showing his fangs. “I can’t protect you.”
“Considering the fact that he is sitting in a cell with my grandparents right now, it doesn’t look like you are doing a very good job of protecting anyone as it is,” I snapped angrily.
“Stop, both of you,” the king ordered sternly, even as he gently stroked the queen’s hair with one hand, the other one holding her close.
Darius stiffened, but nodded, bowing his head to the king.
Sighing, I muttered, “Sorry, Grandfather.”
A low chuckle slipped from the king as he said, “Now, that’s a name I could get used to.”
I grinned, then frowned when my gaze went back to the queen. She was refusing to feed from the prince once again. Turning her head from the wrist he offered.
“Grandma, you have to feed. Please.”
“My son needs his strength for what’s to come,” she rasped.
“You need your strength,” I argued, cupping her face in the palm of my hand. “I didn’t just travel all the way across the United States to lose my grandmother before I even got a hug. I’ve heard grandma hugs are the best.” A tear slipped out of the corner of Bronwyn’s eyes, and I pushed a little bit harder, knowing she was caving. “I haven’t met my sister, Blayke, yet, but I am sure she would agree. I think I’m going to steal all of the hugs I can for myself first, before we find her.”
A slow smile spread across her face before the queen whispered, “You can have as many hugs as you would like, my sweet Bellame.”
The prince waited a moment, then as I watched he bit into his wrist, and once again placed it over his mother’s mouth, this time letting his blood fall onto her lips. She sighed, whispering, “For my granddaughter,” before accepting the blood he offered.
The vision before me began to waiver as I watched, and I knew I didn’t have much time left. “Be ready,” I told them, as they started to slip away.
“When?” the king demanded, his eyes beginning to glow as his face hardened in determination.
“Saturday.”
“Bellame, have you contacted your mother yet?” the prince asked urgently. “Is she helping you?”
“No,” I said, taking one last look at the three of them. “My father is with me. And so are my friends.”
“Marcus.”
“Yes.”
It was the last thing I said before I was wrenched from my dream and pulled back into the real world. Catching my breath, I quickly slipped out of bed and ran from the bedroom, finding my father sitting in the living room with Trey, Ethan, and Skye. All who had obviously just woken up as well. The Lexington siblings weren’t there yet, but one glance out the window showed the sun just going down now. They would be here soon.
My father spotted me in the doorway and raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side as he looked at me closely. “What’s going on, Bellame? Another dream.”
I nodded slowly, my hand going to the doorframe beside me to steady myself. “We can’t wait, Dad. My grandmother doesn’t have much longer.”
Dad stood, crossing the room to put and arm around my shoulders. “Then we need to finalize the plan now.”
“I told them Saturday,” I whispered, leaning my head against his chest.
“That only gives us two days,” Trey said with a frown.
My dad hugged me close, placing a kiss on the top of my head before pulling away and walking into the next room to where the map of the castle lay on the kitchen table. “Let’s get busy.”