The Duchess of Farrow

By Jayne Kinch

When she frees Gabriel, the Islander man her cousin has been using as a feeder, Duchess Ingrid Farrow knows she should do the right thing and send him home to his people. But Gabriel—and her heart—has other ideas.
The pair fall in love and begin to plan their future together. But then Ingrid discovers Prime Anna has been keeping a secret that has devastating repercussions not just for her and Gabriel, but for every vampire in existence, leaving Ingrid with an impossible choice.
Loyalty or love.

Each book in The Land of the Blood of Allaron Legend is stand-alone, but for the greatest enjoyment, the following reading order is recommended:

The Daughter of Teragon
The Fair Isle Princess
The Guardsman's Lover
The Duchess of Farrow
The Warrior Queen
The Lady of Saron

Intended for mature readers only.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jayne Kinch
• Release date: Nov 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463950906

Jayne Kinch

Jayne’s debut novel—The Daughter of Teragon—was published in 2016. Since then, she has completed a further seven novels and is currently working on The Cursed Dagger, the final instalment of The Mages of Thiar Trilogy.When she isn’t writing, Jayne likes to take countryside walks, travel the world, collect cacti, and read fiction. She also owns and runs a secondhand bookshop in a historical seaside town on the south-east coast of England. Her reading tastes are quite eclectic, with genres ranging from historical fiction, paranormal romance, sci-fi, fantasy, and crime thrillers to name a few.Jayne is forty-something and lives with her long-suffering husband, a deaf cat with a loud personality, dozens of cacti, and more books than she can count!Follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jaynekinchbooks

Book preview

The dungeons of Saron Castle, The Northlands

‘It’s good to see you again, cousin,’ said the vampire perched on the low stool positioned in the centre of the barren cell, her wrists and ankles shackled by reinforced chains that were connected to a metal ring bolted to the stone floor.

Natalia Rivers, formally Duchess of Three Rivers and lover of Prime Viktor of the Northlands. And, to my everlasting shame, my cousin.

It was two days since I had received the devastating news from Duke Tavin that Mykael Teragon—my Prime, my sire, my friend, my counsellor, and former lover—was dead, having sacrificed his own life to save that of his only living descendant, Anna. A woman who had then killed Mykael’s younger brother, Prime Viktor; shattering a four-hundred-year-old belief that the mighty Prime brothers—the first and most powerful vampires in existence—were the only true immortals. Two days since my world was turned upside down. Two days since my heart had broken with the knowledge that I would never see Mykael or speak to him again; that the person I had called friend for nearly three hundred years was gone forever.

Distraught, I had wanted to crawl into bed and never leave, but along with the news of the Primes’ death had been the summons to Saron Castle to swear fealty to Anna Teragon, who was now Prime of both Dornia and the Northlands. Knowing I couldn’t ignore a Prime’s order—even if said Prime had been in the position for little more than a day and was barely out of childhood—I had set off at once from Bolton Castle, where I had been spending the summer months as the honoured guest of Duchess Bridget, to Saron Castle in the Northlands’ Saron Province. Travelling day and night—a journey I barely remember, filled with grief over Mykael—I had arrived at Saron Castle that afternoon, where I was met by Lord Commander Duncan of the Dornian Prime’s Watch, who had informed me that Natalia was incarcerated in the castle’s dungeons on charges of treason and I was to report there at once, as my cousin had indicated that she was in possession of important information which she would only share with me.

I’d have happily never set eyes on my cousin again—despite being almost inseparable as children, we’d had a somewhat acrimonious relationship in recent decades; ever since Natalia had disavowed Prime Mykael and abandoned her seat at Ashfield Castle, relocating to the Northlands, where she had fought alongside her adopted land during subsequent wars with Dornia. But an order was an order, and so I had gone immediately to the guardroom without even stopping to change out of my riding gear, where a guardswoman had led me inside this dingy cell before promptly departing again, leaving me alone with someone I hadn’t spoken to in nearly twenty years.

Divested of her usual silk gowns and jewels, Duchess Natalia of Three Rivers was barefoot and dressed in the coarse brown tunic of the condemned, her waist-length golden hair, normally so carefully washed and groomed, matted around her oval-shaped face.

Despite this, Natalia was still beautiful; forever the thirty-one-year-old woman Mykael had Turned into a vampire. It had always irked me that my cousin was Turned at a younger age than me. I had been less than a month shy of my fortieth year when Mykael had come to me and offered me the chance of eternal life, meaning I would forever look older than Natalia, despite being two years her junior.

‘How long has it been?’ Natalia said, the tallow candle standing in a nearby recess casting an orange glow across her face, its flickering flame the only source of light in the windowless room. A human would barely see in such dim light, but my heightened vampire senses meant I was able to make out the dirt smudged on Natalia’s face and under her fingernails. ‘Ten years? Twenty?’

‘You know exactly how long it’s been,’ I snapped in response, resisting the urge to cross the small space between us and slap the smirk off her face. ‘Seventeen years. The day you presented me with my lover’s head.’

‘Oh, that,’ Natalia said, waving her hand dismissively, making the chains rattle loudly. ‘Would you believe me if I said it was nothing personal; simply that we were at war?’

‘Why did you ask me here, Natalia?’ I said, my fingernails digging into the flesh of my palms. It was so like Natalia to dismiss one of the worst days of my life as though it were nothing. ‘If you’re hoping to persuade me to appeal to the Prime to spare your life, you are sadly mistaken. I’ll quite happily take up the executioner’s axe myself.’

‘I don’t doubt that, cousin,’ Natalia said, not even pretending to be upset by my harsh words. ‘But I didn’t ask you here to plead for my life.’

‘Then what do you want?’

Natalia motioned the empty stool positioned in front of her. ‘Sit down, and I will tell you everything.’

‘Go on, then,’ I said, once I had sat down and crossed my arms over my chest, forcing myself to speak with a nonchalance that I didn’t feel. ‘Tell me this great secret of yours.’

‘Have you ever heard of the Blood of Allaron?’

I dropped my arms and shot to my feet. ‘I’m not here to listen to fairy tales, Natalia. If you have nothing sensible to say, then I’ll leave. I’ve got more important things to do than listen to this nonsense.’ Like go to my quarters and weep.

‘For goodness sake, Ingrid, sit down,’ Natalia snapped. ‘You always were one for the theatrics.’

I obediently sat down.

‘I’ll ask you again. Do you know the legend?’

‘Of course I do. Who in the Eastern Continent doesn’t?’

Natalia waved her hand, inviting me to continue.

I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh. ‘According to legend, the Blood of Allaron will one day return and destroy the vampires. It’s hardly a secret, Natalia.’

‘Perhaps not,’ Natalia said, her lips curving into a smile with the knowledge that she was about to reveal something shocking. ‘But the fact that it’s truth, is.’

Laughter exploded from me. ‘That’s the great secret you wanted to tell me?’ I said scornfully. ‘Don’t you think you’re a bit old to believe in such nonsense? We’re no longer children and believing in griffins.’

Natalia scowled. ‘Mock me all you want, cousin, but the legend is true. Not only is it true, it’s about to happen.’

‘Mykael would never have kept such a thing from me.’

He didn’t tell you he could die, did he? said a voice in my head. Nor did he tell you it was possible for him to transfer his power to another.

‘Our sire didn’t tell you everything,’ Natalia said, as though hearing my thoughts. ‘He didn’t tell you that, before he made you vampire, he’d been planning to drain you, knowing you’d be a human sympathiser, but then I stepped in and persuaded him to change his mind. Though I’ve since wondered why I bothered.’

‘You’re lying.’

Natalia arched an eyebrow. ‘Am I? You forget our sire wasn’t always a sap. Before he let that Fair Isle sow wheedle her way into his life and into his bed, Mykael was even more glorious than Viktor.’ Natalia grinned. ‘Speaking of Viktor, he told me all about you and him.’

‘I don’t know what you are talking about,’ I lied.

Everyone assumed it was my brief affair with Mykael what had brought about the end of my marriage, but the truth was, I had committed adultery with a Prime brother long before Mykael had taken me to his bed.

‘Viktor told me all about your little tryst,’ Natalia continued, ignoring my denial. ‘Then there was his brother. With such a whore for a wife, poor Gerlach didn’t stand a chance.’

‘I’m not here to talk about my history with the Prime brothers or what Viktor may or may not have whispered in your ear while he was fucking you,’ I snapped, making Natalia’s grin widen when she realised that she was getting to me.

‘Oh, but we are. You see, one night, several years after I left Dornia and my pathetic excuse of a sire forever, I was lying in bed with his brother—between my thighs aching deliciously from his ardent lovemaking, three drained slaves on the floor, the perfect night, you know—when he told me a little secret about his family.’

Natalia paused for dramatic effect.

‘Don’t stop, cousin. I know you’re desperate to share this great and wonderful secret of yours.’

‘Viktor told me that there was a third Prime brother, Nikolas, who was the eldest of the three brothers and the true ruler of Dornia and the Northlands,’ Natalia said. ‘Nikolas and his entire family were murdered by Mykael so that he could claim the Dornian throne for himself. Mykael wasn’t interested in the Northlands, which is why Viktor claimed it.’

There were many secrets surrounding the brothers, including how they had come into their powers, so it would be foolish of me to dismiss Natalia’s claims as nonsense. After all, three days ago I’d have laughed if someone told me it was possible for a Prime brother to die, so was it outlandish to believe that there had been an older Prime brother and that Mykael had murdered him for his crown?

‘Even if what you say is true, and there was once a third Prime brother, what does it have to do with the Blood of Allaron legend?’

‘Do you know how Mykael gained the noble name Teragon?’

‘Of course.’ That was something Mykael had never kept secret. ‘Prime Frederik granted Mykael the title Duke of Teragon on the day he wed the Lady Coriana of House Farrow, my ancestor’s sister.’ Prime Frederik was Mykael and Viktor’s human father and had ruled Dornia before vampires existed. ‘Viktor decided to change his house name to Saron after the castle he made his home upon becoming Prime of the Northlands.’

‘Correct on both accounts,’ Natalia said, pointedly ignoring my reference to my royal connections. ‘But what was the name of the house they were born into?’

‘I… err… it was…’ I floundered, realising Mykael had never told me.

‘Allaron,’ Natalia said triumphantly. ‘Bowen Castle was once Allaron Castle and the royal seat of Dornia. And to think Mykael gave both it and the Western Province to that foreign commoner!’

‘Tavin may well be the son of a mariner and a Vachenian, but at least he’s always been loyal to his sire and Prime. Which is more than what can be said for some.’

‘The Blood of Allaron is descended from the three brothers,’ Natalia continued, deliberately ignoring the barb I had directed at her. ‘And that’s where our misguided new Prime comes in.’

I frowned. ‘That’s impossible. Viktor always maintained that he fathered no children during his human life. Even if he had unknowingly sired a bastard on some nobleman’s daughter and Anna was his descendant—although I don’t know how Mykael wouldn’t have realised he was harbouring Viktor’s spawn—why not put her to death and therefore stop any chance of the truth of his human beginnings from being exposed to the commonfolk? Why keep her as his slave?’

‘You misunderstand me,’ Natalia said impatiently. ‘Anna Teragon isn’t the Blood of Allaron. It’s the child in her womb who’ll be the death of every vampire.’

I stared at Natalia in shock. ‘The child… that’s impossible. Anna is vampire. You know as well as I that vampires cannot have children.’

Natalia had lost her mind.

‘They can when both parents have what we call Prime power. Although the name’s a misnomer, since you don’t need to be Prime to wield it. I always thought Prime power a stupid name. Higher power would sound so much better, wouldn’t you agree?’

I stared at her in horror. ‘Viktor… forced Anna into his bed?’

Natalia examined her dirty fingernails. ‘Oh no, she’d have been more than willing.’

‘But… Viktor?’

Natalia dropped her hand and looked up, a smirk tugging her mouth. ‘You make it sound so awful, Ingrid. Yet you yourself have experienced the pleasure he can bring.’

‘You’re even more twisted than I thought,’ I said, disgusted. ‘To suggest such a thing after everything that monster did to her. He ordered the murder of her family. Had her abducted. Made her his slave for over a decade, for goodness sake. Not to mention the fact he’s her ancestral uncle!’

Natalia leaned forwards; teeth bared. One born of the three Houses by a Prime and with a blood sacrifice will end the curse of the vampire forever. That, my dear cousin, is the true version of the legend, meaning Anna knew exactly what she was doing when she spread her legs for Viktor and exchanged blood with him. It also means that, in around nine months’ time when the child’s born, you and every other vampire will become human once more.’

I was stumped. ‘Three houses? Anna’s descended from this mysterious third Prime brother?’

Natalia shrugged. ‘Must be.’

‘But I thought you said Mykael murdered Nikolas’ entire line?’

Natalia threw up her hands, making the chains around her wrists rattle loudly. ‘One must have survived and gone into hiding,’ she said, exasperated. ‘Is that all you care about, Ingrid? What about the fact you’re about to become human?’

‘I don’t believe it. There may well have been a third Prime brother and Mykael may have murdered him for his crown, but I don’t believe the rest.’

‘Listen, you fool,’ Natalia snarled. ‘If it wasn’t true, then Viktor would still be alive. Bedding him and taking his blood was the only way Anna could have stripped him of his powers, allowing her to kill him.’

‘But what about…’ I clamped my jaw shut, remembering that I wasn’t to talk about the dagger which Mykael had used to transfer his powers to Anna as she lay dying on the floor; the Princess having been stabbed through the heart by someone she believed loved her; someone who had betrayed her in the most unimaginable and heart-breaking way. Only eight people were aware of the truth, including Anna herself, and two of them were dead. Surely, though, Anna had used the same dagger to kill Viktor?

What if she didn’t? said a little voice in my head

What if the dagger only worked once, forcing Anna to take Viktor’s powers another way? Was that what Anna had meant when she had said to Tavin that Mykael had told her the means to be rid of Viktor once and for all? Was that why she had ordered Tavin and Duncan to remain at The Keep while she rode to the castle alone; only summoning Duncan once Viktor was dead, knowing that they would stop her?

Bile rose in my throat.

Surely not.

No, Natalia was lying. Something I knew she was good at, having fallen for her tricks more than once in the past. Mykael would never ask his descendant to commit such a vulgar act. Especially someone as beloved as Anna Teragon; his only surviving descendant and the Princess who had come back from the dead less than eighteen months before.

‘When I was first told that Viktor was dead, I refused to believe it,’ Natalia said, thankfully not guessing what I had been about to say. ‘And you know what that little Teragon bitch did?’ She let out a sob. ‘She had me brought to the throne room so that she could show me Viktor… my beautiful, beautiful Viktor… lying there, naked but for the sheet covering his body.

‘"There",’ she said to me, pointing at him. ‘There’s your precious Prime. Dead. I broke free from my guards and went for her, eager to avenge my lover’s murder, but was stopped by the Guard Commander.’ Natalia spat. ‘Ayden should’ve been seeking vengeance for the death of his Prime and sire. Instead, the first opportunity he got, he was bending at the knee to her like the others. Traitors, the lot of them. It should be that slave and all those who follow her in the cells, not me. It was that murdering bitch who committed regicide, yet it’s me who’s labelled a traitor.’

Natalia dropped her face in her hands. ‘He… he was just lying there… no Honour Guard watching over his body,’ she said, her voice muffled. ‘How could she do such a thing to a prince of the blood? She wouldn’t even allow me to perform vigil or attend his funeral. Me! The vampire who was his lover for over a century and a half was denied that right.’

Hearing the anguish in her voice, I realised that Natalia truly loved Viktor and was devastated at his death.

‘During Anna’s time at the castle, did Viktor ever disclose the truth of her identity to you?’ I asked.

Natalia raised her tear-streaked face and looked at me. ‘Even now, when I’m at my lowest, you refuse to offer me comfort. What did I ever do to you to make you hate me so?’

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘How about when you presented me with Denis’ head? Or maybe it was the time you murdered my betrothed so that you could claim his title for yourself.’

Alfred, Natalia’s older brother and heir to their family’s title had drowned just after his fifteenth birthday. At the time, rumours had circulated that the incident wasn’t accidental and Natalia had caused her brother’s death as she wanted Ashfield for herself—something I could well believe she was more than capable of—but it had never been proven.

‘What happened to my brother was an accident,’ Natalia said, dashing the tears from her face with the back of her hand, leaving dirty streaks across her cheeks. ‘How many more times do I have to tell you?’

‘You could tell me a thousand times or more and I still wouldn’t believe you,’ I said. ‘Despite your claims that you were in bed with a headache the day Alfred died, I think you followed him down to the lake and dared him to swim out to the island in the centre, knowing he was a weak swimmer and wouldn’t make it. Then, when he got into difficulties, rather than getting help, you stood by and watched him drown before returning to the house and slipping back into your bed as though nothing had happened. Why else would Alfred have tried something he knew he had no way of achieving?’

‘What do you care, anyway? You’d have only broken his heart like you did Gerlach’s. Perhaps my brother is better off dead and never knowing how close he came to wedding a slut.’

I let the insult slide, knowing that Natalia spoke the truth. Even if I had wed Alfred, it was likely that I would’ve given myself to the Prime brothers.

‘As for knowing the truth about Anna, I had no idea she was Mykael’s descendant. We were forbidden from touching her, and any vampire who asked permission to give her their Band prior to the Kwasi was refused, but that isn’t as unusual as you may think. Over the years, Viktor has claimed many a slave for himself, allowing her to reach adulthood before taking his pleasure from her. More often it was a descendant who took his interest. Those, of course, he treated kinder; sometimes even Turning them.’

‘You weren’t jealous of these other women?’

Natalia shrugged. ‘Why would I be? It was only a bit of fun, and it wasn’t as though I didn’t take other lovers. He didn’t feel anything for them beyond what they could give him, and even if he was attracted to them, that soon waned once he’d had the use of their bodies. Each time I saw him sniffing around yet another little tart, I told myself not to be concerned; he may be besotted with her now and enjoying the chase, but once she spread her legs and gave him what he wanted, it would only be a matter of time before he tired of her and found his way back to my bed.

‘Of course, Anna—or Kata, as she was known—was unaware that she was under his protection. Many at the castle enjoyed tormenting her just to see the terror on her face.’

‘Including you.’ The Duchess of Three Rivers had featured often in Anna’s tales of the horrifying years she had spent at the castle as a kitchen slave, making me ashamed to share Natalia’s blood.

‘If it’s there to enjoy, why not? Though, any threats we made were nothing compared to what Viktor was going to do to her once she was summoned to his quarters.’

I was sickened at the delight on Natalia’s face at the thought of Anna’s torment. She was more twisted than I had ever imagined. ‘But why would Viktor keep her alive, knowing she had the potential to destroy him?’

‘Because he obviously didn’t know she was Nikolas’ descendant,’ Natalia hissed. ‘Otherwise she wouldn’t have survived her first night at the castle. Shame he didn’t kill her anyway, then none of this would have happened.’ She scowled. ‘What’s also a pity is that he allowed that damn Kwasi to live. Instead of putting Sebastian to death for claiming Anna’s maidenhead—something that, by rights, was the Prime’s—Viktor gave Sebastian permission to continue breaking in his slave for him as reward for intervening when he caught a couple of Berin’s stablehands trying to rape Anna behind the stables.’

That was information I was never going to share with Anna.

‘Makes you wonder if Sebastian had guessed Anna’s identity and had organised the incident with the boys to get her into his bed.’ Natalia smiled, revealing pearly-white fangs. ‘Wouldn’t that be utterly diabolical?’

And something the Kwasi was more than capable of, given his other travesties against Anna.

‘Are you aware that Viktor is the Kwasi chieftain’s sire?’ Natalia asked casually, her lips curved into a delighted smile at her belief that she was revealing a great secret to me. A grin that quickly faded when I told her that I did.

‘Sebastian admitted it before he was put to death.’

I hadn’t been there to witness the final showdown between Anna and Sebastian in the throne room at Teragon House, but Tavin, who had been witness, had filled me in during our journey to Saron Castle.

‘He also admitted that he was the one who abducted Anna from Clovesfield Manor when she was four years old and delivered her to Viktor.’ The same Sebastian who had met Anna at Saron Castle over a decade and a half later and took her to his bed; all the while allowing her to continue to believe that she was Kata, a landholder’s daughter forced into slavery after Prime Mykael had killed her parents. Anna had only learnt the truth of her origins after she was discovered by a member of the Prime’s Guard and taken to Mykael at Teragon House, who had recognised the Transitioning vampire as his descendant.

I may not have liked the Kwasi Sebastian and thought the Princess’s association with him unseemly—a feeling shared with many Dornians; not least of all the Prime, who had only tolerated the Kwasi’s presence because Anna believed that she was in love with him and he knew that, if he forbade their relationship, he risked losing her forever—but even I had been shocked when I had learnt the extent of his betrayal. After all, this was the same vampire who had destroyed all trade alliances between his tribe and the Northlands when he rescued Anna from Saron Castle, not to mention the fact that Anna was his vampire progeny. The bond between sire and progeny was revered among vampires; most sires would choose death over betraying their progeny.

His tribe was also the reason why Mykael hadn’t spoken to me for the last half a year. And now he never would, I realised, grief hitting me once again.

Natalia pouted. ‘Spoilsport,’ she said. ‘I was hoping to see your face when you learnt the truth.’

‘Sorry to disappoint you.’ I wasn’t going to tell Natalia that it was Sebastian who had stabbed Anna through the heart, setting in motion the events which had led to Mykael’s death, knowing she would find it hilarious.

Natalia shrugged. ‘No matter.’ Shifting in her chair, she tugged the too-short tunic in a bid to cover her dirty knees. ‘I’ll just have to imagine it instead. Not that it’s likely you would’ve believed me, anyway, seeing how readily you dismissed what I told you about Anna and Viktor.’

Here we go again.

‘Let’s say that what you’re claiming is true and Anna Teragon is carrying the Blood of Allaron in her womb,’ I said, deciding to humour her. ‘Why do you care? You’re due in front of the executioner any day now.’

Natalia gave up on trying to cover her knees and looked at me. ‘Do you really want to lose everything?’ she said, surprisingly unemotional at my reminder of her impending execution. Perhaps she believed that in death she would be reunited with Viktor. ‘Do you want to lose your power? Your immortality? To become a snivelling human once more and endure all that comes with it? Weakness. Disease.’ She shuddered. ‘Old age.’

‘But if Anna’s with child it’s already too late. The legend’s already on its way to being fulfilled.’

Natalia shook her head. ‘There’s still time to prevent it.’

‘There is?’

Natalia nodded, her returning smile warning me that she was about to reveal something shocking. ‘There’s a dagger which is capable of killing those with Prime power.’

At her words, I felt the blood drain from my face, aware that she had to be referring to the same dagger which Mykael had used to transfer his powers to Anna. A dagger that was supposed to be a secret. How did Natalia know of it and, more importantly, how many more knew of its existence? Was Anna’s life already in danger?

I knew there was no point asking Natalia, as she would enjoy withholding that information from me.

‘A dagger, huh?’ I said, feigning nonchalance. ‘For a moment, I thought you were about to say that I was going to have to bed her.’

Natalia scowled. ‘Mock me all you want, Ingrid,’ she spat. ‘But I saw the expression on your face when I mentioned the dagger. Its existence is known to you. I’m guessing the Vachenian told you. I hear he was present when Mykael gave Anna his powers.’

I needed to warn Anna that Natalia had eyes and ears among the Prime’s Guard.

‘I still don’t see what any of this has to do with me,’ I said, refusing to admit or deny my knowledge of the existence of a dagger.

‘Only a blood relative can wield the blade,’ Natalia said. ‘And, dear cousin, as a descendant of Duke Cristov of House Farrow, brother to Duchess Coriana, wife of Duke Mykael of House Teragon, you are of Anna’s blood.’

‘Treason!’ I shot up from my stool. ‘We both of us could lose our heads even speaking of this!’

Natalia shrugged. ‘I’ve already got an appointment with the axeman, unless you do as I ask and find that dagger. Anna will have it on her person, she wouldn’t allow such a thing out of her sight. Kill her and free me, then we claim the dagger’s powers for ourselves. The two daughters of Ashfield will rule Dornia and the Northlands together!’

And there we have it, the true reason for Natalia sharing this with me.

‘Treason’s your speciality, Natalia, not mine.’

Not wanting to hear another word from her poisonous lips, I turned away from a glowering Natalia and crossed the cell to the door. I rapped on the wood. Almost at once came the sound of a key turning in the lock, making me realise that the guardswoman who had brought me to Natalia’s cell had been outside, listening to our conversation, and would most likely report what she had overheard to the Prime. Including Natalia’s claim that Anna had lain with Viktor and was pregnant with his child.

As the door swung open, Natalia shouted, ‘I should’ve let Mykael drain you, Ingrid Farrow, you’ll be the ruin of us all!’

‘Farewell, Natalia,’ I said, without looking over at my one-time closest friend. ‘Enjoy your last few days in this world. Perhaps if you pray long enough, the Goddess will hear you and have mercy on you, for surely no one else will.’

The last thing I heard as the door slammed closed behind me was Natalia’s scream of rage.

Chapter Two

When I emerged from the guardroom it was nearly sundown.

Waiting for me in the small yard outside the guardroom was a tall, dark-skinned female vampire clad in the green and gold livery of my household guard, her long ebony hair woven into dozens of braids threaded with light blue to indicate she was from the Kiltani tribe.

Namara had been the captain of my guard for just over five months, having taken over from my previous captain after I had dismissed him for incompetence. A descendant of the Kiltani chieftain, I had known Namara since she was a girl, and despite not being my vampire progeny, I had accepted her request that she become my new captain, knowing that I could trust her.

She was talking animatedly to two of Tavin’s household guard, who had accompanied their master to Saron Castle, but when she spotted me, Namara excused herself and walked over to us. I turned to the guardswoman standing beside me, whose face had remained impassive ever since I left Natalia’s cell, giving nothing away about her feelings at what she had overheard, and said, ‘I wish to go to temple.’

My encounter with Natalia had left me with many questions and the need to seek the Goddess’s guidance. I was also yet to pray for Mykael.

‘The castle temple is in the main gardens.’ The guardswoman indicated a nearby path. ‘The quickest route from here is past the descendants’ feasting hall.’

I waved a hand, indicating that she lead the way, and fell into step behind her, trying to ignore the curious glances and whispered voices as we crossed the bustling courtyard. I spotted people peeking from doorways and windows, curious about the new arrivals, and was saddened to see how half-starved and bedraggled many of them looked. The same had been true of the people I had seen during my journey to Saron Castle and was sadly a common sight throughout the Northlands.

Our journey took us past two Prime’s Guardsmen escorting a third guardsman towards the guardroom, his wrists and ankles shackled.

‘Come on, Sedric, I was hungry,’ he protested, the metal chains clinking loudly as he shuffled along, the fetters restricting his movements.

‘You know the rules, Kenrik,’ responded the younger-looking of his captors, presumably Guardsman Sedric. ‘You can no longer take blood without the feeder’s permission.’

Noticing us heading towards them, the guards forced their prisoner to a stop. Without releasing him, the pair inclined their heads, while the prisoner—Kenrik—merely glowered at me, his mouth ringed with blood, presumably his victim’s. There was also blood around his wrists—his own this time—where the manacles had been put on too tightly and were cutting into his skin, but I felt little sympathy for him. Vampires such as Kenrik were once the scourge of Dornia until Mykael had put a stop to their antics; most of them meeting their end on the executioner’s block.

‘But he has my Band,’ Kenrik whined once we had passed them. The sound of clinking resumed once more as his captors forced him to start walking. ‘I paid three silvers to use that damn slave how I pleased for three weeks, and now you’re saying I cannot!’

‘Servants,’ Sedric corrected.

‘Eh?’

‘We’re to call them servants now. And you know as well as I do, Kenrik, that Bands have been outlawed by Her Grace. And no, you cannot get your money back. Her Grace has ruled all monies paid are to go towards paying for the servants’ new clothing and footwear.’

‘Her Grace,’ Kenrik scoffed. ‘Are we really going to take orders from a former slave?’

Sedric’s response was lost as the trio were swallowed up by the crowds.

It seemed Anna was already bringing about changes to how things were done in the Northlands. And, as expected, it wasn’t popular with everyone. Prime Mykael, too, had been met with resistance when he changed the laws surrounding slavery and the treatment of humans, as those who believed they had the right to treat their chattels however they wished rebelled. The result had been Dornia losing over half her vampire population in less than two years; either to the sword or by fleeing to another land, such as the Northlands. This time, however, there was nowhere to run if they wanted to maintain their lifestyle; the Northlands having been the last refuge for vampires with such proclivities.

The guardswoman led us over to a nearby path, where two Northlander men in noblemen’s clothing were loitering, most likely having just come from the feasting hall, and the taller of the pair stepped back so that I could pass.

Looking to be in his early twenties, the descendant was clad in a white linen shirt and brown hose, his strong calves wrapped in brown leather riding boots splashed with dried mud, his fair hair tied back in a tail that reached just past his shoulders. Like his companion, the descendant was wearing a silk neckerchief, covering the tattoos on his neck which revealed both his rank and the identity of his vampire lord. Viktor would never have allowed humans to cover their ownership tattoos; to him they were an outward sign of the vampires’ dominion over the weaker humans, meaning it was likely the neckerchiefs had been introduced by Anna. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had already banned any further tattooing of humans.

He gave a deep bow. ‘Welcome to the Northlands, my lady.’ He had a confident, almost arrogant, air about him, his speech rich and distinctly noble born. ‘May I offer you my services if you wish to be shown around the castle.’

Next to me, I heard Namara’s sharp intake of breath at his audacity at addressing a senior noble without leave. Even in Dornia, such behaviour would’ve got the descendant in trouble.

‘Alderford,’ hissed his companion, a worried look on his face. I could understand his fear; I dread to think what the punishment would be if Alderford had spoken to a Northlander senior noble so brazenly.

I knew I should be angry with Alderford for his audacity, but for some reason I found it amusing. The first time I had felt such an emotion since the news of Mykael’s death.

‘Thank you for the offer, Lord Alderford, but that isn’t necessary,’ I said, trying, and failing, to make my tone reproachful. From the grin etched across his face, I could tell Alderford wasn’t fooled.

‘That’s a terrible shame, my lady,’ he said, his eyes dancing. They were hazel with gold flecks. Very attractive. ‘But if you change your mind, I’ll be in the Entrance Hall this evening.’

‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ I said, holding his gaze.

Alderford glanced away first, but I knew from his grin that he wasn’t at all repentant.

I smiled and shook my head as the pair started in the direction of the Entrance Hall, Alderford’s companion whispering furiously at him. Perhaps some male company would help me out of this pit of grief I found myself in.

‘Forgive me for speaking out of turn, my lady,’ the guardswoman said, making me start. I had forgotten she was with us. ‘But Jayson Alderford is nothing but a rake. It’s said he has fathered at least two bastards on the staff at his family’s castle and has bedded over a dozen minor nobles and descendants, including my cousin’s daughter, ruining her.’

Her words hit me like a bucket of cold water, dampening my rampant thoughts.

‘Do I look like a common whore to you?’ I snapped, causing several people standing nearby to glance curiously in our direction and Namara to reach for her sword. ‘Now, take me to the temple.’

The guardswoman’s response was clipped. ‘Of course, my lady.’

We travelled in silence for several moments, the guardswoman several steps ahead.

‘How far is it to the temple?’ I called after her, deliberately speaking in the dialect unique to Namara’s tribe to see if the guardswoman was familiar with it. She continued walking. Satisfied our conversation wouldn’t be overheard, I looked over at Namara walking beside me. ‘Report.’

Before I’d gone to visit Natalia, I had tasked Namara with going to the areas frequented by the castle’s guards to see what information she could gather about the current mood of the castle.

‘Of course, the guards are careful what they say in front of me and the other Dornian guards,’ Namara replied, also speaking in the Kiltani dialect. ‘But from what conversation I did overhear, it seems that for the most part the castle is happy that Viktor is dead. Understandably, the servants are ecstatic that one of their own has returned and liberated them. They are calling Anna the Blood of Allaron.’

Dread washed over me at the second mention of the legend in less than an hour. Was it merely a coincidence, or was there truth to Natalia’s claim? Was the Blood of Allaron legend about to become true? Or was Natalia using the tale to fill me with fear and dread even after she was gone.

‘Do you?’ I said. ‘Think she is the Blood of Allaron, I mean.’

Namara cocked an eyebrow. ‘Do I believe that Anna Teragon is the mythical destroyer of the vampire?’

I laughed, which sounded false to even my ears. ‘Well, when you put it like that.’

‘I can understand why they would believe she is. As the one responsible for the death of two Primes, Anna Teragon is the walking embodiment of the legend.’

The commonfolk wouldn’t care that Mykael had sacrificed his own life and that Anna couldn’t possibly be the Blood of Allaron if she herself was vampire—one with Prime power at that. Anna Teragon gave them hope; something the commonfolk of the Northlands hadn’t had in a very long time.

‘What does the Prime say?’ I asked, thinking it strange that Duncan hadn’t mentioned it when he had come to greet us.

‘She dismissed it as nonsense and reminded everyone that the Blood of Allaron is nothing more than a fairy-tale. Of course, that will not stop some of the commonfolk believing it to be true. According to one of the guards I spoke to, some of the nobles, including Duchess Bettina Blackthorn, have raised the possibility of the commonfolk taking it upon themselves to rid the world of vampires themselves. Even in Dornia there are those who believe it would be better for everyone if vampires were eradicated.’

‘Except the vampires,’ I said dryly, trying to hide my concern with humour.

Was the Duchess of Blackthorn and the others right to be concerned? Were we going to be murdered in our beds as we slept? Even before recent events, the death of a vampire at the hands of a human wasn’t unheard of. Were we about to see an increase in such incidences? One thing was certain; the commonfolk must never learn of my conversation with Natalia.

‘Well, if it makes you feel better, there have been no reported attacks on vampires in the castle or surrounding areas since Anna’s ascension was announced,’ Namara said.

‘It has been only two days, there is still time.’

Our path took us through a kitchen garden where servants were busy tending the vegetable crop, golden chickens darting in between the men and women’s feet as they hoed and weeded the raised beds. The servants stopped what they were doing and bowed as we passed. Looking at them, I wondered if any were harbouring murderous thoughts.

‘Everyone else’s reaction to Anna becoming Prime is more mixed,’ Namara continued once the kitchen garden was behind us. ‘While most of the nobility are happy that Viktor is dead and agree that, with the death of her ancestral uncle and the only one of the blood left alive, Anna Teragon is the rightful Prime of the Northlands, some are not happy that a former slave is now their ruler. Those who refused to name her, and there were very few, have been imprisoned in the dungeon, where they will be given time to change their minds. Those who swear their loyalty to the Prime will be given their freedom and allowed to retain their titles, while those who refuse will be put to death.’

The same would happen to any Dornian noble who refused to acknowledge Anna as their new Prime. Though it was doubtful any would, seeing as Dornian law stated that, with the death of Mykael, Anna was his successor.

‘A few dissenting voices said Anna should be imprisoned for committing regicide, but they were laughed at by their peers, who dared them to try and imprison a vampire with Prime powers and see how far they got. Although there are those nobles who are unhappy at the laws Anna’s proposing, very few will miss Viktor.

‘Others are concerned that she will want revenge for her ill treatment during the decade she was at the castle. Something many claim they had nothing to do with, as they were not even at the castle the same time as Anna. It does not help that Anna has signed several arrest warrants since her arrival and has incarcerated members of the Northlander nobility, including a senior noble. Not that many are sympathetic to Natalia’s downfall. Apparently, she had Viktor’s ear as well as his manhood. It is more down to what Natalia represents. If a senior noble is not safe, then no one is.’

‘Anna will only punish those who deserve it.’

‘I know that, and you know that, but they do not. They just know that Anna Teragon is of the same blood as the Prime brothers; vampires who were both feared and revered during the course their long lives.

‘There are also concerns that there will now be a power struggle between the nobility and commonfolk, vampires and humans, and that it will be the lower ranks of society who get the better deal. This is especially so since Anna has outlawed slavery and forbidden the use of Bands.’

‘The same fears were raised when Prime Mykael brought about the changes to Dornia.’ In that instance, the nobility had either learnt to live with it or had relocated to the Northlands, as Natalia had done.

Ahead of us, the guardswoman came to a stop in front of an arched opening cut into a wall. Throughout our journey she had walked several steps ahead of us, giving no indication whether she could understand our conversation, and as she turned to us now, her expression was impassive.

‘The gardens and temple are just through there, my lady,’ she said, indicating the doorway, which led to a narrow path lined each side by young willow trees that had been trained into an arch, creating a green tunnel which protected those using the path from the worst of the elements.

‘I can go alone from here,’ I told her, reverting to the common tongue.

The guardswoman inclined her head and bid me farewell before heading back the way we had just come. To inform the Prime of my conversation with Natalia, no doubt. Once she had disappeared from view, I made my way down the path with Namara, and as we stepped out into the castle’s gardens, my breath was taken away by the sea of colourful flowers swaying gently in the summer breeze and the expansive lawns before me. Surrounded by such beauty, it would be easy to forget that I was still within the grounds of Saron Castle.

The temple was standing in the centre of the gardens, and as I made my way towards the white-stone building; Namara keeping a respectful distance behind me, realising I needed space, I gathered a small posy of flowers from the raised beds lining the temple-path to give as an offering to the Goddess.

Ascending the temple steps, I stepped through an arched doorway into a dimly lit antechamber, where a young novice in green robes was waiting to take my shoes and my belt knife—both were forbidden within the temple hall.

I was surprised when Namara stepped up to the counter and handed over her own footwear and weapons. While Namara, like most Islanders, was a staunch believer in the Goddess, she rarely took prayers the same time as me. Unlike other lands of the Eastern Continent, who prayed at any time of the day or night, Islanders preferred to pray only once the sun had gone down. I had once asked an Islander why this was so, and he had told me it was because the ancient Islanders had worshipped the sun-god, Fa, and their descendants didn’t want to offend Him by worshiping another deity while He was in the sky and could see them.

‘I do not want to leave you alone,’ she said, noticing me look.

‘Even if it means risking Fa’s wrath?’

Namara shrugged. ‘I am more concerned with Tanvir’s wrath if he learns that you have been injured under my watch.’ Tanvir was the chieftain of the Kiltani tribe.

‘My lady, there are servants currently at prayer,’ the novice informed me, once she had placed our belongings on one of the many shelves lining the wall behind her. ‘Would you like me to ask them to leave?’

‘That isn’t necessary,’ I said. ‘Allow them to continue their prayers.’ Hopefully they won’t try to murder me while I’m at mine.

Turning away from the novice, I walked through a curtained doorway at the back of the room, into the temple hall where a dozen or so men and women were deep in prayer. Slaves were barred from the temple under Viktor’s rule and I was glad to see Anna had revoked this.

An older novice was standing at the rear of the temple hall, watching the servants with narrowed eyes; clearly unhappy that they were allowed within its sacred walls. Hearing someone enter, she looked over, and when she saw me standing there with Namara, her scowl turned to horror. She went to order those at prayer from the hall, but I raised my hand to still her.

‘Leave them,’ I mouthed, and she gave a reluctant nod in response.

Namara went to stand at the back of the room while I started down the aisle towards the altar at the front of the hall, ready to intervene if anyone threatened me. None of the servants looked up as I passed them. Deep in their prayers, I doubt they even realised I had entered. Reaching the altar, I placed the posy of flowers on its stone surface, then sunk to my knees and bowed my head in prayer, hoping the Goddess would bring clarity to the thoughts whirling around my mind.

Chapter Three

‘Mistress.’

I jerked awake at the sound of the quiet voice to find myself sprawled on the bed, naked save for a bathing towel. Opening my eyes, I found a stout young woman dressed in a white nightgown and holding aloft a candle,