Hail to the Queen Read online

  I hang on every word. Mémé doesn’t talk a lot about the Reaping. The period when hunters pooled their resources and launched a coordinated assault on our area and the magical beings inhabiting it is a sore topic for all involved. The Reaping pushed the vampires and witches into a tentative truce. The chain of events set of the start of a co-mingled paranormal community and the shrinking of prominent families. I lean forward, holding my breath as I wait for her to continue.

  “But that is a story for another time.”

  The breath rushes from my lungs. Mémé smiles sadly. Soon, she mouths. I nod my head as we return our attention to our dishes.

  “Is it me, or is Mémé spilling secrets like tea these days?” Fel whispers.

  I chuckle. “It’s not just you. I mean, I knew Mémé was a bad ass, but now I’m wondering just what she’s gotten into over the years. I spent a lot of time researching paranormal things while I was gone. I’m ashamed to confess I neglected our history. I know the things Mémé’s mentioned over the years, but that’s nothing but a drop in the bucket.” We cut up potatoes, onions, and garlic, place them in a large white bowl with mustard yellow designs that’s older than the both of us, sprinkle on spices, and mix them up. We make bundles with tinfoil and carry them out to the grill.

  Free from eyes and ears, I feel the stress roll off my shoulders. We take a seat at the long, wooden picnic bench.

  “I never realized how stubborn the women in our family are,” I mumble.

  Fel snorts. “Really? ’Cause you’re one of the most mule-headed.”

  “What?” I laugh. “Come on, I’m not that bad.”

  “That’s just what a stubborn person would say,” Fel taunts.

  I narrow my eyes. “Uh huh. I suppose you’re not stubborn?”

  “I’m far more agreeable. Mostly because I take after my father in that aspect.” She shrugs.

  I give her a playful glare. Her laid-back approach is part of what makes her element to call water. Steady when situations get hectic, she always keeps a cool head. She has a slow burn temper much like water. A calm body of water is a beautiful, tranquil thing to behold. Rile it up, and it turns deadly.

  “I was surprised when she started talking about the Reaping,” Fel says in a hushed tone.

  “Me too. She usually avoids the topic like the plague.”

  “It’s like Vietnam. Most of the people involved won’t speak a word about it. Do you think it means something? Her opening up?”

  “Yeah. She knows she’s getting a bit long in the tooth to hold onto secrets unless she plans to take them to the grave. I think we’re all in for some shocks,” I say, thinking of her tryst with a certain vampire in the Cortez Court. I never would’ve pegged her as a rule breaker. There’s more to their story than we know. So far, I’ve kept my mouth shut out of respect for Mémé. I’m not sure how much longer that’s going to hold.

  “It’s hard to think of her as a person. That sounds awful, doesn’t it?” Fel laughs. “I don’t mean it that way. It’s just, she’s always been such a wise older woman with graying hair, and a regal bearing, regardless of the responsibilities she’s shouldered. Youth syndrome makes us forget our elders have lived a life long before we were even thought of.”

  “We should actually get the cooking started before they realize how long we’ve been gone and come and check up on us.” We pile the sachets onto the long shelf, and I turn on the gas. I imagine energy flowing through my body to my palm. A flame flickers to life on my palm, and I light the gas.

  “It comes so easily to you now,” Fel marvels.

  “After the sessions Mémé’s been putting me through, it’d better.” I shudder as I think of our crash course in training. “She’s tried her hardest to shove years and years worth of training and information into a thirteen-month period. If I’m not looking in grimoires or old journals, I’m with the court learning etiquette, sword play, and how to think like them. Their customs are nothing like our own, Fel. It’s like falling into the upside down and the past in one go round.” A strange blend of dominance, power plays, and an almost European-style of royal hierarchy, the courts are a tangled web, impossible to navigate without knowing all the nuances.

  “Want to take a walk?” I ask, eager to steal a few more minutes of quiet with her.

  “Yeah.”

  The bright purple lavender calls to me. I make my way through the knee-high rows, skimming my fingers over the tops. Pausing, I inhale the sweet fragrance. “I missed this place when I was away.”

  “What are they like?”

  I cock my head to the side. “The court?”

  “Yes.” She bites her lip and toys with a sunflower stalk a half a row away.

  “I don’t mind talking about them.” I frown as I chase the thoughts in my head. “Putting it in words is difficult. Their instincts can be extremely primal, and animalistic like Weres. What makes them so different is their ability to think rings around our best strategist. Their minds would rival Machiavelli. Constantly calculating minds, they think like people play chess, anticipating the next best move. Their main goal is always survival. Though loyalty and honor are a very serious matter.

  “Despite the passage of time, they have maintained something medieval. A fact we should all be grateful for by the way. If they ever abandoned that code, I dread the ravaging that would follow.” Kept in check and controlled by a carefully kept code, a stringent set of rules, and powerful players ready to enforce them, the vampire population runs like a well-oiled clock. If they ever made a true go at world domination, hell would be unleashed on earth.

  “That is a frightening thought.” Fel shifts her weight uneasily.

  “Believe me, I know more than I ever wanted to.” I grimace. “The brutality they deal in is a lot to take in. Once you’ve seen, there’s no such thing as unseeing.” I shudder.

  “Suddenly I don’t envy you and your vampire boo the same.” She pouts.

  I snigger “Vampire boo?”

  “It’s what I call Cristobal in my head,” she admits sheepishly.

  “Please say it out loud one day,” I beg. “His face would be priceless. He’d be properly scandalized. We’re dragging him into the twentieth-century kicking and screaming.” Imagining his unamused expression, I chuckle.

  “You walk the line between two worlds. Be careful you don’t trip and stumble headfirst into one of them.” Fel’s words are hollow.

  I turn to look at her. “Fel?”

  “You are the bridge between two worlds. To prepare for what will be. You must discover what once was. Things in the darkness have been waiting for an opportunity to return. Alone we will parish. Together we can vanquish.” She blinks.

  “Felicite?” I whisper, grabbing her arm.

  “What?” she asks, dazed. Her eyes are unfocused, and her voice is weak.

  “Do you remember what you just said?” I study her carefully as I grip her forearms gently, supporting her weight.

  “That I call Cristobal your vampire boo in my head?” she says huskily.

  “No. You just …” I pause. “I think you just spoke a prophecy.”

  “What? No. I’ve never done that.” Felicite shakes her head.

  “Yes, I’m pretty sure you just did. The sight runs in the family.”

  “I don’t want this, Lou.” The fear in her wide eyes guts me.

  “I’m sorry, Fel. It seems like the time of what we want is behind us. Now we’re all doing what we must.”

  She grabs my hand. “Don’t tell anyone. Not until we’re positive that’s what it was?”

  “You know I can’t withhold something this important indefinitely, right?”

  She closes her eyes and nods. “I know.”

  “It won’t be tonight. We’ve got enough on our plates, but make your peace with it?”

  She gives a bitter laugh.
“One prediction does not a Seer make.”

  “No,” I agree. “However, it does show your inclination for it.”

  “I’m going to say what we’re both thinking. It feels like we’ve all gotten a power upgrade along with you after this bonding.”

  “Or maybe it’s the family coming together. Strength in numbers?” I suggest.

  “It’d be in accordance with the old teachings,” Fel agrees. Silence settles between us. The sound of a car pulling up front reaches my ears.

  “They came.”

  “Who?” Fel asks.

  “Aimee and Vit.”

  “You can hear that?” she asks.

  I push aside the embarrassment. This is who I am now. Shame isn’t going to change my reality. I nod. “I can hear a lot better than I used to.”

  “And it doesn’t frighten you?”

  “I’m adapting. I spend half my time with people whose senses are far more superior to my own. It keeps me from being completely blind.” I wasted enough time running. It only prolonged the inevitable. “Come on, let’s greet them.”

  ***

  I look around the table at the relaxed faces of my kin and clear my throat.

  “I invited everyone here because I wanted to have fellowship, and work magic. Familial magic. The kind we’ve long neglected.”

  “Everyone has to be welcome to do that,” Vit snaps.

  “At this table, everyone is. We’re all equals here.” I keep my voice even and remind myself that hurt people, hurt other people. It’s a cycle.

  “You expect us to believe that, after everything that happened with our mother?” Aimee scoffs.

  “Yes. If you want it. I can’t force anyone to do anything. If you don’t want to be here, I won’t hold you. What I’m offering is a chance for a new start. You aren’t your mother. No one is holding you accountable for her actions. Both of you were trapped by her way of thinking, and self-imposed shunning. I don’t want you to remain trapped in the shadows. I want to free you. Which is why today we’ll be creating a family altar and casting a circle.”

  Aimee and Vit look at one another. “Is this a joke?” Aimee asks.

  “No.” I hold out my hand. “I would never do anything like that.”

  “You know how little magical aptitude we possess. So why call us in to be part of the team now?” Vit asks vehemently. I flinch. His anger is a living flame, ready to burn anything in its path. We deserved his distrust. It’s disgraceful how we allowed them to remain on the outskirts.

  “That’s no reason for you not to be included in everything this family does. Things are going to be different now. I promised you that. I plan on keeping my word.”

  The siblings exchanged a look. “You never answered me. Why now?” Vit regains control of the conversation.

  “You’re overdue for this. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all need each other now more than ever.”

  He presses his thin lips together tightly. “You mean we need you, right? Poor little, orphaned siblings have lost their mother. Let’s throw them a bone—”

  “No.” I slam my hand down on the table. “We’re not going to fall back into this cycle. No shade or judgment. There are no hidden meanings in my words. This is me extending an olive branch and asking you to help me set a new normal. You never lacked bravery. Don’t fail me now.”

  He cocks his head to the side and peers at me through narrowed eyes. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

  “I am.”

  “We’ll give this a shot, Lou. For you. Don’t make us regret it,” he cautions.

  “I appreciate that, Vit. There’s been wrong on all sides. I was out of the loop being gone. I’m caught up now and ready to make changes. I’m new. There’s going to be an adjustment period for all of us. Communication is paramount.”

  Vit smirks. “Tell me, fearless leader, how shall we proceed?” I let his smug look slide because his tone is tempered with the one thing we all need―hope.

  Chapter Three

  “You are leaving the office early today, and not coming back until tomorrow after ten o’clock,” Sacha announces from in front of my desk.

  I struggle to focus my strained eyes on the sandy-blonde haired nonconformist. “What?” I stare at the pile of paperwork on my desk. “You see that, right?”

  “We took a vote. It’s two to one, you lose,” Fel adds in a singsong voice.

  I spin in my office chair to face Fel. “What is this? My office mates plotting against me?”

  Sacha spins my chair back around to face her. “Yes, because you’re stubborn, obviously exhausted, and in serious need of some fresh air. And maybe,” she gasps, “a little fun.”

  I cross my arms over my chest, resisting her charm. Half a day off puts me even further behind. “I don’t blame you for being sick of me. I’ve been frazzled recently. There’s a lot on my plate at the moment, and it’s got me feeling snowed.”

  “All the more reason to take better care of yourself,” Fel says.

  “Let’s go. We’ll hit up New Orleans. How about Café Du Monde, my treat, and your choice of restaurant for dinner,” Sacha urges.

  The thought of the puff pastries coated in a layer of powdered sugar makes my mouth water. I can smell the river water, and taste Acme Oyster Company and pralines. Stress eating is an indulgence I can get down with if we’re heading into the city.

  “Not even you can resist the lure of chicory coffee and beignets.” Sacha points at me.

  My stomach growls loud enough for everyone in the office to hear. Betrayed by my own body.

  “Fine,” I concede. The girls cheer, and I laugh. “What would I do without you two?”

  “Starve, and possibly harm someone while hangry,” Fel replies sweetly without missing a beat.

  “Have I been that big of a witch without a W?” I ask. They exchange a look that makes me cringe. “I’m sorry, you guys.”

  “Hey, it happens to all of us. Just let me handle all this.” Fel scoots her chair over, grabs the paperwork in front of me, and wheels back “You two enjoy a day out of the office.”

  I throw my hands up. “I surrender.”

  “Quickly, Sacha, take her before she changes her mind.” Fel shoos us away with her hand.

  “I don’t know if I’m flattered because you care so much, or I’m insulted by how badly you want me out of the office,” I mumble as I gather my things and rise to follow Sacha outside.

  “The first one,” Fel cries with a waggle of her fingers.

  I climb into the passenger of the aquamarine beast with Sacha and lean back in the seat. With the window down, and the wind blowing through my multi-colored sunset red, orange, and blonde hair, I feel free. I’ve gotten stagnate. I let the weight of the tasks coming down the pipeline toward me pin me in place. I massage my scalp as I inhale the sweet Bayou air.

  “Feeling better already, aren’t you?” Sacha asks.

  “I didn’t realize how long I’d been cooped up in the office, or some other stuffy room learning this or that. I’ve missed the sun more than I can express.” The rays beam down on my face, and I soak them up like a flower.

  “Glad I can be of service.”

  “How are you, Sach? I know I’ve been a horrible friend recently. These coronations have me wrapped up tighter than a mummy.”

  “You haven’t missed much.” She pauses. “Though, there’s been a recent development on the family front.”

  “Good things?” I ask carefully.

  “You know, I’m not sure yet. My mom came to the house the other day, totally unannounced, which is very bizarre for her. You know how she is about punctuality and politeness. I think maybe she was afraid I’d tell her not to come if she called and asked me.”

  I turn my body toward her. “I bet you’re right. What did your mom say?”

  “That
she missed me, and she’d spoken with my father. Do you believe that? For once in her life, she stood up for me.” I can hear the amazement in her voice. That was a huge step for her mother.

  My heart swells with happiness for my friend. About damn time, too. The Morels are a patriarchal family. Her father calls the shots, and her mother never goes against his final rulings.

  “He didn’t admit to any wrong doing on his part, but he agreed that perhaps he’d been hasty and heavy-handed with his response to my refusal of the engagement. Because, of course, disowning me is just a little over the top.” She scowls. “He went so far as to say an unhappy match would hinder the magic of both husband and wife.”

  “Coming from your father, that’s practically a heartfelt apology,” I say drolly. The proud, arrogant man was a throwback to a time when men ruled the world and their family without question.

  “I know, right? He even asked me to join them for the family holiday. Well, technically Mom did, but you know he had to okay it.”

  She’s trying to downplay her excitement, but it’s seeping through every word she speaks. I understand her reason for walking away from her family when they throw down the ultimatum. Arranged marriages are archaic and cruel, and Sacha isn’t built to settle down and be solely a homemaker. Which is exactly what her ex-future husband had been looking for. The whole thing was a mistake. This girl finds adventure wherever she goes. I can’t see her ever fully giving that up. Despite the bad call on her father’s part. Her family had always been close-knit. The separation, while necessary, was hard on her.

  “I think you’ve earned your father’s respect.”

  Her hands clutch the wheel tighter. “After all this time, do you even think it’s possible? I feel like my entire life has been a contest where I vied desperately for his attention and approval. Him giving either is such a foreign concept at this point, I can’t imagine it.”

  “What you did, walking away from your home and inheritance, took guts, Sach. More than most people have. Even if he never says it to your face, trust me he knows, and admires it.”

  She flashes a crooked smile. “Thanks, Lou.”