MALACHI II

I waited at the gates for the men to get back. I would wait here all day if I had to. The search party came back faster than I would have guessed though. The men all looked grave as they marched toward the palace. There was one bundle wrapped up in linens strapped on top of one of the knight’s horses. A body. It was stiff and unmoving. No one said anything to me as I rushed over. They didn’t stop me as I unwrapped the linens.

My hands shook as I tugged on the rough fabric. My father’s face stared back at me with hollow eyes and sickly pale skin. His throat had been slit clean open. You could see the bones in his neck just beyond the flesh. Dried blood ran down his neck, making his hair clump in thick chunks. I swallowed dryly, willing myself not to throw up. I reached out to close his eyes. The feel of his cold, clammy skin sent a shiver down my spine. I wrapped him up once more and turned away.

“Get him to the priests. We’ll start planning the funeral rites,” I instructed. “More men need to go out and find Queen Gwendolyn.”

The men nodded gravely and all headed back towards the palace. Once they were gone, I let myself double over. It had taken every bit of self control not to crumple in front of them. I fell to the ground, sobs hitching my shoulders. My throat was raw and my eyes felt itchy and swollen. My father was the only body they had recovered. My mother was still out there. Funerals for us were always in pairs. Not only was I parentless now, I’d have the weight of everything on my shoulders.

I stumbled forward, the sunlight pulling me back. I couldn’t be out here much longer in fear of someone seeing me. I headed along the wall of the palace grounds, avoiding high trafficked areas. I couldn’t allow anyone to see me like this. The thought of being alone hurt my chest even more though. I stepped into the garden I had made for Iara and looked down at my wrist. It was selfish of me to want her here. I knew a mere touch from me right now would make her face twist in pain, her legs buckle under her. But I pictured the glowing rune in my head regardless of that. A pang of guilt hit my heart. I knew no matter what she was doing, she would rush right here. Was I being manipulative?

I gripped my shirt right over my heart. Whoever had done this would pay. I knew it was Ivar, but he had been in the library all day. I knew that for a fact. He must have a large group under his thumb. A lot of people in the palace follow his orders. I’ve seen it happen before my eyes. There must be an equally large group of people he was using that are outside the city. I don’t know how one would even capture and transport a husk, let alone four. It had to be a large, highly skilled organization, or the gods themselves.

Iara burst out of the southern door then, making me nearly jump out of my own skin. She quickly ran to the patch of tall grass I had been standing in. I must have looked pathetic. The picture of disgrace. Her cheeks already had tear tracks down them when she reached me. “Malachi,” she said. She opened her arms and I fell right into them.

We fell to our knees as I sobbed. I had never cried so freely in my life, let alone with another person. It was only because she was here. She pet my head and cooed into my ear. I could feel her hands tremble as she ran her fingers through my mussed hair.

“They weren’t supposed to die so soon,” I gasped between sobs. Death was never something we were prepared for. Everyone living at the palace had been living here since before I could remember. Every one of my family members was decades my senior. Vampires lived for hundreds of years. My parents shouldn’t have stepped down from their throne for at least two more centuries. I thought I had so much time left with them. I thought I had so much time left as a prince, spending my days as freely as I could with Iara. I had always been gloomy, but I knew I had time to work on my faults. Now I had no guidance and I would be crowned king soon. Iara was even younger than me and she would be the acting queen. We weren’t ready. My parents had so much to teach us and it was all ripped away.

“Shhh,” Iara hushed. “Breathe.”

I gripped onto her tightly, my fingers digging into the fabric of her dress. My face was buried in her hair, some strands clinging to my damp face. I gasped in a breath only to have it seemingly ripped from my lungs with another wail. My crying was loud and ugly, but she never pulled her hands away. She let me cry into her for as long as I needed. When I did manage to catch my breath, I pulled away to look at her. Her eyes were red and filled with tears just as mucha s mine were.

“I’m sorry,” I rasped, my voice raw.

She pulled her sleeve over her thumb as she shook her head. “Don’t be sorry.” She reached up and wiped my nose, snot staining her dress sleeve. I clenched my jaw, willing myself to not start crying again.

“I am pathetic,” I sighed. I let my face fall into my hands. I could feel my cheeks warm with embarrassment. “I shouldn’t have asked you here.”

Iara didn’t respond, making me worry more. I peeked through my fingers at her just in time to see her hand. She flicked me hard on the forehead, making me cry out. “Hey,” I snapped, rubbing where her finger hit me.

“Never say that again,” she snapped back with more venom than I have ever heard in her voice. “I will always come to you when you need me.” She pressed her hand to my chest, right over my heart. “We are bound. We have each other if nothing else.” She gave me a brilliant smile, the sun highlighting her as if it was the only focus of the world. She was my beautiful sunshine, small flaws only making her more stunning.

I felt hot tears come down my cheeks again. Gods, not more blubbering. I clung to her again, pulling her to my chest. “I love you,” I whispered against her hair.

“I love you,” she replied. Her voice was soft again, soothing. She was right. We were one of a whole now. Our fates were bound, unbreakable. We would always have each other.

“You should go tell Jeremiah,” she whispered.

Another wave of dread passed through me. What do I even say to him? With her, I didn’t need to articulate anything. It was easy to show her what happened. Jeremiah, I would have to tell. I could barely think without sobbing. How would I remain composed enough to talk?

“It’ll be okay,” she whispered in the same voice. “You two are strong. Young vampire princes. You two can get through anything as long as you support each other.”

I tightened my arms around her. The sun warmed my head as it rose above us. “Please just let me stay like this a little while longer,” I begged. The smell of her hair calmed me. I would talk to Jer as soon as we go back inside. I wanted to prolong that as long as she would let me.

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“You’ll get a sunburn if you stay out here any longer,” Iara teased. She tried to pull away from me but I pressed her harder into my chest.

“I don’t care about sunburn,” I whined. I knew I was being childish, but I wanted my moment before I had to step into the role of leader. The moment I walked back into the palace, I wouldn't be Prince Malachi II anymore. I would be Acting King Malachi II. She knew that just as well as I did.

Iara sighed and tucked her head under my chin. “We’ll stay as long as you need,” she mumbled.

I turned my face back into her hair and kissed her. I pushed the horrible images of my father out of my mind. Hopefully my mother wasn’t hurt like my father. The memory of his open throat made more tears form, my throat burning. Hopefully she would be found in the woods nearby, sitting among the trees, signs of a peaceful death. It didn’t hurt when you succumbed to the bond killing you. I had seen it happen before. The person fell asleep slowly and never woke up again. If Mother got to have that, it would ease my worry. Both of them didn’t need to die so horribly.

The sun was beating down right above us. It had started to sting my skin, just like Iara had warned. I still didn’t want to stand, but I pulled myself up. I helped my wife up as well and gave her one last tight embrace. “I’m ready to go back now,” I grumbled.

She took my hand and smiled at me again. She could almost make me forget all my worries. She turned and led us back into the palace. When we got to our rooms, I told her to go on ahead. I needed to see Jer. I took a deep breath in and headed towards his bedroom. I only hoped my eyes didn’t give away how much I had cried.

When I reached his door, I hesitated. My hand hovered above the wood before I could bring it to knock. I blinked away the tears that were already forming. He was only sixteen. How do I even tell him both our parents were murdered? I couldn’t even bear it and I was almost ten years his senior. Eventually I forced myself to knock. I knew he was probably sleeping, so I made sure it was loud enough.

A moment of waiting, I was ready to knock again, but the door swung open. Jer, in his pajamas, looked up at me with displeasure. When he saw my face though, the groggy annoyance was gone in an instant. “What’s wrong, Ky?”

I stepped into his room and shut the door behind me. “It’s Mother and Father,” I whispered. I was sure if I spoke any louder it would be cut off by a sob. My throat was already thick again.

“What?” Jer grabbed my arm and pulled me to face him. “Don’t tell me. . .”

The look in his eyes said it all. I nodded in confirmation. “Father was found with. . .” I bit my lip, my fangs almost breaking skin. I made a gesture with my hand along my neck. I wouldn’t hold details back from him. If I knew anything about Jer, he hated when things were sugar coated.

The information broke his face into a million pieces. He fell to the ground, sobs making him shake. I fell down with him and took my little brother into my arms. I can’t remember the last time I hugged him. I had stopped showing affection to anyone a long time ago. I shouldn’t hold back so much, especially after this. Jeremiah would need me just as much as I would need him.

I held him close to me, letting him cry into my shoulder. I pet his mussed hair down and tried not to get carried away in crying as well. Eventually he quieted and I knew he fell asleep. I picked him up as gently as I could and laid him down on his bed. I locked the door shut behind me.

The next day the search team came back with nothing. They found the other bodies of the knights, but my mother was nowhere in sight. I sent them all right back out. No one would be able to rest until my mother was found. She would be laid to rest next to my father. The funeral couldn’t start without her. The coronation couldn't take place publicly until after the funeral. Iara and I were granted emergency authorization to be the acting queen and king, but that meant nothing without the whole palace and kingdom swearing loyalty in front of all the gods during a coronation. We were in a vulnerable position. The day was only just beginning and I felt as though I couldn’t breathe. My chest was tight and I could feel my blood rushing through me. It was hard to fill my lungs with air, just like when I was turning into a husk.

Iara grabbed my hand, pulling me away from my thoughts. “Hey, calm down,” she whispered.

I let her go quickly and stopped right in front of the door we needed to go into. “We don’t have time,” I said in a tight voice.

“We do have time to make sure you don’t have a panic attack. If you need a moment, I can tell them you’re busy,” she replied.

Iara did have more power than me with the title of queen. But it was just that. A title. No one believed her capable right now. All the questions and problems had been brought to me first so far. The pressure was on me. My heartbeat quickened as I reached for the doorknob. Dread filled me like tar.

“Stop,” Iara snapped at me. She stepped in front of me and gave me a harsh glare. “What did I just say?”

“Nothing helpful,” I snapped at her.

She reached up and flicked my forehead again before I could pull back. “Don’t talk to me like that,” she warned. “I know how everyone is acting. There’s a lot on your shoulders, but I can help. Go out for the rest of the day. Elisif will help me. I can handle things by myself for a few hours.”

“I-I don’t want you to be alone,” I stuttered. I longed to go into the woods and let my bow take me, but the thought of leaving Iara out of my sight made me more anxious than opening the door had. Another panic attack would ensue. I let my hand brush against hers so she could see what my mind was like.

She frowned and laced her fingers with mine. “You don’t need to worry about me. I don’t know if you know this, but I did collect all the husks by myself, and cured everyone.”

I let my head fall down, my shoulders slouching. She was strong, much stronger than me. Iara was the strongest witch I had ever met. Mother told me how strong the women in her family line had been. I heard many stories of her descendants doing amazing things. Iara was no different. She was gifted with two blessings and an unstoppable will. She wouldn’t let me enter this meeting even if I tried. I took a deep breath in and looked at her. “Are you sure?”

“This is a matriarchy, isn’t it? Now let the women do their work,” she teased, giving me a snarky smile. I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help my relieved smile. Before she let my hand go, she lifted it to gesture at our bracelets. “If anything goes wrong, we have these. Don’t forget.”

I nodded and brushed a kiss on her forehead. She pushed me away and crossed her arms over her chest. “Go outside for a bit, I’ll let you know when I’m done.”

“Yes, Queen,” I chuckled, bowing low to her.

She laughed softly and turned to the door. She disappeared behind it quickly, leaving me in the empty hallway alone.

I felt the anxiety seep into my chest again. The emptiness was terrifying. Suddenly I wanted to claw the door open and cling to her again, begging for her to run away. We could leave this place behind. No one had to know where we went, as long as we were together. The thought made my chest tighten. I was a selfish creature. I ran away from every responsibility I had. Even these meetings in the wake of my parents' deaths I couldn’t bear. I felt sick every time questions were hurled at me. I had no answers for anyone. I couldn’t even hold it together in front of my little brother.

I bit down on my tongue, drawing blood. I needed to keep it together. My carefully laid out mask needed to fall back in place. I needed to clear my head of all thoughts. I needed to breathe. I turned down the hall and headed to Iara’s garden. I think I will go hunting for a little while.