Queen of the Lycan, Karina Espinosa [accelerated reader books .TXT] 📗

“A war with the vampires?” My head ticked back in surprise and I looked back at Alexander.

He nodded. “It was a very long time ago. We’re at a delicate peace now.”

I never even bothered to ask about my grandfather—Helena’s husband and the former King. There was so much family history I still had to learn. If I ever told Alexander about what Alistair—the newly appointed Head Vampire of New York City—did to me, that war with the vampires could easily be reignited.

“Ye must fill the Council soon, darling. The Summit will be coming for ye because of it. The sooner ye have a Council, the better for ye,” Alexander chided.

“Lucas already requested a meeting,” Ranulf grunted. “I set it up for the end of the week.”

“And this is with both the American and European Summits?” I asked.

Ranulf nodded. “Be prepared. They won’t hold back.”

“Neither will I.” I grinned. “I won’t let the Summits run all over me, either.”

“Just … be careful is all we’re saying, Mackenzie.” Bash squeezed my shoulder. “You’re not in New York anymore. You don’t have many allies over here.”

He wasn’t wrong. I had more enemies than friends, and that wasn’t a secure position in which to find myself.

A brilliant idea popped in my head and I sat up straighter. “Ranulf!” I exclaimed, getting his attention. “I want Ailios to have a seat on the Council.”

“The Highlander?” he cried.

“I know ye want change, darling, but it takes time,” Alexander said carefully.

“Change happens when someone takes the first step,” I argued. “They deserve a seat at the table, and besides that, I trust her.” The Highlanders were one of the only allies I had in my new homeland.

“I’ll send an envoy this afternoon,” Ranulf conceded begrudgingly.

I placed my elbows on my knees and leaned forward. “Tell me about William.”

“Jacob’s lad?” Alexander asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah, the one I fought.”

“Well, he works with the town blacksmith,” Ranulf answered. “We’ve tried recruiting him into the King’s Guard, but he refuses. Even his grandda has tried to get him to join, but so far he’s been unsuccessful. He’s an exceptional fighter.”

“I could tell,” I mused as I replayed our fight and rubbed the side of my face where he almost knocked me out. He was the opposite of Jacob. He didn’t want to fight me, and only relented when I pushed. He didn’t seem like a bad guy. “Bring him to the castle. I want to talk to him.”

“He won’t join the Guard, Yer Majesty,” Ranulf insisted.

I shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. I still want to get to know him. Also, I want Liam on my detail. Make sure you switch him.” I wanted guards I trusted protecting me. Not that I needed much protecting since I got into enough trouble on my own, but still.

Until I learned who was loyal to the Council and who was loyal to me, I would keep a close eye on everyone.

8

I didn’t remember the last time I’d felt this exhausted. I’d spent the last four hours doing paperwork, but everything was all a blur and honestly, I didn’t even know if I did it correctly or what I actually signed off on. Which, when you thought about it, was extremely irresponsible of me. As I sat in my new office, all by myself, playing at being Queen, I felt completely drained and lightheaded. Beads of sweat pooled on my forehead and I wiped them off with the back of my hand. I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath.

I glanced at the grandfather clock to see the time and saw it was time for dinner. One of the guards would be popping in any moment now to escort me. I shuffled my paperwork and put them away neatly just as someone knocked and opened the door.

Liam entered with a bow. “Yer Majesty.”

“Hi, Liam.” I smiled weakly. “Glad you’re here.”

He gave me a boyish grin. “Thank ye for requesting me, Yer Majesty. I came to tell ye that dinner is served.”

“Thank you, Liam.” I stood from my chair and wobbled a bit, nearly tipping over.

“Yer Majesty!” He rushed to me and caught my arm. Other guards ran into the room after hearing him yell.

I shook my head a couple times to chase away the dizziness and straightened with the help of Liam. “Sorry, I think I just tripped over my feet.” I chuckled awkwardly.

“Are ye sure, Yer Majesty?” he questioned. “Ye don look well, if ye don mind me saying.”

I patted him on the arm comfortingly. “I’m fine, Liam. Don’t worry. Let’s get going.” I adjusted myself and walked slowly toward the door, surrounded by guards.

A cold sweat was coming on and my head felt as light as a cloud. I struggled to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.

What the hell is wrong with me? This can’t still be from my fight with Fenrir. Did he poison me? Fuck.

Surrounded by the Queen’s Guards, we walked stiffly through the castle, down the grand staircase, and toward the dining hall where the others were already waiting for me. I quickly wiped my face and cleared my throat, hoping I didn’t look as bad as I felt.

Two guards opened the double doors to the dining room and I entered quickly with my head down, aiming straight for the head of the table. It was still awkward to have everyone stand in my presence. I wasn’t used to all these stuffy rules. Once I sat down, everyone reclaimed their seats.

A bevy of servers entered and began serving the first course, which was soup. I was secretly glad. Maybe soup would make me feel better. My stomach churned at the thought of eating the remaining courses.

Could I have a fever? Did Lycan get the flu? Maybe I should go see Cosima at the apothecary and see what remedies she could give me. But if I did that, I would have to do it without alerting anyone. The last thing I wanted to