The Queen is dead, and the kingdom is safe.

Heldie pressed her back further into the cold stones at her back. The icy wall leached away what was left of her heat. She couldn't move. She had to move. They would find her here if she didn't move.

The pounding of her heart mirrored the guards as they raced down the hall. It was like a swarm of bees had been awakened. They swarmed the narrow passageways inside. Their relentless search forced Heldie outside into the softly falling snow.

The dagger in her hand glinted under the wan sun. The blood was slowly being absorbed by the blade, but not fast enough. The sigils carved into the metal flickered and glowed with the same magic swirling around Heldie's fingers. If she could just be free of the blood before it dripped into the snow she would be safe.

Her family had passed down the dagger for generations. It fed on the blood of its unnatural victims. It had been so long since it had properly fed and even longer since Heldie had imbued it with her weak magic. "Please, faster," Heldie urged the blade as the tendrils of her magic began to fade. In moments it lay in her hand no more useful than a bread knife. The Queen's blood shone a blackish red.

The guards may not have known the darkness of their queen but they'd know a murder weapon when they saw one. Heldie cast her eyes around desperately. The wide open courtyard was a temporary refuge at most. Her only saving grace as of yet had been her back against the only exterior wall with windows. Someone would have to lean dangerously far out a window to see her directly below. Across the way was another wall, only a foot higher than her head.

Would they check the woods next when they found nothing inside the castle? How far could she make it before they picked up her trail?

Snow crunched under her boot and pulled her from her half-baked escape plans. There was no amount of running that would save her from the trouble she'd made for herself. Her breath became shallow and uneven as her thoughts whirled. A thickly gloved hand gripped her upper arm and a second covered her mouth to stop a scream.

"Calm yourself, Heldie. It's only me," Ryker's breath was warm against her cheek. It almost burned in the frigid air. He let her go to meet her frightened gaze head on. "What have you done?"

Air wormed its way into her constricted lungs so she could wheeze out a soft murmur. "What had to be done. I couldn't allow a blutsauger to haunt that family a moment more."

Ryker moved his hands to her face, fingers grazing her cheeks as his palms settled there. The thick leather of his gloves did well to keep the heat against his own skin but their frigid touch did nothing for Heldie. "We have to leave this place," he insisted.

"They'll find me no matter where I go," she said. The cold steel on the dagger's pommel pressed into her wrist. It almost burned.

"You don't want to leave," Ryker said. His hands fell from her face to his sides. "You still think there could be something between the two of you even though you've just killed his wife." He laughed, staring down at her.

"He doesn't know I've killed her, and he never will." As long as she could get rid of the damned dagger. A single drop of blood hung from the tip and splashed against the snow before she could stop it. The red seeped into the colorless ground at their feet.

"Why do you still have this?" Ryker kicked at the discolored snow and the blood was gone in an instant, consumed by the snow. He wrenched the blade away from her and spun to face the courtyard. In three quick strides he reached the well at the center of the courtyard and flung it into the water far below. Only a muffled splash followed Ryker's quick steps back to Heldie. "Inside, before you freeze."

The heavy door slammed shut behind them. Torches lined the halls in every direction but not a single person could be seen. The last flurries of snow that had followed them in, melted against the floor.

Warmth burned its way into Heldie, sending her into a new wave of shivers. Banners fluttered in the soft breeze seeping in from under the door and through the windows. Heldie's spine stiffened as she looked at the nightjar wreathed in elderberry sprigs against the dark indigo fabric. The silver leaves twinkled as if starlight had been caught there. Cold and distant like the former queen's heart.

"You need to get back to your rooms before they find you lurking out here," Ryker said. He was already pulling her along with his hand on her upper arm. There wasn't a shadow his eyes didn't search as they walked.

Footsteps up ahead forced them into a side room that smelled strongly of rotten herbs. The sturdy door clicked shut behind them just as two guards hurried by. The pair didn't dare speak until even the echoes of the steps faded to nothing.

Ryker released Heldie to rush about the room grabbing at anything leaning against the walls. Every shelf covered only more solid stone walls. "Dammit, I thought all of these rooms were connected."

"That would be a good way to invite an intruder," Heldie pointed out. Now that the cold had abated so had her shivers. Only an occasional tremble of anxiety swept through her. There was nothing to worry about, the knife was gone and no one knew what she was anyway.

"You're more dangerous than any intruder," Ryker said. The large wooden table at the center of the room groaned as he leaned his weight against it.

Magic welled up in Heldie's chest and she glared at him. "I did what was right," she spat. The wispy sparks that encircled her fingers popped and fizzled. Their forms solidified for only a second before all of the magical energy drained completely. Hedlie's head swam, the world tilting hardly to one side before Ryker wrapped a steadying arm around her waist. "I thought you were on my side."

"I am always on your side, when it is one of reason and self-preservation." He threw his gloves to the table one after another. They landed on the wood in two back to back thumps. "Why couldn't you just contact another hunter, someone equipped for the job?"

Memories of cages and screaming filled Heldie's mind. No matter how often she described how other hunters handled the dark beings they killed, Ryker would never truly understand. "You know they would have gone after the girl too," she finally answered.

"Lord knows what her mother did to her while she was alive." Ryker's shoulders tightened into a rigid line. "She's with her father now, poor child."

"I fear she will follow in her mother's footsteps if left to her own devices. If I could find a way to cure her before she turned," Heldie mused. She paced the room, hands clenched together against her stomach. No magic rose within her to answer her anxious pacing. Compared to her family her energy was childish at best.

Ryker scoffed. "You couldn't have started by curing her mother?"

"There is no way to revive a dead heart," Heldie answered.

The princess's heart still beat as steady and lively as any human's. Everything about her radiated life. It was the pink flush in her cheeks, still holding onto their baby fat. that tugged at Heldie the most. How many years did she have before her face turned as pale as her mother's?

Another patrol passed their dimly lit hiding space. They sounded less urgent now, almost casual as if there wasn't a murderer on the loose.

"We should go, return to our own rooms and never speak of this again," she instructed Ryker. "Everything will be fine soon enough."

"Will it still be fine if after all this he doesn't return your love?" Ryker asked.

She gave him no answer, closing the door behind her.

Halfway to the safety of her own rooms she was stopped by a squire flanked by two guards. His hat was clenched in his hand so that it hung by his side. "My lady, the King requests your presence, the princess is inconsolable."

"Of course, take me to her."

🍎🍎🍎

King Clarence and Princess Eirwen were waiting for Heldie in a small room. Guards stood at each door, hands on weapons. They simultaneously tensed and relaxed as Heldie stepped into the room. A fire blazed in the fireplace against the far wall, fighting off the chill that permeated every bit of space in the castle.

There was a whisper of fabric on fabric as Eirwen slid down from the plush couch where her father held her tucked against his side. She flung herself into the waiting arms of her governess, burying her face in Heldie's chest. She couldn't do much more than whimper between her cries.

"Your majesty," Heldie said, attempting a curtsy to the king. It was lopsided and sloppy thanks to the sobbing child clinging to her.

"There's no need for formalities," Clarence said. He gestured for her to sit beside him on the purple velvet couch. A silence settled on the room, interrupted only by Eirwen crying.

The crackling fire was stronger there, almost sweltering. Any numbness left in Heldie's fingers was long gone now. Inside the room it was possible to forget winter existed.

"Leave us," the King said. He waved a large hand at the guards waiting inside the door and the two servants standing along the back wall. Everyone filed out until it was only the three of them.

Anticipation heated Heldie's cheeks. She'd rarely been in a room alone with the king. His stormy gray eyes drew her in like a helpless mouse. Since her first day as a wandering beggar to now when she served as Eirwen's governess, she'd admired him. It was not too far of a stretch to say she loved him. He and his precious daughter huddled in her lap were the only reasons she'd acted out against the queen. In time when their grief faded and they could see reason, maybe she would tell them about the woman they'd been deceived by.

Shame followed her excitement. The man had just escaped the clutches of his horrid wife. This was not the time to imagine a life with him. His sleeping daughter was curled up in her lap for goodness sake. She held back a choked noise as disgust filled her being.

Clarence reached out and brushed back Eirwen's thick black hair from her rosy cheek. "I'm glad she can sleep. She feels safe with you," he whispered.

"I care about her very much," Heldie said softly. The child's slow and steady breaths feathered across her neck. Tears still clung to her lashes.

"You knew what her mother was."

A breath caught in Heldie's throat. Her eyes grew wide. There was a calmness to the king that kept her calm. "You knew? Why did you not reach out to someone, anyone? There are people who know how to handle her kind."

"She was my wife, and I loved her," Clarence explained.

"That wasn't love," she said quickly. His hand was cold under her fingers as she desperately clung to him. "Monsters like her have a way of bewitching the mind. Now that she's gone you'll be free. You're safe now." Hope swelled in her chest, growing like a bit of kindling added to a dry forest. It was more than she'd ever hoped for.

The king reached out, taking his daughter back and cradling her in his lap. "Celia loved us from the bottom of her heart, despite its undead appearance."

"It may take time for you to see the truth but I-"

He cut her off with a sharp wave of his hand. The warmth in his eyes faded as he turned from his daughter to Heldie. "Stop, I won't have you defame her any further with Eirwen in the room. She is the only reason I haven't had your head removed. The child needs comfort beyond what I can give her and she asked for you."

A touch of pride swelled alongside the dread in Heldie's heart. If anyone knew what it was like to live in the shadow of what their family had done, it was Heldie. Whatever dark ritual had taken place for one of the undead to conceive a child couldn't transfer to the way she viewed Eirwen. It hadn't been her choice to be born into this.

"If anything were to happen to you it would raise too many questions, too many suspicions. I can't bring that down on her, not now. Not ever," Clarence said. His large hand covered Eirwen's back like a shield. "You can rest assured that if anything happens to her, I will not hesitate to cause equal harm to whoever brought her pain." His gaze was steady on Heldie.

A gnawing suspicion ate at Heldie. Never before had she attempted to separate a blutsauger from someone in its thrall. Her father might have known how to break the hold on the human's mind but Heldie couldn't hope to have insight without her family's vast wealth of knowledge. Their library alone would have put any historian into shock.

Even with people taken captive by other humans there were lingering feelings of attachment. The feelings faded after time, leaving them able to see the strings that had tied them to their captor. It was never real love or affection. The relationship was akin to a master and their pet. Pushing someone to accept the truth too early could break their mind.

In time, the king would see she had only his best interests at heart. He would accept her and the love she held for him and his daughter who already looked at her as a motherly figure.

A beam of sunlight broke through the clouds to touch the small trio on the couch. The light was cold, pale, as if a wisp of cloud could take it away. It was enough to make Eirwen shift in place against her father's chest. She buried her face further against him and settled into a deeper sleep.

Eirwen was another abnormality Heldie had never come across. A child blutsauger was a novelty on its own, let alone one born with the blood of the undead already inside of her. What power could she already be exerting over her father?

"I would never harm a child," Heldie said, unsure if she said it to reassure Clarence or to remind herself of what was right or wrong in the world.

They stood at the same time, keeping a distance between them. At least, Heldie planned to stay a respectable length away. It shrank to barely a foot in one step from him. His scent, leather and smoke, was overwhelming in the tight confines. The heat from the fire was overwhelming now.

Eirwen slept soundly between them, still held carefully in his arms.

"I'll keep a close eye on her, I can promise you that." The door shut behind him moments later, a cold chill filling the room from the drafty hallway.