Page 115 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

“She turned her into a vampire.”

“Wait—your great-grandmother was the first vampire?” I gasped.

Silas nodded.

“You’re the original vampire family,” Luka mused. “But why couldn’t I find your family name in the Populus?”

“Our history as the first vampires isn’t something we—or anyone in the Blood Court—boasts about. If anything, we’re viewed as a disgrace. I’m sure the palace went to great ends to hide our identity, to pretend we no longer exist.”

“That’s terrible,” I muttered.

“There’s nothing we can do about it.” There was a sadness to his tone.

“But why are the journals so important?” Luka pressed, turning our attention back to our task.

“The journals detail everything that happened between Astria and my grandmother. They wouldn’t mean much to anyone else—but to our family—one that is viewed with such disgrace—” Silas gave his son a small smile. “It’s a reminder that it wasall worth it.”

Luka and I shared a look.That it was all worth it?

“Astria and my grandmother were in love, but the story is more complicated than the one told across Lethenia. My grandmother, Elesebetta, escaped home to avoid an arranged marriage to a cruel male. Her family was extremely poor, her father promised her to a wealthy male in exchange for a large sum of money without her consent. The night before her wedding she ran. That was when she met Astria.

“They fell in love and planned a life together. But somehow my grandmother’s family got a letter to her. Telling her if she did not come back and marry her intended, her younger sister—who was far too young to be married—would take her place.”

My stomach twisted and Luka tensed beside me.

“So Elesebetta left Astria in the dead of night without saying goodbye. Only leaving Astria a note telling her she had to leave and go back because she was already married and pregnant with his child. She lied to Astria about the child—she knew Astria wouldn’t let her leave otherwise. She hoped lying and saying she was pregnant with the male’s baby would prevent Astria from killing the male. Elesebetta hated him—but she didn’t feel he deserved to die because of her.

“Astria was furious at Elesebetta for leaving her. For months she plotted her revenge. At this time she had already experimented and created the other types of Fae, so she figured why not create a type of Fae that would not only curse Elesebetta, but her entire family for the rest of time? A curse seemed like a far better punishment to serve than death.”

“Astria knew my grandmother, and she used the knowledge to her advantage. She knew Elesbetta had a kind hearted soul—she hated seeing others hurt. So Astria created a curse that would require Elesebetta to hurt others in order to survive. Elesebetta had drained Astria of all joy in her life so she would be cursed to drain the very lifeblood from others.” Silas looked at the floor. “When Astria found my grandmother she gave herno time to explain before she turned her into a vampire. Her desire to feed was immediate.”

I sucked in a breath.

“It was only in the pleading sobs of Elesebetta’s sister as Elesebetta feasted on another that Astria learned the real story of why Elesebetta left. Astria left in a fury of shame over her actions. No one saw or heard from her for months, until one day she returned to find the male Elesebetta had married dead—my grandmother having killed him with her new powers, with her newfound thirst for blood. Elesebetta was so overcome with anger for Astria that when she showed up out of nowhere my grandmother tried to kill her. Astria dropped off the journal and fled. No one ever saw or heard from her again. Until it was told she fled to the sky.”

We all knew the history of vampires, the legend of Astria—but not really. We had all been told a version so far from the truth. It wasn’t out of revenge—it was hurt that Astria created the vampires. All this time we viewed Astria as a vengeful Goddess cursing the vampires, but it was out of heartbreak—losing the one she loved.

“We bring out the journals every year—” Silas continued, “we share the true history of our family with our younglings—even if the rest of Lethenia views us as the family who brought this plague upon us all—our family will grow up knowing the truth. It was not of our wrongdoing that we were cursed—our ancestor was brave. She gave up her happiness to save her sister.”

My chest constricted. The story hit a little too close to home.

“Maybe it’s a crime to share the story of the Goddess' mistake, but we’ve never been punished for it. If anything, I feel like she has blessed us. We always have enough food to go around. Even in years when harvest is poor—there’s enough to get us through the winter. When we thought we had gotten to the last of our coins we found one more in the jar. Maybe it’s blind hope, but I think Astria is watching over us.”

Evenif Astria was looking over the Galtain family, it didn’t explain why Astria wanted to keep the journal hidden. Why she wanted it destroyed.

“Can we see the journal?” I needed answers. I doubted they laid in the journal, but we were this close, I needed to see it.

Silas nodded solemnly before turning his attention back to Auden. “Go grab it, will you?”

Auden returned a few minutes later, a worn black leather journal in his hands. He returned to his seat, sliding the journal across the table.

I took it in my hands gently.

“This is it?” Luka murmured.

“That’s it,” Silas confirmed.

My hands shook slightly as I moved aside the leather strap holding the book closed, leaving a strip of leather that was lighter than the rest.

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