Page 5 of Cursed Gift

It quickly became apparent why when I burst through the front doors of the Rajyvik’s.

Li Chang was older. At least thirty-five like every full-grown vampire looked, but he had the aura of wisdom around him that told me he was much older than thirty-five.

I noticed the pale pallor of his skin and the strain in his voice as I walked up behind him while he recounted the tale. He’d been away on business for his brother, Su Chang’s father. He was running late and would miss the big send-off Clan Chang was giving for Su before he made the trek to the states and ultimately, The Fort.

They never made it though.

Li broke down, not finishing his sentence. I treaded carefully, then put my hand on his shoulder. Mom and my fathers, as well as Natalie, had seen me come in, but Li hadn’t. He jumped. When he turned though, his eyes brightened, glittered with tears as he regarded me. “You must be Isabelle Ravana, the princess.”

I nodded, and he did so in return. “Su was eager to meet you. I’m sorry he never made it.”

I squeezed his shoulder and then moved further into the living room, taking up a seat next to Alexei wishing I’d taken better care of dressing this morning. Then again, I didn’t know I was going to be meeting an elder from a leadership clan.

“I would’ve come sooner,” Li continued. “But I wanted to make sure it was safe. I didn’t want to lead anyone here.”

“All of them?” my mother asked, her voice higher than normal. She didn’t exactly spell out what she meant, but we all knew it, anyway.

He nodded. “All. The whole clan.”

“You were away on business?” Papa Nic asked, pushing him to give more details.

“My brother needed me to stock up on blood for the journey. Our bank was running low, so I had to wait an extra day. I would’ve gotten there just in time to see them off and give them the blood they needed. Instead, I walked in on them all slaughtered.”

I bit down on a gasp. Alexei put his hand on my thigh and squeezed.

I didn’t know Su. Had never met him, but he was supposed to be here with us now, helping to unite the clans.

“I’m so sorry,” my mother said. “There are no words to say. I can’t imagine.”

Papa Stephan, who sat next to her, put his hand on her thigh just as Alexei had done to me.

“You talked about not wanting to be trailed,” Papa Nicolai said. “Do you know who did this, so we can take action?”

Li’s eyes got glassier. He shook his head slowly as if we weren’t even in the room with him anymore. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Ripped to shreds. Blood. Like a war had erupted in the middle of our ceremony room. I stayed long enough to see if there was anyone I could save. When I found no one alive, I ran, tried to stay hidden. I knew you were expecting them, so I came here as soon as I could. Not just to inform you, but to beg your help.” His eyes hardened as did his fingers as they curled into fists in his lap. “For days I have planned my retribution, but I have no people, no one to stand beside me. I would gladly do it myself, but as—”

Mother held her hand up to stop him from going on. “You needn’t say another word, Li Chang. You have the Ravanas’ help.” She turned to Papa Nic and Christian. “We’ll need to get a team together.”

As they made plans, Alexei leaned over. “This can’t be a coincidence.”

I could barely listen to any of the conversations. Ones meant for me or otherwise. Flashes of my previous premonition skittered in and out of my head in scene after scene of gory mess. War. Blood. “Li?”

He looked at me. “Yes, Princess?”

“Does your ceremony room have massive white pillars on either side of a set of steps?” I closed my eyes, bringing up the rest of my vision. “They led to a room with white-washed walls and paintings lined in gold?”

“Paintings of our previous leaders, yes. They line the ceremony room to remind us of the honor and integrity we come from.”

I locked eyes with my mother. Hers grew large and round as she gathered my meaning. It’s what I explained to her when I first had my vision.

It came true.

And I couldn’t do anything to stop it.

“Natalie,” my mother said, her voice the calm before the storm, “Do you think one of your people could show Li from Clan Chang to a room, so he could freshen himself after his trip?”

Natalie nodded and rose like the graceful head of house she was. She helped Li to his feet and walked with him to the door where she squeezed his hand in earnest before leaving him in the hands of a trusted guard.

Alexei whispered something to me, but there was so much noise in my head. I saw things in glimpses, short bursts, each one colliding into the other until it was a jumbled mess. His whisper just added to the chaos until I wanted to scream.

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