Year of the Tiger (Changeling Sisters) (23 page)

And so it was, I crawled to the Vampyre Court with a leash around my neck.

I forgot to mention the sack over my head. It was hot and scratchy and smelled like dog shit. I could only rely on the tug of the leash to know when I was to move; if I deterred from the path in the slightest, I floundered through snow banks or cut my fingers on sharp briars. At one point, I put a hand out and felt only empty air. I felt Amrit stroke my curls and understood the unspoken message: I had to rely on her completely.

No-Name might have watched us go, but she feared the vampyres. I understood why she wouldn’t interfere. Perhaps that last time she’d been telling me goodbye, in her own way.

Wolf…

I felt nothing.

So when I heard Miguel and Old Man Zhi being led away—Miguel cursing and shouting; Old Man Zhi shackled by silence—I forced myself to stay still.

“Citlalli!” Chills gripped my shoulders as Miguel pleaded for my attention. “Citlalli! Are you still in there? Come on, ’Lalli! Talk to me!”

“Citlalli,
heel
.” Eva pulled up short on the leash, and I jerked, choking on spit. I heard her chortle. “This is fun. Perhaps Prince Donovan will let me keep her.”

“Fuckin’ undead bitch. You’ve messed with the wrong Alvarez,” Miguel promised.

The leash constricted so suddenly, making it impossible to breathe, that I guessed Eva had made a lunge for my brother.

“You two are more irritating than either of your sisters, I’ll give you that,” the vampyre wife hissed. “But that will only make you that much more fun to break.”

“Eva, down,” Amrit’s no-nonsense voice rang out. The leash slackened slightly. I doubled over, gasping for air.

“Fred will be here shortly to collect him. Take the brother and the lantern-maker to the boiler room until then.”

“Looks like Citlalli isn’t the only one being treated like a dog around here,” Miguel said predictably, and I heard someone slap him. And then they were gone.

Each fading footstep crushed another one of my carefully constructed plans, another hour spent planning with the pack, another vision of Raina and I reunited. Damnit, Raf and Jaehoon would be waiting for my signal. The prayer wheel had been one of the first things Amrit and Eva had taken away from me (after I’d stupidly threatened to turn it counter-clockwise and summon the Dark Spirits, I’ll admit). Jaehoon had trusted me. He’d convinced Xiang and the Alliance to trust me, an eighteen-year-old girl blinded by grief, to be a soldier. To follow orders. To never sway from my course.

But then I’d made a promise to Old Man Zhi. And then Miguel had been captured. And on top of all that, I’d pissed off the vampyre wife ringleaders. Now I didn’t even know if I’d get Raina and Mari back. Hell, and for what? Fred was coming for my brother. Again.

I was thankful the bag was over my head, so no one could see the tears slipping down my cheeks.

So maybe it was time to play possum, to follow Amrit obediently around on a leash. Because if I didn’t…I was frightened I would mess things up further. It was easier to react than to take action.

“Good girl,” Amrit whispered in my ear. Dirty snow turned to
ondol
, the heated hardwood floors. Silence turned to excited whispers, laughter, taunts. I felt a thick crowd of bodies press against me, felt their fingers tug at my curls and poke my sides.

“Get back.” Amrit herded me on. I heard heavy doors groan back, heard the hushed whispers amplify a thousand-fold as we entered a great hall. Then all fell silent.

She was here.

Something cold and heavy, like the bodies of thick, dead snakes, slithered around my heart, hushing the fire that dwelled there with a kiss of gray lips. The soulfire in the lantern fluttered dangerously; I could feel it pounding against the glass like tiny fists. And I remembered Old Man Zhi’s last words:

Don’t let the light go out.

Wolf bumped into me so suddenly, I nearly cried aloud with relief.

Wolf! You’re alive!

A whimper. A brief brush against my mind. Then It was gone again.

The star lantern began to rumble like a creaking furnace, softly, soothingly. This was twice now that I had escaped death by fire, thanks to Wolf. Thanks to that crazy, wild part of my soul. That sacrifice wouldn’t be for nothing.

I held firm as the cold front approached, bearing down on me from all sides. Then, abruptly, the sack was ripped from my head. I gulped down cold, ice-shard air.

A little girl stood before me. I blinked rapidly, mistaking her for No-Name. Both girls were stick-thin with glossy black hair that broke over their shoulders. But, no— No-Name’s eyes weren’t eerily hollow, as if wind could whistle through them; she didn’t have gray wings; the whole hall wouldn’t tremble, waiting for her to speak.

“Amrit.”

The vampyre bride flinched as if the girl had slapped her. The child held out the sack, wrist slack. “Put this on your head.”

“My Queen—”

“Unclip the leash as well.”

Queen?

Maya continued to watch only me, a slight smile twitching the upper corners of her mouth. “Don’t argue. You have insulted my guest, Amrit. Wear these foolish toys yourself and wander the Hall. Allow the Court to walk you, pet you…until I say so.”

Amrit glanced sharply toward the thrones, upon one of which a blindingly handsome vampyre sat, examining his nails. I knew who he was, of course: Prince Donovan. Raina’s tormentor. The vampyre who’d lost his wings. And something far worse. It seemed that he intended on keeping the Court in the dark about both.

Donovan chuckled. His fingers danced up the arm of the girl who sat next to him, reading. “We need you to rein your sister in, darling. She’ll listen to you.”

“Raina.”

It was the first word I had spoken this entire hellish journey to the palace.

Raina closed her book delicately and looked at us for the first time. I didn’t recognize her. She wore startling apple-red lipstick and heavy smoky eye shadow, making her gaze smolder. She had on a slinky gold dress that glittered so bright and alive against her pale, pale skin—against the puckered bite marks bruising the right side of her neck.

Her dark eyes glazed over me and went straight to Maya. And in that instant, I knew. This was hauntingly familiar. I’d come too late.

Her head creaked to one side as she patted the throne next to her. “Little sister. We’ve spoken about this, remember? Having great power doesn’t give you the right to bully your subjects.”

“She insulted my guest,” the little girl whined, but her empty eyes continually flitted back to me. Gloating. She was enjoying this exchange.

“And humiliating her might be fun, but petty. You won’t win respect from your subjects that way. Or your guest.” Raina looked at me again. I took a step forward, holding out my arms. Raina quickly glanced away, muttering, “No matter how savage she may look. This ‘guest’ is a representative from your enemy’s ranks, Maya. Might you slip into something…more appropriate?”

Smoke poured out of the little girl’s eyes. I stepped back, instantly afraid of the threat of fire. But when it cleared, a tall, sharp-eyed woman stood there, inky-black hair spilling down to her unnaturally long fingernails.

“How’s that, sweetheart?” Queen Maya purred.

Raina leaped down to give her a hug. “Much better, Mother.”

Chapter 28: Negotiating on Thin Ice

We retired to a side chamber: Queen Maya, Raina, and I. But instead of my hand, it was the Queen’s Raina clung to.

Before the sliding doors slammed shut, I caught a glimpse of Donovan. He gestured to the empty throne at the end of the line, motioned to me, and then mimed snapping a neck in half. He even gave me a little wave after.

I swallowed hard. Duck Young’s wives weren’t the only ones who wanted retribution for his death. Speaking of which, where was my older sister? I hadn’t seen Mari in the rows of sleek, bloated ghosts, all fat and content under Maya’s thumb. They knew the price for disobeying her: expulsion into the harsh Korean winter, to toil under unending night for a meager bowl of rice. This was why I had to stop Maya. Not only for my family. For the fate of all trapped in this purgatory hell.

“Okay.” I planted my hands on my hips and faced them both. “We’re alone now. We can all quit pretending. You know very well, Queen Maya, that you are the furthest thing from a mother to Raina. You’re her tormentor. And I want my sister back.”

I waited for recognition to break over Raina’s face, but she only continued to watch unwelcomingly. Maya took a brush from the dresser and began to comb Raina’s hair, alternating between soft, fond strokes and rough tugs that nearly jerked my sister’s head from her shoulders.

“Citlalli Alvarez. You don’t understand, do you?” Maya spoke to the mirror. I could see my own reflection: a savage and cornered animal, like Raina had described. But my eyes gave me away. They were small and frightened.

“
I
am her mother. I am her younger sister. I am her best friend.” The hollow black eyes snapped up to mine. “I am everything she ever wanted. A real mother who cares and protects her from the wicked world. A real sister for her to confide all her secrets in. A best friend who never lets her down.” That last was a slap against me, and I stepped back, as if physically struck.

Maya began to comb faster. “Tell me. Did she ever have any of those people in her so-called
family
? You never appreciated her. You spent time with her when it was convenient. You allowed her to tag along only if you were the center of attention. Here, we understand what Raina is. I can give her everything she wanted but never had. I can even give her true love.” She knelt so their cheeks were touching. “How is Prince Donovan doing these days, Raina?” she murmured.

Raina pushed her away, giggling. “
Mom!
You can’t ask me about those sorts of things!”

“You have a new bite.” How Maya was able to spot it amidst all the crimson contusions enveloping Raina’s neck was beyond me. “I assume it’s going well?”

Raina self-consciously shook her raven-black hair over the bite marks. “He asked me to be his bride once Lunar New Year comes.”

“And so it shall be. Raina,” Maya whispered in her ear, “you are one of five chosen who will know fulfillment of the dreams I promised you. But of those five, only you are worthy of the greatest gift I can give: You will live with your true family forever.”

I caught a flash of a pale, fading bite mark, long forgotten on the left side of her neck, before her hair covered it.

“Where is Prince Khyber?” I demanded.

Finally. Raina dropped the foundation she was holding. I rolled my eyes. So, she recognized the other undead boyfriend’s name over mine. If we ever got out of this nightmare, my younger sis and I were going to have a long chat.

“Go get the mop to clean that up, Raina.”

I felt a lump of fear shove itself up my throat as the door slid shut behind my sister. The Vampyre Queen and I were finally alone.

The smoke poured from her eyes, and when it cleared, a younger Maya stood there. Proud and fearless—the age when she had died. I remembered this Maya from Raina’s dip in the Memory Well. This was the reckless Maya who’d whipped a ship halfway across the world, who’d made a deal with a Dark Spirit, who’d betrayed the white tiger. It was the Maya who had chased me and the pack the night of my first hunt, back in Donggureung.

Her voice was higher now, quicker to snap to anger. She crossed the room in a blur and slammed me back against a hardwood chair.

“Thief. You. Stole. The Soul,” she spat in my face, terrifying white face inches from mine. “I want it
back
.
Now
.”

I wanted to crawl into the nearest hole and curl up, shutting my eyes tight until she disappeared, but I had to be brave. I didn’t have Wolf. But I could hear Its voice inside my head:

What are you doing now, human? Does a wolf ever bow to its prey? You are the hunter! ATTACK HER!

I forced myself to lean forward until that skull-like face nearly touched mine. “You. Have. My. Sisters!” I sprang from my seat, trembling with rage. “I WANT THEM BACK!”

A disturbing chuckle rose from the back of her throat. Maya glided across the room, crossing her arms within the silken folds of her black rose-patterned robes. “Fine, wolf-girl. It seems we can make a trade. Give me the soul. I will give you your sisters.”

“I left your son’s soul with the pack.” I tossed my hair defiantly. “You’ll have to give me a prayer wheel to contact them.”

Maya gave that unnerving laugh again. “My
son
? Ah, Duck Young’s soul, is it? Don’t waste my time, child. I don’t give a damn what you do with it.”

“But—” I stared at her, at a loss for words. What was she talking about? Duck Young’s soul was the one that had caused me so much grief, first from Fred, and then from No-Name, Khyber…and finally, from Duck Young himself, trying to reclaim it…

Maya’s face seized up with anger, and ugly blackness began to seep from her eyes, stretching in inky fingers across her temples. Pointing accusingly toward me.

“You mean…you…LOST HER?”

I’d never been so scared shitless in my life. She was going to kill me. Guest be damned. This Maya wasn’t a queen. She was still the ruthless princess, and she didn’t give a damn about “peace treaty negotiations” or “safe passage.”

“No! No, I was merely mistaken about which soul you sought. Of course I have her,” I lied, my mind tumbling furiously over who the hell Maya could possibly be referring to.

The vampyre quieted. She was all smiles and glittering ice once more. “Then we understand one another. Tomorrow is Lunar New Year, the new moon after the winter solstice. Give me the soul. Or I will turn you into a Dark Dog and watch you eat your own sisters.”

I blinked. Well,
damn
. Some people just really knew how to motivate.

She rang a tiny china bell. “Raina!” Her voice sang out sweetly. “Please escort our guest to her room.”

Chapter 29: Prince of Sorrow