Faustine (29 page)

“I think it’s perfect, Taylor. You’re going to look awesome.”

“Nora called Mom and asked me to be one of your
ladies
for the coronation.”

“I know so little about the protocol or what’s expected of me. I’m glad Nora is helping out,” I said.

“Don’t worry about the protocol. There’ll be a rehearsal. Nora just wanted to make sure that the ladies and their partners were coordinated. I’m going with Luke,” she said shyly.

That was unexpected. I assumed that Luke would take Neave. My surprise must have shown.

“You thought Luke would take Neave?”

I nodded.

“So did I,” she shrugged.

“So who’s going with Neave?”

“I don’t know,” Taylor said. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow. What about you? Are you happy to be escorted by Fitch?”

“Yes, sure,” I said, disappointed. Not that Fitch was taking me, but that Ryker wasn’t. That sucked. But, I was going to make the best of it and have fun. It’s not every day a girl gets crowned.

“You are a nosy little demon, aren’t you?” Taylor suddenly said.

“Say what?”

She pointed to the bottom of the bed.

Yikes. The chest. I hadn’t pushed it in far enough. She could clearly see the floppy hinges. “Oh.”

She shrugged. “Oh? Is that all you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m a nosy little demon,” I confirmed as apologetically as I could.

She shook her head. “I guess you took a peek at what was inside.”

I nodded.

“That’s a book I found in Dad’s stuff after I possessed him. I took it and studied some of the spells. I brought it here for safekeeping,” she explained. “You can’t tell anyone that I have it.”

I nodded. “So, did you learn all the spells?”

“No, but I did try and remember some of the important ones, those that would break shields, especially. There’s one in there that is supposed to be able to break a shield other witches have put up. It’s complicated and needs all sorts of odd ingredients, but it can be done. I haven’t learned it by heart yet.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry I looked; I can’t help myself at times. I won’t tell anyone,” I promised.

Taylor and I spent the rest of the evening packing her stuff for the upcoming trip. I hoped that Mom had taken care of my stuff. I had nothing here, not even a pair of pajamas, so I borrowed a cloud-themed, flannel pair from Taylor. We sorted through her makeup, jewelry and shoes, and managed to pack it all into three large suitcases, not bad for a three-day trip to London.

T
he flight from Newark to Heathrow, London, was loud and fun. We were all together in a private jet: Mom, Tessa, Alexandra, Edith, Taylor, Fitch, Luke, and Neave. During the boarding process, I had looked around apprehensively, afraid that Katerina would appear. She hadn’t, so we were all in a good, celebratory mood. I was going to be Queen soon!

The rest of the New York council was flying in for the coronation tomorrow. We had a lot of work to do before then.

Although Alfred had kindly invited us all to stay at his mansion, I decided that I wanted to stay at Dad’s place. It would be my official London residence, so I may as well get used to it. There was no telling how long it would be before Dad returned, and I could go back to being a normal teen. In the meantime, I figured I might as well immerse myself wholeheartedly into my role as The Queen. And, that included having an official residence.

When we arrived and I had checked out my official digs, it was clear that it needed to be updated in order for me to stay there for any length of time. I wouldn’t have time to do any updating during this visit, however. The next two days were filled with protocol stuff.

The first task was going through the actual order of the ceremony with Dorian.

“Any signs of Katerina?” I asked him, when we had our first meeting in my dad’s study.

“No. We’ve been watching all the port authorities. But then, she is a witch, and a powerful one at that, so I can’t guarantee that she’s not here. Security is at the highest level, so you shouldn’t worry.”

“Okay, let’s go through it,” I suggested, looking at his fully-scribbled, yellow legal pad. It looked like it was going to be a long ceremony.

He explained every section, all five of them, in painstaking detail. Most of the sections sounded like they might be tolerable, even fun, except for one–the actual coronation ceremony, total nightmare. It was just as well that I didn’t suffer from stage fright. I was going to be front and center. I was even expected to make a speech.

“I took the liberty of having a writer come up with this for you,” he said, handing over a sheet.

I looked it over. It was short and concise, but really boring. I’d have to tweak it a little.

“That’s all I feel you need to remember, Princess. Other things will come up, but I’ll be at your side at all times to help you out.”

I squeezed his hand. “Dorian, you’re a rock star. I really appreciate your help.”

He blushed. “I’m just doing my job, like I used to for Sebastian,” he said sadly.

“Dorian, finding Dad will be my first order of business after the coronation.”

He nodded. “King Alfred has requested your company for dinner tonight. It will be London council members only.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t like leaving all my friends alone on our first night here.”

“You don’t really have an option. It’s protocol,” he shrugged. “Don’t worry about your friends. I have an entertaining evening planned for them.”

“Okay. What time do I need to be there?”

“I’ll drive you over at seven.”

I left Dorian in my dad’s ample study–it was more like a library–poring over his notes, and made my way to
my
bedroom. My bedroom was in fact Dad’s residential quarters. It was huge, and filled with
stuff
that I couldn’t wait to rifle through.

No one had been in this room since my dad disappeared, Dorian had informed me, when he had handed me the key. I walked over to the enormous wooden desk by the bay windows and sat down on the leather-bound chair. In front of me was a MacBook. I turned it on and stared at the screen when it prompted me for a password. What password would the Demon King of London use? I tried all of the obvious ones, starting with mine and mom’s names. Next, I tried Kismet and the names of my other siblings, even Katerina. Nothing. I tried our birthdays and all other possibilities I could think of. Wrong every time. I slammed the lid down and turned my attention to the desk drawers.

There were three on each end of the desk. Each one had a brass handle and a lock. I tried opening them. After all, there was a small chance that Dad had left in a hurry and forgotten to lock them. No such luck. As I was reaching for the bottom left drawer, I noticed something green sticking out from underneath the desk. It had become wedged between the last drawer and the floor, and it took a while for me to pry it out without damaging it. It was a green, leather-bound album. It was well-worn, and while it wasn’t thick, it was stuffed, not only with photographs, but also with newspaper clippings. I could hear approaching footsteps coming from the hallway, so I flipped through it quickly. I stopped at a photo, an old black and white. How strange. It was a picture of Tessa and my dad. They seemed
close
. His arm was around her waist. Weird.

I pushed the album back under the desk when I heard a tap on the door.

“Come in!” I yelled.

“Princess, it’s time to head off to Alfred’s. Are you ready?” Dorian asked, observing me curiously. I guess it looked odd, me sitting behind Dad’s large desk.

“Yeah,” I said, getting up. I should have changed, but there was no time. Thankfully, Mom had insisted that I wear something decent on the flight over, in case the press accosted us.

I picked up my mom’s vintage, Chanel jacket and grabbed my new clutch before following Dorian to the car.

“Aren’t you coming?” I asked Dorian as he started to shut the door after I was safely inside.

“It’s sovereigns only. Alfred’s staff will make sure you are properly escorted once you get to his house. Have a good evening. I shall see you tomorrow morning. Your wardrobe staff will be here at eleven. I have arranged a breakfast by the pool at eight,” he added, before the chauffeur took off to Alfred’s.

I should have spent the ten-minute car ride preparing myself for this evening’s dinner, a meeting in disguise, no doubt. Instead, my mind kept wandering back to the photo I had spotted in Dad’s album. It was probably nothing, I decided. It was most likely just Dad helping Tessa after a stumble or something. But why would someone take a picture of that? And why had he kept it?

I was still pondering when we reached Alfred’s mansion. The house was lit up and looked spectacular. Finna was waiting for me as I got out of the car.

“Good evening, Princess. It’s lovely to see you again. Fab clutch.”

I looked down at it and smiled. Fab it was, how could a red Hermès Kelly pochette not be? I resisted the temptation to stroke it as I followed Finna down the garden path. I was expecting to go straight to the dining room, but she led me into the garden conservatory, instead. Alfred was waiting outside on the lawn to greet me. Everyone else was already inside.

“Love the setting,” I said, looking at the intimate venue. There was a small table, just big enough to seat the seven of us, in the center of the room. Two candelabras illuminated the room and Fiordiligi’s great aria from Cosi fan Tutte was playing softly in the background. This was definitely not conducive to a business meeting. Perhaps I was wrong, and this was indeed just an intimate celebratory dinner. Seated around the table were Cassandra, Spencer, Sheafer, Hickman, Nora and Suman. I was both surprised and delighted to see Suman. I had assumed she was still in hiding and wouldn’t make it to the coronation. I was glad she had made it tonight. Alfred raised his Champagne-filled flute as I sat down next to Suman.

“A toast,” he declared, “to the newest member of our table. The Demon Queen-in-waiting, Faustine.”

The clinking sounds of crystal flutes filled the room as everyone congratulated and wished me the best. I brought the flute to my lips, enjoying the bubbles–Mom would totally ground me if she knew!

“Faustine, we are a close group. We have to be. It falls upon our shoulders to keep the paranormal population of London both safe and thriving. The six of us have known each other for years. There has been no disloyalty between us, no matter what personal issues we may have with each other. We are all, obviously, ultimately responsible to our subjects. That responsibility would be impossible to honor without the support from the other members of the council, especially with the large hybrid population. For years, we have maintained peace, and your father, Sebastian, was integral to that. It now falls on your shoulders. You are young and also a hybrid, perhaps not the ideal candidate for the job. You have, however, been decreed successor by Sebastian, so we must honor and obey his request. You have our full and loyal support.” Alfred looked around solemnly while everyone nodded.

It was clear from the expectant looks that I was supposed to say something. I wished that Dorian had warned me; though, in all fairness, he probably hadn’t had a clue about tonight’s protocol. So, I had to wing it. I stood up and studied my fellow sovereigns.

“First of all, thank you, Alfred, for your warm welcome and hospitality. I’m really grateful to have been accepted into your group. Like you said, Alfred, I may not seem like an ideal replacement for my dad, but I am his successor. Why? Because he felt I should be. If he hadn’t, he would have appointed someone else.

“While what you see in front of you is a young teenager, a
half
demon, I assure you that I take my role very seriously. I will strive to fulfill my obligations here in London while I finish high school in Manhattan. My obligations here will always come first. I have a lot to learn, but I have Dorian by my side to mentor me. I also have you, all of you. I’m grateful for that and hope to get to know each one of you better on both a personal and professional level.” I paused and smiled. “Thank you again for welcoming me.”

I raised my flute. “A toast to the London sovereigns.” I brought my flute to my lips again, taking just a little sip. Getting tipsy would never do.

As I sat down again, Alfred sounded the bell, which lay on the dessert table, and a flurry of staff appeared bearing silver platters. A plate with a big juicy steak was put in front of me. I dug in. Conversation during mealtime is not common in the paranormal world. Eating gets done in silence. Or slurping, in Alfred’s case. He was gulping down blood disguised as a strawberry smoothie. Once we were finished, the kitchen staff took the dishes away. Everyone sat back in their chairs and relaxed.

“How are you coping?” Suman asked me kindly.

“It’s been a bit of an adventurous start, but I’m doing okay,” I said. “How’s Kismet?”

“She’s good. She’s really looking forward to meeting you properly. She’s coming to the coronation.”

“She is?” I asked, surprised. I couldn’t assure her safety with Katerina still at large.