The Vampire Crown

CONTENTS Also by Ali Winters Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three Chapter Thirty-Four Chapter Thirty-Five Chapter Thirty-Six Chapter Thirty-Seven Chapter Thirty-Eight Chapter Thirty-Nine Chapter Forty Chapter Forty-One Chapter Forty-Two Chapter Forty-Three Chapter Forty-Four Epilogue Thank you for reading… Author’s Note Afterword About the Author Copyright © 2023, Ali Winters All rights reserved. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews or articles. First Edition Published by Rising Flame Press Cover & Formatting by Red Umbrella Graphic Designs This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. www.aliwinters.com www.thevampiredebt.com ALSO BY ALI WINTERS Shadow World: The Vampire Debt The Vampire Debt The Vampire Curse The Vampire Court Th Vampire Oath The Vampire Crown The Vampire Betrayal Shadow World: Standalones The Vampire Trap The Hunted Series The Reapers The Exodus The Moirai The Fallen Flirting with Death (a short story) In The End duology Sound of Silence Light in Darkness Stand Alone Titles Army of the Winter Court A Sky of Shattered Stars Cast In Moonlight * * * For all those who follow their hearts, even when the odds are stacked against you. And for my readers. CHAPTER ONE ALARIC Lavender eyes framed by snowy lashes watch me expectantly. The growing adoration welling within my chest drowns out the last of an unwelcome feeling from moments ago. In a blink, it is forgotten altogether. And along with it, the reason and cause that it sprouted from. It must have been nothing of consequence to be banished so easily. A hint of blood lingers on my tongue from a recent feeding, but the burn of hunger denied for far too long remains. It is harsh. Demanding. Unyielding. The taste is… off, somehow, though I cannot pinpoint how. Was the mortal’s blood tainted by illness ravaging their body, or had they ingested poison, thinking it would end my life along with theirs? It’s impossible to know without a body anywhere in sight. Buzzing swarms inside my head, loud and unintelligible, turning into a pounding ache. Poison is the most logical conclusion. Though that, too, hardly matters. Other than a mild irritation, it didn’t work. It doesn’t matter. Our queen is here. The thought intrudes over all others. “Alaric?” Every moment leading up to this one are lost in a fog. The name settles on my bones, fitting like a well-worn glove. Instinctively, I know that is who I am. “Was there something you wish to tell me?” My queen arches a sharp brow. Yes. “Yes,” I echo the thought out loud. Then I pause, unsure what words should follow. We stand in the receiving room of my personal quarters. She would not be here if I hadn’t summoned her for an important matter. My hesitation brings the answer forward. It is time. We will do as she has always wanted. We will finally take our place at her side. “It is time. I am ready to take my place as your consort, as you have always wanted.” Each word scrapes up my parched and raw throat. An unsatiable need to feed again. A shift lingers in the air. Large enough to shake the world, yet ambiguous, leaving no clear sign of what it was beyond a haze of unfamiliarity, settling like dust in a room, long forgotten. Satisfaction curls the edges of my queen’s mouth. She is pleased. As any vampire ought to be, I am her loyal subject. After all, she is the force that shaped the world. Why had I not complied with her wishes before now? Surely, Rosalie— Perched on the mantel, Kharis croaks and beats their wings against the air. The past is of no consequence. We will right wrongs and not dwell on what cannot be changed. The demon’s eyes blaze bright red. Searing pain lances through my skull like molten silver. Need and instinct demanding my full attention. I try to speak, but the only sound that forms is a furious hiss. Large eyes widen in alarm. “You must be starving, my love.” She lifts a hand and snaps her fingers once. I don’t have time to muse on how she knew. The door opens, and two guards enter, half escorting and half dragging a human woman between them. The mortal’s face is blank, and each movement she makes has the jerky cadence of a sleepwalker. Her hair is styled similar to that of a courtier—not a strand out of place. It is the dress that gives her purpose away. Every inch is the color of sea foam, save for the low neckline. The fabric shimmers, nearly black at the top, melting into a rich burgundy halfway down the bodice to give it the appearance of spilled blood. The lack of a single scar shows that this is her first offering. A gift from my queen and a symbol to all others of my importance to her. The guards stop halfway inside the room and release the woman. When she doesn’t move on her own accord, the larger of the two shoves a hand against the human’s back, causing her to stumble. “Do you offer your blood willingly?” the other demands. “Yes.” The one-word answer is flat and emotionless,