Chapter 27

Lazarus POV

I stand behind the council, watching as they perform the ceremony. She speaks when asked a question but mostly lays lifeless as the council crowns her. I want more time with her. Why she insists on not becoming a vampire when it could save her? I could have it done anyway. I could force her to transition. What was it, my mother said? I have to give her a choice. I cannot make the decisions for her.

When the council finishes, my wife is lying in our marital bed with a crown on her head, the crown of the fairies. She is now the fairy queen.

“I have something to say,” Willow speaks up.

“I give my crown to my daughter Mary. She is to be queen. The crown belongs to her and her alone. It is a decree,” Willow says.

“It is spoken and shall be that Mary shall be queen,” Rudan says.

“Now, will you transition?” I ask her.

“I do not want to be a vampire,” Willow says.

“You could live if you were a vampire,” I say to her.