Reigning Eira Read online

  Contents

  Blurb

  What Happened Before…

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Also by Laura Greenwood

  About the Author

  © 2019 Laura Greenwood

  * * *

  All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission of the published, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address;

  [email protected].

  Cover Design by: Vampari Designs - Arizona Tape

  Formatting by: Gina Writes Words – Gina Wynn

  Visit Laura Greenwood’s website at:

  www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk

  www.facebook.com/authorlauragreenwood/

  Reigning Eira is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

  To Skye, Kelly & Arizona,

  Saving Eira was supposed to be a standalone story. Just look what you did.

  Blurb

  Eira thought she was done with the fae courts. At least, it seemed that way with the Fae Queen of Summer incapacitated.

  * * *

  Except that the Fae Queen of Winter is dying, and her daughter refuses the throne. Leaving only one possibly successor. Someone with the powers that belonged to the Winter Fae in the first place. Someone sounding suspiciously like Eira.

  * * *

  The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen.

  -

  Reigning Eira is the second book in the Fae Queen Of Winter series, a fae paranormal/fantasy with a reverse harem romance.

  What Happened Before…

  As a descendent of Jack Frost, Eira was responsible for making sure the frosts came. Until one year they didn’t. While trying to work it out, she found herself in the very lucky situation of being the centre of attention for three men: Leth (a half summer fae), Josh (a witch) and Rueben (a vampire).

  * * *

  Eventually, they discovered that Eira’s own mother-in-law had stolen the frosts, and after a bit of a scuffle (fuelled by a sex fed Eira), she was defeated, leaving Leth’s sister to become the Fae Queen of Summer.

  * * *

  Also…Rueben beat up another vampire called Edward, before coming to the ball. Seems minor, but trust me, it’s important.

  1

  “Please take me in with you,” she begged, already hating how weak she was surely sounding to him.

  “Eira…” The pain in Rueben’s eyes tore her in two.

  He clearly wanted to say yes, but something was stopping him. A sense of duty, most likely. But to who wasn’t so clear.

  “You said yourself I can go in there as your mate,” she pointed out.

  “Well yes…”

  “And as your mate, I could very well demand it.” She crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly.

  “Eira…”

  Instead of waiting for him to agree, she pushed past him and into the dingy and run-down pub. Though she was sure the nearby students probably loved the place. At least, they did if the level of noise was anything to go by.

  “You’re going the wrong way,” Rueben said, sighing.

  He steered her away from the door, through another one, and down into a damp tunnel.

  “Is there a reason this is super stereotypical vampire?” Eira asked as they ventured further underground.

  “Not that I know of. Either our forefathers had a wicked sense of humour, or they really were as sadistic as humans believe.”

  “Which is more likely?” Her curiosity was well and truly piqued. She hadn’t known much about vampires before she found herself tied to one for life, so she was treating every day like the learning opportunity it was.

  “Tell me which you think once you’ve met Maurice,” he muttered darkly.

  The two of them continued in silence, the gloom seeming to increase with each step they took, until they came to a medieval looking door. Rueben opened it with ease, and waved an arm for Eira to go in ahead of him.

  She swallowed nervously, not sure what she should expect once she was in there.

  The one thing she certainly hadn’t expected was for a blur of pink hair to fly past her and grab hold of Rueben’s arm, taking him to the side and whispering hastily.

  She tapped her foot, hoping they'd be done with whatever private conversation they seemed to have decided on soon. Rueben had given her a basic rundown of the Vampire Elders on the way here, so at least she knew the woman's name. A smirk lifted Eira's lips. He'd almost certainly realised she was going to end up in there with him then. Otherwise, there'd have been no point him prepping her on who she was going to face.

  "It's not up to me, Eden," Rueben said loudly. "You can tell her yourself, but I doubt she'll listen."

  The pink-haired vampire turned to Eira, but not slowly enough to hide the roll of her eyes.

  "He says you're going to go in there," she said bluntly.

  "I am," Eira replied.

  "I'd advise against it..."

  "Because I'm not a vampire?" She raised an eyebrow. "I know the rules. I can claim a place in there as Rueben's mate."

  The vampire frowned. "You not being a vampire isn't a problem, per say. But Maurice is a traditionalist. He likes things to be the way he wants them to be and you being in there won't help Rueben's case."

  "I am Rueben's case. Edward was the one who attacked me. Rueben just did what he did to protect me from that." She repressed a shudder, not wanting to relive the night Edward had decided to try and take advantage of her. It had been the same night she'd learned what being mated to three men would actually mean. Only with Josh's witch magic coursing through her had she been able to get rid of him.

  "Trust me, that won't help. I know Maurice..."

  "You don't seem to think very highly of him though," Eira pointed out.

  "I can neither confirm nor deny that as true," Eden replied, the small twinkle in her eye enough to reveal the truth.

  "If you'd let me know how to handle him, then I'm sure that I can." There was no way she wasn't accompanying her mate inside. With the way things seemed to stand with the vampires, he might not come out alive, and that wasn't something she was prepared to deal with.

  She didn’t need to ask which of the vampires was Maurice. And not just because there was only one male vampire other than Rueben in the chamber. The broad man scowled at her as she walked in. No matter, she’d just hold her head high and let him say what he wanted. Nothing would change the fact she’d been attacked by Edward. And nothing would change the fact that what Rueben had done in retaliation was well within his rights. Mates were sacred, something Edward knew as well as the rest of them did.

/>   “This is a bad idea,” Eden muttered behind her.

  Eira didn’t respond. She didn’t see the need to. The pink-haired vampire had made her opinion on the matter more than clear, but that didn’t change what was about to happen.

  “I call for this meeting to start,” Maurice grumbled.

  Rueben pointed to the spot behind one of the chairs, and she assumed that was where she was supposed to go. He took the seat at the same time as the others took theirs, leaving one completely empty. That must have been the one belonging to Edward. At least he wasn’t being afforded the honours due to a member of the Vampire Elders.

  “What’s this all about?” Maurice demanded.

  Rueben cleared his throat, but was cut off by Eden rising to her feet.

  “We seek to strip Edward of his role as a Vampire Elder,” she said levelly.

  Eira breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that she didn’t think they’d eventually get the outcome they wanted. It was more to do with having another member of the Elders on their side. Without that, they stood far less of a chance at getting the justice they wanted.

  “I don’t think so,” Maurice announced, chuckling again. “He is a highly respected vampire, and I won’t have him removed without good reason.”

  “There is good reason,” Eden answered softly.

  Eira could see why Rueben thought the woman was going to be the next leader of the Elders. There was something about the calm and sure demeanour that just made her seem like someone who led rather than followed. And that she’d get things done for the good of everyone, not the advantage of the rare few. It was a refreshing quality for someone in a position of power.

  “And what reason could that be?” Maurice’s lips curled into a knowing smirk. There was no doubt in Eira’s mind that he knew exactly what Edward had done and wasn’t even sorry for it.

  “He assaulted Rueben’s mate while she was alone and unarmed,” Eden said.

  Rueben tried to rise from his chair, but Eira stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. Right now, the best thing the two of them could do was let Eden say what she was going to. Everything was going to come across more passionate from her mate, with good reason.

  “And this is her?” Maurice looked in Eira’s direction.

  She almost rolled her eyes. This was one of the oldest intimidation tactics in the world. He was a fool if he thought it was going to work on her. She might be new to dealing with vampires specifically, but she wasn’t new to dealing with people. Far from it.

  “Yes, this is my mate, Eira,” Rueben answered.

  “Very well, let’s hear what she has to say.”

  Rueben tensed under her touch, but she squeezed his shoulder, hoping it conveyed that she’d got this and he didn’t need to worry about her messing up.

  She stepped forward, a little nervous, but not as much as she thought she was going to be.

  “What happened?” Maurice asked her, not a hint of kindness in his voice. She wasn’t surprised. From what Rueben had said, kind wasn’t something the older vampire had it in him to be. He was the kind who’d still go around terrorising humans if he could get away with it.

  “I was walking home from work when I was attacked by Edward,” she said.

  “And did you know it was him?”

  “Yes. We’d met before. At a club.”

  “And this is when Rueben first attacked him?”

  She shot a worried look at her mate. She hadn’t realised that event was going to come under question too.

  “Yes,” she answered honestly. “Edward tried to persuade me to sleep with him and I said no. He started getting aggressive and that triggered the protective mating response from Rueben.” At least, that was what she thought had happened. It wasn’t all that clear in her mind.

  "I don't see what the problem is." Maurice curled his fingers up as if to study his fingernails.

  "The problem is that I said no and he didn't respect that." Eira balled her hands into fists, trying to stop the shiver of cold that overtook her palms. The man in front of her could do with a good frosting. It might teach him a lesson about respecting women.

  "Eira," Rueben warned under his breath, catching her wrist with his hand.

  She shook him off and stepped forward. It didn't matter how he felt about her speaking up. She wasn't about to stay quiet and let some other woman fall victim to Edward's creepiness. No doubt she wasn't the first, and wouldn't be the last either.

  "So, you're telling me that as the head of the Vampire Elders, you condone sexual harassment and physical violence? The offence was made against a vampire's mate. More than that, against an Elder's mate. You wouldn't want that to get back to your people, would you?" She could feel tiny snowflakes springing into being around her hands, but didn't do anything about them. Hopefully, it would lend an air of seriousness to how she was being. Though she wasn't entirely sure about that. Maurice still seemed very unaffected by anything she was saying.

  He rose from his seat, slow and steady, like he'd been born to a position of power and knew exactly how he should be wielding it.

  Eira held steady. She wouldn't be bowing to a man like this. That wasn't what her father had taught her to do. She'd faced the Fae Queen of Summer and won. She was the descendant of Jack Frost who held the powers of the frosts in her hands. One vampire wasn't going to quell her.

  Maurice walked around her in a circle, sizing her up. "Winter fae?" he said.

  "No." It was the truth, though according to family legends, she had a lot of that in her blood.

  "I don't do deals with fae."

  "I'm not fae," she asserted. "And I'm not making any deals with you either. I'm telling you that one of your people has committed a crime and you need to do something about it."

  A low growl slipped from his throat. One that was echoed by Rueben off to the side. Maybe she should have said she was fae after all. That would maybe have made Maurice less likely to attack. He wouldn't want to start a war between her people and his. No one did.

  Maurice slipped into a laugh instead. "You have some nerve coming here and demanding things."

  "I'm not asking for anything that isn't my right as a vampire's mate."

  She heard Eden snigger behind her, though the female vampire shut it down pretty quickly. Maybe she was just as intimated by the man as she was. It would make sense.

  "I've survived church purges, vampire hunters, and wars. What makes you think I'd give in to the demands of a fae hybrid who hasn't even reached thirty." His face was closer to hers than she'd like, but she continued to stand her ground.

  "You don't know a thing about me," she replied coolly. "And I don't think the High Council would take it well to learn how dismissive you've been over something so serious."

  His face blanched. Which was interesting to watch, she hadn't thought he'd be able to get any paler than he already was. She didn't understand why he looked so stereotypically like a vampire. Rueben didn't. Maybe Maurice didn't bother with going out in the sun like the others did.

  "I take it that you're going to do something about the situation then?" she asked, hoping this would be all it took.

  "No, I don't think so. Edward is an outstanding..."

  She didn't let him finish. Or more accurately, her magic didn't let him finish. Instead, it burst out of her, dropping the temperature of the room instantly. Frost crackled over every surface, and snow began to swirl around the two of them. She wasn't sure how it had happened, but since becoming mated her powers had gotten more intense and she barely knew how to control them sometimes. She suspected it had something to do with Josh's witch magic fusing with her own.

  Fear entered his eyes for a brief moment. Eira squashed the satisfied smile which threatened to break free. Maurice was going to regret messing with her. Especially as she seemed to have no control at all over what was happening.

  "Eira..." Rueben half-w
arned. She wasn't sure if he was actually concerned about Maurice, or if he was just worried about the amount of power she was using. Hopefully, the latter. Though there might be consequences to face if she froze the leader of the Vampire Elders without meaning to.

  She shook her head, hoping he'd understand that she had no control.

  "You wouldn't dare," Maurice threatened, though she could hear the shiver in his voice. He wasn't able to fight this any more than she could.

  "Sorry." She wasn't really, but it was the polite thing to say and she needed to be that even if she was about to freeze someone.

  The snow covered his entire body, encasing him and entering through his nose and mouth. It probably wouldn't kill him. So far none of her accidental freezings had, but it would last a while. Until someone thawed him out, effectively. It was probably better if she came clean about it to the High Council herself. But she'd deal with that once the whole thing was over.

  Almost as soon as she'd thought about it, the snow and ice faded away, letting the temperature in the room rise once more.

  "You really should stop doing that." Rueben sighed dramatically, but pulled her into his arms all the same. "Are you okay?"

  Eira nodded. "It wasn't as bad this time," she assured him.

  "Good."

  "Wait, this isn't the first time you've done this?" Eden asked, pacing around the frozen statue of Maurice.

  "No."

  "Is he alive?"