The Vandal and the Virgin

  Chapter 1

  The convent’s heavy door clanged open.

  A familiar voice thundered throughout the keep, easy to hear from two floors away. “Julia. Julia? Where the hell are you? Put down whatever boring task you’re working on in this dreadful place and get your ass down here right now. It’s important.”

  Julia pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. Oh hell. Not today. She tossed down her quill and pushed aside her “boring task”—translating ancient Punic text into both Greek and Latin. She exhaled and stood from her desk, using a cloth to carefully wipe ink off her fingers.

  She hadn’t heard her sister’s shrill voice in over two years, and she’d recognize that demanding tone anywhere. They might be close in age and both raised at the palace, but Galla and Julia had lived entirely different lives. Galla was a creature of the court and Julia was the bastard banished to a convent. Although this wasn’t so bad considering she’d wanted nothing to do with those narcissists. She was a ghost to those people, so why couldn’t they just leave her alone?

  Rapid footsteps tapped down the hallway and Lara, the wide-eyed new recruit, skidded to a breathless halt in the doorway. “Julia,” she panted. “You’re not going to believe this, but the Princess is here to see you, and oh my gosh, she’s brought the Queen with her!”

  Julia blew out a puff of agitation. Oh great god, Galla had brought Sonja along too? What the hell…? “Yes, I heard, please tell them I’ll—”

  “No, you don’t understand, they’re not even waiting to meet with Mother Superior first, they’re just…oh…”

  “Out of my way!” a voice barked.

  Lara’s shocked face disappeared, replaced by two regal women who were boldly crowding into Julia’s room as if they had every right to be there.

  “Tell the others we do not want to be disturbed,” the Princess ordered as she slammed the door shut behind her.

  Queen Sonja paused, wrinkled her nose, and glanced around the room with disdain.

  Typical.

  “Why are the two of you here?” Julia clipped.

  “This is where you live? You chose this hovel for yourself over a noble marriage?” the Queen asked, as rail-thin and sharply beautiful as ever, her elegant dress sweeping along the floor as she walked around the small space. “Is this the entirety of your quarters, or is there more here and I’m not seeing it?”

  “Yes,” Julia sighed. “This is where I live and I’m lucky to have it to myself. It’s just this cell and the narrow bed. We all live like this. Why—?”

  “Oh dear god, did you hear what happened?” Galla cried as she swept her elaborate robe off her shoulders and dropped it onto Julia’s neat bed, revealing a pale blue gown that cost enough to house a family of four for a whole year. “Do you know what those creatures are doing now?” her half-sister demanded.

  Worry soured Julia’s stomach. “No,” she paused. “What’s happened?”

  “Wait, I’m confused. Let me get this straight,” Sonja cut in, waving her bejeweled hands in the air, “it’s just this bed, that tiny desk over there, the chamber pot and that’s it?”

  “Mother, please, pay attention,” Galla responded sharply. “Julia lives in a convent, what did you think it was going to look like?”

  The Queen grimaced. “Better than this!” She pulled out a purple silk scarf, dusted off the only chair in the room and sat on the spindly seat.

  Galla gritted her teeth and threw her hands up. “We’re here to talk about me. Me. You can judge Julia’s life and her accommodations later.”

  “Huh,” the Queen grumbled as she settled her skirts around her. “Obviously wine and refreshments aren’t going to be served in this place either. Might as well carry on.”

  Galla turned and pegged Julia with a determined icy blue stare. “Julia, we’re here because that asshole Vandal king has demanded that I be given to him as tribute.”

  Julia sucked in a sharp breath and sat down heavily on the bed. “Tribute? What…?” she choked.

  “Right? It’s ridiculous.”

  “B…but that doesn’t make any sense,” she sputtered. The terrifying grey-skinned creatures from beyond who called themselves Vandals were, at least for now, keeping to themselves in their tent city. She hadn’t heard much out of them since they’d arrived and massacred the Goths. In reality, she barely knew anything about the mysterious creatures. “Those beasts understand diplomacy? I thought they were more animal than men and they’d eventually migrate elsewhere.”

  The Queen pursed her lips. “That’s what we’d all hoped, that they’d winter here and move on. But they’re smarter and richer than any of us thought. There’s less than two hundred of them out there, but they have the fighting ability of an army of five thousand. And they’ve learned to speak our language, yet no one can understand theirs because it’s nothing but grunts and snarls.”

  Julia blinked. Grunts and snarls?

  The Queen’s eyes narrowed to two hard flints of blue ice. “Those creatures are making themselves at home here. They’re rebuilding the palace and planning on moving in. And they have a king who’s going around the city, tossing gold to bureaucrats like its candy. All he has to do is snap his terrible claws and those idiots run to do his bidding.”

  “Yes, yes, all of this is awful. But Julia,” Galla said, “this disgusting King of the Vandals wants to breed me!”

  Julia’s mouth dropped open. Her mind flashed to the curved horns, the fangs, claws and the enormous battle-beasts they shifted into. “Breed you? Are you sure that’s possible? I mean, how can a woman survive something like that?”

  “Oh, the Vandals can have sex with us.” Queen Sonja acknowledged. “Didn’t you know that? This is what happens when you hide yourself in a convent, dear. Life passes you by. Meanwhile, those creatures are out there, getting our women pregnant. They don’t have any of their own females with them, so they’re using us to have children. The King of the Vandals expects to beget an heir off my daughter in order to solidify his hold on the city.”

  “Oh no,” Julia whispered. This was bad. Really bad.

  Horde after horde of barbarians had recently stormed through the empire, each successive wave of heathens weakening their defenses until it came to this…the capital of the Western Empire sacked three weeks ago by an army of Goths. Her father and brother had died bravely on the battlefield defending the city against overwhelming odds, and afterwards the Goths had raced inside the walls—raping, pillaging, and lighting whatever they could on fire.

  Three days later, the Vandals had suddenly arrived on the plain, almost two hundred battle-beasts strong. A ridiculously small force in comparison to the Goths, but they’d slaughtered the vicious barbarians in a short but bloody battle, taking the city for themselves. This turn of events had stunned everyone. The Vandals had killed the Goths? Literally, no one had seen this coming. They were all grateful to the beasts for showing up unannounced and tearing the Goths limb from limb, of course they were. But now everyone was instead wary of the Vandals because they hadn’t left yet and Yorma remained under the control of creatures who’d arrived here from beyond the stars. The Western Empire had been weakened by barbarians to the point where creatures who weren’t even men had been able to take this prize for themselves.

  Her head was still spinning from all the details.

  “Oh yes,” her sister gritted. “And get this…that…that creature has specifically asked for the ‘virginal Princess Galla,’” she said, using air quotes. “And he wants me left and offered as sacrifice to him on that stupid Pagan altar up in the mountains. It’s so ridiculous. He’s a beast, a dim-witted monster, how does he even know who I am?”

  Julia blinked. This was getting stranger and stranger. “Wait, virgin sacrifice is still a thing? That hasn’t happened for over a hundred years.”

  “Apparently it still is,” the Queen growled. “And we don’t have a real mayor anymore. The acting mayor is a weak pissant afraid of his own shadow. He caved to the creature’s demands in less than an hour, only as long as it took for him to write a reply and send it off with a messenger. He gave away the life of my daughter without a second thought.”

  “And for a large sum of gold,” Galla snorted.

  A muscle ticked along Sonja’s jaw. “That too.”

  Julia shook her head, completely confused. “How can this be? Everyone knows that you’re not a…”

  Galla stood up and began pacing the cell. “Of course I’m not a virgin. It’s not like it’s a secret. That’s how stupid this Vandal is! And what was the mayor thinking? He’s giving me up as the sacrificial virgin and yet it’s common knowledge that I gave my virginity away years ago to Serius, or was it to that gladiator? I don’t know. I can’t remember, it’s a blur. But if that Vandal finds out he’s not fucking a virgin and making her bleed, I’ll be banished.”

  “Banished?” Julia breathed. “Oh come on, no one does that anymore. Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.” Galla stopped and turned to look at her. “The Vandals banished Noeme last week.”

  “Noeme?” Julia squeaked. “They banished Noeme?” Even Julia, living in a convent, knew the vivacious daughter of the head of the Emperor’s Guard. Noeme’s popularity and party-girl notoriety were legendary.

  “Yes, she’s gone. She’d been demanded as virgin sacrifice to one of those beasts. Apparently, he’d seen her in the city streets, noted her beauty and wanted her as his own. He ravaged her on the altar and discovered she wasn’t
a virgin and…she was banished. Noeme’s dead, out in the wild lands.”

  Julia swallowed hard. Witty, charming Noeme was…dead? Discarded like trash, just because she wasn’t a virgin for her husband?

  Galla fisted the fabric of her gown. “If a maiden isn’t a virgin during the Vandal’s sacrificial ceremony she’s banished. Julia, this means they’ll lock me out of the city, and I’ll die in the forest, eaten by wolves. Do you hear me? I’ll die.”

  Julia clenched her trembling hands in her lap. “That’s terrible Galla.” No matter how much she disliked her half-sister she still had no wish to see her dead. There’d already been enough death and destruction in their lives, there was no need for more. “I wish there was something I could do,” she answered with all the truth in her heart.

  Galla sat next to her and met her gaze with red-rimmed eyes. “Actually, that’s why we’re here. I need your help.”

  “But I can’t help,” Julia admitted. “I’m no use whatsoever in this situation. I live in a convent. I’ve no power or wealth.”

  “Actually, you’re my only hope. You…you can go in my place. You can go through with the virgin sacrifice, pretending to be me.”

  “What?”

  “Yes. Mother and I are here because we want you to do this sacrifice instead of me. And why not? You’ll see, it’s a perfect idea.”

  “I…I don’t understand.” Julia glanced over at the Queen who was sitting curiously still, her face devoid of expression.

  “This is how it will work…I’m not a virgin, but you obviously are a virgin,” Galla explained, “a virgin who’s rotting away here in a convent without any male relatives left to pluck you from obscurity and arrange an advantageous marriage. Father is dead and so is Arcadia. What are we to do without them to protect us? We need to think of how we’re going to survive without their help. We have to somehow save this city ourselves.”

  “Nooo.” Julia shook her head. A sour taste settled in her mouth as horrific images flashed through her mind of those hideous creatures in beast form. The sharp fangs, the black horns on their heads and the red-tipped ridges along their spines. The Vandals routinely sliced open the guts of their enemies, letting their organs spill to the ground in a wash of blood. “This isn’t a good idea. That beast will hurt whoever he weds, virgin or not.”

  “Listen, I know it sounds scary, like I’m leading you to your death. But I have a plan. I really think if you go to him instead of me it won’t be that bad. If I married him, I would immediately be found not virginal and banished and left to die. But Julia, if you go in my place you’ll literally be the virgin he was requesting and the worst that will happen is he’ll rut you every day, twice a day.” She shrugged. “You need to be fucked anyway. Your scheme to hide out here and never marry was always stupid.”

  “Galla,” Sonja gasped. “You’re being rude.”

  Galla’s eyes flashed and her lips thinned. “It’s the truth, Mother. If I go, that creature will fuck me and discover I’m not a virgin and I’ll be thrown to the wolves. Look at Julia. No really. Look. At. Her. She’s a heathen’s sexual fantasy. She’s not delicate like I am, her hips are wider, her bones thicker. She’s got those huge, messy breasts. She can handle that monster’s lust better than I could. If he ravishes her, he’ll want to keep her. It makes sense for Julia to go in my stead. Besides, it will be for a short while.” Galla grabbed Julia’s clammy hand and looked into her eyes. “Julia, listen to me, Mother and I will immediately set sail to Constantinople and beg for help from Emperor Theodosius. He will not stand for this insurrection. The capital of the Western Empire cannot be ruled by creatures who fell out of the sky and aren’t even men, this isn’t right. God knows what they’ll do to us. The Eastern Empire will help by sending an army to decimate the Vandals and retake Yorma. You’ll be free. You’ll only have to deceive the Vandal king and put up with his disgusting touch for a short while. We just need you to distract him for a few weeks.”

  “This won’t work. He’ll find out I’m not you. We aren’t twins.” It didn’t matter which sister was given to that beast, the result would be the same. Death. Neither of them was safe in this situation. She couldn’t tell Galla or Sonja the real reason she was living in this convent, but it definitely meant she was the worst possible candidate for this mission. It wasn’t safe for her to be out in public, let alone pretending to be a Princess.

  “I leave tonight by ship,” Galla announced, like her crazy plan was a done deal. “The weather is kind this spring and I’m certain we’ll return in a matter of weeks. The Vandals have never seen me. We both have blond hair although yours is darker than mine, we’re near the same age, we’re both beautiful. Those idiots won’t notice. Our people will never give you away. They’ll be happy to help deceive those monsters so that Mother and I can go for help.”

  “What if she becomes pregnant?” Sonja whispered.

  Ice ran down Julia’s spine. “Pregnant?”

  The three of them sat quiet for a moment, digesting that sobering thought.

  Julia met Sonja’s gaze, wondering why this woman was pretending to care. Julia was the daughter of the Emperor and his favored mistress. It was said that Honorious and Julia’s mother, Helena, whom he’d met soon after his arranged marriage to Queen Sonja, had been in love. Sonja, a new wife and mother to Galla, had known her husband spent most of his time elsewhere, in love with another woman, and that everyone in the court knew it too. Julia’s mother had died in childbirth and Honorious had insisted that Julia not be sent away, but kept near him in the palace. Sonja must’ve put her foot down, creating boundaries because Julia had been raised nearby, but separate from her half-brother and sister, not part of the acknowledged family. Her father had loved Julia in his own way, but Queen Sonja had merely tolerated her with bland indifference, as if she didn’t exist.

  But Sonja wasn’t indifferent, now, was she? Now they needed her.

  Julia bit her lip, trying not to cry. This was a suicide mission.

  These two women needed someone to distract the beast for a few weeks, not a mole who would bring more chaos.

  Galla shrugged and lifted her chin. “It matters not if Julia becomes heavy with his spawn,” she answered. “After we return she can leave him and live with us after Theodosious retakes the city and kills the Vandals. Julia can either birth the creature and ship it back to its father if that beast is still alive, or….abort it.”

  Julia’s hand went to her throat. “Galla,” she gasped. “I’d never give up my child.”

  Galla snorted. “You’re so naïve. In the Eastern Empire all the women of the court have at least one bastard they never see. Besides it won’t be a real baby, it’ll be a disgusting thing with claws and fangs, basically an animal. Believe me, you’ll be happy to be rid of it.”

  Julia swallowed hard. “Do either of you know any of the women who’ve given birth to their children? A woman who’s lived through their rutting, the labor, and delivered a healthy half-human, half-Vandal baby?”

  Galla and Sonja shared a glance, then Sonja admitted, “No. No, we haven’t actually seen one of their children, or spoken directly to a woman who has had sex with one of them. But this doesn’t mean that it hasn’t happened. There are stories of whores who’ve pleasured them and people say they’ve seen a half-human, half-Vandal child. They call them halflings. And why would the Vandal king ask for Galla if he didn’t truly believe a healthy baby could be born?”

  “Oh god,” Julia breathed.

  “Listen, what I’m asking of you is actually not that hard,” Galla insisted. “All you have to do is spread your legs. Give him simpering smiles and pretend to enjoy his monster cock and meanwhile you’ll be ready to throw open the gates to the city when you receive the message that we’ve returned. Remember, all of the original leaders and soldiers in charge of this city are either dead or have fled for Milan. Citizens are packing up and leaving because they fear living under Vandal rule. Only the weak-minded men, the elderly, and the women and children are left to rebuild. The three of us are the last ones of our own line still here. The women in this city have to step up and save themselves from these creatures. I’ll be the one making sail tonight to bring back an army. Stop acting like your part in this is difficult. While you’ve been here hiding behind the walls of your quiet convent, the people of this city have been out there—dying! It’s time for you to put down your stupid quill and act.”