Aris Rising: The Court of Vampires: AN INFINITY DIARIES NOVEL by Devin Morgan

player, Mark Smeaton. Smeaton was free with his words and opinions and spread court gossip more rapidly than any of the ladies. Anne, it seemed, had trusted him with her worries of holding the King. She had his attention, no doubts, yet so had many before her. Holding him while Katherine was still Queen was her present task. Anne saw me as one who could report to her the goings on in the Queen’s chambers; a spy who could aid her in her quest.
    As she grew more loose of tongue with me, she told me her greatsecret. Her uncle and father saw her as an emissary for their family to ingratiate the Boleyn clan with the King and move them forward in rank. Regardless of her pleas that she was betrothed to marry her one love, Henry Percy, she was treated as chattel. Sent to court to claim the affection of the King, her beauty and wit caught his attention in short notice.
    Suddenly, she was of great import to her family, her words and thoughts no longer taken lightly. I knew from our whispered conversations that she was still a maid, a virgin. She refused to bed the King while he was still married to Queen Katherine. Thus, the King’s Great Matter became the charge of the court; ridding himself of the Queen was his only thought. I watched as Lady Anne grew more thin and nervous as time progressed, yet hold him she did.
    Still, I served Queen Katherine in good spirit. She was a pious and devout Catholic who was kind and generous to her court. The King turned from her, giving his all to winning Lady Anne. I watched the Queen grow solemn and languid, her once thin waist thickening, her only distraction food and the sewing of a great religious tapestry. The King no longer entered her rooms or called for her in his. Many times I found her wiping silent tears as she sewed tiny perfect stitches in the cloth of the wall hanging. All was intrigue and subterfuge. I knew Lady Anne had no true affection for the King, yet my soul ached for her and her unrequited love of Henry Percy. I, too, knew that ache of heart.
    It was at a royal banquet that I first saw him. Tall and powerfully built, he had just entered the room when he turned to catch my eye. His blond curls shown in the light and as he walked through the door, I was reminded of a great, wild cat. Lithe, sensuous, dangerous. Unable to turn away, I felt my cheeks grow crimson. I knew not if it was my blood surging in my veins under his gaze or the heat of the bodies of the courtiers in the closed, crowded room. Lady Anne beckoned for my attention; when I turned back, he was gone. Who was this magnificent man? Inexplicitly, I was drawn to him. I decided to question my cousin,Thomas Wyatt. He knew all at court. Surely Thomas would know who he was.
    Bonnie was breathless as she questioned her friend. “Who was he, Elizabeth?”
    Aris, a royal knight of King Henry who would become the true love of my young life.
    The office was silent for many minutes before Bonnie realized Sarah had returned to real time and had fallen asleep in the recliner. She left her friend to rest as she typed her notes into her laptop before shutting it down. Watching Sarah sleep, she felt a deep, inexplicable melancholy. What would the next session bring? And who was Aris?

CHAPTER 19
    “I t sucks that you’ve got the flu. It won’t seem like New Year’s eve if we aren’t together.” Colleen’s voice sounded like she was speaking into the phone through a barrel.
    Sarah’s ears as well as her nose were plugged and her throat was sore. She croaked as she answered. “I feel the same, but even if I could get out of bed, I wouldn’t want to be around you. I’d hate to give you something as pregnant as you are right now.”
    “Yeah, I know. Do you need anything? Bob’s running some final errands before the party and it would be easy for him to pick up anything you want.”
    “No, I’m doing fine.” Sarah almost told her friend that her ex-parolee was taking care of her, but she didn’t have the energy to