Curses and Crowns (Vampires of Crescent Cape Book 1)
Page 1
Curses and Crowns
Vampires of Crescent Cape
Book 1
L. Danvers
Cover Design by Melody Simmons
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
CURSES AND CROWNS
First edition. January 4, 2019.
Copyright © 2019 L. Danvers.
Written by L. Danvers.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
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Danielle
Aiden
Julian
Danielle
Danielle
Julian
Danielle
Aiden
Aiden
Danielle
Danielle
Danielle
Julian
Aiden
Aiden
Aiden
Danielle
Aiden
Danielle
Aiden
Julian
Aiden
Danielle
Danielle
Aiden
Danielle
Danielle
Julian
Aiden
Danielle
Aiden
Danielle
Julian
Julian
Aiden
Bianca
Julian
Danielle
Bianca
Danielle
Aiden
Danielle
Aiden
Danielle
Julian
Aiden
Danielle
Aiden
Julian
Danielle
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Danielle
At this rate, the vampire was going to drain me dry. Knees buckling, I dug my fingers into his arms, burying my nails deep into his flesh, trying to fight him off. I pleaded for him to stop.
Tears raced down my cheeks, trickling down my neck. It was still raw from the puncture wounds, and the salt intensified the pain, sending me into a fit of agony. But my pounding heart only thrilled him more, delivering what little blood I had left running through my veins to his mouth even faster. “You’re taking too much.”
His fangs suctioned harder. He was going to kill me if he didn’t stop.
Part of me wished he would.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. But I didn’t have the strength to push him away. My ears filled with the sound of him gulping, and with each long sip, I grew weaker.
I didn’t know how much longer I could last. I tried steadying myself as the room began to spin. Everything went off-kilter, and the colors surrounding me swirled together in a mesmerizing blur. “Please,” I said, my voice cracking.
But he didn’t slow down. And the more he drank, the harder it became to breathe.
“Hey,” one of the guards overseeing the blood donation tent shouted as he stormed toward us. “Levi! Stop! You’re going to kill her. You know the rule: no killing the blood slaves.”
But Levi was consumed by bloodlust, unable to stop himself.
Self-control wasn’t one of vampires’ strong points.
The guard ripped Levi off of me. Levi’s neck gave a crack as the guard snapped it, temporarily knocking him out, and he crashed to the floor.
I collapsed right on top of him. My vision faded in and out. I knew I wouldn’t actually die, though. This wasn’t the first time a vampire had gotten greedy.
The guard bit into his right wrist. When the blood began to flow from it, he turned me over on my back and forced his wrist into my mouth. “Drink.”
My lips felt like they were going to go numb. It was like pressing them against an ice cube. Even though I didn’t want to, I swallowed, gagging, disgusted by the bitter taste. His blood ran slow, as all vampires’ did. Meaning I had to try with all my might to suction it out and force it down my throat.
I wish I’d had the strength to fight him off so that I could just die already, but I’d been through this routine countless times. It wasn’t worth the fight. I was the Kingdom of Crescent Cape’s property. And I’d given up fighting years ago.
I’d lost count of how many times I’d thought that if I could find the courage to refuse the vampire blood that would heal me, this would all be over. I could be at peace. But that wasn’t an option. The vampires needed me and the rest of the blood slaves alive. We were their food source. And if they wanted to live, then we needed to live, too. Which is why Levi had gotten in trouble for nearly killing me, and why the guard was saving me now.
After giving me enough of his blood to trigger the healing process, the guard pulled his wrist away. The bite marks on his wrist disappeared as his skin restored itself right before my eyes. I’d never get used to that. It was so... unnatural.
He helped me to my feet and told me to return home, even though Donation Day was far from over. But I was of no use to them now that I had vampire blood in my system. So they’d have to do without me until next week’s donation.
I nodded, clutching my torso as I accepted his order. The thought of having vampire blood pumping through my veins made my stomach churn. I knew I’d spend the next twenty-four hours praying to stay alive. Otherwise, I’d become like the monsters that ruled over me.
But once twenty-four hours passed, I’d be safe.
The vampire blood would be out of my system, and I’d be free from its effects—and the curse I would bear if I were to die with it inside of me.
I hated these vile creatures. They’d taken everything from me. The last thing I wanted to do was to become one. So, doing as the guard had instructed, I returned to my home—if the rickety huts they supplied us with could be called such a thing.
The hut that I shared with my roommate Tessa was empty since she was still offering up her blood to the vampires. Meanwhile, I was in desperate need of nourishment. The guard’s blood had healed me, but I was still starving. The weekly post-donation feast wasn’t until later this evening, so stale bread and cheese would have to do for now. I cracked open a loaf and spread a sliver of Brie on top of it, not bothering to remove the rind. I needed every calorie I could get my hands on.
While I was no stranger to near-death experiences here in Crescent Cape, it occurred to me that Levi nearly killing me could be used to my advantage.
I’d been waiting for my opportunity for so long.
Now that my head had started to clear, it occurred to me that maybe this was my chance.
Even though I knew no one was around, I scanned the room to be extra sure. I couldn’t risk anyone seeing what I was about to do.
I made my way over to the nightstand that Tucker, another villager, had crafted for me. I pulled open the drawer and retrieved my book. I thumbed through the worn pages, passing over the one I’d bookmarked. Seeing the bookmark, a scrap of paper I’d drawn all over, brought a smile to my face, and I chuckled to myself. Vampires might be bloodsuckers, but people who folded the corners of books were monsters, too, as far as I was concerned. I may not have had much here in this little hut, but you’d better believe I’d made myself a bookmark.
I kept flipping through the book until I found it: the envelope I’d tucked in toward the back.
I breathed a sigh of relief. The money was still there.
I’d been tuckin
g cash away for some time now. I had to get the hell out of Crescent Cape and back to my family. The vampire who’d kidnapped me must have compelled me to forget how exactly I ended up here. The last memory I had from my old life was vacationing with my family on the East Coast. And the next thing I knew, I was a blood slave.
I was only eight years old when the vampire took me. Now, ten years later, I was no longer that frightened little girl. I wasn’t going to accept the notion that my only purpose in life was to be convenience food for vampires. It was time to start taking agency over my life. And that was exactly why I was going to leave Crescent Cape for good.
And if I got killed in the process of trying to leave... well, at least, in the end, I would have died standing up for myself. I could be at peace with that.
I folded the cash and tucked it into my bra so that I could carry it, but keep it hidden. I thought about walking out right then and there, but there was something I needed to do first.
I needed to say goodbye to Tessa.
Of course, I couldn’t do that face to face. I couldn’t let her know what I was doing, at least not without getting a head start first.
I would have loved nothing more than to bring Tessa with me. But I knew her well enough to know she would be too scared to attempt such a dangerous thing. Trying to escape had dire consequences. If the vampires were to catch me, I’d suffer the same fate as so many had before me: I’d be drawn and quartered in the village square.
Yeah. The vampires that ruled Crescent Cape were old-fashioned like that.
I wouldn’t even have time to start transitioning into a vampire if they caught me in the next twenty-four hours. I couldn’t transition if I were ripped to shreds.
Not that I’d go through with feeding to complete the transition anyway. There was nothing that would ever convince me to become one of them.
I sat down at the tiny table in the corner and wrote Tessa a letter explaining what I was doing and saying goodbye. I also left her my parents’ names and address so that, if I didn’t make it and she ever managed to leave this wretched place, she could tell them I tried getting back to them and that I loved them.
On the back side, I sketched a portrait of Tessa.
She’d always loved my artwork, and this was my parting gift to her. Something she could remember me by. I took care to capture her sweet smile and the little bump in her nose. But I took a little liberty with her eyes to make her appear more confident. I hoped she would understand that in doing so, I was trying to remind her to be brave.
Deep, unrecognizable voices rumbled outside, growing louder by the second.
Before I had a chance to peek out the window, someone banged on my door.
Knowing that definitely wasn’t Tessa’s knock, I snatched the paper from the table and crumpled it in my fist before tossing it into the trash on my way to the door. Heart pounding, I answered it.
Two of the vampires from the castle invited themselves in. They wore fine suits, as did all of the guards. After all, they didn’t need armor or weapons. They were weapons.
I gulped. “Can I help you with something?”
“Prince Aiden requires your presence at the castle,” the taller one said, as if that was a perfectly normal thing to say. He clasped his hands and widened his stance, somehow making himself look even more menacing.
“Prince Aiden?” My voice hitched. That was strange. What would the prince want with me? As far as I knew, he didn’t even know I existed—which was exactly how I liked it.
He nodded.
I backed away, even though I knew there was nowhere to run.
Did Prince Aiden somehow know I was going to try to escape? I mean, I knew vampires had the power of compulsion. But reading minds? Surely, I would have heard about such a vital piece of information by now...
“I didn’t do anything,” I said, tripping over my own feet as I inched backward. “I swear.”
I’d hardly blinked before he grabbed me by the arms. He took my face, cradling it in his icy palms, and I knew what he was about to do.
I closed my eyes, trying to stop him from compelling me.
But the other one jabbed me in the back so hard that stupidly, out of instinct, I opened my eyes when I cried out in pain.
The guard standing before me looked at me dead-on, his eyes widening as he wielded control. He said something to me, but my head went fuzzy.
All of a sudden, I stood there, relaxed and perfectly at ease. I raised my chin, smiling. “I will go with you to the castle to meet Prince Aiden.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, Danielle.”
And I followed him outside.
Aiden
I folded the corner of the page I was on and set my book aside. I’d read this one three times before anyway, and the noise was making it hard to concentrate. I should have learned by now that it was no use trying to read during the weekly feast that followed the blood donations.
The bustling sounds of the village grew louder as the night went on. After a day full of being drained, the blood slaves were provided with food so that they could be nourished and restored to full health. And, naturally, along with the feast came partying.
Through my bedroom’s stained-glass window, torchlight flickered in the distance. I could pick out the occasional line of the song the villagers were singing. Every single week, they sang songs from their old lives, reminding them, no doubt, of better times.
That was the beautiful thing about humans. You could take everything away from them—even their blood—but you could never take away their hope.
It was really too bad that it wouldn’t do them any good. My siblings would see to that.
I reached for my chalice and drew a long sip. The artificial blood Freya crafted for me had the consistency of maple syrup, but it went down easier when I drank it from hand-carved crystal. Or so I told myself.
Sometimes I even mixed it with a little wine to take the edge off of the tangy taste.
But there was nothing I could do to make it replace what I really craved: real, fresh blood. Straight from the vein—preferably the neck. Part of me ached for the tantalizing feeling of sinking my fangs into my prey and drinking. But each time the urge crept up, I buried it. While the witch’s concoction would never truly satisfy me, I’d do whatever it took to keep myself from feeding on another human.
For so many years, I’d drank as I’d pleased. We were vampires, I’d told myself. Predators. And I was one of the oldest of them all. I was a skilled hunter, and my bloodlust knew no bounds. I took great pleasure in the thrill of the chase. It was only natural.
After so many years, I’d convinced myself that that made it okay.
But years ago, when on one of my bloodlust rampages, I’d made a terrible mistake: I’d hesitated.
In doing so, I’d felt a sliver of my own humanity. And once I’d felt that, even for the briefest of moments, there was no going back.
I was repulsed by what I’d become.
I downed the last sip of artificial blood when a knock startled me. I glanced back and called for whoever it was to allow themselves in. I was too weary to bother answering it myself. It was probably one of the maidservants anyway.
The gold knob turned, and a familiar figure entered the room. I gasped, unable to contain my surprise.
Alexander, or Xander as he liked to be called these days, had been gone for decades.
My siblings had a knack for disappearing from time to time. As much as it annoyed me, I understood. Even a kingdom could feel like a prison at times—especially over the course of a thousand years.
Unlike them, though, I felt a responsibility to stay. It was what our parents would have wanted. And me staying allowed my siblings to have their little escapes, coming and going as they pleased.
“Brother, what are you doing here?” I said, rising to greet him.
Xander leaned casually against the wooden door frame and stuck his hands in his jean pockets, pushing aside his black leather jacket
to do so. His thin lips curved into his signature devilish smirk. “You didn’t think I’d miss your wedding, did you?”
I knitted my brows, thinking I’d heard him wrong.
Had he just said wedding?
“I beg your pardon?”
He stepped forward, making himself at home by fiddling with the framed portraits on my dresser. He shook his head, silently mocking me. “Don’t you think it’s kind of weird to hold onto these after all this time? Vanessa, Colette, Victoria...” his voice lingered as he held the portrait of the one woman we’d ever fought over—the one woman who had ever chosen me over him.
I cleared my throat, circling the conversation back around. “What is this wedding you were speaking of?”
Xander rubbed his stubbled cheek. “You really don’t know?”
“Do you think I’d be asking if I did?”
“Julian said you were holding a competition.”
I crossed my arms, not liking where this was going. Julian was our older brother, and while, through a long series of events, he had been allowed to serve under me as an advisor, he was often scheming. He resented not being one of the true blood heirs, and he took sick pleasure in making our immortal lives even harder on us. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was a werewolf and that one bite from him would be the end of me, I wouldn’t let him get away with half of the crap he pulled.
“Okay,” I said, waiting for Xander to continue. “And the prize is...?”
“You.” He said it so matter-of-factly, like it was nothing.
“Get married?” I said, pacing in a circle around him. “Get married? Why the hell would Julian think he had the right to arrange a marriage for me? Especially when he knows what happened with Victoria.” I could hardly speak her name without choking up.
Xander covered his mouth, trying to hide his laughter. “Sounds like the mutt’s really screwed you over this time.”
I stopped short. “How many times do I have to ask you to stop calling him that?”
He held his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, don’t get mad at me. I’m not the one who rounded up blood slaves to compete for your hand.”