The Vampire Prince (The Vampire Wish Book 2)

by Michelle Madow

  “I’m glad to see that you’re beginning to care about the future of the Vale,” she said.

  “As much as I hate it, I’m a vampire now,” I said, allowing my true disdain to leak into my voice. After all, there was no point in lying and saying that I was glad to be what I am—Laila would see through that in a second. And weren’t the best lies based on truths? “I wish I could return to being a human, but we both know that’s impossible. The only option is to move forward. And the Vale is my home now. It would do none of us any good to have it overtaken by wolves.”

  “It certainly wouldn’t,” Laila agreed. “And since you asked, there is one kingdom whose allegiance I believe would benefit us the most—the Carpathian Kingdom. It is, like its namesake, located in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania.”

  “And why would they benefit us the most?” I asked.

  “Because like us, the Carpathians have a wolf problem,” Laila began. “But unlike us, they’ve never had peace with the wolves.”

  “They fight the wolves?” I straightened, interested to hear more, Because if they did fight the wolves, I understood why they would be a solid alliance.

  “They don’t need to,” she said. “Their castle is a fortress. Whenever they need to leave, a witch teleports them to their destination. But their hatred of the shifters is as strong—possibly stronger—than ours. If you choose one of their princesses, I have no doubt that the kingdom would rise to our aid. Plus, their king—King Nicolae—has a certain weakness for me.” Her eyes glinted when she spoke the final sentence, and she gave a smug smile. “He would hate to see any harm come to me or the Vale.”

  “So it sounds like an alliance with the Carpathians isn’t necessary,” I said. “If King Nicolae has this weakness for you, surely his interests already lay with the Vale.”

  “There’s no harm in solidifying the alliance further—in making it official,” Laila said. “But yes, that’s a good point. Which leads me to the other solid choice—the Ward.”

  “Where’s the Ward located?” I asked.

  “Western Africa, in the country of Benin,” she said. “The vampires of the Ward are a warrior clan, constantly training for potential threats. The best fighters in the supernatural world live in the Ward.”

  “So it sounds like they’re our best bet,” I said, although I inwardly made a mental note to not to choose a princess of the Ward, as it sounded likely that they would thwart my true agenda. “Perhaps even more so than the Carpathians.”

  “Perhaps,” Laila mused. “But I trust the Carpathians more. The vampires of the Ward can be quite brutal, and while they would be a better choice than some of the other kingdoms, I can’t say for certain that they would fight for our cause. They might, but there’s also the possibility that they would send us their princess and not involve themselves in our plight.”

  “Unless we had something to offer for their help,” I said.

  “Now you’re thinking like a prince.” She smiled.

  I walked over to the counter and opened a bottle of wine—laced with human blood, of course—and poured myself a glass. “Would you like one?” I asked Laila, starting to pour the second glass without waiting for her answer. If anyone else had helped themselves to her wine, she would have been irritated, but being one of her sired princes came with certain perks.

  “Of course.” She pulled her hair over her shoulders, and when I brought the glass over to her, she clinked it with mine. She settled into an armchair, making herself comfortable.

  Once she was seated, I did the same. One of the first things I’d learned in the Vale had been never to sit if the queen was still standing.

  “What about the other kingdoms?” I asked, since I still hadn’t figured out which one Laila wanted me to avoid. I planned on paying extra attention to the princesses of that kingdom—whichever it might be.

  “The Haven would be the least advantageous,” she told me. “They’re the ‘Switzerland’ of the vampire kingdoms—they remain neutral at all costs. They also feed only from animal blood, which makes them weak.”

  “I didn’t know that was possible.” I somehow spoke calmly, despite the rage boiling in my veins at the realization that vampires could survive off of animal blood. No one had bothered to tell me or give me this option. How many humans might I not have killed if the vampires had let me feed on animal blood instead of providing me with humans on a platter?

  I didn’t want to think about it—there was no changing the past—but this new knowledge only intensified my desire for revenge.

  “A vampire who survives on animal blood is only half as strong as a vampire who survives on human blood,” Laila said. “And animal blood never fully satiates. They feel hungry all the time. The only reason why the vampires of the Haven don’t lose themselves to the bloodlust is because they live in an isolated mountain range in India, far enough away from humans that they can’t catch their scent. Once the vampire princesses from the Haven arrive, they will have to feed on human blood. If they don’t, they’ll risk losing their minds to the bloodlust or going on a murder rampage through the village. Clearly, neither of those options are acceptable.”

  “No,” I agreed. “They’re not.”

  At the same time, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to survive on animal blood either. I couldn’t risk weakening myself around others of my species, and an increase of my bloodlust would only put more humans at risk. Better to drink human blood in moderation and maintain my full strength than starve myself on animal blood.

  “There would be, however, one possible benefit to an alliance with the Haven.” Laila sat back in her chair and took a long sip of her wine.

  “Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “What would that be?”

  “The tiger shifters,” she said simply.

  “Those exist?” I lowered my glass, stunned at this revelation. “I thought wolves were the only shifters.”

  “Shifters are an ancient species,” Laila explained. “They evolve from their environment. Wolves are a powerful predator in the Canadian Rockies, thus why we’re surrounded by wolf shifters.”

  “So in India, they have tiger shifters.” I shook my head, still taking this in.

  “Yes,” Laila said. “And tiger shifters are the most powerful known shifter species in existence. They respect the vampires of the Haven for resisting the call of human blood—even going so far as to worshipping them as immortal gods. If you were to marry a princess of the Haven and she came to live in the Vale, the tiger shifters might fight for us. But given that the princess would have to drink human blood to be a princess of the Vale, it’s far more likely that the tiger shifters would forgo their allegiance to her. So I don’t believe an alliance with the Haven would prove beneficial to our cause.”

  “Understandably so,” I said, although I was certainly curious to meet their princesses and learn more about their kingdom from the vampires who lived there themselves. Although, if the Haven wanted neutrality, I doubted they would want to get involved in my quest for revenge. “That leaves us with two more kingdoms, correct?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “Utopia and the Tower.”

  “What should I know about them?”

  “The Tower would be acceptable for an alliance, I suppose,” Laila said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “They’re located in Caracas, Venezuela—right in the middle of the city. They live in a skyscraper… thus why they call their kingdom the Tower.”

  “They haven’t had any clashes with humans?” I couldn’t imagine vampires living so blatantly under mortal noses.

  “Caracas has one of the highest murder rates in the world,” Laila explained. “The majority of the murders are unsolved. Many are due to the vampires of the Tower. They’re a wild bunch—King Devin turns only the most beautiful women he comes across. I’m sure you’ll find the princesses they send quite appealing.”

  “Sounds like it,” I agreed, although when I thought of what I truly found appealing, an image of Ann
ika flashed through my mind. But I forced the thought away—Annika was dead. There was no use in thinking about what I could never have. “But what of the Tower as a potential alliance?”

  “The vampires of the Tower are capable fighters,” she said. “But fighting isn’t their strength.”

  “Oh?” I cocked my head, balancing my wine glass on my knee. “Then what is their strength?”

  “Partying.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sounds entertaining,” I said. “I might have to keep those princesses around to bring some fun to this place.”

  “They’ll be fun… and high maintenance,” Laila said. “The vampires of the Tower only drink blood from the vein. We’ll have to have more humans in stock in the dungeons than normal to keep up with their appetite.”

  I suppressed a shudder. “Hopefully they’ll stay in control of themselves and won’t drain them dry,” I said. “We wouldn’t want them to inconvenience us by lowering our supply of fresh blood.”

  “Agreed,” Laila said. “It’ll be interesting to test the princesses to see how they adapt to the Vale. Whoever you choose should have the ability to easily slip into our way of living.”

  “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” I said, since at least that was one thing Laila and I agreed on—I didn’t want a princess who didn’t have control over her bloodlust to come to live in the Vale. I’d worked too hard this past year to gain control over my own bloodlust, and while it was difficult, I’d been able to do it. I imagined most of these princesses would have been turned before I was. I didn’t imagine I would be able to respect it if one of them hadn’t managed—or hadn’t cared enough—to learn how to control herself. “What about the final kingdom?” I asked. “Utopia?”

  “Barbarians.” Laila scrunched her nose. “You should dismiss them as soon as you’re able.”

  I took a sip of my wine to stop myself from chuckling again. “What makes them barbarians?” I asked coolly.

  “They’re an all female clan,” she said. “They live on an island off the shore of New Zealand.”

  “I could see how that might make them sexually deprived,” I observed. “But not barbarians.”

  “Oh, they’re not deprived.” Laila laughed. “They keep human males on the island for pleasure… and for food, of course. But turning a male is against their laws. A male vampire even being on the island is against their laws. If that law is broken, the vampire is put to death.”

  “So if I were to step onto Utopia, I would be killed?” I asked.

  “Precisely.” She nodded. “They believe that men are inherently violent—and that this natural violence is amplified in male vampires. If we face a threat from the wolves, I hardly think the Utopians would come to our aid. They might even support the wolves, since they likely want to see all of the male vampires in the Vale slain.”

  “Interesting,” I said. “I see the issue there.”

  And I planned on trying to learn more about the Utopians… although I would be on guard as well. It seemed like they would be more trouble than they were worth, since they would likely see myself and all the other male vampires in the Vale as threats.

  “It sounds like the Carpathians are the best bet, then?” I asked, more for Laila’s benefit than mine. After all, it seemed like she thought the Carpathians were our best bet… therefore it would benefit me if she thought I was on the same page.

  “Likely.” She tilted her glass to her lips, finishing the rest of her wine in a single gulp. “I’m glad to hear that you’re taking this seriously. I had my doubts about you at first, but your progress goes to show that my instinct was correct. You’re going to bring the Vale into a new era.”

  “I plan on it.” I raised my glass in a toast and drained it, smiling at the thought that yes, I would be bringing the Vale into a new era.

  Just not the era that Laila intended.

  Camelia

  I threw every pillow off of my bed, desperate to find the missing crystal. I’d been at this for hours—I’d scavenged every inch of my room to the point where it looked like a hurricane had torn through—and had found nothing.

  The crystal was gone.

  Or, more likely, stolen.

  After the rumbling avalanche that had sounded from the Crystal Cavern—and the clouds of dirt that had burst from its mouth—I’d held on hope that somehow the girl had survived. The crystal had told me that she would be the one to retrieve Geneva’s sapphire ring, and the crystal couldn’t have been wrong.

  But I’d waited, and waited, and she hadn’t emerged.

  It had taken a lot of magical energy to transport both myself and the girl to the entry of the cave—transporting a human was exhausting business—so I’d had to wait a few hours before gathering the strength to teleport myself back to the palace. I’d gone straight to my safe to retrieve the piece of the Omniscient Crystal that I’d owned, only to find it missing. And so, I’d ransacked my room, at the same time as I tried to figure out what I was going to tell Laila.

  The queen was going to be furious. Both because she wanted the ring, and because I had let her down.

  But she would be even more furious if I hid this information from her. So I needed to tell her the truth of what had happened. Now.

  I freshened myself up—doing one last look around for the crystal—and walked to Laila’s quarters. I kept my shoulders squared and looked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with the vampires I passed on my way there. Once I arrived, I knocked on the door, standing still as I waited for a response.

  “Come in,” Laila called through the doors.

  I pushed the doors open, finding Laila and Jacen sitting across from each other on the sofas. They both held empty wine glasses in their hands, the bottle open on the coffee table.

  “Apologies for interrupting.” I lowered my head in respect to the queen and prince. “I’ll return at a later time.”

  “No need.” Laila brushed my comment away and placed her empty glass on the table. “Jacen and I were just finishing up.”

  Jacen stood, gave me a brisk nod, and hurried out of the door. I couldn’t help but shudder at the way he’d looked at me—his eyes had been full of hate.

  I assumed it was because of the human girl. Annika.

  Yes, I remembered what he’d said about her after I’d shown him her body. (Well, the body that he and everyone else believed to be hers.) He’d said that he never cared about her and was going to eventually drain her dry himself. But his eyes… they gave away the emotions he refused to voice. He’d cared about the girl.

  Or perhaps he was simply angry with me for killing her first.

  The doors closed behind him, and I set my gaze on Laila, reminding myself why I’d come here.

  “You have news of Geneva?” Laila asked, sounding more eager than ever. The vampire queen rarely showed such emotion. And I understood why—locating Geneva and having control over her ring would bring the Vale more stability than I, or any other witch in existence, could possibly provide. With the threat of the wolves growing outside the kingdom, we needed all of the protection we could get.

  “I do.” I took a deep breath and straightened my skirts, dreading what I had to say next.

  “And?” She motioned to the sofa across from her—where Jacen had been sitting—and looked at me to continue.

  I took the seat, placing myself on the edge of the cushion. I could hardly let myself become comfortable—I needed to prepare for the worst.

  “The girl was unsuccessful in retrieving Geneva’s sapphire ring,” I began, pulling at the sides of my skirt as I spoke.

  “How is that possible?” Laila narrowed her eyes. “The Omniscient Crystal showed you that she was the one who could survive the Crystal Cavern and bring us the ring.”

  “It was only a piece of the Omniscient Crystal,” I began, readying myself to tell her what I’d been trying to convince myself since finding the crystal missing from my quarters. “It’s possible that since it’s not whole, it’s n
ot fully functional.”

  “So you’re telling me that this piece of the Omniscient Crystal—which you promised me would show you the one who could successfully fetch Geneva’s sapphire ring—gave you incorrect information?”

  “Yes.” I hung my head, unable to look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

  Laila took a deep breath, her hands digging into the cushions beside her. “Well, then.” Her voice was stiff, her words more enunciated than usual. “I suppose you’ll have to figure out another solution, won’t you?”

  “Another solution?” I stuttered. “I don’t know how… the sapphire ring was locked inside the Crystal Cavern decades ago. The witches who cast the spell made sure that the items locked inside would be trapped there forever. Those items are said to be of dark magic. Perhaps…”

  “Perhaps what?” Laila glared at me, daring me to continue.

  “Perhaps we should trust that the witches knew what they were doing, and let the artifacts be.”

  “We shall do no such thing!” Laila reached for the glass on the table and flung it against the wall, shattering it into pieces.

  I flinched at the sound, although I did my best to keep my expression neutral, not wanting to bring on more of Laila’s rage.

  “We need that ring,” she continued. “You promised me you could get me that ring. What happened to the girl? Why was she not successful?”

  “The cave collapsed while she was inside,” I said quietly. “There was no way she could have survived.”

  “And the artifacts inside?” Laila asked. “What of them?”

  “I do not know.” I shrugged, wishing I could tell her more. “I tried my best, I’m so, so, sorry.”

  Laila said nothing for a few moments.

  I sat still, unsure what more I could say to make this situation better. In the meantime, I reminded myself that it was best that I came to her now instead of waiting. If I’d waited… who knew how much worse her reaction might have been? The queen never lost her temper like this—at least not in front of me, or anyone I’d ever spoken to.