The Vampire Prince (The Vampire Wish Book 2)

by Michelle Madow

  “And when none of them claim me?” I challenged, since none of them would.

  “One of them will claim you,” Laila insisted. “A vampire never forgets the faces of those they’ve sired.”

  “Except that none of the five originals that you know were my sire.” At least, amongst all of the lies, that was the truth.

  “We’ll see about that,” Laila said. “In the meantime, the guards will escort you to your rooms.”

  “Perfect.” I nodded. “I’ll prepare for the parade this afternoon.”

  “You will not be presented in the parade,” Laila said sharply. “Nor will you attend the ball tonight. You’ll be confined to your quarters until this matter is sorted.”

  “Why not?” I asked. “I received an invitation.”

  With that, I whipped out a copy of the invitation. It had, of course, been created by Geneva—an apparently perfect rendition of the ones Laila had sent to the other five kingdoms.

  “Where did you get that?” The vampire queen sat forward and narrowed her eyes, her entire body prickling. “Bring it here.”

  I did as she commanded, clasping my hands in front of me as she took the invitation and examined it.

  Now that I was closer to her, I was even more aware of Jacen’s presence—of his eyes studying me from where he sat on his throne. But I refused to look at him. Not now.

  I was scared of what he might see in my eyes—the anger, or worse, the desire. Either way, it would put me in hot water. It was better for now to turn my gaze to the floor and play the role of the humble princess.

  “You didn’t answer my question, girl.” Laila waved the paper in front of my face. “Where did you get this invitation?”

  “It was delivered to the Seventh Kingdom,” I said, looking up at her in what I hoped was complete innocence. “Our leader gave it to me after choosing me to attend the selection, as proof that I am who I say.”

  She just stared at me, her expression hard, as if she could unravel the truth with her eyes.

  I only met her gaze for a second before lowering mine. Today was the first day I’d ever been so close to the vampire queen, and it amazed me how intimidating she was despite her small stature. I knew that she’d been around twenty when she was turned, but she was a young-looking twenty—the type that could have easily passed for fifteen. It was like seeing a child on the throne. The only hints that she was far older than she looked were her eyes and the expressions she made. The combination of that and her youthful appearance made her all the scarier.

  Especially since she was glaring at me as if she wanted to stake me on the spot.

  “Princess Ana will be presented in the parade,” a familiar voice boomed from next to Laila—Jacen. “And she’ll also attend the ball tonight.”

  I looked up at him, shocked. Despite being a prince, Jacen didn’t have authority here—that was all Laila. Yet, he’d spoken on my behalf. Why? What could his motives be?

  As I searched his face, I saw nothing that gave me any clue. He was hard. Regal. The perfect picture of a cold, unfeeling vampire prince.

  Why had I thought he’d felt any real emotions for me back when he’d known me as Annika? I’d obviously let my imagination and desires run away with me.

  However, I quickly got a hold of myself, realizing that he was waiting for a reaction to his proclamation. “Thank you, Your Highness,” I said shakily, lowering myself into another curtsy.

  When all else failed, at least I could resort to proper etiquette.

  “No need to thank me,” he said, his eyes still as cold and unfeeling as ever. “Unless your claim is proven false, you have just as much of a right as the other princesses to take part in my selection. Now,” he continued, gazing out to the crowd. “We need to prepare for the parade, so you’re all dismissed. After all, I’m sure the rest of the kingdom is eager to get a look at the princesses who have traversed the globe to seek my hand.”

  He stood up and strode past me and the other princesses, not looking back at us once.

  Jacen

  Laila and I shared the front carriage for the parade. My brothers and sisters were in the carriage behind us, followed by the princesses from each kingdom. The princesses were two to a carriage, and each carriage had been decorated in the colors of their kingdom.

  The only princess who rode alone was Ana. She was in a plain carriage in the back that had been tacked on at the last minute to accommodate her presence.

  I wasn’t sure if I believed her claim that she was from the Seventh Kingdom. In fact, I seriously doubted it. Laila knew more about the vampire kingdoms than any other vampire in the Vale, and if she believed the Seventh Kingdom was a myth, I suspected she was correct.

  But there was something about Ana that I couldn’t put my finger on… something that had urged me to go against Laila’s wishes and insist that Ana was included in the ceremonies. Her mannerisms—the way she tilted her head, the way she lowered her eyes, the way she pressed her lips together when she was nervous—they were so much like Annika’s.

  It was a ridiculous notion, since Annika was dead, but the way the vampire princess reminded me of her had pulled at my heart and urged me to let her stay.

  I knew that if I gave the command at court, in front of all of the other vampires and princesses from the other kingdoms, Laila would have too much dignity to argue. It had been a risky move. But it had been one I’d been compelled to take. After all, this was my selection. And Laila had wanted me to make this alliance. Yes, I’d agreed, but I would decide who stayed and who left—not her.

  “Why did you insist that Princess Ana participate in the selection?” Laila only waited seconds until after we’d situated ourselves in our carriage to ask.

  We proceeded down the path, heading toward town. The vampires who lived there would be waiting to see the procession. From there we would continue all the way to the human village, so the humans could feel like they were part of the celebration as well. I’d had an extra cup of blood this morning to prepare to be surrounded by all of them.

  “Ana is a vampire princess,” I said simply, purposefully sounding as neutral as possible about the topic. “She had an invitation. Why shouldn’t she stay?”

  “Because she’s claiming she’s from a kingdom that doesn’t exist,” Laila hissed. “Her claim was preposterous. She should have been thrown out of the Vale immediately for expecting us to believe such a ridiculous tale.”

  “How do you know that the Seventh Kingdom doesn’t exist?” I asked.

  The carriage gave a small tug as it went around the bend in the road that led to town. There, vampires surrounded the streets, cheering and waving as the carriages approached. The trumpeters who marched ahead of us started playing, and the crowd cheered louder. The way that they reached out into the streets made it seem like they were worshipping us.

  “Because it’s a myth.” Laila smiled at the surrounding crowd, fixing her hair in front of her shoulders. Her serene expression gave away none of the irritation that I heard in her tone.

  “Until a year ago, I thought that vampires, werewolves, and witches were myths,” I pointed out. “Yet, here I am.” I glanced out at the crowd, acknowledging them with an occasional nod. A few of them screamed out their support, saying that they loved the queen, myself, or my vampire “siblings.”

  The vampires had donned their finest jackets—leathers and furs—for the occasion. Some of them pointed to the carriages behind us—I imagined they were sizing up the princesses and sharing their opinions with one another.

  “Then perhaps I should put this in a way that a human would understand.” Laila elongated the word “human,” making her distaste of the race clear. “A vampire claiming to be from the Seventh Kingdom is like a human claiming to be from Atlantis. It’s impossible.”

  “There are some that say Atlantis exists,” I reminded her. “And wouldn’t we be throwing away a fantastic opportunity if we kicked Princess Ana out without trying to get as much information from her
as possible?”

  “The only information we can get from her is proof that she’s lying.” Laila’s eyes were hard despite her smiles at the onlookers we passed.

  “Perhaps,” I mused. “And if you find proof of that, then you’re welcome to do what you want with the false princess.”

  “I would feed her to the wolves for daring to lie to the royals of the Vale,” she said. “But doing so would anger her sire and potentially cause war with whatever kingdom she truly hails from, so permanent exile from the Vale will have to suffice. And if she isn’t acting alone and was sent here on behalf of her sire… well I’ll deal with that if it comes to it. But if whatever kingdom she’s from is attempting to trick us, they’ve certainly lost all chances at forming a possible alliance with us.”

  “If she’s found to be lying, then I agree that’s the appropriate punishment,” I said. “In the meantime, I want to learn more about her and the Seventh Kingdom. If it does exist, they could be a strong alliance.”

  They could also be the key to taking down the Vale, I thought, since beyond her habits that reminded me slightly of Annika, that had been my logic for keeping Princess Ana here. It would have been foolish to exile someone who could potentially help my cause—especially someone so daring to have claimed to be from a kingdom that most vampires regarded as a myth.

  “The Seventh Kingdom doesn’t exist,” Laila repeated, and then she laughed her bright, tinkling laugh, appearing as confident as ever. To the vampires surrounding us, she must have looked as if she were enjoying every second of the parade. Someone even threw a flower at her feet, and she picked it up, making a show of smelling it and enjoying the scent.

  “Until you prove the princess a liar, I would like to continue as if she’s telling us the truth,” I said.

  “Your blind trust shows your youth,” Laila said, still holding the flower to her nose and smiling. “I recommend you not get close to her, as she will not be eligible to become a princess of the Vale once she’s found to be lying. However, the girl is no threat to us. I’ll even admit that it’s likely that the vampires and humans will find her intriguing.”

  “Keeping their attention focused on the celebrations is exactly what we want,” I said, since with the recent attacks from the wolves, we needed all the distractions we could get right now. The citizens of the Vale had been assured that the boundary had been strengthened since the attacks, but the entertainment provided by my search for a bride would keep any potential worry at bay.

  “That it is,” Laila agreed. “But make no mistake—I will get to the bottom of who Princess Ana truly is. And her sire have better not have had a part in this deception, or else they’ll soon see the true strength of the Vale, and they’ll regret ever trying to play us for fools.”

  She stared forward, the anger in her eyes hidden as she smiled and waved at the crowd.

  Jacen

  The procession continued through the vampire town, and soon we were approaching the start of the human village. I recognized the differences immediately. Stone houses turned to flimsy wood, paved streets turned to broken cobblestones, and everything in general was more run down and ramshackle. It was like entering a slum—minus any worries of danger.

  Humans lined the streets, dressed in their threadbare, patched up clothing. Most of them were so thin that their eyes bulged, and you could see the shapes of their bones under their skin. They didn’t cheer and scream of their love for us like the vampires had. They simply watched us with their sallow eyes, moving around as little as possible. They were clearly attending the parade due to obligation and not due to want. The trumpeters continued to play, but the music failed to bring out enthusiasm in the miserable-looking humans.

  I’d been able to smell their blood from the start of our procession, but now that the sweet aroma surrounded me, venom filled my mouth and my fangs throbbed with an urge to slide past my gums.

  The humans were all so weak—so helpless. It would be so easy to rush to the closest one, sink my fangs into their soft neck, and satiate my thirst until my body was bloated with their blood.

  But I forced myself to stare ahead, taking shallower breaths to reign in control. I wasn’t actually thirsty—I was just tempted. Like a human who’d just had a full meal of tofu salad with no dressing and was then presented with a juicy cheeseburger and French fries.

  I could beat this temptation. I needed to beat this temptation. Because vampires of the Vale were only allowed to drink from the veins of the prisoners in the dungeons—and even then, we were only permitted to drink to the death on extremely rare occasions. As a prince, I could drink from the prisoners whenever I desired, but I resisted the urge and drank refrigerated blood instead. I feared that indulging would only make me more tempted to drink the human dry.

  The humans who surrounded us—the ones who lived in the village and weren’t prisoners in the dungeons—were necessary to the ecosystem of the Vale. Not only did they do the menial labor that kept our kingdom running, but their donated blood provided us our daily rations. Any vampire of the Vale who lost control of their bloodlust and attacked a human who lived in the village was staked in the heart for breaking the law, no questions asked. Without order and rules, the kingdom wouldn’t be able to thrive.

  I’d been lucky to receive a second chance after the bloodbath I’d ravaged upon the village after being turned. Queen Laila had blamed the attack on another vampire, and she’d had him staked in my place. But I wouldn’t be permitted such an allowance again. If I lost control now—or ever—I would be killed. And while it was tempting to have my torture put to rest with my soul, I now had a higher calling to live for with my desire to overturn the Vale.

  I would not give in. I would not give up.

  I would bring justice to all of us who’d been wronged by the Vale.

  Suddenly, someone screamed from behind.

  The sweet scent of exposed blood assaulted my senses, and my fangs descended before I could turn around.

  One of the princesses had jumped out of her carriages and was feasting upon a human. Her long, dark hair made me instantly recognize her as one of the South American princesses from the Tower. But with her face buried in the human’s neck, I couldn’t tell which of the two princesses she was.

  All of the carriages halted in their procession, and the guards were on the scene in seconds. They pulled the princess off the human. One of the guards brought the human away—likely to the infirmary—and two others marched the princess toward me.

  Now that she was facing me, I recognized her as Daniela. Her face was smeared with blood, and her tongue flicked out as she licked what she could of the remaining blood from her lips. A guard held onto each of her arms, and she squirmed, but her attempts at escape were futile.

  She glared at me and hissed, somehow managing to look feral and beautiful all at the same time.

  I imagined that’s what I’d been like when I’d lost control after being turned.

  Except that unlike Daniela, I hadn’t had guards nearby to stop me from killing.

  “What should we do with her, Your Highness?” one of the guards asked me.

  In normal circumstances, a vampire of the Vale would have been staked for such behavior. But since Daniela was a princess and a guest, this was hardly a normal circumstance.

  Staking a princess would mean war with her kingdom.

  So he’d asked me—of course he’d asked me. After all, the princesses were here for me. I was the one who would decide upon their fates.

  I swallowed down my bloodlust and forced my fangs back up into my gums. As prince of the Vale, it would be extraordinarily un-royal of me to appear as if I didn’t have full control over my thirst.

  “Dose her with wormwood to ensure she harms no one else and send her home,” I instructed, since it was the only option that made sense. Then I raised my voice, wanting everyone to hear what I said next. “Give the injured human meats and cheeses as an apology for what has happened. Attacking humans might be pe
rmitted in the Tower, but here it’s illegal. In the Vale, we protect our citizens. Anyone who cannot abide by our laws is not fit to be our princess.”

  I sat back, signaling that I was finished, and the guards took Daniela away.

  “That was the correct decision.” Laila nodded in approval, speaking softly to me so she wouldn’t be heard over the chatting crowd. “It was exactly what I would have done.”

  “It was the only choice,” I agreed, and then I hopped out of my carriage, walking toward the carriage for the Tower.

  The other princess—Isabella—remained in her seat. She sat perfectly straight, her long hair cascading over her breasts, which were pushed up and swollen in her tight dress. It was impossible not to stare, but I forced my gaze to meet hers.

  She watched me steadily, her eyes glinting with challenge. Challenge for what, I wasn’t sure. From what I’d learned about her, she’d only been turned two years ago, making her one of the youngest vampires here. Perhaps she thought I was going to eliminate her as well?

  Truth be told, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do. But all eyes were on us, so I needed to say something.

  “Princess Isabella,” I addressed her with a small nod.

  “Your Highness,” she answered in return.

  “I understand that the Tower permits its vampires to feed from humans at their will,” I started. “So it’s understandable that Princess Daniela has not mastered control over her bloodlust.” I paused for dramatics, took a deep breath, and continued. “It’s my job as prince of the Vale to ensure that our human citizens remain unharmed. After your sister’s display, I must ask you—do you believe you have the willpower to control your bloodlust?”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but I interrupted her before she could speak.

  “If you don’t trust your control, please don’t be ashamed to admit it,” I said. “Better to know now than to put more of my citizens at risk.”