I’d been beating myself up about her death since her corpse had been presented to me earlier this month. Now, I’d found out that not only was she alive, but she’d been here, in the palace—parading around as Princess Ana of the Seventh Kingdom.
I’d noticed that Princess Ana had mannerisms similar to Annika’s, and I’d known there was something familiar about her when I’d kissed her. But I’d thought I was searching for reminders of the girl I’d lost before having a chance to explore what existed between us. I’d even thought it might be a sign that I was meant to choose Princess Ana to be my bride.
Then I’d chalked it up to my imagination. After all, I’d seen Annika’s corpse. She was dead. No amount of wishful thinking was going to get her back.
Except that she wasn’t dead. She’d lied to me and deceived me.
I understood her lying to everyone else in the court, but we’d been alone together numerous times. She’d had multiple chances to tell me the truth.
But she hadn’t.
And I had no idea why not.
“Your Highness?” One of the larger guards stepped forward, his eyes on me. “What would you like us to do?”
“Stay where you are,” I said, and I walked down the steps to stand next to Camelia, who was still kneeling by the ashes. “How is Laila dead?” I asked the witch. “The queen herself said that only a Nephilim can kill an original vampire. The Nephilim are extinct. Yet, here we are.” I motioned to Laila’s ashes to show what I meant.
Camelia stood and faced me, her eyes wide with shock. “Annika is a Nephilim,” she said, her voice smaller than I’d ever heard it before.
“She’s not,” I said, since I knew Annika. “She’s human.”
I thought back to the time I’d spent with her in the village—when I’d passed myself off as a human blood slave as an escape from life in the palace. Annika was definitely a human. Firstly, her blood smelled human. Secondly, and most importantly, she’d told me about how much she hated being human. Being human made her feel helpless. In fact, she’d wanted to be a vampire, so she could have the strength to fight back against anyone who tried to hurt her.
“She wasn’t a human,” Camelia said, her expression hard with conviction. “Right after she killed Laila, I looked into her eyes and saw the mark of the Nephilim.”
That triggered a memory—something I’d read in the numerous encyclopedic volumes within the palace library. There wasn’t much written about the Nephilim—the children of angels were extremely secretive, and vampires didn’t know much about their race. But there was one big thing that all supernaturals knew about the Nephilim—they all had marks around their eyes. Golden rings around their pupils.
In the last moment before flashing out of the Vale, Annika had looked straight at me.
Her eyes had the marks. They’d never had them before, but they had them then.
“How is this possible?” I asked. “The Nephilim are extinct.”
“They’re supposed to be.” Camelia glanced again at the spot where Annika had been standing before disappearing. “But Annika was very much alive, and as long as she remains that way, she’s a threat to all supernaturals on Earth. She commanded Geneva to take her to the Haven. We must storm the Haven at once so we can kill Annika and acquire Geneva’s sapphire ring.”
“No.” The word escaped my lips before I could think to stop it.
“Why not?” Camelia narrowed her eyes at me, tilting her head in question. “You don’t still care about the girl, do you?” Her voice was controlled and threatening.
“Absolutely not.” I straightened, knowing that I needed to play this right if I wanted to keep Annika as safe as possible. Because while I didn’t know much about her—apparently much less than I’d ever thought, given that she was Nephilim and not human—I couldn’t bear the thought of having her killed.
She was good. I knew it from the conversations I’d had with her as Annika and as Princess Ana. She wanted the same things that I did—rights for the humans of the Vale, and rights for humans to be able to have a choice on being turned.
Not only that, but there was an undeniable connection between us.
She cared about me, just as I cared for her. She might have lied about a lot, but I believed her feelings were real. If they hadn’t been…
I shook it off, not wanting to let myself think that way.
I just needed to find out the truth, and I couldn’t do that if she were killed. I also couldn’t do that if the Vale thought I was on her side. If they thought I cared about a Nephilim, I would surely be hunted down and killed.
I needed to play my cards right if I wanted us to both make it out of this alive.
“The Haven is a safe haven,” I reminded not just Camelia, but everyone else in the room. “Violence is not allowed on their lands. If anyone tries to attack Annika while she’s in the Haven, the tiger shifters will pounce and kill them. And with the growing threat of the wolves outside our borders, the loss of any more of our men is the last thing we need.”
The guards remained silent during this entire conversation—as expected, my compulsion had a strong hold on them.
“But will the Haven protect the Nephilim?” Camelia asked. “The Nephilim never cared that the Haven wanted peace—they believed all supernaturals should die. The citizens of the Haven didn’t fight in the Great War, but they were a major influence in creating peace between the supernatural kingdoms so we could successfully band together to defeat the Nephilim. The Haven didn’t want the Nephilim hunting supernaturals any more than we did. There’s no saying what they’ll do to a Nephilim who transports straight into their territory.”
“There’s only one way for me to find out,” I said.
“And what way is that?” Camelia asked.
“By going there myself.”
Jacen
“Alone?” Camelia looked at me like I was crazy. “That would be callous. You’ll need backup.”
“If I’m going to the Haven to lure Annika to leave of her own free will, sending backup would be callous,” I countered, using her own language against her. “Annika already doesn’t trust the Vale. If I came with backup, it would only put her more on guard than she already is.”
“I don’t think you realize how dangerous the Nephilim truly are,” Camelia said. “Or did you already forget how easily she killed our queen and three of our strongest guards?”
“Of course I didn’t forget.” I scoffed, since it had happened only moments ago. “But I don’t think you realize that Annika has a weak spot—for me. She disguised herself as a vampire princess and tried to marry me. Clearly, she’s interested.”
“She disguised herself as a vampire princess as a ploy to kill the queen.” Camelia sneered.
“She did.” I nodded. “But her feelings for me are real. If there’s anyone who can loosen her up and convince her to leave the Haven, it’s me.”
“She’s a con artist.” Camelia crossed her arms, looking like a toddler who’d been denied her favorite toy. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d stomped her foot as well. “You can’t believe anything she said or did while here.”
I turned to the guards. There were five of them in all, and they stood alert and ready, waiting for a command. “You all saw the way she looked at me,” I told them, adding in a conceited smirk for good measure. “Was it or was it not the way a woman looks at a man when she’s already half in love with him?”
I wasn’t proud of the words—I knew how arrogant I sounded. But before being turned into a vampire prince, I’d been a well-known athlete on my way to the Olympics. I’d competed in major cities all over the world, hitting up bars with my team members where we’d been surrounded by adoring fans. I certainly wasn’t inexperienced or unknowledgeable when it came to women. Quite the opposite, actually.
I needed to harness as much of that arrogance as I could if I wanted to convince Camelia to go along with my plan.
“I agree with the prince.” Thomas, the high
est in command of the guards in the room, stepped up and faced Camelia. “During the selection, the princess—I mean, the Nephilim—looked at Prince Jacen the way he claims she did.”
“She was acting,” Camelia hissed. “She had to pretend she cared for the prince if she intended on remaining in the palace.”
“What about her final moments here?” I asked. “Her deception had been revealed—there was no need for her to act anymore. Yet, before she flashed out with Geneva, it was me she looked at with her heart in her eyes. You were standing near her—I know you saw it, too.”
The guards were silent as they waited for Camelia’s reaction. A few of them nodded in agreement to my statement.
“Perhaps,” Camelia said, her fingers twisting around the wormwood pendant she always wore around her neck. “But she’s a Nephilim. Her kind kills supernaturals—they certainly don’t love them.” She said the last part in disgust—as if a Nephilim and a vampire falling in love was the most heinous act ever.
“We all know that Nephilim are killers,” I said, since if I wanted to gain their trust, I had to be convincing. “That bitch just killed our queen, and she used my selection to do it. She lied to me and played me for a fool. She needs to die for that. It’s our job to see that done, and if she has a weakness for me, then I’m damned well going to exploit it. I’ll trick her into trusting me, lure her away from the Haven, and kill her. A stake in the heart will be a deserving end after what she’s done. Or do you not also want to avenge Queen Laila?” I stared at Camelia with fire in my eyes, daring her to go against me.
“Of course I want to avenge our queen.” She dropped her hands to her sides, her eyes aflame. “But killing a Nephilim is far more difficult than you seem to realize. They’re as fast as vampires, they’re natural hunters, and they’re immune to compulsion.”
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow, since that explained how Annika had resisted my compulsion back when I’d tried to compel her to forget she’d ever met me. I’d assumed she was wearing wormwood—the only plant that when worn, could negate the effects of compulsion. She’d sworn she wasn’t.
I supposed that was one time when she’d been telling the truth.
“Yes,” Camelia answered. “Nephilim are the only supernaturals who are immune to compulsion without the assistance of wormwood.” She reached for the green pendant around her neck, as if to remind herself that her protection from compulsion was still there.
The witches of the Vale were the only ones in the kingdom permitted to wear wormwood. For all others, it was forbidden.
“She’s also in control of Geneva’s sapphire ring,” Camelia reminded me. “You’re one of the strongest vampires in the world, but even you’re not strong enough to take down a Nephilim who has command over Geneva. No vampire could take her down alone—not even the originals themselves. What happened to our queen is proof enough.”
“Our queen was caught off guard.” I gazed solemnly at her ashes, as though pained by her death.
In reality, I couldn’t be more thrilled that she was gone.
“Annika will be caught off guard as well.” I ripped my gaze away from the ashes and clenched my fists to my sides, making sure to appear revved up and ready for revenge. “She might be a Nephilim, but she’s also a woman. I’ll tell her what I know she wants to hear—that I fell in love with her during the time we spent together in the palace, and that I’ll do anything to be with her. I’ll ask her to run away with me. Whatever it takes. Then, once we’ve crossed over the border of the Haven, my stake will be through her heart before she’ll have time to touch the sapphire ring and beg the witch to save her.”
“A decent plan,” Camelia said. “But there’s one major flaw in it.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You can’t kill Annika while she’s wearing the sapphire ring. We need that ring to protect the Vale. If she dies while wearing it, Geneva will die with her, and then we’ll be at the mercy of the wolves without Geneva’s help.”
“Right,” I said, having completely forgotten that small detail. “Perhaps you’re right and I’ll need backup. We’ll station guards at an agreed meeting spot outside of the Haven.”
“It’s not a bad plan,” Thomas said. “I believe we can work with this.”
Camelia whipped her head around to glare at him. “Did the prince or I ask for your opinion?” she asked, eyes blazing.
“The guards are experienced fighters,” I told the witch, and then I turned to face Thomas, dismissing her. “Please, continue.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” He cleared his throat, looking at me and not Camelia. “Your plan has a good chance of working, except that the Nephilim would surely catch our scent, which would ruin our element of surprise. But the wolves who attacked the Vale wore concealment charms that hid their scent from other supernaturals.” He turned his gaze to meet Camelia’s. “Can you create similar charms for us?”
“I cannot,” Camelia said. “Those charms were created with dark magic. But Laila kept the charms that those wolves used, in case we had need of them again.”
“Find them,” he said. “Once you do, we can plan the specifics of the mission. If our prince truly has command over the Nephilim’s heart—which I believe he does—then this might work.”
“I’ll find them,” I promised. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Of course, I didn’t intend on it getting that far. I had no idea what Annika’s motivations were, but I didn’t want her dead.
I just wanted to talk with her. We could do that safely in the Haven.
After all her lies, I wasn’t sure if I could ever trust her again, but I needed to at least try to discover the truth. I knew she was Nephilim and that Nephilim hunted vampires, but I’d meant what I’d told Camelia and the guards—I believed her feelings for me were real. Her emotions had been plastered all over her face in those last few seconds when she’d looked at me. Pain, regret, and heartbreak.
That wasn’t the look of someone who wanted me dead.
And while it would be all too easy to allow myself to be consumed with thoughts of Annika, I also needed to ensure that I kept my authority in the Vale. Because the wolves were coming—they were figuring out a way to get past our boundary, and the citizens of the Vale had no way of fighting them. The wolves had proven that when they’d attacked the town square. Yes, we had our guards, but they were far outnumbered by the wolves.
When I’d met with Noah—the First Prophet of the wolves—he’d told me all about how the wolves needed the vampires to leave the Vale so the wolves’ Savior could rise. The wolves were determined to kill all the vampires to make that happen.
But there was another way. I could lead the vampires out of the Vale. When Noah had first proposed that idea, I’d thought it was ridiculous. Queen Laila would have never allowed it.
With Queen Laila dead, this was a new game entirely. I wasn’t sure of the best way to play my cards yet, but given some time, I would figure it out.
Until then, I needed Camelia and the guards to believe I was on their side. Long-term thinking was crucial if I wanted myself, Annika, and the vampires of the Vale to get out of this alive.
The more trust I had, the more I could get away with when the time came to act.
“Very well,” Camelia said. “In the meantime, it’s the best interest of the Vale for us to not let anyone else know what happened today.”
“How are we supposed to do that?” I pointed to the ashes. “Our queen is gone.”
“And if the citizens of the Vale find out, there’s no telling what they’ll do,” she said. “We must keep this secret until we establish a new chain of command. Your brothers can know, of course, but until we figure out how to spin this, the truth can’t leave this room.”
“Fine,” I said, since with everything going on, it wasn’t worth it for me to argue with her about this. To keep her placated, I faced the guards, pushing magic into my voice. “Until I say otherwise, you’re to tell no one tha
t Queen Laila is dead and that Princess Ana wasn’t who she claimed to be,” I said. “Understood?”
They all nodded, their faces slack from the effects of the compulsion, and said that they understood.
“Good,” I said. “Now, clean up this mess and find Princess Karina. I need to make sure she knows the plan and follows it as well. In the meantime, I’m going to Queen Laila’s quarters to locate those concealment charms.”
I stormed out of there, determined to find those charms.
Once I did, I would be one step closer to learning the truth about Annika’s intentions once and for all.
Karina
“I’ll go with you,” Noah promised, his hand resting gently on mine. “We’ll get Geneva’s sapphire ring. Together.”
Tears filled my eyes at his generosity. Noah owed me nothing, and yet he was offering to help me with no strings attached. Words couldn’t say how grateful I was. Especially since I’d never imagined when I’d woken up this morning that so much would change so quickly.
After Annika had killed Laila, chaos had erupted in the throne room. I’d used the moment to slip out of there and run to the wolves’ hidden camp—the camp that I knew the location of because I’d been secretly working with the wolves the entire time I’d been in the Vale.
My king—King Nicolae of the Carpathian Kingdom—had sent me to the Vale the moment he’d received the letter requesting he send two princesses to compete for Prince Jacen’s hand in marriage. But he hadn’t sent me to become the prince’s bride.
No—the king had other motives. He wanted me to work with the wolves in their quest to bring down the Vale. He believed that once the Vale was brought down, Queen Laila would have no choice but to come crawling to him, desperate and homeless and looking for someone to take her in.
Nicolae had been obsessed with the queen since before I was born.
In return for my help, he’d promised that he would allow me to make a wish on Geneva’s sapphire ring—an object he was confident Laila possessed.
The Vampire Fate (Dark World: The Vampire Wish Book 4) Page 2
