Vampire Royals 1: The Pageant

by Leigh Walker

  I refused to think about the impending cameras. I would probably trip, pass out, and blurt out inappropriate insults on live television.

  So excited. No, really.

  I’d only seen Dallas in passing. Each time, he’d given me a deep bow and a distracted smile. I hadn’t heard another word from him about Eve, and I hadn’t caught a glimpse of her.

  At the end of another long day, replete with back-to-back classes and no news, I trudged to my room. No matter what, I was grateful to have a warm fire and a full belly, two things I’d been sorely lacking at home.

  I shivered, thinking of my family. I hadn’t gotten a letter from them yet, and I vowed to write them the next day. So much had happened in my short time at the palace. Perhaps it was for the best that my letter would be censored—what on Earth would I tell them?

  Dear Mom,

  Having a great time at the palace with the royal family. By the way, they’re all vampires! They can drink our blood and change us into their kind! The queen ended my friend’s human life the very first day!

  Still hoping I win?

  All My Best,

  Gwyn

  I would probably just stick to details about how pretty the palace was and about the meals. Definitely.

  I changed into my nightgown and gratefully crept into bed. I fell instantly into a heavy sleep.

  I dreamt of the queen. She and the king had been absent from our daily schedules, and I’d wondered if they’d keep it that way. I certainly hoped so. But she was in my dream. I couldn’t escape her inside my own head.

  The queen’s long, white-blonde hair flowed behind her as she sailed down the grand staircase. Her dress was the same as that first night—sky blue, with a blood stain at the hip.

  She reached the bottom of the stairs and came toward me, arms outstretched. As she drew closer, I could see blood trickling from her mouth. There were footsteps on the stairs, and then my father and brother appeared, staggering down after her. They were both pale, deathly pale, with fang marks in their necks. They reached out for me—

  “NO!” I sat up straight, sweat coating me, breathing hard.

  I clutched the blankets to my chest. Just a dream, Gwyn. A nightmare.

  I had a sip of water, then got up and stoked the fire. My hands were still shaking, but I willed myself to calm down.

  They aren’t dead. You don’t know for sure.

  But my heart ached. I didn’t know if I’d ever see them again, outside of my dreams.

  I went to the window and stared outside, watching the stars as they winked against the blackness. When I thought of Father and Balkyn, my heart felt like one of those stars—hopeful in the dark, a spark against all the odds.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of movement. I looked toward the grounds, and I saw it again—a glimmer of white.

  “What in the bloody hell is that?”

  A figure appeared, walking alone on the manicured lawn in the darkness. Her long white shift trailed out behind her. Her alabaster skin reflected the moonlight. She stopped and looked up at me, aqua eyes burning fiercely bright in the darkness.

  Eve.

  Our gazes locked. Someone shouted something from down below. She took off running but was intercepted by a large, dark figure.

  Whoever he was, he led her back toward the castle. She struggled against him.

  Was she okay? Was that a friend or foe leading her back here?

  I paced back and forth, wondering if I dared risk leaving my room after curfew again. If Tariq finds out… But alone in the dark, I couldn’t lie to myself. I needed to know if my friend was okay.

  I grabbed my robe and tied it tightly. Taking a deep breath, I stole from my chambers.

  The lights flickered dimly in the hall. I crept toward the stairs, listening for any noise, any sign that I was about to be caught.

  But there was nothing, only an eerie silence, punctuated by the thudding of my heart.

  At the top of the stairs, I stopped to listen again. Nothing. I’d made it halfway down when voices drifted up from the foyer.

  “You shouldn’t try to do too much. Your body’s still dealing with a lot.” Dallas.

  “I…I saw her.” A voice, gravelly but familiar. Eve.

  “She’s asleep. But if I can arrange it, I’ll bring her to you soon.”

  “I want… I want…” Eve started crying.

  At that, I tore down the stairs.

  “Gwyneth!” Dallas yelled. “Stop right there.” Even in the darkness, I could see the strain on his face.

  I obeyed, staying on where I was, as Eve whirled toward me.

  She was different. Her skin glowed in the dim light of the candles, pale, luminescent alabaster. Her aqua eyes glowed as if lit from within. She took a step toward me, reaching out with one hand.

  Come to me. I heard her voice in my head.

  I took a step closer.

  Dallas moved protectively toward me, inserting himself between us. “Gwyneth. Please.”

  Eve peered around him, aqua eyes beseeching me. I miss you…help me! There’s so much pain. I’m in so much pain!

  My heart fisted. “Oh, Eve. I’m so sorry.”

  Eve tried to get past Dallas, but he wrapped his arms around her. She fought him, but he didn’t budge. “Guards!”

  Five sentinels appeared immediately. “Escort Miss West to her room now. Lock her door, and guard her room tonight. Make sure she’s safe or your heads will roll. Go!”

  Eve still reached for me. I reached back as the guards hustled me up the stairs.

  I heard her sobbing as they dragged me away.

  Chapter 14

  Persuasion

  “What’s wrong?” Shaye asked me the next morning at breakfast.

  “Nothing,” I mumbled.

  Her brow furrowed in worry. “Your eyes look puffy. You can tell me, you know. But you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”

  I grabbed a blueberry muffin and inspected it. “I had a nightmare. I woke up crying.” It was at least part of the truth.

  “I get them too,” she said. “Ever since my family went off to war.”

  I buttered the muffin and ate it. No matter what horrors befell me at the castle, ever since I’d tasted that first splendid toast, I refused to skip a meal.

  “How many siblings do you have?” I asked.

  “Four. Two brothers who left for the war with my father, and my younger sisters at home. You?”

  “Three. Balkyn, my older brother, went to fight with my father. Then I have Winnie and Remy. They’re little. They’re still home with my mom.”

  Shaye nodded. “It’s been hard not knowing if they’re coming home, but we’ve managed. I never thought I’d learn how to skin an animal, but I can do it fast now. Especially squirrels.” She shivered. “Even though it’s totally gross.”

  “You’re braver than me. All I did at home was barter our china away for firewood.”

  She shrugged. “At least you had china to barter. We were poor to begin with, so…”

  Tariq came in then, looking polished and formal in a deep purple tunic, his hair gelled into a reflective helmet. “Ladies. We will begin our morning lesson shortly, but I have news. Today begins the first meetings with the prince.”

  The room erupted, the girls chattering excitedly.

  “I will notify you when it’s your turn. He will take each girl for a stroll on the grounds or for tea. When your time alone is finished, he will escort you back to your lesson.” He nodded curtly. “As you were.”

  Shaye sighed. “Well, it will be good to get this out of the way.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They’ll make more cuts after this. I bet a lot of us will be going home after he meets with us one-on-one.”

  I frowned. “Based on one turn around the park?”

  “You can tell like that”—Shaye snapped her fingers—“whether you have chemistry with somebody. Either His Highness is going to feel it, or he isn’t, and
that will be the end of that.”

  “I don’t think he’s basing his choices on attraction only.”

  “Of course not.” Shaye took another muffin and slathered butter on it. Like me, she didn’t pass up any opportunity to enjoy the palace’s scrumptious food. She waited until she’d swallowed before she continued. “But this will be the easy part for him. Cut first on attraction, and then things get a bit more convoluted.”

  “What do you mean?” I grabbed another muffin too.

  Shaye looked thoughtful. “The prince will have to figure out who’s the most appropriate match. Who can help him politically, who can get along with his family, who can help him unite the settlements behind the throne. It will be more difficult than figuring out who he wouldn’t mind kissing.”

  For some reason, my cheeks heated. “Do you think he’ll be…kissing the girls? To figure out if he likes them that way?”

  “Who knows? He’s the prince. He can do whatever he wants.” She tossed some more muffin into her mouth and shrugged. “But we should probably go brush our teeth after this just in case.”

  I swallowed over a sudden lump in my throat.

  “Don’t look so grim.” Shaye swatted my hand. “He might be a lot of things, but ugly isn’t one of them. You’ll live.”

  As I followed her out of the room, I sorely hoped she was right.

  I brushed my teeth three times in a row. Then I pinched my own cheeks before I went back downstairs, inwardly cursing myself. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  But at least worrying about my breath kept my thoughts from my haunting encounter with Eve.

  I spread out my violet frock as I sat down next to Shaye, smoothing it. She winked at me as the lesson began.

  I frowned then listened as Mrs. Blakely talked to us about proper table manners.

  Tariq came in a moment later. He tapped one of the other girls on the shoulder, and she jumped up, following him in an excited flourish.

  I tried not to pay attention to Tariq’s periodic entries into the salon, just like I tried to keep from examining each girl when they came back. One appeared flushed and happy, and another very pretty girl with straight black hair was positively beaming when she returned.

  The rude blonde with the braids looked sour as ever when she came back. I wondered if her meeting with the prince hadn’t gone well, or if her face had permanently frozen in a look of disapproval.

  We had lunch—a fabulous turkey and avocado salad, followed by fresh brownies—then returned to our lesson, but not before Shaye and I raced off to brush our teeth again. At least I wasn’t alone in my ridiculousness.

  Back in lessons, during which we were kept busy counting fork tines, Tariq came for two more girls.

  Finally, when my eyes were crossed from glaring at silverware, he approached me. “Miss West.”

  Shaye winked at me, and I stuck my tongue out at her behind the royal emissary’s back.

  I’d rarely been so happy to see Tariq. I followed him dutifully out to the hall where Dallas stood, waiting.

  We bowed to each other. As soon as Tariq stopped watching us, the prince took my arm and led me outside.

  His jaw was taut. Once we were alone, he spoke, his voice tense. “I’m very upset with you—”

  “You shouldn’t be! She saw me from the grounds! She looked at me, Dallas! It was like she was calling to me—”

  “Probably because she wanted to drain you dry.” He tucked my arm closer against him, and I inhaled his heady scent. It made me dizzy on top of being defensive.

  Dallas shook his head, leading me down the path by the pools. “She’s not safe to be around yet. Don’t you think I would’ve let you see her?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know what princely things you do all day, or if you’d forgotten all about me.”

  He stopped walking. “I assure you that I haven’t forgotten you. You’ve insulted me more in a short period of time than anyone else I’ve ever known. You’re not likely to slip my mind any time soon.”

  I bristled with guilt. “Sorry about that.”

  “Mm-hmm.” Not sounding at all convinced, he pulled me down the path bordering the reflective pools. “Eve got out last night without my permission. She tricked the guards who were watching her and snuck outside. She’s not ready to be on her own, and she’s not ready to have unsupervised human company.”

  “Why not?”

  He looked at me as if I’d sprouted three additional heads. “She’s hungry. Starving, actually.”

  “Aren’t you feeding her?”

  Dallas blew out a deep breath. “I’m trying to. But she’s rejecting the donated blood. This happens sometimes with the newly turned. They want to…hunt.”

  I shuddered, my hand crawling up toward my neck. “Did she want to hunt me?”

  He winced. “It’s instinct, Gwyn. You know she would never hurt you if she had any idea what she was doing. Her body’s been through an enormous change. She’s not in control of herself at all. She doesn’t even know herself yet.”

  “Is that normal?”

  He nodded. “It is. All transformations have an element of catastrophe to them.”

  “Did that happen to you?” I asked.

  “I wasn’t turned. I was born this way.”

  My jaw dropped. “Your parents…” My brow furrowed as I attempted to stammer out a coherent question. “They had you after they’d…”

  Dallas stopped in his tracks and took my hands. “Vampires, at least Northern ones, can have biological children, the way humans can. We can also create others of our kind the way Eve was created, by transformation.”

  “Wait—there are other vampires? Besides the northerners?”

  His dark eyes flashed. “There are all sorts of creatures in the world, Gwyn.”

  I shivered. Raised in a bubble, indeed. Except my mother had no idea she’d been living in one too.

  Unable to grasp the full impact of his words, I brought the subject back to Eve. “What will happen if she refuses to eat?”

  “She’ll give in eventually. The hunger will get the better of her.”

  “I know you said I shouldn’t be around her, but can I see her?” I looked at him hopefully. “With you?”

  “It’s not safe—”

  “Please, your—Dallas.” I reached for his hands. “You will protect me. I just want her to know that I’m here and that I still care about her.”

  He took a step back and eyed me, from the bottom of my dress to the top of my head. “You’re not an easy person to say no to. I’m not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse.”

  “Thank you, your Dallas.” I teased.

  He grunted, but I caught a flash of his dimple. For some reason, pleasing him made my heart rate kick up.

  As he escorted me back to my lesson, I wondered if that was a blessing or a curse.

  Chapter 15

  Visiting Hours

  Dallas arranged for me to miss the last session of the day. The lecture was about distinguishing between different varieties of tea, and I wasn’t sorry to miss it.

  I was sorry I had to lie to Shaye—but the prince insisted. I told her my maids were fitting me for some new, television-worthy dresses and that I’d see her at dinner.

  Dallas waited in the foyer. The late-afternoon sun shone through the grand windows, its glimmering rays layering the prince in hues of gold. I sucked in a breath when I saw him, praying he didn’t notice the effect on me.

  I wanted to advance in the contest, but I didn’t want to be a besotted, doe-eyed fool. I had to keep my wits, as well as my spastic hormones, about me.

  But the prince raked a hand through his hair and grinned as I came closer, inspecting my flushed cheeks. He missed nothing.

  Dallas held out his arm for me. “Gwyneth.”

  I nodded curtly. “Dallas.”

  He pulled me against him, and I had to force myself not to react visibly. I could smell him, and I could feel his large, muscular frame next to me. Everything in my body
went all quaky and haywire. Why is that? I’d dated loyal-to-a-fault Drew Baylor for almost a year, and I’d never once quivered in his presence. In fact, I’d found him quite dull.

  Maybe the effect Dallas had on me was a vampire thing? Or a tall, dark, and royal thing?

  “What are you thinking?” he asked, his brow furrowed. “You have a funny look on your face.”

  “Eve.” I coughed. “I’m nervous.”

  He nodded. “It will be okay. I told her you were coming, but that I had to keep you separated.”

  “Okay.” I vowed to keep my mind on my friend and her suffering, not my rioting hormones.

  We were headed toward the medical ward, but Dallas suddenly turned the corner.

  “You moved her?”

  He nodded. “We thought she’d be more comfortable in private chambers. But she still has a full medical staff attending her.”

  He took me to a door guarded by two clearly vampiric sentinels. They bowed, and I curtsied in return. Typically, the vampire guards only worked at night, but perhaps it was safer for Eve to have her own kind protecting her.

  Dallas opened the door. I tried to sniff one of the guards as we passed, but I couldn’t tell whether he smelled as good as the prince.

  The guard looked at me funny. I pretended not to notice.

  Eve’s chamber was stunning, with an enormous crystal chandelier and a white marble fireplace. Velvet tapestries of rich blue framed the floor-to-ceiling windows, and her four-poster bed was made from an elegant, intricately carved dark wood.

  I walked in, looking around, but Dallas raised his hand to stop me. “Wait. Let me talk to her first. Eve?”

  “What do you want?” Her sullen and scratchy voice came from…inside the wardrobe?

  “Are you hiding again?” Dallas asked.

  “It’s not hiding. I’m taking a sabbatical from the freak show,” Eve snapped.

  “Gwyneth’s here. I brought her to see you.”

  “Liar.”

  He chuckled. “I told you before that I won’t ever lie to you.”

  “Liar,” Eve said again. But the door creaked open.