“Are you ready to tell me where Marigold is?” I kept my blade pressed to her neck, hoping to show her that I meant business.
She glanced behind me—presumably at the other wolf’s corpse—her eyes shining with tears. “If I do, will you let me live?” she asked.
“I will,” I said. “As long as you make a blood oath with me that once our conversation is over, you’ll leave the vampires’ land and will tell no one of our conversation until the end of this war.”
“Fine.” She narrowed her eyes. “But only if you make a blood oath promising that everything you told me about Marigold and our Savior is the truth.”
“Deal.” The decision was easy—I was being honest with her, so I had no issue making the oath.
“Wait,” she said, and I pressed my lips together, growing frustrated. Every moment we spent here was more time Marigold and the wolves had to slaughter the vampires.
I stared her down again, my silence a cue for her to continue.
“You said you’re an angel,” she said. “Do blood oaths even apply to angels?”
I wanted to tell her yes, but the truth was, I didn’t know.
“They applied to me when I was a Nephilim—before I was turned into a full angel,” I said. “That’s all I know.”
“I won’t go against my pack for a blood oath that you don’t even know will count,” she said, and then she tilted her head slightly toward Jacen. “I want him to make the oath instead. The one who murdered my sister.”
“This is war,” Jacen said sharply. “I’m sorry for killing your sister. But if I hadn’t, she would have killed me.”
“And I would kill you for it if I didn’t believe your girlfriend was telling the truth.” The knife at her neck forced her to look at me as she spoke, but I could hear the venom and hatred clearly enough in her tone to know that she meant it. “Your eyes could have been contacts, but I’ve never seen golden blood before.”
I glanced down at where she’d scratched me—sure enough, my blood was smeared on my now-healed arm.
“I’ll make the blood oath.” Jacen stalked over to us and slashed his palm with his knife. Then he reached for the wolf-girl’s other arm—the one I wasn’t using to hold her down—and slashed her palm. He held her hand with his—blood against blood—and said, “I promise that everything Annika has told you regarding the demons and your Savior was the truth. In return, do you swear to truthfully tell us where to find Marigold, and then to leave the vampires’ land and tell no one of what happened here until the war is over?”
“I swear,” she said.
Jacen pulled his hand out of hers and stood up.
Both of their wounds were healed. The blood oath was complete.
I let up the pressure on the knife at her throat, although I didn’t pull away completely. My instinct told me to trust the girl, but I couldn’t risk anything until she followed through with her end of the oath.
“Marigold’s holding back beyond the fighting,” she said. “She’s at the top of the tallest mountain peak inside the Vale, right outside a caved in cavern.”
“The Crystal Cavern,” I realized.
“Yes.” The girl nodded. “That’s what she called it.”
“How many guards does she have with her?” Jacen asked.
“Only two,” she answered. “She said there was no reason anyone would think to go there, and she wanted to send as many wolves into town as possible. We’re supposed to go to her once every last vampire is dead.”
“And the humans?” I asked.
“She doesn’t care about the humans,” she said. “We’re supposed to ignore them until the vampires are taken care of. Then, if any of the humans cause trouble, we’re to kill them afterward.”
I breathed a sigh of relief that the humans who’d listened to my advice might end up being okay.
Well… they’d be okay if we stopped Marigold from opening the Hell Gate.
“Thank you for trusting me and helping me.” I lifted my knife from the girl’s neck, confident that she was no longer a threat. “What’s your name?”
“Catie.” The girl—Catie—stood up and reached for her neck as if checking to make sure she was still alive.
“Go,” Jacen told her. “We’re going to do everything we can to stop Marigold, but if we fail and the Hell Gate opens…” He paused, and Catie nodded, apparently not needing to hear any more.
She looked over at her sister one last time and kneeled down next to her fallen corpse. Her sister remained in wolf form—the form she’d been in when she’d died. “I’ll come back for you,” she promised.
Then she stood up, a cry escaping her throat before she turned around and ran out of town.
Karina
While most of the pack was attacking the vampire town, I led Noah and a group of thirty wolves around the edge of the boundary and toward the back of the palace. The sun had fully risen by now, and it was burning down upon my skin. I needed to get inside before I became too weak to fight.
The windows in the palace were made of hurricane-proof glass—they were impossible to shatter, even by supernaturals. But I’d left the window to the quarters where I’d stayed during Prince Jacen’s selection unlocked.
I was praying that the staff hadn’t noticed and re-locked it between then and now.
While staying in the palace in the Vale, I’d been amazed by how easy it had been to sneak in and out at my will. The vampires of the Vale were so confident in their witch’s ability to maintain the boundary, and so sure of the peace treaty they had with the wolves, that they hadn’t bothered to make the palace as secure as possible.
Unlike the fort-like castle in the Carpathian Kingdom, the palace in the Vale had been built for beauty, not for war.
“Once the path is clear, I’ll throw the rope,” I told Noah.
He was in his wolf form—as were the others—but he nodded in acknowledgment.
I made sure my backpack was secured in place. Then I jumped up to the window that had been my quarters, situated myself on the sill, and pushed on the glass.
It didn’t budge.
“Shit,” I said, banging my fists against the glass. It wouldn’t shatter—the glass was too strong—but it helped get out my frustration.
I banged on it a few more times, screaming profanities and ready to give up and jump back down to join the wolves.
Then there was a movement from inside.
Daisy—the young vampire who had cleaned my quarters when I’d stayed at the Vale—crawled out from under the bed. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and she hurried to the window to unlock it.
“Princess Karina!” She smiled, opening the window to let me inside. “I thought it sounded like you. I didn’t want to come out when I heard the banging, but then I heard your voice. I’ve been so worried ever since hearing that you disappeared from the palace! Where have you been this entire time?”
I scooted inside, my heart dropping as she spoke.
The poor girl didn’t realize that we weren’t on the same side.
“Where are Prince Scott and Princess Stephenie?” I asked, since I was unable to answer any of her questions—at least without my answers being lies.
“They’re in the throne room,” she said. “It’s the safest room in the palace. You should go there, too.”
“Why aren’t you there?” I asked.
“No staff allowed.” She shrugged. “Only royal vampires and their guards.”
She went to re-lock the window, but I reached for her, stopping her.
“What?” she asked. “We can’t leave any of the windows unlocked. Not when the wolves are so close.”
“I’ve brought others with me.”
Daisy’s smile brightened. “Has the Carpathian Kingdom come to fight for the Vale?” she asked. “Have you come to save us?”
As I led her away from the open window, guilt wracked my chest at how much she trusted me. I hated turning on my own species. Especially when so many of them were inn
ocents like Daisy.
But Daisy had let me in—maybe the wolves wouldn’t kill her. Perhaps I could convince them to let her go. She’d need to leave the Vale—no more vampires could remain on this land for the Savior to rise—but maybe she could still join Prince Alexander.
How could she possibly get to him? What used to be the vampire boundary was surrounded by wolves. If she ran, she’d be killed.
There had to be something I could do…
“They’re waiting for my signal,” I told her. “But I don’t want them to see you. Can you hide under the bed again?”
“Why can’t they see me?” she asked.
“They might want you to help fight,” I said the first lie that popped into my mind. “And you don’t know how to fight, do you?”
“No.” She hung her head, looking ashamed. “I don’t.”
“That’s what I thought.” I motioned to under the bed. “Go. Quickly.”
She didn’t look convinced, but she still lowered herself to the floor, scooting back underneath the bed.
I fixed up the bed skirt, flattening it so no one would be able to tell that it had just been messed with. Once satisfied, I placed my backpack down and unzipped it, pulling out a long rope.
Wolves couldn’t jump as high as vampires, which was why the back of the palace had been unguarded. Naturally, Scott had placed all of the guards at the location the wolves could get in from—the main entrance. Why waste the limited guards they had on the back when it was impossible for the wolves to not only jump so high, but also impossible for supernaturals to break the glass?
I looked down at the rope in my hands and took a deep breath. After all my decades of living, I never imagined I would have ended up here.
But one glance back down at the wolves—at Noah—reminded me what I was fighting for. This wasn’t just a pack—it was my pack.
Plus, if I didn’t help them now, I would surely die.
I headed to the window and tossed the rope down, holding the end to keep it supported.
Noah was the first to shift into his human form and climb up. Once inside, he looked around, his eyes bulging as he took in the extravagance of the room. I couldn’t blame him—the canopied bed, carved wooden furniture, Turkish rug, and crystal chandelier were a different world from his rugged tent at camp.
“This is where you lived?” he asked, his mouth dropping open in shock.
“This was where I stayed as a visiting princess to the Vale.” I lifted my chin, purposefully trying to sound as snobbish as possible in an attempt to make a joke of it. “You should have seen my quarters in the Carpathian Kingdom. Or maybe not—King Nicolae wouldn’t be too happy to have a wolf drooling on his floor.”
Noah closed his mouth, returning once more to the fierce fighter I knew. “The Savior better bring all the prosperity He promised, because we have a lot to live up to,” he said.
“I’m sure he will,” I said, mainly because I hoped he would.
It was hard enough to imagine living with a pack of wolves, let alone living in a camp. I had to consciously keep myself from shuddering at the thought.
“Where’d the vampire go?” he asked. “The one who let you in?”
“I compelled her to return to her room and forget she saw me.” The guilt in my chest grew as I lied to Noah.
“Why didn’t you take care of her yourself?”
“I couldn’t.” I lowered my eyes, glad that at least I didn’t have to lie this time. “I knew her when I was staying at the Vale—she’s innocent and kind. I was hoping that maybe, if there’s a way we could figure out to get her to Prince Alexander, she could be spared. After all, she helped me by opening the window, and she told me where Prince Scott and Princess Stephenie are.”
“She helped you because she thought you were on her side.” He placed a finger under my chin and lifted my eyes back up to meet his. “Do you think she would have helped if she knew where your allegiances truly lie?”
“No.” It took all of my self-control to resist glancing at the bed to make sure she wasn’t going to give away her location. Instead, I focused on Noah’s eyes—his deep, trusting eyes.
I wished I could believe as strongly as he did that the vampires of the Vale needed to die. But I didn’t.
And it was too late to turn back now.
“The others are waiting.” Noah pulled away from me and faced the window. “Where are the prince and princess?”
“In the throne room,” I answered. “I can lead us there.”
He gave the others a thumbs up and held the rope steady.
One by one, the wolves climbed through the window to join us. Soon, they were all up—each one of them was as amazed with the luxurious quarters as Noah had been. They still hadn’t shifted back to wolf form, and many of them were wandering around, touching and examining everything they could.
“Prince Scott and Princess Stephenie are in the throne room,” Noah said, making eye contact with as many wolves as he could. “We need to go there at once. Princess Karina will lead us. Kill all the vampires who get in our way.”
“Wait.” A wolf examining the carved canopy bed paused and gave a long, deep sniff. “I smell vampire.”
Karina
My breath caught at the realization that he’d smelled Daisy. The wolves’ sense of smell wasn’t as heightened in human form—I’d been hoping they wouldn’t be able to tell her scent from mine.
“You smell me.” I rolled my eyes, as if he were being ridiculous. “Or am I already so accepted into the pack that you’ve forgotten I’m a vampire?”
He eyed up the bed and kneeled down, sniffing near the bottom of it. “It’s not you I smell,” he said, and then he reached for the bed skirt, pulling it up. “It’s her.”
He and the wolf next to him reached under the bed and dragged out Daisy, each of them holding onto one of her arms. She was kicking and screaming, and she looked at me with wild, terrified eyes. She didn’t have to speak for me to know what she was thinking.
How could you have betrayed your own kind?
One of the other wolves broke the rod holding up the canopied bed and shoved the makeshift stake through Daisy’s heart.
She dropped to the floor, dead.
“You knew she was there.” The wolf that had killed Daisy glared at me while pointing at her corpse. “You betrayed us.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came.
“Karina didn’t betray us.” Noah stepped in front of me and held his arms out, protecting me. “She let me know the girl was hiding there before you all came up. That girl was the informant who’d told us the whereabouts of Prince Scott and Princess Stephenie. She’d been compelled to stay there and say nothing until we returned to take care of her.” He glanced at Daisy’s corpse in irritation. “Which would have been much quieter than the ruckus you caused just now. Were you trying to let every vampire in the palace know we’re here?”
I stepped up to Noah’s side and gave him a single nod, hoping he could see the gratefulness in my eyes. Then I turned to the men. “As it is now, we have no time to waste,” I said, quickly jumping back into the role of leader of the pack. “Once we reach the throne room, wait for my command to kill the prince and princess. As royal vampires, they deserve to know what they’re dying for.”
A few of the wolves mumbled words that I didn’t quite pick up.
“Did you all hear the princess?” Noah asked, glaring at them.
“Yes.” They stood at attention when their First Prophet spoke.
“Will you do as she requests?”
“Yes,” they said, although many didn’t look happy to say it.
“Good.” I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my gut that after this war was over, I might never be able to live with myself. “Shift—now. I’ll lead you to the throne room.”
The wolves did as I commanded, and I took one last regretful look at Daisy’s still body before flinging open the doors and sprinting down the hall.
&nbs
p; Karina
The wolves tore through any vampires who got in our way. Like expected, there weren’t many vampire guards stationed inside the palace. They were mostly outside, guarding the entrance.
Despite having my sword at my side, I had yet to use it to fight. The wolves were able to attack the vampires quickly enough that I didn’t need to.
I had yet to kill any vampires during this war.
At least the wolves were strong enough fighters to do the dirty work for me. And luckily, most of the vampire nobles and staff had the common sense to stay inside their rooms. But hiding wouldn’t buy them much time. Because after taking care of the royals, the wolves were coming for every last vampire in the palace.
This was only the beginning of the bloodshed to come.
Finally, after leaving corpses of vampire guards in our wake, we approached the double-door entrance to the throne room. The room was located deep inside the palace—if I hadn’t sneaked the wolves inside through the back, it would have been much harder to reach.
I pushed open the door, finding Scott and Stephenie sitting on the two thrones. They wore their crowns on their heads and were dressed like they were ready for a fancy ball—Scott in a tuxedo and Stephenie in a radiant red gown.
They weren’t waiting to fight.
They were waiting to die.
Shock registered on their faces when they saw me. I must have looked quite the sight as I entered with a pack of wolves on my heels.
I held my hands down, and as requested, the wolves refrained from attacking. But I could hear their snarls behind me—they were ready to kill.
“Princess Karina,” Scott said in disdain. “When you ran off after Queen Laila’s death, we assumed you’d returned to the Carpathian Kingdom. But if you’d returned, you would have told King Nicolae of the queen’s death, and he would have been enraged. When we didn’t hear from him, we asked around and learned you’d been spotted at the Haven. It seemed unlikely that you’d chosen to live such a modest life there, but I could accept it as true. However, I must admit that this—you working with these animals—is quite the shock.”
The Vampire War Page 9
