“Because apparently, the all-mighty queen made a mistake.” Camelia smirked—I wasn’t sure if she was amused, or if she didn’t believe it herself. “She underestimated how much blood you needed per day to wean you down to a normal amount. You’re stronger than she ever imagined. Your excellent use of compulsion against all those guards showed us as much. Not to mention how viciously you tore through that village…” She smiled again, like my power excited her.
But I didn’t want this power. I’d rather be dead.
Perhaps that was why I’d gone on my rampage in the first place. Because I knew that by doing something so horrible, I wouldn’t be allowed to live.
“If Laila won’t kill me, then you should.” I gazed at Camelia, putting as much compulsion into my tone as I could manage. I was weaker due to the wormwood in my system, but thanks to the antidote, I could still tap into the magic. “It’s the law of the Vale. You know it as well as I. So do it. Kill me. Now.”
“Trying to use compulsion on me?” Camelia threw her head back and laughed. “Save it. Don’t you know that witches of the Vale are the only citizens allowed to wear wormwood as protection?” She caressed the green amulet that hung from her neck as if it were a child instead of an ugly piece of jewelry.
“I suppose I’ve yet to reach that part in my reading,” I quipped.
“Well, now you know,” she said. “And Laila has compelled the vampire guards not to harm you. As your sire and your queen, her compulsion is stronger than yours, so don’t try that stunt on them too. Laila wants you alive, so you can bet you’re going to stay that way.”
“Why are you even here?” I sighed and leaned back into the bed. “Did Laila send you to make sure I remembered what I did? If so, then mission accomplished. You’re free to leave now.”
“That was the first thing I needed to do,” she said. “But no—there’s much, much more to it then that.”
I crossed my arms and stared at her, wanting her to get out with it.
“I gave you the antidote right now for a reason.” She stood and looked at me over her shoulder, motioning for me to follow her into the living room. “Come. There’s an official Vale broadcast happening soon that Laila insisted you watch.”
FOURTEEN
I followed Camelia into the living room, and she picked up the remote, pressing the button that brought the television down from the ceiling.
But I couldn’t focus on the television once noticing that the balcony doors were now sealed with a massive, hard-core padlock.
“That’s a military grade lock,” Camelia said, following my gaze. “It’s the best on the market. There are two of them—one inside the doors and one outside. Not even you will be able to get through that. And all the windows in the palace are hurricane-proof, unbreakable by even the strongest supernaturals.”
“So I’m a prisoner.” I’d feared it from the moment I’d arrived here.
Now these locks were making it official.
“You won’t be leaving the palace until you’re in control of your bloodlust. But if you were a prisoner, you’d be in the dungeons,” Camelia repeated what Laila had said when I’d asked her the same thing a few days ago. “This is simply an extra precaution to protect the humans. We need them alive to keep our kingdom efficiently running. The royal vampires have used compulsion to relax them after the stir you caused in the village, but restocking the ones you killed is going to be quite the hassle.”
She said it so naturally—as if referring to people like they were animals was normal. She—and all of the supernaturals in the Vale—disgusted me.
She disgusted me so much that I couldn’t bring myself to deign her with a reply.
“Now you need to focus,” she chided. “Like I said, there’s a special Vale broadcast that Laila wants you to see.” She situated herself on the sofa and patted the seat next to her, giving me a “come hither” look.
Gross. She must be deluded to think I’d ever be interested in her.
I crossed my arms and remained where I was.
“Or stand, if you prefer.” She pouted like a child who’d been told no at a candy store, although she got a hold of herself a second later. “All that matters is that you watch.”
She inputted the channel, and the image on the screen switched to one of Laila standing on a platform in the center of the main square in town. The queen wore a long, red dress—she looked like she belonged in a period drama—and she had a golden crown perched on her head.
Next to Laila was a disgruntled man with cuffs around his wrists and ankles. His height and build were similar to mine, although his hair was a few shades lighter. He refused to look at the surrounding crowd, instead just staring at his feet in shame.
“There are only vampires in the crowd,” I observed, noticing that all of the people shown on the broadcast wore expensive, fine clothing—clothes that only vampires could afford to purchase.
“Humans are watching from the televisions in the village,” Camelia said. “They’re not allowed to mix with the vampires.”
“The humans have televisions?”
“Only to watch official Vale broadcasts,” she said. “Their televisions are blocked from watching anything else. Now—pay attention. This is important.”
I turned my attention back to the broadcast. The man in shackles shuffled his feet, still refusing to look up.
“Thank you, fine citizens of the Vale, for gathering here today,” Laila said. The crowd grew silent at her words, all eyes on her. “As you all now know, yesterday we experienced one of the worst massacres in the history of the Vale. Nearly one hundred of our humans—the humans we’ve all sworn to shelter and protect—were victims to a newly turned vampire who lost control of his bloodlust. This goes against everything we stand for, and it will not be permitted!”
The crowd screamed out in agreement, many of them raising their fists in support.
“The vampire next to me—John Morley—is responsible for this brutal attack,” she continued. “Due to the extremity of his crime, I’ve brought him up with me today to demonstrate what happens when a vampire of the Vale breaks our rules.” She turned to gaze at the man, her eyes dark and serious. “Do you, John Morley, plead guilty to massacring nearly one hundred humans in their sleep last night?” she asked.
“Yes.” His voice was monotone, and he finally turned his eyes up to the camera—they were wide with fear. “I do.”
Outcries broke out from the crowd.
“But that man didn’t do it.” I stared at the television in disbelief. “I did.”
“I know that.” Camelia smirked again. “Laila knows as well.”
“So why’s he taking the blame for my crime?”
“Because Laila compelled him to do so,” she said. “Just like she compelled the guards who saw you to believe they’d seen John and not you. As for the humans, the only ones who saw you up close are now dead. And for those who got a glimpse of you from far away, the sunglasses and hat you wore made you practically indistinguishable from John. In comparison to other bumps the Vale has hit along the centuries, this cover up was relatively simple.”
Time felt like it stood still around me. I didn’t think I could feel any more guilt than I’d felt after killing all those humans.
It turned out I was wrong.
“It should be me up there.” I glanced at my padlocked door, wishing I could run out there with the truth to put a stop to this myself. “Not him.”
“The queen sees great potential in you,” Camelia said. “She spent a lot of time browsing through potential princes before selecting you. She’s not willing to let you go just yet.”
With that, she turned back to the screen, refocusing on the broadcast.
The crowd continued to scream out against the man, until Laila finally raised a hand to silence them.
“Thank you for your confession.” Laila’s voice was hard and cold. “Now, you must pay the price for your crime.”
She held her hand out to
the side, and a guard handed her a silver stake. With swift precision, she arced the stake around in a deadly blow to John’s heart.
John’s eyes went wide, glazing over a second later.
She pulled out the stake and he tumbled backward, hitting the platform floor like a piece of wood. Laila didn’t bother looking at him. Instead, she raised the stake to her mouth, slowly licking off the blood coating its end.
Vampire blood tasted bland to vampires, and it offered us no nourishment.
She was doing this for show.
Having seen enough, I ripped the remote from Camelia’s hand and pressed pause. The broadcast stopped right after Laila had finished licking the stake, a smug smile on the queen’s face.
I hated her more than I’d hated anyone in my life. She couldn’t continue getting away with this. Keeping humans as slaves, turning people into vampires against their will… it was wrong. Not to mention all the others who had died because they’d gotten in the way of her plans, like my teammates and all the other innocent lives that had been lost in the bombing she’d orchestrated at the hotel.
She’d destroyed too many lives, and she needed to be stopped.
It was at that moment, as I stared into Laila’s eyes on the television screen, that I made a vow. I’d play her game for now. I’d continue to learn as much as possible about the supernatural world. I’d get control over my bloodlust. I’d learn proper combat skills under the pretense of wanting to protect the Vale and everyone in it no matter what.
I’d become the model prince that Laila desired.
Then, once I had her unconditional trust, I’d kill the vampire queen who had destroyed my life and the lives of so many others. Nothing could make up for the lives I’d taken, but killing her would be a good start. It might take a while—years, or perhaps longer than that—but I was an immortal now. I’d be patient until it was the perfect time to strike.
Because I wouldn’t rest until Queen Laila was dead.
I hope you enjoyed your free copy of The Vampire Rules! The series continues in The Vampire Wish, the first book in the Dark World: The Vampire Wish series.
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The Vampire Wish Sneak Peak
Prologue: Annika
“Race you to the bottom!” my older brother Grant yelled the moment we got off the chair lift.
Mom and Dad skied up ahead, but beyond the four of us, the rest of the mountain was empty. It was the final run of the trip, on our last day of spring break, and we’d decided to challenge ourselves by skiing down the hardest trail on the mountain—one of the double black diamond chutes in the back bowl.
The chutes were the only way down from where we were—the chairlift that took us up here specified that these trails were for experts only. Which was perfect for us. After all, I’d been skiing since I was four years old. My parents grew up skiing, and they couldn’t wait to get me and Grant on the trails. We could tackle any trail at this ski resort.
“Did I hear something about a race?” Dad called from up ahead.
“Damn right you did!” Grant lifted one of his poles in the air and hooted, ready to go.
“You’re on.” I glided past all of them, the thrill of competition already racing through my veins.
Mom pleaded with us to be careful, and then my skis tipped over the top of the mountain, and I was flying down the trail.
I smiled as I took off. I’d always wanted to fly, but obviously that wasn’t possible, and skiing was the closest thing I’d found to that. If I lived near a mountain instead of in South Florida, I might have devoted my extracurricular activities to skiing instead of gymnastics.
I blazed down the mountain like I was performing a choreographed dance, taking each jump with grace and digging my poles into the snow with each turn. This trail was full of moguls and even some rocky patches, but I flew down easily, avoiding each obstacle as it approached. I loved the rush of the wind on my cheeks and the breeze through my hair. If I held my poles in the air, it really did feel like flying.
I was lost in the moment—so lost that I didn’t see the patch of rocks ahead until it was too late. I wasn’t prepared for the jump, and instead of landing gracefully, I ploofed to the ground, wiping out so hard that both of my skis popped off of my boots.
“Wipeout!” Grant laughed, holding his poles up in the air and flying past me.
“Are you okay?” Mom asked from nearby.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I rolled over, locating my skis. One was next to me, the other a few feet above.
“Do you need help?” she asked.
“No.” I shook my head, brushing the snow off my legs. “I’ve got this. Go on. I’ll meet you all at the bottom.”
She nodded and continued down the mountain, knowing me well enough to understand that I didn’t need any help—I wanted to get back up on my own. “See you there!” she said, taking the turns slightly more cautiously than Grant and Dad.
I trudged up the mountain to grab the first ski, popped it back on, and glided on one foot to retrieve the other. I huffed as I prepared to put it back on. What an awful final run of the trip. My family was nearing the bottom of the trail—there was no way I would catch up with them now.
Looked like I would be placing last in our little race. Which annoyed me, because last place was so not my style.
But I still had to get down, so I took a deep breath, dug my poles into the snow, and set off.
As I was nearing the bottom, three men emerged from the forest near the end of the chute. None of them wore skis, and they were dressed in jeans, t-shirts, and leather jackets. They must have been freezing.
I stopped, about to call out and ask them if they needed help. But before I could speak, one of them moved in a blur, coming up behind my brother and sinking his teeth into his neck.
I screamed as Grant’s blood gushed from the wound, staining the snow red.
The other two men moved just as fast, one of them pouncing on my mom, the other on my dad. More blood gushed from both of their necks, their bodies limp like rag dolls in their attackers arms.
“No!” I flew down the mountain—faster than I’d ever skied before—holding my poles out in front of me. I reached my brother first and jammed the pole into the back of his attacker with as much force I could muster.
The pole bounced off the man, not even bothering him in the slightest, and the force of the attack pushed me to the ground. All I could do was look helplessly up as the man dropped my brother into the blood stained snow.
What was going on? Why were they doing this?
Then his gaze shifted to me, and he stared me down. His eyes were hard and cold—and he snarled at me, baring his teeth.
They were covered in my brother’s blood.
“Grant,” I whispered my brother’s name, barely able to speak. He was so pale—so still. And there was so much blood. The rivulets streamed from the puddles around him, the glistening redness so bright that it seemed fake against the frosty background.
One of the other men dropped my mom’s body on the ground next to my brother. Seconds later, my dad landed next to them.
My mother’s murderer grabbed first man’s shoulder—the man who had murdered my brother. “Hold it, Daniel,” he said, stopping him from moving toward me.
I just watched them, speechless. My whole family was gone. These creatures ran faster than I could blink, and they were strong enough to handle bodies like they were weightless.
I had no chance at escape.
They were going to do this to me too, weren’t they? These moments—right here, right now—would be my last.
I’d never given much thought to what happens after people die. Who does, at eighteen years old? I was supposed to have my whole life ahead of me.
My family was supposed to have their whole lives ahead of them, too.
Now their lifeless, bloody bodies at the bottom of this mountai
n would be the last things I would ever see.
I steadied myself, trying to prepare for what was coming. Would dying hurt? Would it be over quickly? Would I disappear completely once I was gone? Would my soul continue on, or would my existence be wiped from the universe forever?
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I didn’t want to die. I wanted to live.
But I’d seen what those men—those creatures—had done to my family. And I knew, staring up at them, that it was over.
Terror filled my body, shaking me to the core. I couldn’t fight them. I couldn’t win. Against them, I was helpless.
And even if I stood a chance, did I really want to continue living while my family was gone?
“We can’t kill them all,” the man continued. “Laila sent us here to get humans to replace the ones that rabid vampire killed in his bloodlust rampage. We need to keep her alive.”
“I suppose she’ll do.” The other man glared down at me, licking his lips and clenching his fists. “It’s hard to tell under all that ski gear, but she looks pretty. She’ll make a good addition to the Vale.”
He took a syringe out of his jacket, ran at me in a blur, and jabbed the needle into my neck.
The empty, dead eyes of my parents were the last things I saw before my head hit the snow and everything went dark.
Sparks will fly once Jacen and Annika meet, so CLICK HERE to grab The Vampire Wish on Amazon and continue reading now!
About the Author
Michelle Madow is a USA Today bestselling author of fast paced fantasy novels that will leave you turning the pages wanting more! Click here to view a full list of Michelle’s novels.
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She grew up in Maryland and now lives in Florida. Some of her favorite things are: reading, traveling, pizza, time travel, Broadway musicals, and spending time with friends and family. Someday, she hopes to travel the world for a year on a cruise ship.
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