Vampire Princess

by Cameron Drake

  The rest of the girls tried the routine out one at a time. As I could have predicted, it got progressively easier as they watched each other go. Then they were scored. The top three made Varsity and six others made Junior Varsity.

  I made the Varsity squad, natch.

  There was just one last thing to do before we went home and ordered our uniforms. We sat in a circle on the grass and voted on team captains.

  Not surprisingly I was the unanimous winner. I smiled as Janelle squeaked in as my co-captain. We shook hands and I got a whiff of her. She smelled like red meat doused in perfume.

  The girl honestly seemed to be wearing about fifteen different scents, from her lip gloss, to a body spray, all the way to the shampoo and conditioner she used. She smelled so strongly that it made my stomach turn.

  It was a good thing too, because at that moment, I was extremely tempted to eat her.

  She took my hand but she didn’t even pretend to be gracious about it. Her grip was limp and the look on her face was pure sourpuss.

  So when one of the cheerleaders took a picture of us, I didn’t let go of her hand. She tried to pull back but I was too strong. I smiled for the picture, looking supremely relaxed.

  Meanwhile, Janelle looked like she was losing her mind.

  She yanked her hand away again. I finally let go, ignoring her as she stumbled backwards. She sputtered as she landed on her ass in the dirt. She stared up at me, her face twisted in anger.

  “Freak.”

  “What’s the matter, Janelle? Do you need to work on your upper body strength or something?”

  The other girls were so sweet. They made me feel welcomed as they crowded around me with excitement. Even the cheer coach looked pleased. I smiled humbly, trying to do my best ‘aw shucks’ act.

  It certainly didn’t come naturally to me.

  But what could I say? I was thrilled. Legitimately thrilled that I was a freaking cheerleader.

  I couldn’t wait to get my hands on those pompoms.

  Chapter 16

  “Hey, wait up!”

  I glanced over my shoulder. Dylan was running out of the locker rooms, looking freshly showered. His hair was damp and he had his bag slung over his shoulder.

  I inhaled as he got close. He smelled amazing. Like soap and clean skin. Hmmm… delicious.

  Ugh, when did I start wanting to feed on everyone?

  “Can I walk you home?”

  Screeeech. Hold it right there, buddy.

  I put on my metal brakes, shaking my head.

  “Not a good idea.”

  “Overprotective parental units?”

  I nodded. That was one way to put it.

  “Part way?”

  I exhaled and nodded in relief.

  “Sure.”

  He grinned and settled in beside me, walking me down the long drive that led to the school. Caleb couldn’t fault me for walking this way with him. I had to do this part at a slow pace anyway.

  I usually walked or jogged until I cleared the center of town and suburban blocks around it. After that it was much more rural. That’s when I went at vamp speed.

  “You were amazing back there.”

  “Who, me?”

  I gave him a coy sideways glance and fluttered my lashes. He laughed and shook his head.

  “You never said you were a cheerleader at your old school.”

  “I wasn’t.”

  “Then how did you do that?”

  “Ummm… a zillion years of dance classes?”

  “You are full of surprises, Sophie.”

  “Oh, you have no idea.”

  That was the understatement of the century. Of course, he thought my secrets were something like loving country music a little too much, or painting one toenail black. Not the fact that I wanted to drink human blood.

  Especially his blood.

  “Maybe not, but I’d like to.”

  His hand brushed the back of my hand. I looked down in time to watch him intertwine his fingers with mine.

  I caught myself about to make a snarky remark about holding hands. I’m glad I didn’t, because it was nice. His hand was big and warm and a little rough.

  But rough in a good way.

  He felt so alive, strong and yet delicate. Well, delicate compared to me anyway. I wondered if he could feel it. How hard and strong my flesh was next to his.

  I pulled away suddenly, worried I was blowing my cover.

  Hey girl, why does your hand feel like my mom’s kitchen counter? Yo, are you a Vampire or some shiz?

  Uh, no. Better not to do a lot of touching.

  “Okay, thanks. That’s enough of that.”

  He gave me a confused look. He didn’t look like he was about to run off and gather peasants with pitchforks and torches. I reminded myself that most people didn’t believe what they saw with their own eyes.

  They wanted to think things were normal and expected. They wanted to believe that there weren’t any monsters, even though we walked among them.

  That’s what they wanted so that was what they saw.

  “What, is this your first time holding hands with someone?”

  I cocked my head to the side.

  “I think it is actually.”

  He stopped and caught my hand again, pulling me close. My heart started to flutter in my chest as he stared down at me. I might be immortal and everything, but he was much taller. For an instant, I felt almost fragile. Protected by the big, strong man.

  I liked it.

  “Don’t tell me that was your first kiss last weekend too.”

  “Okay. I won’t.” I exhaled shakily. “Tell you that.”

  He stared at me, clearly at a loss.

  “Sophie Wallace, where did you come from?”

  He brushed my hair back. I knew he was going to kiss me. It was gray and misty out, just starting to rain. But that soft kind of rain that felt nice, like standing near the ocean during a storm.

  My eyes fluttered closed as he came closer, pressing his lips into mine. I sighed as he lifted his head a moment later. I looked up at him searchingly.

  I couldn’t lie. I was slightly terrified that I was doing it wrong. What if I was a terrible kisser?

  But he didn’t run off screaming or say anything about nasty blood breath — my other concern. He just shook his head wryly and slid his arm around me, continuing down the sidewalk like he hadn’t just rocked my world.

  “So, was that number two?”

  “No, I kissed forty-seven other guys since Friday,” I deadpanned, trying to sound calm. I had to remind myself that he couldn’t hear my heart rattling around in my chest. He didn’t have vamp senses.

  Thank goodness.

  “Wow, really? You are a fast worker, Miss Wallace.”

  “Oh, I forgot one. There were forty-eight.”

  He laughed and squeezed me. I found it easier to let my body bend against his each time we touched. I didn’t feel like I was made out of stone for once.

  Stone that could move, with the right provocation. Enough warmth and closeness with him, and I melted.

  Basically, Dylan turned me into lava.

  We got to the edge of the orderly streets around the periphery of town. I stopped, already worrying about how to end this. I had to convince him to let me walk the rest of the way alone. I’d already let him get too close.

  It was still light out. I had to admit I was worried he might try and follow me all the way home, just to be gentlemanly.

  He would definitely notice how quickly I disappeared down the wrong driveway and into the woods.

  “I’m going to run from here.”

  “Run?”

  I nodded, suddenly having trouble meeting his eyes.

  “Really? You aren’t wearing running shoes.”

  I stared down at my oxfords.

  “Yeah, it’s fine. I’m used to it.” I flexed my bicep for him. “I’m tough.”

  “Okay. But first…”

  He pulled me against him, an
d this time the kiss was more than a peck. He held my waist firmly against his body and I could feel the blood rushing down, creating a flood of warmth between us. He slanted his lips over mine and opened his mouth. I imitated him, figuring if it felt good to me, it would feel good to him.

  Pretty soon we were tangling breath and tongues. It felt so natural. I didn’t even have to think about what to do, or how to move. My body just knew.

  The kiss deepened and I felt a wildness rise up in me. His heat and scent overwhelmed me. And I could feel his animal nature rising too.

  I wanted more. I wanted to get closer, to touch him, to—

  Click.

  Just like that, my fangs popped.

  I pulled back and turned away quickly, trying not to be too awkward. But anything was better than him seeing my fangs. Or worse, feeling them.

  We had been swapping spit a millisecond ago.

  Crap. I did not want to glamour him. If I did, all this — this connection we had — I would never know if it was real again. I’d never worried this much about taking away someone’s free will.

  Even if it was for his own good. Because if he figured my secret out on his own, Caleb would kill him. It wouldn’t even be up for discussion.

  “Okay, gotta go.”

  “Sophie, wait—”

  I jogged away a bit and glanced back with a nervous smile. I was praying that he hadn’t noticed anything weird. He was grinning at me. I exhaled, realizing he just thought I was playing hard to get.

  “Not bad, caveman.”

  He grinned, relieved. I walked backwards a few steps while he followed.

  “You too. Especially since this was only your third kiss.”

  I shook my head slowly, still walking backwards.

  “You mean, my forty-ninth. No wait — fiftieth.” I grinned. “That’s some sort of milestone.”

  “Do I get a prize?”

  I gave him a look.

  “You just did.”

  He laughed and the sound filled me up, making me warm from head to toe. He wanted to kiss me again, I could tell. But I had promised Caleb I would not be late for training.

  I turned and ran, just a little faster than I should.

  Chapter 17

  “They’re leaving tonight.”

  I stared out the window at Maxim, talking to Bernard. They were showing off in the yard, taking turns splitting firewood with a rickety old ax.

  It was something men might do anywhere to show their strength. Just hanging out in the yard, chopping wood. Except they were doing it from twenty feet away.

  Bernard threw one overhead with his back turned and I laughed.

  “Do you like him?”

  “Huh?”

  “Maxim. He might be a suitable match.”

  I gave Caleb an irritated look.

  “I’m barely even seventeen and you’re trying to marry me off?”

  He shook his head.

  “No. But it’s something to consider. You will have an easier time ruling with a strong mate.”

  “You mean, an easier time supporting my father’s rule.”

  Caleb said nothing, just started putting dishes away. When I’d insisted on cleaning up after dinner, he’d insisted on assisting me. Bernard had just thrown his hands up and walked away.

  There was a whole lot of stubborn vamp in one small kitchen.

  “The whole point of this is to free my father, isn’t it? I mean, that’s why we’ve been preparing all this time instead of just storming the castle. Right?”

  "Otherwise we could all be on a beach in the South of France," I muttered under my breath. Caleb tactfully chose to ignore that. I sighed. I would die to save my father, but afterwards I would totally spend a month laying on a beach in the Riviera. But something was up. If Caleb was hiding something, I wanted to know.

  “Yes and no.”

  I put down the dish towel and stared at him.

  “Explain.”

  He sighed heavily.

  “Highness, there is a chance your father might be… unable to rule. At least at first.” He shook his head. “Possibly forever.”

  I stared at him. What was he saying? That after all this work and time and running, that my father would not be King?

  “He’s immortal. Why shouldn’t he rule? You told me he was the strongest Vampire of them all. And that he was a good King. Right?”

  “Yes, he was strong. And fair. He inspired us all. We did more than serve him. We loved him.” He looked at me. “And now we owe that allegiance to you.”

  “And to my father.”

  He shook his head.

  “To you.”

  I exhaled sharply.

  “You don’t wish to free my father from his imprisonment?”

  “Yes, of course I do. I want that more than almost anything. But your safety is far more important. You are the future of the Kingdom of Night. Your father would have wanted it that way.”

  I hissed at him, not bothering to hide my fangs as they pierced my gums.

  “If I had known this was the reason behind the delay, I would have insisted we go sooner.”

  “I know.” His fangs appeared with an audible snap. “That’s why you weren’t told.”

  We faced off in the kitchen, two pissed off vamps with bared teeth.

  “How dare you keep this from me? I am your Princess!”

  “Yes, you are. But you were also a child. Such complex thinking was beyond you. Until recently.”

  I hissed and shook him off when he held out his hands in supplication.

  “You are doing so well with your training. We are gathering our forces. It will be time soon.”

  I didn’t want to hear it. I had believed that we couldn’t possibly win yet. Instead they had been coddling me. Meanwhile my father still suffered!

  “While he slips further into madness! What is left to rescue, I wonder? Is he really that broken?”

  Caleb stared down, unable to look at me.

  “The reports are… not encouraging.”

  “He’s truly mad then?”

  “He speaks to people who are not there. Your mother for example. He will do anything for blood. When they feed him, it’s always a nearly drained human. So he is forced to end their life to get anything more than a few drops.”

  My father… my proud and noble father. I could not imagine him like that. Talking to himself. Begging. Reduced to a mad man in rags.

  “No! He would never!”

  “He kills them eagerly now, Princess. Cruelly. He is no longer concerned with human life.”

  I leapt away when he reached for me. Then I ran, blowing through the front door and into the woods. I only stopped when Caleb appeared before me, his hands locking onto my shoulders like a vise.

  He was fast, damn him. But I was faster. I wanted — no I needed — to be alone.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To kill something.”

  I snarled. He flinched and stepped out of my way. I saw something in his eyes I had never seen before.

  Fear. For the first time ever, Caleb was afraid of me. It should have bothered me, but in that moment, I was glad.

  I brushed past him and was gone.

  Chapter 18

  I leapt mindlessly over fallen trees and rocks, darting around as I barreled swiftly through the crowded woods. I was nothing and no one, just a shape moving through the thick forest that surrounded our house for miles.

  I was guided by pure instinct alone, my body knowing where to step and how to move.

  I could feel other animals in the woods around me. I was one of them. Wild and untamed. Ferocious.

  Feral.

  Yes, I was one of the creatures of the forest. But I was infinitely more powerful. I was stronger and faster, never mind the opposable thumbs, large cranium and immortality.

  But most of all I was hungrier.

  I stopped short, sensing a large animal nearby. I saw it, a mountain lion. They were rare around here, hunted to the brin
k of extinction.

  Just like me.

  I was the first and most likely the last of my kind. The big cat was one of the last of hers. I tilted my head, watching her prowl through the night, too far for her to see me. She paused, sensing danger.

  I wanted blood, but the thought of killing such a beautiful creature stopped me. I turned and roared into the night. The big cat disappeared into the darkness with a hiss. I heard some deer racing away as well. She must have been stalking them.

  I had cost us both our dinner.

  I bent over as the hunger twisted in my throat and gut. I was sweating, but not from exertion. I stared at my palms. My hands were vibrating, a dull glow that pulsed with my heart.

  Something felt wrong.

  I held my arms out as the light grew brighter. I wanted that strange glow as far away from me as possible. Suddenly the ground started to shift and rumble a few feet in front of me. Dirt and rock and brush burst up into the air.

  My hands. The beam of light was coming from my hands.

  I felt a force in them, pushing the soft earth up and into the air. Time seemed to slow as I moved my hands this way and that, trying to make it stop.

  It didn’t stop.

  Light was shooting from my hands now, illuminating earth and rock and greenery.

  Right before I vaporized it.

  Panic overwhelmed me as I realized what was happening and that I could not stop it. My powers had gone nuclear.

  I was emitting a freaking death ray.

  Trees uprooted in a huge swath in front of me as I turned in a circle. I swept my arms to the side. Everything was blasted up and away, wherever I angled my hands. Wood splinters flew through the air.

  If a human or animal had been nearby, they would have been shredded. I was dangerous. I had to control this. I had to make it stop.

  I balled my fists, screaming into the night.

  Begging for it to end.

  “STOP!”

  I felt my hands pulse with an unspeakable power. I forced them to stay closed, containing the force within. I had a feeling that I could have powered a small city with the energy contained in my balled fists.

  My hands felt electric, sparks shooting from between my fingers. I felt hot tears on my cheeks as I fought through the pain of turning that energy on myself.