Vampire Kingdom 2: The Pact

by Leigh Walker

  The woman smiled at us. “I will be as discreet as humanly possible. Please, find a table to your liking. I’ll be out with the wine in a moment.”

  Dominic went and spoke to the guards while I picked out a table near the fire. I leaned over and smelled the flowers, basking in their scent and the warmth from the flames. The guards left, and Dominic came and sat down, his long legs barely fitting beneath the table. He looked too big for his chair.

  “Are you comfortable?” I asked.

  He grinned and reached across the table for my hand. “And I’m grateful to be away from everyone, so we can bloody relax for once.”

  I half expected Anthony or one of the guards to burst through the door to tell us that the queen had gone off or that someone needed a vanishing or blah, blah, blah.

  But only the smiling server came out, pouring each of us a glass of wine and leaving the bottle. “I’ll bring your first course in a moment,” she said and was swiftly gone.

  “She might be the best waitress ever.” I had a sip of wine then, remembering that the queen probably hadn’t cursed the villagers’ wine, promptly had another.

  “Cheers,” Dominic said. “To us.”

  “To us.” I had another small sip of wine. Then, in the quiet of the cozy restaurant, I stared at the man across the table from me. And for the first time, I forgot about the past.

  I started thinking about the future.

  13

  Mindset

  The server brought out a small appetizer, some sort of dumpling filled with potatoes and mushrooms, drizzled in a mouth-watering cream sauce. I tasted mine—it was so delicious I nearly fell out of my chair. “Thank God you don’t eat,” I whispered as I speared the dumpling off of Dominic’s plate. “I would have to fight you for this. It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

  He chuckled, watching me with clear interest. “What’s it like?”

  “Mmm, it’s so hard to describe! But it makes me feel like this fire does—warm and happy. It makes my insides smile, because it’s all goodness and deliciousness. You can taste the love.”

  He leaned forward a little. “That’s how I feel when I taste you.”

  “Oh. Well.” The room was suddenly getting hot, and it had nothing to do with the fireplace. “That’s nice.”

  He grinned. “It’s quite a bit more than nice, actually.”

  I sighed, a happy sigh, and put my other hand over his. “Speaking of nice… This is nice. We’ve never been on a proper date before.”

  “Which I personally believe is a crime.” Dom leaned forward again. The reflection from the fire danced in his dark eyes. “Victoria, I’ve been thinking about something.”

  “Yes?”

  “From the day I met you, there’s been a lot of uncertainty between us. We never know when you’re going to get called back.”

  “What’s the longest I’ve ever stayed in the kingdom?” I asked.

  “About six weeks. That time almost broke my heart.”

  I squeezed his hand. “I’m so sorry. But what’s to say I won’t get called back again soon? We can’t know what’s going to happen.” The thought had constantly been at the back of my mind, gnawing, like a homework assignment I kept forgetting to turn in. “All this preparation for the wedding, and I could be gone at any moment.”

  Dom’s brow furrowed. “I don’t think so. Not this time.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you’re different, Victoria. You’ve changed. When you left the last time and went back through the portal…I don’t know. The fact that you remembered everything, including how to get back here, including me, makes me believe that we’ve crossed some sort of threshold. This feels different, like we’re in a new level.”

  “A new level of time travel…” I shook my head, confused. “So you think I can stay?”

  He tilted his head. “I hope so, of course. But I don’t know. I can’t help thinking, though, that there was a reason for all the back and forth, a reason that you came through of your own volition the last time. Maybe it was something in you that was finally really ready to say goodbye to your old life.” He hesitated. “If, that is, you really are ready to say goodbye to it.”

  I was grateful that the server came and cleared our dishes, also refilling our wine. By the time she’d gone, I’d mostly gathered my thoughts. “I went back because I didn’t believe I could stay in the kingdom. I didn’t want to—I felt like I was losing myself, running from my real life, and I had to go home and face it. But once I got there, I realized that what was most important to me…” My cheeks flushed. “Was still here. So I made the choice to come back.”

  “That means everything to me.” He smiled. “Thank you, Victoria.”

  “You don’t have to thank me—it’s the truth. And now that I know my family’s here, I believe that I’m meant to be in the kingdom. But how can I stay? Is there anything that we can do so I don’t get called again?”

  Dom rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. “I don’t know. But I am hopeful that you will remain here if that is what you truly want. Like I said, things seem different this time.”

  “What happens when I do get the call?” I asked him. “Anthony said it’s like I’m sleepwalking. Is that true?”

  “You are physically still here, but you are in a trancelike state. You stop whatever you are doing, and your eyes glaze over. Then you start walking. I usually have Anthony follow you, and pretend that I’ve sent you on some sort of errand.”

  “Don’t people wonder what on earth is wrong with me?”

  He shrugged. “I vanish anyone who sees you. If it’s a guard, I immediately spike their drink with your blood. It does get a bit hectic, and we’ve had several close calls with the queen, but you disappear swiftly. It’s all very abrupt.”

  “I imagine that’s been difficult for you.”

  Dom had a sip of wine. “Now you can see why I tried drinking your blood to forget. It’s always lonely when you leave, then I start counting the days until you come back.”

  The server brought out two more dishes, a risotto and a roast. Both smelled to die for. I grinned at the plates when she left and hoped I had room for it all. Dom chuckled as he cut a bite of meat then handed me the fork. I closed my eyes as the roast practically melted in my mouth.

  “Oh, that’s ridiculously good,” I moaned. “This is the best food I’ve ever had.”

  The prince grinned at me, doting. “Then we shall dine here as often as you like.”

  “Wouldn’t that be amazing? What would it be like if we were actually able to do that?”

  “Do what?” Dominic asked. “Go to dinner?”

  “Yes, and have a normal relationship. Can you imagine it?” I helped myself to a bite of the to-die-for risotto as the prince considered my question.

  “The truth is we would never really be like other people.” Dom adjusted his big body in his seat. “We could never have a life out of the spotlight, a life without great responsibility. I take my role as a royal seriously, though it may be contrived, and feel responsible for the people of the kingdom, that that I’m here for a purpose. I have always been able to see both sides of the human-and-vampire equation, a trait few of my kind deem important.”

  “But it is important.”

  “It is to me,” Dominic said. “So I believe I also have a responsibility—a calling—to help maintain order and balance between our races. It’s a very tricky peace we have. We can do better, so much better. In my lifetime, I want to be a part of that change.”

  I held his hand tightly. “I admire you, you know. You could have anything, anyone you wanted. You could have the blood slaves lined up, fetching you wine and exposing their necks at your command. Yet you don’t have a selfish bone in your body.”

  “That’s not true.” Dom’s voice was soft. “I am very selfish when it comes to you, my lady.”

  “I appreciate that, but what I said is true—you put your comfort and security to the side to fight for wha
t you believe in. Even though you might have to fight someone you love.”

  Dom stared at the fire. “I don’t know how much I love her anymore. I only feel pity for her.”

  “Well, you’re lucky, then. I’m petrified of your mother.”

  He chuckled. “Give yourself more credit. You don’t need to be afraid—you’re more capable than you know.”

  “Speaking of that.” I hesitated, not wanting to get Anthony into trouble. “Wait, before I tell you this, promise me something?”

  His expression immediately turned skeptical. “What?”

  “That you won’t stake Anthony.” He cursed under his breath, but I shook my head. “Uh-uh. I’m not saying another word until you promise, Your Highness. I know you’re good for your word.”

  “Fine,” he said through tight lips. “I promise.” It looked as though the words pained him.

  I fiddled with my fork, gathering my courage. “I worked more on my vanishments today. And I was successful.”

  “I’m happy to hear that.” But Dom kept his expression neutral. “Can you please explain the circumstances?”

  “Um.” Telling him about Herman the Foul would most likely ruin his evening and quite possibly the rest of Anthony’s life. “I experimented on one of the prisoners, and it worked. But Anthony said it more than worked—he said my power was somewhat different from what your kind can do. ‘Elegant’ was the word he used. I didn’t really understand it, but he seemed pleased.”

  Dominic’s brow furrowed, and he didn’t say anything for a minute. “I am going to have to see this for myself. Are you capable of doing it on command?”

  I coughed. Only if someone’s trying to grab me! “I think so. We’ll have to try it again soon.”

  “I think your power is growing. And I’ve lived long enough to know that there must be a reason for it.” He drummed his long fingers against the table, lost in his thoughts for a minute. “It’s interesting that it’s so similar… Huh.”

  “What’s so interesting about that?”

  “Nothing,” Dominic said quickly, but he still appeared lost in his thoughts.

  I took the opportunity to clean my plate and smiled as the server came back and once again cleared our dishes and promised to bring dessert out shortly. Dom was preoccupied, lost in his reverie. What I’d told him had obviously meant something to him, something worth pondering. Both he and Anthony seemed taken aback by what I’d done, but it seemed like a plain-old vanishment to me, nothing worth furrowing your brow about.

  “Back to what we were saying,” I said gently.

  Dominic blinked at me. “Yes?”

  “We were talking about what would happen if I am able to stay in the kingdom.” Part of me continued to feel like I was on borrowed time, but the ceremony was close, and I was still there. We needed to have a strategy. “What would happen? What are we going to do about your mother and about my family?”

  “We will find a way to keep your family safe. I don’t know how yet. But I promise you that once they come to the kingdom, we will find a way. I will protect them.”

  I clutched the prince’s hand. “Thank you.” When he made a promise, I knew he would do everything he could to deliver. His words warmed my heart.

  “As for my mother,” Dominic continued, “I fear that her schemes are about to come to a head. I’ve never seen her blatantly at odds with the council before. What worries me about it is her complete disregard for their opinion. She will do as she likes, and I worry that she will make a move to overthrow the council when the foreign dignitaries are here.”

  “I’m worried about exactly the same thing.” It seemed to me that the queen largely ran things as she saw fit, but at least the council was a voice of reason, even if she chose to ignore it. “What will we do if she upends your government? What will your father do?”

  Dom laughed, but it was without humor. “My father will do nothing, of course. He’ll be the coward he always is and stand by her side. As for me, I will fight for what I believe in. I don’t think that an autocracy is in anyone’s best interests. I think my mother needs the council to keep her in line, and that’s not only because she’s crazy. I feel strongly that all governments need a system of checks and balances so that they don’t become beholden to one person’s perspective. Because as we’ve seen, time and time again throughout history, that rarely ends well.”

  “So in theory, I understand what you’re saying… but in practice, I don’t. What will we do if your mother starts a war?”

  He took a deep breath. “We will fight her. At least, I will. I would never ask you to commit to putting yourself in danger by fighting my fight.”

  “But I think part of the reason I’m here is because I’m meant to help you.” I still wasn’t sure if I loved or hated fate—but I was certain that my feelings on the matter had little to do with the truth. I looked down at my hand, which was still entwined with Dom’s. “If your mother strikes against the council, and the people, I will help you. I’ll fight her, though I’ve no idea what that actually means.” I laughed, but it was a surprising sound, brittle and borderline hysterical. Fighting the queen seemed like a very, very bad idea.

  Dominic shook his head. “Perhaps the wedding and the kingdom’s unification behind our marriage will put her in a different frame of mind. You never know with the queen. She is often finding advantage where others see only detriment.”

  “You think there’s a chance that nothing will happen?”

  “Something will happen. She will never give up the fight, but I think we have some time. You have to remember she’s immortal. Even urgent matters have a different timeline when you have forever to successfully execute the plot.”

  “So you believe that the festivities, and the wedding, will go off as planned. And that we might not have to fight your mother in the immediate future?” I prayed that was true.

  “I think she’ll use the wedding festivities to gain the sympathies of the foreign dignitaries so that they can formulate a plan going forward. I think it’s too early for them to strike,” he said. “But speaking of the wedding.” The prince sat back in his seat. “What are we going to do about that?”

  “What do you mean?” But it was a rhetorical question. Of course I knew exactly what he meant.

  “I know you have your reservations, Victoria. You’d be a fool not to. But I was thinking that we could try something.”

  “What?”

  Dom considered me, his dark gaze fixed on my face. “What if we just forgot about everything else and enjoyed each other for right now? We have the rest of this evening then the ball the day after tomorrow. You said so yourself—you can’t imagine what it would be like for us to have a normal relationship. So why don’t we see what it’s like to be together?”

  “That sounds lovely, but there’s sort of a lot going on.” His mother, my family, the evil Emperor Lucas, an impending push for human enslavement…

  “Of course we are on borrowed time. But while we have it, we should use it as we see fit.” The flames from the fire reflected in his eyes. “Then you can make your decision, whether you will marry me or not.”

  “I have already said yes.”

  He nodded. “I know. But I will ask you again in three days’ time. Then I want you to give me the answer that is in your heart. Can you do that? Do you promise to tell me the truth?”

  “Yes, Your Highness.” Our gazes stayed locked together. “You have my word.”

  The bargain seemed more than fair.

  14

  Surrender

  Dominic promised to spend the night with me. He tucked me in then climbed onto the other side, grinning. “I can’t wait to hear you snore. It’s adorable.”

  “Stop.” I put my hand against his chest for emphasis, but really, I put it there just to feel the hardened muscles beneath his tunic. “Is that true, or are you just teasing me?”

  He brushed the hair back from my face. “You only do it a little. I find it charming.”
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  “I don’t believe you. But I guess I won’t sleep tonight, just in case.”

  “You have to sleep.” He kissed my forehead, the tip of my nose, and my chin. “We have the preparations for the visitors and the ball coming up, and it will be very hectic around here these next few days. As a human, it is your duty to be well rested. I might be in need of your services.” He waggled his eyebrows.

  I laughed. “What sort of services?”

  “Nuzzling.” He kissed my neck.

  “Nuzzling?” But I moaned as he kissed the base of my throat.

  “Yes. And snogging, of course.” He kissed my lips.

  I pulled back. “Snogging?” The word had always seemed funny to me. Why do the British call it that? “Is that all I’m good for?”

  He kissed me more deeply, our tongues connecting too briefly before he pulled away. “You are good for many things, but nuzzling and snogging are two of my favorites.” He kissed my neck again, hotly, and I moaned.

  “O-Okay.” I felt tingly and wired. I ran my hands over his close-cropped hair, pulling his face close to mine again. “I can’t argue with that.”

  His eyes sparkled, triumphant. “That’s not like you, Victoria.”

  “Stop talking, or I’ll withhold the snogging. And the nuzzling.” But as I pulled his lips to mine again, we both knew I was a liar.

  When I woke up, it was still dark, and I was still in Dominic’s arms. I nestled closer as he wrapped himself around me, putting me in a safe and happy cocoon.

  He kissed the top of my head. “I have to go. There’s trouble with the council.”

  I sat up straight, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

  “Shh, it’s all right. There’s no emergency. I promise. Just the regular infighting and accusations. You must remember that vampires keep at it twenty-four hours a day. So please, go back to sleep. I didn’t mean to wake you.”