Vampire Kingdom 2: The Pact

by Leigh Walker

  “Don’t be. I’m not.”

  We stared at each other for a beat as the room became almost unbearably hot. I ran my finger across the golden crest on his tunic. “I want you to do something.” He didn’t say a word, but he didn’t look as though he had any intention of obliging me. “I want you to bite me,” I said breathlessly.

  “Victoria, no.”

  Unabashed, I raised my gaze to meet his. “You’ve done it before. We won’t be breaking any rules, not even one of our own.”

  He shook his head and looked away, but I moved closer. I couldn’t bear to be away from him, though he was sitting next to me.

  “Please, Dominic. I am literally begging you. It doesn’t hurt either of us—we both enjoy it. I want to be close to you, to please you. Tonight is our special night. I want us to be together.”

  I must’ve sounded as desperate as I felt, because he turned back to me, and I sensed some wavering of his conviction as he looked me over. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You would never hurt me, and I know it. I trust you with my life.” It was true. Dominic would do anything to protect me, even deny himself the pleasure of my blood. “We’ve done it before, and I liked it. I liked it a lot. I promise I won’t ask for more.” Remembering what he’d said about me begging him to get closer, shame flooded me. My cheeks heated.

  “Victoria, please.” The prince sounded like he was in physical pain. “Do not talk like that or look ashamed. Everything we’ve done, everything that we both want to do—it’s the most natural thing in the world. There is no shame in the wanting. I want to too.”

  “Then…will you do it?” I asked.

  He exhaled deeply, his gaze never leaving mine. “Only if you’re sure.”

  “Oh, I’m sure,” I said immediately, reaching for his hand. “But I want you to be sure.” My skin was hot, my heart fluttering; I needed to be close to him, or I felt like I might burst. Still, I would compose myself if it was too much for him—I would never, could never, pressure him to do something that made him uncomfortable.

  “I’m sure that I want to, Victoria. I always want to.” He lay back against the bed, his big body taking up more than half the space. “So I will bite you, but you have to promise me—if you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable or want me to stop, you will speak up immediately.”

  “I promise.”

  My chest heaved as he gave me a long, hungry look, and my insides fluttered wildly as I tentatively lay down next to him. He took my hand and kissed my palm, then my forearm, then my shoulder, working his way up to the base of my throat. I thought I might die from how good it felt, but I wanted more. He kissed my jaw, then my chin, then finally, my lips.

  I moaned and arched my back as our tongues connected again, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him as close as I could. His weight crushed me, and I loved it, loved the feel of his strong, muscular frame against mine.

  When our lips parted, my breath was coming fast. My whole body throbbed for him, for the feeling I remembered. “Bite me. Please.”

  Dominic was breathing hard too. In an instant, his dark eyes flashed, blazing. His fangs sprang out, and a wild rush of desire tore through me. I felt no fear as he ran them over my neck. He moved slowly at first, then all at once, the prince plunged his fangs into my tender skin.

  “Ah!” I leaned back in ecstasy as he gently drank from me, our bodies still moving together in time. It was a strange sensation. The blood left my body slowly; the feeling of him sucking from my neck was mesmerizing, pulsating, and pleasurable. I didn’t know why. But I could feel my blood entering him—and that was what I wanted, what I always wanted, to feel like I was a part of him, that we were somehow always together no matter what. It was the perfect physical expression of my feelings. With this sacred act, we existed together in some realm outside of time, or space, or reason.

  As he drank from me, I was bound to him. I was his, and he was mine.

  I moaned and writhed in pleasure as he continued to drink, and I could feel his body shudder with satisfaction. We stayed like that for a long time, though I couldn’t say how long; I was lost in the rapturous feeling of being one with him. After some time, he started to slow, then he stopped and pulled his fangs from my neck and kissed the area tenderly.

  I pulled him closer, and we kissed again, with less urgency but just as deeply. He put his head on my chest, cradling me with a happy sigh. Then I, exhausted but as satisfied and happy as I had ever been in my life, promptly fell asleep.

  The next morning, I woke up in the same position, with the prince’s head on my chest. He couldn’t be asleep, of course, but he appeared to be resting.

  Still, I needed to rouse him. We had something important to discuss. “Dominic,” I said gently.

  He looked up at me, blinking. “Good morning, Victoria.”

  “Good morning.” I ran my hands over his short hair, which was spiky beneath my fingertips, and didn’t say anything for a minute. “I have to tell you something.”

  He raised his eyebrows, waiting. I detected no nervousness in his face; he seemed resigned to hearing me out, one way or the other.

  “I love you,” I said.

  “Thank the gods.” He grinned. “I love you too.”

  “That’s not all.” I cleared my throat. “I have made my decision: I will marry you. Not just because of what we did last night, or what we didn’t do, or because of this”—I motioned to our entwined bodies—“but because I am afraid I cannot ever bear to be away from you again. I love you, Your Highness. You are a vampire, and I am a human; you are from the future, and I am from the past. So it is madness, for sure, yet I accept it the way only the truth can be accepted. I love you, and I will marry you.”

  His smile broadened, but he looked thoughtful. “You have brought me great happiness. But I have to ask—are you sure? The prospect of marriage has never seemed to appeal to you.”

  “It’s not that I’m against marriage. I was against getting married at eighteen. But I see it differently now.” I lifted my chin. “It’s like you said earlier—I am not afraid, not even of my own fear anymore, if that makes any sense. I love you so much that I know that nothing could separate us. Not even death.”

  Dominic tilted his head, inspecting me. “What do you mean?”

  “I feel like I’m part of you now. If death were to come for me, and I had to find you on the other side, nothing could stop me.” My voice wobbled, but I meant every word. What had seemed impossible to me only days ago now seemed to be the only thing that made sense. It was impossible to imagine being separated from him; I could never choose it. “I would run to you, Your Highness. And I would never let you go.”

  “I would do the same, my lady.” Dominic’s eyes shone as he took my left hand and kissed the engagement ring. “We should make a pact.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “A promise, a sacred promise, between just the two of us, in front of the gods.” He left the bed and got down on the floor on his knees. “Join me.”

  I knelt across from him, and he took my hands in his. He kissed both of them then bowed his head and closed his eyes.

  “Victoria, I promise to love you forever. I promise to honor and protect you. I promise to wait for you. If we are to be separated, by time or even by death, I vow to find you. These are my promises, and I make them with a clear head and a full heart; they cannot be unbound.”

  I gripped his hands hard, unsure of how to start. “Dominic, I promise to love you forever. You are already in my heart, and therefore, we can never be separated.” I concentrated, gathering my thoughts as well as the courage to speak plainly. “I vow to honor and protect you and to return to you again and again for all of eternity. If death were to take me, I promise to find you on the other side. I love you, Dominic. Thank you for making my heart whole again.”

  Dominic raised his gaze, and we stared into each other’s eyes.

  “Then we shall be married, my lady.” His voice was sole
mn. “In front of our people and the gods. Then nothing, not even death, may part us.”

  I cried as he took me in his arms, but they were tears of joy.

  18

  Come To Light

  The prince had to leave in order to, in his words, babysit the council. But I did not let him go without a brief interrogation.

  “What, exactly, is an intercross?” I asked.

  Dom pinched the bridge of his nose. “Must we?”

  “Yes, we must.” I watched as he began to pace the room. Clearly, the topic struck a chord with him.

  “An intercross is the name of a child—one from the union of a vampire and a human.” Dom didn’t look at me as he stalked in front of the fire. “My mother had no business saying anything about it in front of you.”

  “Uh, I have to disagree with you on that. Isn’t that what we would have? If we, you know…”

  “Yes, but that’s not the point… Wait a minute.” He stopped pacing and looked at me. “I think I know what my mother’s up to now.”

  “What?”

  “I should have seen it last night. An intercross is exactly what’s she’s after.” He cursed as he scrubbed a hand across his face. “She wants the guards to mate with the slaves.”

  I was glad it was morning and I was no longer drinking champagne—I would’ve spit it out. “Mate?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “Why would she want them to do that?”

  Dominic sighed. “Intercrosses are very rare. In all my years, I have only glimpsed one.”

  “Does that mean it’s difficult? Does that mean we wouldn’t be able to have a baby someday?”

  “No, not at all. We could if we wanted to. It’s just complicated.”

  “Well, then you’d better start talking.” I looked at him expectantly.

  He sighed. “Biological conception can be difficult for vampires. One of the reasons my mother hasn’t cast me out, even though I am often vocal in my disagreement with her, is that I am her biological heir. Not all vampires have an easy time with conception. The fact that my mother birthed me is another symbol of her power, one she lords over the other dignitaries.”

  “So it’s difficult for vampires to become pregnant?”

  Dominic kept pacing. “It can be. But we’ve always been able to turn humans in order to keep up our numbers, so it hasn’t been much of a worry, from a survival standpoint.”

  “So what about these intercrosses? You said they’re rare. Is that because it’s difficult to achieve conception?”

  “No—I understand that it is, in fact, much easier for a male vampire to conceive with a human female, rather than a vampire one.”

  We looked at each other briefly then looked away.

  “But historically,” Dominic continued, “our mandate has been to mate only with others of our kind. Separation of races and purity of our bloodlines were cited as factors. ”

  “Purity of your bloodlines? That sounds quite racist, you know.”

  He stopped pacing. “That’s because it is racist.”

  “But you don’t feel that way?”

  “Of course not. I am in love with a human, after all. I love her so much, I have asked her to marry me. And someday, we will have a family of our own. I have already secured the blessings of my parents regarding children.”

  I smiled, but something tugged at my nerves. “Why is your mother doing this—allowing the slaves and the guards to get together? Not to mention us?”

  Dominic went and stared out the window. “Not much is known about intercrosses. From the tales I’ve heard, each one is different. Some are immortal; some are not. Some have special powers; some do not. Some of them even drink blood, though they are not wholly vampire.”

  I shivered. I hadn’t yet considered having a child with Dominic. The possibility intrigued me, in a far-off-future kind of way, but what he was telling me was also a little scary.

  Dominic stared at the sun coming up over the horizon. “I think my mother wants to build a new army of warriors who are allegiant to her.”

  “How would she do that?”

  “By creating a new race and raising them to worship her. Think about it.” Dominic didn’t turn around. “If she continues to promote relations between her guard and the girls, they will give her their unfettered loyalty. The guards have already sworn a vow to protect her. In doing so, they gave up the chance to marry and have a family of their own. If she changes that and lets them marry the slaves and have children with them, they will be bound to her in gratitude forever. And I believe the slaves will feel the same—a chance to marry and have children instead of living as a kept meal for the rest of their lives. They will bind themselves to the queen for this, especially if she offers to protect their children from the council and others of my kind who would not approve.”

  “Would others of your kind want to hurt an intercross?”

  “Perhaps.” Dom was quiet for a moment. “If they were viewed as a threat.” He glanced back at me. “Do not be upset, Victoria. Bringing a child into this world is a long way off for us, and you know that I would never let anything happen to our family.”

  I nodded, but I didn’t feel reassured. A new world of fear opened up for me, one that I had never considered. “What about the slaves and the guards? What should we do?”

  He raked a hand over his head. “I don’t know.”

  “I’ll talk to some of the girls to see what they think.”

  “Thank you.” Dominic came and kissed the top of my head. “I must go.”

  “Okay.”

  He started to walk away, and I shook my head to clear the swirl of thoughts. Although the news was upsetting, there were other things to keep in mind. “Dom, wait.” I met him at the door, wrapping my arms around him. “Thank you for last night. I love you.”

  “And I love you.” He kissed me tenderly. “Ah, I need to erase your marks. What happens in our bed is no one else’s business.”

  I held still as he closed his eyes and reached toward me, using his magic to make the skin on my neck smooth once again. But I had been pierced, straight to my core. And no matter the lie my skin told, I knew the truth.

  I would never be the same.

  19

  Angles

  I had gone to the slaves’ quarters to do a post-mortem of the ball. While I waited for the girls to finish their workout, I helped myself to breakfast in the kitchen. Alexandra sailed in a few minutes later, as if she walked on air, looking ridiculously pretty in her athletic clothes. If she’d had too much champagne the night before, she certainly didn’t look the worse for it. She grabbed some food, humming, a happy smile on her face. The smile slid off as soon as she sat down and saw my plate.

  “Don’t eat that!” she shrieked, lightly slapping my hand so I dropped the rather luscious-looking chocolate-chip muffin I’d chosen. “You’re supposed to be on a cleanse!”

  “Huh?” I protectively pulled my plate toward me. “I thought you were being nice to me! What are you talking about?”

  “I am being nice to you, and I’m talking about a cleanse.” She pointed to her plate, which was full of raw carrots, peppers, and cucumbers. “You aren’t supposed to be eating carbohydrates—only raw fruits and vegetables.”

  “You’re a raw fruit.” I wrinkled my nose at her.

  “And you’re engaged to the prince! The wedding’s next week. You need to be in top form. You’d best start cleansing!”

  “What is it even supposed to do?” I moaned.

  Alexandra’s eyes sparkled. “In combination with vigorous exercise, a cleanse makes your skin glow. I’ve also been told that it oxygenates and purifies your blood, which can get the vampires a bit excited, if you know what I mean.”

  I frowned then tentatively took a carrot off her plate. “Is that true?”

  She smiled at me knowingly. “I can tell you from my own experience with a very handsome vampire guard that yes, it is.”

  “The same guard you danced
with last night?”

  “The very same.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “He has a thing for me, of course. It’s been going on for ages.”

  My eyes widened, and I waited for her to continue.

  “I went on a week-long cleanse before my first proper date with him, and he could barely contain himself. In fact, he declared himself to me that very night.”

  I leaned forward. “And what did you do?”

  She chuckled. “A true lady never tells. Let’s just say that he still pines for me. He told me last night he’s saving up for a ring and he’d be devastated if I left him for a foreign dignitary.”

  “Alexandra.” I kept my voice low. “Do you want him to propose?” Is that even possible? Would the queen approve?

  I had never seen my friend blush before, but she did then. “Maybe. But I might have to follow Elise’s lead and get a dignitary to sweep me off my feet and get me out of the kingdom. It’s not safe here anymore. You saw the queen last night—she’s gone off the rails, letting us all party together like that. No one knows what she’ll do next.”

  Though I wanted to tell her what Dominic and I had talked about that morning, first I asked, “Would it break your heart to leave your guard?”

  Alexandra studied a red pepper. “I don’t know. I try not to think about it.”

  “What if the queen passed a law? One that said you were allowed to marry him?”

  She blew out a deep breath. “Is that what she was getting up to, letting us all guzzle champagne and slow dance all night?”

  “Maybe.” I shrugged. “Dominic seems to think so.”

  “Why would she do that, after all this time she’s carefully kept us apart, with only supervised contact?”

  “Maybe she’s trying to gather an alliance.” I raised my gaze to meet hers.

  Alexandra snorted. “She’s always bloody up to something, that one.”

  “That’s the truth.” I chewed a bite of carrot. “But what would you do? Would you marry your guard if you had the chance? Do you love him?”