Camelia gave a small huff, but Laila ignored her.
“When I turned you last year, I gave you a gift,” Laila continued.
“A gift I never wanted.”
“Nevertheless, I gave it to you,” she said. “You’re a vampire prince now, Jacen. Show me that you deserve the title.”
“And if I don’t?” I challenged.
“You do.” She laughed, light and melodic. “You may not see it now, but you will. Someday, you will. But for now—feed from him.”
I eyed up the human man. How did he get in the prison? How old was he? Did he have a family?
I couldn’t ask in front of Laila and Camelia. They viewed the human blood slaves as animals instead of people. Angering them would get me nowhere.
Instead, I created answers to the questions to myself. I imagined that this man had a family—a newborn grandchild he was excited to get to know. That he wanted his family to have more food than their rations allowed, since the rations only afforded bare survival for the humans. So he stole—bread from the vampires. The bread that vampires didn’t even need to eat to survive, but enjoyed anyway, simply because they could. He got caught, and was unfairly locked in the dungeons, doomed to become a personal blood slave for the vampires in the palace—doomed to have them drink and drink from him until he died of blood loss and his remains were fed to the wolves outside the enchanted boundaries.
I looked into his eyes, trying to convince myself that this story I’d created for him was true.
Humanizing him might be the difference between if I was able to stop myself from losing myself to the bloodlust or if I killed him.
“Are you ready?” Laila sighed and tapped her foot impatiently. “We don’t have all day.”
“I’m ready.” I stared at the man—examining his wrinkled face and reminding myself of the story I’d created.
I wouldn’t kill him.
I would let him live.
I inched toward him and lowered myself down, my fangs sliding out of my gums as the scent of his blood filled my nose. Then my teeth sunk into his flesh and I was gulping down the warm, fresh blood.
How had I thought that the bitter, refrigerated blood could compare? How had I convinced myself that I could live off that garbage for the rest of my immortal existence? Noble vampires in the Vale were afforded the luxury of drinking straight from humans—I should enjoy the indulgence, not cower away from it.
It wasn’t like I had much else to look forward to anymore. Not after my mortal life—my soul—had been taken from me against my will.
If the intoxicating taste of fresh blood was all I could enjoy, then so be it.
Just when I was beginning to enjoy myself, the blood supply stopped. I sucked deeper on his neck, trying to will out the final drops, and I squeezed his arms harder, as if that could push out more blood.
But there was nothing left.
He was drained dry.
Camelia
I loved watching Jacen feed.
Ever since he’d been brought to the palace, I’d been fascinated by the vampire prince—the handsome swimmer I’d advised that Laila turn after her previous prince had been driven mad by the bloodlust and had sacrificed himself to the wolves.
As Jacen drained the old man, I reached for the pendant I always wore around my neck—the one filled with wormwood—stroking it and holding my breath. I watched as the man stopped struggling, as his hands went limp, and as his head eventually rolled to the side, his eyes empty and dead.
As predicted, Jacen had lost control again. Consumed by his bloodlust. It wasn’t surprising. Because the stronger the vampire, the harder it was for them to control their urge to drain humans dry.
Jacen was shaping up to become one of the most powerful vampires that ever existed.
And I was determined to make him mine.
“Take the body away,” Laila told Daniel, barely glancing at the drained corpse.
Jacen didn’t tear his eyes away from the old man as Daniel heaved him over his shoulder and walked out of the room.
“You’re not ready,” Laila told Jacen sharply. “In time you will be, but not yet.”
“How do I control it?” he asked her—begged her. “Why don’t I know when to stop?”
“You’re improving,” Laila said. “The fact that you didn’t maul him the moment you smelled his blood was significant progress. But you need more time.”
“How much more?”
“There’s no exact formula,” she said. “It will happen when you want it badly enough. In the meantime, I have work to attend to.”
She exited the room, leaving Jacen and me alone.
“What are you staring at?” he growled at me. “Don’t you have work to do, too? A kingdom to help Laila run?”
“Of course.” I nodded. “But I also wanted to let you know that I’m here for you, if you ever want to talk.”
“Don’t play that game with me.” He scowled.
“What game?” I reached for the amulet again, forming my expression into one that I hoped looked like complete innocence.
“The game where you pretend to care about anyone except for yourself.”
“There’s no pretense here,” I told him. “I do care about you. I want you to become the strongest vampire prince that ever lived. Perhaps even a king.”
“I’ll never become a king.” He crossed his arms. “I don’t want to become a king.”
“Then what do you want?” I asked, truly curious.
“To be human again.”
“Why?” I laughed. “Even if that were possible—which it isn’t—why would you refuse the power you’ve been given? Why would you want to be so weak?”
“I’m not going to bother explaining it to you,” he looked away from me and walked over to the window, gazing longingly at the human village below. “You’ll never understand.”
“I might understand more than you think.” I slithered toward him, and when I was close enough, I laid my hand gently on his shoulder. “I understand that you need comfort, Jacen. I can provide that. Let me give it to you.”
I leaned forward, looking deep into his eyes, my lips getting closer and closer to his. What would kissing him feel like? I imagined that old man’s blood must still coat his tongue—I wished I could know how delicious it tasted to him.
It must have been incredible, to make him lose control like he did.
“Stop.” He stepped back, his eyes dilating as he stared into mine. “Leave my quarters. Now.”
“Are you trying to compel me?” I laughed again, although disappointment fluttered in my stomach. I wouldn’t be turned away that easily. Instead, I leaned forward again, willing him to give into temptation. He’d given in with that human. Why not with me?
He simply backed away and repeated his command.
“You know I’m wearing wormwood,” I continued, reaching for my necklace. “Your compulsion won’t work on me.”
Compulsion was an ability that only the originals—and the vampires they directly turned—possessed. It was the ability to make others do as they willed. It could be used to achieve greatness, but it could also be used to achieve great destruction. Which was why the originals were extremely selective in who they turned into a vampire prince or princess.
They couldn’t risk creating a vampire who might use the powers they’d been gifted to destroy their own sire.
“We’re done here.” He took another step away from me, narrowing his eyes. “Unless you have anything more you need to say?”
“No,” I said. “At least, not now.”
With that, I turned on my heel and headed out the door. Fire ran through my veins as I stomped down the hall—frustration. I hated not getting what I wanted.
Jacen may not want me now. But in time, he would learn to.
Because eventually, I would be his queen.
Annika
I held out my arm, watching as the needle sucked the blood from the crease of my elbow and into the clear v
ial. I sat there for ten minutes, staring blankly ahead as I did my monthly duty as a citizen of the Vale.
Like all humans who lived in the kingdom, I was required to donate blood once a month.
This was my twelfth time donating blood.
Twelve months. One year. That’s how long it had been since my family had been murdered in front of my eyes and I’d been kidnapped to the Vale.
When I’d first been told that I was now a blood slave to vampires, I didn’t believe it. Vampires were supposed to be fiction. They didn’t exist in real life.
But I couldn’t deny what I’d seen in front of my eyes. Those pale men, how quickly they’d moved, how they’d ripped their teeth into my parents and brother’s throats and drained them dry, leaving their corpses at the bottom of that ski trail.
Why had I been the one chosen to live, and not them?
It was all because I’d fallen on that slope. If I hadn’t fallen, I would have been first down the mountain. I would have been killed. My mom would have been last, and she would have been the one taken.
But my mom wouldn’t have been strong enough to survive in the Vale. So even though I hated that I’d lived while they’d died, it was better that I lived in this hellish prison than any of them. I’d always been strong. Stubborn. Determined.
Those traits kept me going every day. They were the traits that kept me alive.
At first, I’d wanted to escape. I thought that if I could just get out of this cursed village, I could run to the nearest town and get help. I could save all the humans who were trapped in the Vale.
I didn’t get far before a wolf tried to attack me.
I’d used my gymnastics skills to climb high up on a tree, but if Mike hadn’t followed me, fought off the wolf, and dragged me back inside the Vale, I would have been dead meat. The wolves would have eventually gotten to me and feasted upon my body, leaving nothing but bones.
Mike had told me everything about the wolves as we’d walked back to the Tavern. He’d grown up in the Vale, so he knew a lot about its history. He’d told me that they weren’t regular wolves—they were shifters. They’d made a pact with the vampires centuries ago, after the vampires had invaded their land and claimed this valley as their own. He’d told me about how the wolves craved human flesh as much as the vampires craved human blood, and how if a human tried to escape—if they crossed the line of the Vale—they became dinner to the wolves.
At least the vampires let us live, so they could have a continuous supply of blood to feast upon whenever they wanted.
The wolves just killed on the spot.
That was the first and last time I’d tried to escape. And after Mike had saved me, we’d become best friends. He’d offered me my job at the Tavern, where I’d been working—and living—ever since. All of us who worked there lived in the small rooms above the bar, sleeping in the bunks inside.
He and the others had helped me cope with the transition—with realizing I was a slave to the vampires, and that as a mere human amongst supernaturals, there was no way out.
They were my family now.
“You’re done,” the nurse said, removing the needle from my arm. She placed a Band-Aid on the bleeding dot, and I flexed my elbow, trying to get some feeling back in the area. “See you next month.”
“Yeah.” I gathered my bag and stood up. “Bye.”
On my way out, I passed Martha—the youngest girl who worked at the Tavern. She slept in the bunk above mine, and along with being the youngest, she was also the smallest.
It took her twice as long to recover from the blood loss as it did for me.
“Good luck,” I told her on the way out. “I’ll see you back at the Tavern.” I winked, and she smiled, since she knew what I was about to do.
It was what I always did on blood donation day.
I held my bag tightly to my side and stepped onto the street, taking a deep breath of the cold mountain air. It was dark—us humans were forced to adjust to the vampires’ nocturnal schedule—and I could see my breath in front of me. The witch who’d created the shield to keep the Vale hidden from human eyes also regulated the temperature, but she could only do so much. And since it was December in Canada, it was naturally still cold.
I hurried to the busiest street in town—Main Street, as it was so creatively named. Humans manned stalls, and vampires walked around, purchasing luxuries that only they were afforded. Meat, doughnuts, pizza, cheeses—you name it, the vampires bought it.
The vampires didn’t even need food to survive, but they ate it anyway, because it tasted good.
Us humans, on the other hand, were relegated to porridge, bread, rice, and beans—the bare necessities. The vampires thought of us as nothing but cattle—as blood banks. And blood banks didn’t deserve food for enjoyment. Only for nourishment.
Luckily, Mike had taught me a trick or two since the day he’d saved me from the wolves. After seeing me climb that tree, he’d called me “scrappy” and said it was a skill that would get me far in the Vale.
He’d taught me how to steal.
It was ironic, really. Stealing hadn’t been something that had ever crossed my mind in my former life. I used to have it good—successful, loving parents, trips to the Caribbean in the spring, skiing out west in the winter, and an occasional voyage to Europe thrown in during the summers. I’d had a credit card, and when I’d needed something, I would buy it without a second thought.
I hadn’t appreciated how good I’d had it until all of that was snatched away and I was left with nothing.
Now I walked past the various booths, eyeing up the delicious food I wasn’t allowed to have. But more than the food, I was eying up the shopkeepers and the vampires around them. Who seemed most oblivious? Or absorbed in conversation?
It didn’t take long to spot a vampire woman flirting with a handsome human shopkeeper. I’d seen enough of vampires as a species to know that if the flirting was going to progress anywhere, it would lead to him becoming one of her personal blood slaves, but he followed her every movement, entranced by her attention.
They were the only two people at the booth. Everyone else was going about their own business, not paying any attention to me—the small, orphaned blood slave with downcast eyes and torn up jeans.
Which gave me the perfect opportunity to snatch the food that us humans were forbidden to purchase.
Annika
I pressed up against the stall, brushed a pile of candies into my bag, and scurried away.
Not bothering to glance behind, I stayed to the side of the street, scuttled through an alley, and passed through to the other side. Once there, I leaned against the wall, finally able to breathe again.
Every time I stole, I feared getting caught.
But that wouldn’t stop me from doing it. After all, this was the only revenge I had against the vampires. They might have taken away my family, and they might have taken away my freedom, but I refused to let them take away my dignity.
As a human, I was weak and they were strong. I hated them for it, but at the same time, I envied them for it. Because after they’d murdered my family in front of my eyes and I was powerless to stop it, I never wanted to feel that helpless again.
But I did feel helpless. Every day since I was taken here. How could I not, as a human amongst such powerful creatures? To them, we were animals. We were slaves.
I wish I had the power to change that.
For now, all I had was the power to take from them. Small things, and they never even noticed, but it was the only revenge I had.
I leaned against the wall and smiled, since once again, I’d gotten away with it. And so, after taking a few more deep breaths and steadying the pounding of my heart, I turned the corner and approached the bookstore.
It was empty inside besides the owner, Norbert. He sat at his desk, his eyeglasses on as he read a book. He was an older man—I always imagined that if we weren’t prisoners in the Vale, he would have been a professor at some fancy college
. Perhaps even a college I might have chosen to attend.
The moment the door closed, he looked up and smiled at me. “Annika,” he said, placing his glasses down at the table. “Anything specific you’re looking for today?”
“Just browsing,” I told him. “Have you gotten in a new shipment yet?”
“It’s only been a few days!” He laughed and leaned back in his chair. “I swear, you read faster than new books can arrive.”
“I’m sure I can find something I missed before.” I smiled and made my way over to my favorite shelf—the fantasy section—and got started on examining the spines, pulling out the titles that looked interesting and reading the back covers.
Before coming to the Vale, I hadn’t been much of a reader—at least, I’d never read books that weren’t assigned for class. Between school, gymnastics practices, homework, and spending time with my friends, I didn’t have time to read for fun. If I needed to relax after a long day, I usually went straight to the television.
But us humans in the Vale didn’t have access to televisions—or to the internet at all. And even with my work at the Tavern, now that I was no longer training for gymnastics competitions I had a lot more extra time on my hands. So I’d discovered the one pastime that humans in the Vale were allowed—books.
The books I found at the store here were much more to my taste than the books I’d been assigned to read at school. It hadn’t been long until I’d discovered that I loved getting lost in the lives and stories of other people. I loved exploring their hardships, their trials, their love, and how they overcame most everything, despite what seemed like impossible odds.
These days, books were the only things that gave me hope. I treasured them and the stories within them more than anything else in the world.
“That’ll be five coins,” Norbert said once I placed the book I’d chosen on the counter.
“I don’t have coins,” I told him. “But I do have something I can trade.”
The Vampire Wish: The Complete Series (Dark World) Page 2
