Even if he was a wolf—which I still suspected he might be—I didn’t care. Clearly he’d never intended to hurt me. If he had, he would have already. All I cared about was that right now, he wanted me as much as I wanted him.
This was the best thing that had happened to me since being kidnapped to the Vale, and I intended to enjoy every second of it.
Suddenly the back door of the Tavern swung open, and I pulled away from Jake, my heart leaping into my throat at the prospect of one of the other workers barging in on such an intimate moment.
But it wasn’t one of my friends that I saw.
It was vampires.
Five of them, dressed in the sleek black outfits of the vampire guard, their mouths open to bear their fangs.
Jake’s back was toward them—he had no idea that they were vampires and not humans. But he pulled his hood back on, clearly still having something to hide—and started to glance over his shoulder to check on our visitors.
“Don’t,” I said under my breath, keeping my hand in his and stopping him from looking at them.
They had to be here for him. We needed to run.
But what way out was there? My eyes darted around the alley, but we were at a dead end. There were only two ways out—the back door to the Tavern, and the path that led to the street. Both were blocked by vampires. We might be able to climb the wall, but while I was fast, the vampires were faster. It was impossible for humans to outrun vampires.
It was especially impossible for humans to fight them.
We were trapped.
Jake turned around, and I stepped forward to stand in front of him, not wanting the vampires to see his face. Luckily this alleyway was poorly lit, and his hood was drawn so low over his eyes that his features were covered with the shadows.
“Don’t bother trying to escape,” the vampire in front said, his gaze locked on mine. He looked Scandinavian—tall and blond, with light blue eyes.
He was the vampire who had killed my mom. Rage filled my body at the sight of him—I wanted to kill him. But I knew I couldn’t. So I just stood there, hating myself for being so weak. For being so human.
“We don’t want to hurt you,” he continued.” We can’t hurt you, actually—we were ordered not to. So if you’ll just come with us, we can be on our way.”
“Me?” I asked, my voice squeaking.
“You’re Annika, correct?” He watched me, ignoring Jake completely. “You were with the human boy Mike on the day that Camelia chose him for a job at the palace?”
“You know Mike?” I stepped forward, hope surging in my chest at the prospect of hearing news about my friend. “How is he? Is he okay? When will he be back?”
“Your friend is dead,” the vampire behind him spoke. “And if you don’t come with us, you will be too.”
“No.” I shook my head and stepped back, straight into Jake’s arms.
He held me tightly, as if ready to stop me from lashing out.
“He can’t be dead,” I said. “You’re lying.”
“Why would we lie?” The leader glared at the vampire who’d said it, as if mentally telling him to shut up. “My soldier speaks the truth about your friend. But Camelia has instructed us to take you unharmed, so that’s what we’ll do. And you won’t fight us if you know what’s good for you.”
“No,” I said again, my thoughts swirling at a million miles a second. Mike couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t be.
Except he could be. Camelia had said he would be back soon. Yet it had been almost a month. He’d made no effort to contact anyone at the Tavern to let us know how he was. He hadn’t even sent a letter.
I think I’d known for a while that he was gone. I just hadn’t wanted to face the truth.
“You’re coming with us.” The leader smiled, revealing the entirety of his fangs.
I wanted to say no—that I wouldn’t go with them. But I knew better. They were five vampires and we were two humans. I might be quick, but I was nowhere near as fast as a vampire.
I was weak and helpless. Just like I’d been a year ago when I’d watched him kill my mom.
As a human in a world of supernaturals, I would always be helpless.
I was going to be taken. Jake was going to be taken.
And there was nothing we could do to stop it.
Jacen
At first I’d assumed the guards were there for me.
If it hadn’t been for Annika, I would have bolted. But I would never leave her alone with those monsters. And if I picked her up and carried her, I wouldn’t be able to outrun them. I was strong, but strong enough to fight off five vampire guards and make sure Annika was safe?
I couldn’t risk her life like that.
I also couldn’t let them take her.
Which left only one viable option.
“Stop.” Magic filled my tone, and I pulled my hood down, staring at each of the vampires. I recognized them all—I’d recognized them the moment they’d walked out of that door.
Their eyes widened when they saw me.
“Prince Jacen.” Daniel gasped, and he and the others pulled themselves together. “What are you…?” He looked back and forth from me to Annika, as if trying to figure out why I was there.
“Prince?” Annika repeated, looking up at me in question.
I couldn’t bring myself to meet her gaze. I couldn’t imagine how betrayed she must feel.
She deserved answers, but for her safety I first had to deal with the vampires who’d been sent to bring her to the palace.
“Why I’m here doesn’t concern you,” I told Daniel, throwing as much magic into my voice as possible. “Who sent you?”
“Camelia.” He swallowed, and added, “Sir.”
“Why?”
“To fetch the girl.” He glanced at Annika. “Unharmed.”
“Did she say why she needed you to ‘fetch’ Annika?” I asked.
“No, sir.” He shook his head. “She didn’t even know the girl’s name. She just said to find a girl who worked at the Tavern—she gave us her description and said she was friends with a boy named Mike. Once inside, we asked the girl at the bar who fit that description. She said Annika’s name and told us she went this way. She did, however, fail to mention a companion.”
“Tanya,” Annika muttered, her voice laced with hurt.
“She’s only a human,” I told her, meaning it as comfort. “She had to answer the vampires’ questions. It was that or have the answer beaten out of her. She had no choice.”
Annika glared at me and pulled her hand out of mine, her eyes shining with distrust.
I was going to have a lot of groveling to do after I finished saving her life. But for now, I turned back to Daniel, since I needed to get as much information from him as possible to help Annika.
“Do any of you know why Camelia asked for Annika?” I looked at all of the vampires—men who had guarded me and kept me company while I was trapped in the palace—forcing as much compulsion into my voice as possible. Their pupils were all dilated, their stances more relaxed—the magic was working. “Did she give any hint at all?”
“No,” they all repeated.
“Only that she wanted the girl unharmed,” Daniel said again. “Beyond that, we know nothing.”
“Fine,” I said, since this was getting us nowhere, and the more time we lost, the more danger Annika was in. “Avoid returning to Camelia for as long as you’re able. Avoid returning to anyone who knows you’re on this mission. Tell no one that you saw me—or Annika.”
“Understood.” Daniel nodded, and as quickly as a human could blink, he and the other vampires were gone from the alley.
Annika also attempted to run, but I reached for her arm, stopping her.
Did she truly believe she could outrun a vampire?
She glared at me, her eyes filled with challenge. “Let me go,” she commanded. “Prince Jacen.”
“No,” I told her. “I’ve compelled them to leave, but Camelia’s smart. It won’t be
long until she realizes what I’ve done and sends more vampires to find us—this time with wormwood to make sure I can’t compel them. We need to get out of here while we still can.”
“Are you serious?” She tried to pull out of my grip, but given the differences in our strength, her attempt was futile. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I don’t want any part of it.”
“I’m not playing a game.” I took a deep breath, trying to be as patient as possible. “I’m on your side here.”
“You seriously expect me to believe you?” she asked. “You—a vampire prince who pretended to be a human so he could use me for his own amusement? I can’t believe I actually fell for it. I feel like such an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot,” I said quickly. “And it wasn’t like that—not at all.”
“Really?” She narrowed her eyes. “So tell me, Your Highness. What was it like?”
“It’s a long story,” I told her. “And I’ll tell you all of it—once we’re out of here.”
She held her gaze stubbornly with mine. “You better tell me some of it, or I’m not going anywhere with you.”
I chucked, because given the differences in our strength, did she really think she had a choice?
I hated thinking that, because she deserved a choice. But if I left her here it wouldn’t be long until Camelia found her again and took her to the palace.
Once she was in the palace, she was as good as dead.
“A little over a year ago, I was turned into a vampire against my will,” I said quickly. “I’ve lived in the palace since then—I know what happens to the humans who are brought there. And I will not let that happen to you. So come with me. Please. I’ll do everything I can to bring you to safety.”
For a moment, fear crossed over her face, and I was grateful that she realized how much was at stake here. But a second later, her expression switched back to hard resolve and firm determination.
She might be a human and I a vampire, but I swear her mind was just as strong as mine—if not stronger.
“Why did you lie to me?” she finally asked. “About who you are.”
“Like I said, I was turned into a vampire against my will,” I repeated. “Last night, all I wanted was to feel normal. To feel human. That was all it was supposed to be—one night. I never expected to meet you, or for us to spend hours together and have the connection we did. More than anything, I never wanted to hurt you.”
“Is that why you came to talk to me today?” she asked. “To tell me the truth?”
I wanted to lie to her—to say yes. But I couldn’t. Not after already having lied so much.
“No,” I said. “I came because I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I may have lied about who I am—about what I am—but my feelings for you are real. So please, Annika—come with me. Let me save your life.”
Annika
I had no reason to trust him. Not after he’d lied about so much.
How had everything changed so fast?
Mike was dead. Jake—Jacen—was a vampire prince. Camelia had sent vampire guards to bring me to the palace. Tanya had told them where I was without even trying to protect me.
It was too much to take in at once.
But I knew one thing for sure—those vampire guards would be back. As a human, I was powerless to stop them. They would drag me to the palace and do who knows what to me. I would likely end up dead.
And here was Jacen, offering to save my life.
The strangest thing was, despite his lying to me, I did trust him. At least with this. After all, he could have killed me in this alley. He could have tasted my blood. Instead, he’d kissed me. I’d kissed him back.
Part of my mind knew that spending a few hours talking with him last night and kissing him today wasn’t enough to earn trust—especially after he’d lied about so much.
But if I didn’t trust him now, I was as good as dead.
“Fine,” I said, since I was out of any other feasible option. “Let’s go.”
He nodded, and moving so quickly that he was a blur, picked me up and placed me on his back. “Hold on tight,” he said, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Tighter,” he instructed. “You won’t hurt me.”
“Have you ever done this before?” I asked.
“I’ve seen it done,” he said simply. “Now, you might want to close your eyes.”
The next thing I knew, he was zipping through the back streets of the village, zigzagging to avoid crashing into the occasional human in the path. The wind whipped across my face with so much force that tears streamed from my eyes. The speed reminded me of when I went on a vacation with my family to St. Kitts and my brother and I went on a banana boat ride behind a speedboat. Grant kept telling the driver to go faster and faster, until it got so difficult to hold on that we both went flying off.
Luckily, Jacen ran a lot steadier than that, so it wasn’t nearly as difficult to hold on. But more unnerving than the speed was knowing that if a human were running this fast, they surely would have crashed into something by now.
Apparently, vampires had much better reflexes than humans could ever imagine.
Soon enough, we were out of the village and tearing through the wilderness. We were higher up in the mountains now—so high that the ground was covered in snow.
There was only one other time I’d ventured this far out of the village—when I’d tried to escape and had gotten attacked by that wolf.
“Wait,” I said, barely able to catch my breath as the wind whipped past me.
He slowed down to a stop, the snow skidding under his feet. “What?” he asked.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re leaving,” he said quickly, angling his head so his cheek brushed mine. “We have to get you out of here. It’s the only way to keep you safe.”
“Leaving the Vale?” I asked, unsure if I’d understood correctly. Because we couldn’t just leave the Vale.
Could we?
“Yes.” He turned back around, but before he could continue running, I untangled myself from his neck and jumped down to stand. My legs shook when I landed—apparently I’d been holding on to him tighter than I’d realized.
“What are you doing?” He turned to me, irritation crossing his face.
“We can’t just leave,” I pointed out.
“I thought that was what you wanted?” He expression shifted from irritation to confusion. “Freedom from life as a blood slave?”
“Yes,” I said, although we both knew that wasn’t all I wanted—I would never be safe from the vampires as long as I remained human. “But what about the wolves?”
“I’m a vampire prince.” He brushed away my question. “The wolves won’t attack me. Or you, if I ask them not to.”
“Okay,” I said, although given the fact that the wolves had been breaking into the Vale and attacking humans, I doubted the relationship between the vampires and wolves was as solid as he was making it out to be. “But let’s say we do make it past the wolves. It’s winter in Canada. I’ll freeze to death before we make it to the nearest town—wherever that might be.” I motioned to the flimsy clothes I was wearing—jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt—to prove my point. The temperature in the Vale was regulated by the witch—by Camelia. Once we left, we would enter the full onslaught of the Canadian winter.
“Good point,” he said, his eyes roaming over my thin clothing. Then he took a deep breath and lifted his wrist to his mouth, puncturing his skin with his fangs. “Here,” he said, holding his bleeding wrist out to me. “Drink.”
“What?” I widened my eyes and stepped back. “You’re turning me into a vampire? What about everything you told me about the transition—how not everyone lives? And how any vampire turned illegally is killed?”
“Drinking my blood won’t turn you into a vampire.” He chuckled, his eyes dark. “The process is a bit more complicated than that.”
“Oh,” I said, my stomach dropping with disappointmen
t. Because despite the challenges, I supposed I was hoping he was giving me what I wanted—the chance to become a vampire and never be helpless again. After all, even now that he was trying to help me, I was still at his mercy. As long as I remained a human, I would never be truly safe. “So if drinking your blood won’t turn me into a vampire, then what will it do?” I asked.
“You don’t know?” He looked surprised.
I rolled my eyes. “If I knew, would I be asking?”
He was silent for a few seconds, as if contemplating how to begin. “I suppose the power of vampire blood is kept from the humans in the Vale for a good reason,” he started. “Like wormwood, it could be used against them. And you know all about that, clearly, since you have it on you now.”
“What?” I scrunched my eyebrows, getting more and more confused by the second. “I don’t have wormwood on me.”
“You’re lying,” he said stiffly.
“I’m absolutely not.” I didn’t get it—why would he think I had wormwood on me?
He studied me, as if waiting for me to claim otherwise, but I had nothing to confess.
“What happens when a human drinks vampire blood?” I asked instead, bringing him back to the previous subject.
“If the humans knew, they might attempt to rebel,” he said slowly. “But this knowledge will keep you safe, so I’ll tell you.”
“Okay.” I waited, noticing that the puncture marks on his wrist had stopped bleeding and were beginning to heal.
“If a human drinks the blood of a vampire, they’ll have the abilities of a vampire for twenty-four hours,” he said. “Speed, healing, strength… they’ll even be able to drink blood themselves, despite not actually needing it to survive. But more importantly, drinking vampire blood will stop you from freezing to death once we cross the boundary of the Vale.”
“So I’ll sort of become a vampire,” I said.
“Yes.” He nodded. “Temporarily.”
“And what’s the process to turn a human into a vampire?” I asked. “Not temporarily?”
The Vampire Wish: The Complete Series (Dark World) Page 10
