The Vampire Wish: The Complete Series (Dark World)

by Michelle Madow

  She bowed many times with the violin in hand, eventually putting the instrument back in its place and re-joining us at the table.

  Next up were the twins from the Ward. Darra and Tari.

  The ones who preferred the blood of children.

  Once introduced, they stood up in tandem and unbuttoned their skirts from the tops of their dresses, revealing matching breeches underneath. They stepped to the center of the ballroom, where servants presented them with matching white fighting staffs.

  They took the staffs and marched to opposite sides of the ballroom. They each held their staff steadily in front of themselves, staring at each other so intensely that it seemed like neither of them blinked. Then they bowed to each other, and the fight began.

  They were spinning and jumping, their staffs clanging off of each other, the bangs echoing through the room. They were whirlwinds of motions, each move quick as graceful as a dance. They each took turns spinning their staffs like a baton, even incorporating aerial cartwheels and jumps high enough to reach the second floor. It was a miracle that one of them didn’t crash into the chandeliers. They would occasionally pause, take a stance, and stare at each other, as if analyzing the other’s next move. Then they would start moving again as suddenly as they’d stopped. They jumped around each other and over each other, their staffs cracking with each point of contact. The clanging took on a rhythm of its own, like music.

  It was more than clear what the Ward specialized in—combat.

  Finally, one twin whammed the other in the chest, knocking her to the ground. She placed the tip of her staff against her sister’s neck and stood over her in victory.

  The audience burst into applause.

  The twin who’d won reached down to help her sister up, and the two of them bowed to each other before returning to their seats.

  The twin who’d won had been the quieter one—the one who had said nothing as her sister had requested children’s blood from the waiter.

  The talent show continued, with Isabella singing a perfect rendition of “Think of Me” from Phantom of the Opera, Eve shooting arrows into the bulls eyes of multiple targets, and Margaret reciting a monologue from Shakespeare. I recognized the passage as one from A Midsummer’s Night Dream.

  All the while, I was thinking about what I could possibly do for my talent.

  There was only one thing I was confident that I could do well. Gymnastics.

  I’d spent years practicing before being kidnapped to the Vale. I’d been on track to compete at college. And as I looked around the ballroom during each princess’s performance, a solution started to piece together in my mind.

  I was so caught up in brainstorming that I didn’t realize Margaret had finished performing until the clapping began.

  “It’s amusing how Shakespeare got faeries so wrong,” Isabella said to me under her breath as she clapped.

  I didn’t know that faeries even existed, but I managed a small laugh, not wanting to show my ignorance.

  Camelia took the stage once more. “Thank you, Princess Margaret,” she said, her eyes on me as she spoke. “I’d now like to introduce our final contender—Princess Ana of the Seventh Kingdom.”

  Annika

  I stood up, unzipped the back of my gown, and let the dress fall to the floor.

  The audience gasped.

  I couldn’t blame them, since I was standing there in my corset and underwear. And I certainly couldn’t bring myself to look at Jacen. But this was not the time to be embarrassed. In that moment, the only thing more embarrassing than standing in front of the vampire court of the Vale in my underthings would have been not having a talent to perform.

  So I raised my chin, kicked off my heels, and stepped out of the dress, marching toward the center of the ballroom.

  I stared up at the balcony and took a deep breath. This was it. I wasn’t sure if what I wanted to do was actually possible—but better to try than to do nothing.

  Not wanting to give myself time to overthink it, I bent my knees and kicked off into a high jump, grabbing onto the chandelier. My hands wrapped around it, and I swung it back and forth a few times. Eventually I propelled my body forward, did a flip in the air, and landed on the railing of the balcony.

  Just like I’d remembered from when I’d entered the ballroom, the railing was about the same width as a balance beam.

  Even though it had been over a year since I’d competed in gymnastics, I remembered my beam routine like it was yesterday. Every night while going to bed, I’d run through all of my routines in my mind—beam, floor, bars, and vault. I supposed it was my way of holding onto the person I’d been before being kidnapped by the vampires. If I didn’t forget my routines, then the person I used to be still existed.

  This body wasn’t quite as flexible as mine as Annika. But with the vampire blood giving me strength, I was able to do the twists, flips, turns, and jumps as naturally as ever, not stumbling on the “beam” once. Every landing was precise and steady, and I smiled out at the audience as if I were at a gymnastics competition instead of being judged by a group of royal vampires. Adrenaline rushed through my veins. This was the first time I’d done this in over a year, and I lost myself to the movements. It was just me, the beam, and the routine, and I loved every second of it.

  It didn’t last long enough. Soon I was doing the side aerial full twist dismount, flying through the air and sticking the landing in the center of the ballroom floor.

  I landed with so much force that I was surprised the marble didn’t crack under my feet.

  The audience broke out into applause, and just like that, I was back to reality. A reality where I wasn’t competing for the gold as part of my college’s team, but instead competing for the heart of a cold-blooded, deceptive prince.

  I glanced over at Jacen.

  He was clapping along with the rest of them, his eyes locked on mine.

  I lowered my arms, and was suddenly reminded that I was standing in the center of the ballroom wearing only my under garments. Jacen was staring at me in my underwear… and he was looking at me the same way he’d looked at me before he’d kissed me in the alley—back when he knew me as Annika.

  My cheeks flushed, and I hurried back to my table, slipping back into the purple ball gown and pulling it up over my body. Princess Isabella was kind enough to help me with the zipper. I avoided Jacen’s gaze throughout the ordeal.

  Camelia stepped back up to the stage. “Thank you to the lovely princesses for providing such wonderful entertainment for the evening!” she said, beaming down at everyone as she spoke. “I’m just as curious as everyone else here as to which one will ultimately win the heart of our prince. But now, it’s time for dessert!”

  The waiters poured into the ballroom, each carrying a plate with a large slice of chocolate cake in the center. It smelled incredible. The royal tables were served first, and now that the talent portion of the evening was over and my nerves were finally dying down, I was quick to dig in.

  “That was quite the impressive routine,” Jacen spoke to me for the first time since our disastrous dance, his voice carrying across the table. He was studying me, his gaze intense, as if trying to figure me out. “How long have you been a gymnast?”

  I swallowed down my bite of cake, realizing my mistake.

  Annika had been a gymnast. I was supposed to be a different person than Annika. In the story Geneva and I had created for Princess Ana, we’d decided she should be a tennis player. It made sense, since I’d played tennis as Annika as well, but eventually gave it up to devote myself fully to gymnastics.

  Jacen was looking to me for an answer, so I needed to think of one—fast. But that routine I’d performed was one of a competitive gymnast. There was no possible cover for it.

  Then again, I wasn’t the only gymnast in the world. It wouldn’t be too much of a coincidence for Ana to be a gymnast too… right?

  At this point, I didn’t have much of an option.

  Perhaps Jacen had a thin
g for gymnasts? Heaven knew I needed a break like that, after the disastrous dance we’d shared earlier.

  “All my life,” I answered simply, since there was truly no other explanation for the routine I’d just performed. “I competed for my college team before I was turned.”

  “Which college?” he asked.

  “UCLA,” I answered quickly, since it was far away from University of Florida, and University of Florida was where I’d wanted to go back when I was a normal human girl. It was a dream I’d shared with Jacen on the first night we met, when we’d talked for hours in the attic of the Tavern.

  Luckily, Eve broke into the conversation, making a show of herself as she asked Jacen what he thought of her arrow shooting.

  But as Jacen answered, he kept glancing in my direction.

  And while I had no reason for thinking it, I had a feeling that he didn’t believe my story.

  Jacen

  Fangs sinking into flesh. The terrified eyes of the villagers before I killed them.

  Someone screamed for help. I recognized that voice anywhere… the sound of it was enough to pull me out of the bloodlust.

  I spun around and came face to face with Annika.

  My heart leaped at the realization that she was alive. She looked the same as she had the first time I’d seen her at the Christmas celebration in the village square—her hair in that half-up braided style. But her eyes were wide—terrified.

  She lifted her arms and wrapped her hands around a bloodied stake that pointed out from her stomach.

  How had I not seen it before?

  She opened her mouth to speak, but instead of words, blood flowed out of her lips in a waterfall to the floor. The more she tried to speak, the more blood fell. And the blood wasn’t red like it should have been. It was brown and clotted.

  The blood was dead.

  “I can save you!” I screamed. “My blood can heal you.”

  I tried to run toward her, but it was like my feet were cemented to the ground. And so I screamed her name over and over, despair filling my soul as more and more blood fell from her mouth and onto the ground, pooling at her feet. Her skin grayed and cracked until she looked like a corpse.

  I couldn’t help her.

  She was going to die.

  A beeping filled my mind—my alarm—yanking me out of the nightmare.

  My eyes shot open, my heart racing as I took a sharp breath inward. The horrifying images from the dream remained seared into my mind.

  “Are you okay?” someone asked from next to me.

  I looked over and saw Eve tucked into the other side of my bed.

  Now, instead of the gruesome images from my nightmare, the memories from last night flooded back into my mind.

  After the talent portion of the night, I’d tried to engage Princess Ana in conversation across the table, but she’d seemed shy and anxious. Completely different from the confident woman who had slipped out of her dress and performed a gymnastics routine as if she was ready for the Olympics. I’d dismissed her easily after our initial dance—she’d been dull and forgettable at that point—but in her performance, I saw fire and luster.

  I wanted to get to know that version of her.

  Because that version of her reminded me of Annika.

  I knew I could never get Annika back… but when I’d watched Ana perform that gymnastics routine, a small part of me felt like I was watching Annika instead. It was ridiculous—I knew that. But if there was anything about Ana that was similar to Annika, I wanted to know.

  Then Eve had taken over the conversation, making everything about her. She’d been rather abrasive, actually. I suspected it was because after she’d finished performing her talent, she’d had a few too many glasses of champagne. Her cheeks had been flushed with the evidence, which only made her look more beautiful. She knew she was beautiful, too. I could see her confidence in every movement she made.

  Later that night, she’d asked if she could have a private tour of my quarters once the party was over.

  I’d been about to say no—I’d wanted to talk with Ana to see if there was anything more about her that was similar to Annika—when I’d realized how silly I was being. Because Ana wasn’t Annika. Annika was dead. She was never coming back.

  I needed to get over her.

  Maybe bringing Eve to my bedroom would be the way to do that.

  So I’d said yes, and now here I was, waking up to the sight of a beautiful princess in my bed. A princess who’d kept me awake late into the night in a quest to pleasure me in every way possible.

  I should be feeling on top of the world.

  But despite the night I’d shared with Eve, Annika still haunted my dreams.

  I had a feeling that Annika would always haunt my dreams. I would be forever tormented by the memories of the fiery, brave girl who’d been taken from this world too soon.

  All because I’d failed to protect her from the monsters within the palace walls.

  “Jacen?” Eve pushed herself up, the covers dropping off her and revealing her naked body.

  Fire stirred deep within me. I let my eyes roam over the curves of her breasts, and she smiled at the effect she had on me.

  “Is something wrong?” She moved closer to me, her voice a low purr.

  “No.” I growled and yanked her toward me, pulling her thighs around my waist.

  She gave a small gasp, and then she rolled on top of me, taking me inside of her.

  I closed my eyes as I lost myself to her touch. Once I did, Annika’s face filled my mind. For that moment, I could imagine it was Annika I was with—not Eve.

  A small part of me knew that what I was doing wasn’t right. There was no point in pretending to have what could never be.

  Was there a point in any of this? Eve was a fun distraction, but I would never choose her as my bride. She was self-obsessed, she lacked depth, and she seemed disinterested in political ambition. She would hardly be a strategic choice for my plans.

  Therefore, why not enjoy this moment for what it could be? Why not pretend I was with Annika instead?

  And so, I flipped Eve over and hovered above her, not looking at her as I moved deep within her and gave into the fantasy.

  Jacen

  Eve and I had taken our activities to the sitting room when Laila burst into my quarters. The enjoyment of the moment was sucked from my body at the sight of my sire standing there watching us.

  Anyone else would have turned away and said they’d return later, but not Laila. She simply stared at us, as if walking in on me with a woman was an every day occurrence.

  “Don’t you ever knock?” I asked her, reaching for a blanket and tossing it at Eve.

  The princess wrapped it around herself, barely able to look at the queen as she scurried across the room to gather her clothes.

  As for myself, I didn’t bother covering up. This was nothing the vampire queen hadn’t seen before.

  “I did knock.” She crossed her arms, her tone filled with amusement. “Twice.”

  “Oh.” I cleared my throat. “Well, as you can see, I was busy.”

  “Yes.” Laila smirked, glancing at Eve as the princess finished dressing herself. “I see that.”

  Eve sped toward the door, stopping to give the queen a small curtsy in her rumpled dress from the night before. Her cheeks were flushed bright red. “Your Majesty,” she said, and then she turned around, hurrying out of my room.

  Now that Eve was gone, I strolled to my closet and pulled on a bathrobe, still tying the belt when I emerged. “What did you want to speak about?” I asked Laila, heading toward the fridge to grab my morning glass of blood. On my way, I stepped on a tiny, lacy piece of black fabric—Eve’s underwear.

  I smirked, having expected nothing less. Women had pulled things like that on me all the time back in my human days.

  Eve had clearly left something to come back for.

  “I wanted to discuss the princesses.” Laila made herself comfortable on the couch—the same c
ouch Eve and I had been occupying minutes earlier. “But it seems as if you already have a favorite.”

  “I was just having a bit of fun.” I shrugged and sat across from her. “I don’t intend to choose Eve as my bride.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” she said. “Utopia has the least to offer us in terms of an alliance.”

  I sipped from my drink, waiting for her to get to the real point of why she’d barged in here.

  “Do you have a favorite after last night?” she asked. “As a possibility for a bride?”

  “Not particularly.” I shrugged again, wanting to seem as nonchalant as possible. Because after watching the talent displays, it was Princess Ana that I couldn’t get out of my mind.

  But Laila wouldn’t want to hear that. Best to keep quiet. Or to say what I knew she wanted to hear.

  “I’m leaning toward the princesses from the Ward or the Carpathian Kingdom,” I said. “Princess Karina seems rather agreeable.”

  “Princess Karina would be a respectable choice.” Laila nodded. “I was glad you selected to dance with one of the princesses from the Carpathian Kingdom first, as we’d discussed.”

  “Of course,” I said. After all, going against Laila would have been of no advantage to me in that moment. She’d wanted me to dance with one of the Carpathian princesses first, and so I’d done so—despite wanting to choose Princess Eve or Princess Ana instead.

  Looking back on it now, I was glad I hadn’t danced with Princess Eve first. Best not to get her hopes up too high.

  I didn’t want the women of Utopia to come after me in a jealous rage for not choosing their princess as my bride.

  “And what about Princess Bianca, the other princess from the Carpathian Kingdom?” Laila asked. “Her performance on the violin last night was by far the most impressive of the evening.”

  “It was,” I agreed, although I’d felt a disconnect with Princess Bianca all through dinner last night. She could keep her wits in a conversation, yes. But despite her smiles, her eyes were cold and dead. It was like she was going through the motions of life without actually feeling anything. As if she had no soul. “But last night during the ball, I found myself connecting more with Princess Karina.”