All I knew was that I was surely doomed to Hell for what I’d done.
Any other vampire of the Vale would have been killed for losing control like that. Losing control of the bloodlust is considered too much of a liability for our species, and the punishment is a stake through the heart.
But not me.
Apparently Laila had been planning on turning me for a long time. As a human, I’d been a well-known athlete—I’d been training for the Olympic swim team, and had been predicted to win more gold medals than any swimmer in years.
But unbeknownst to me at the time, Laila had already chosen me to be her next prince. She’d been convinced that the strength I’d had as a human meant I would be an extraordinarily strong vampire.
So instead of killing me after I’d rampaged the village, she’d kept me alive, assigning extra guards to my quarters to ensure I didn’t escape the palace again.
It had taken me nearly a year to gain control over my bloodlust.
I’d thought that once I proved I could control it, I would be free. But that wasn’t the case.
I was only free to leave the palace walls and walk the streets of the vampire town and human village. The moment I’d left the Vale—with a human girl named Annika who I was helping escape—I’d been hunted down by wolves, vampires, and Camelia, the witch who upheld the Vale’s boundary and acted as Laila’s second in command.
I’d been sedated with wormwood—the only plant that acts like kryptonite to vampires—and brought back to the palace.
Annika had been killed.
Seeing her corpse made me realize that as long as Queen Laila was alive, I would always be a prisoner to her and the Vale. The vampire queen would never stop trying to control me.
I could only be free if Queen Laila was dead.
And so, I’d agreed to Queen Laila’s plan to invite vampire princesses from all over the world to the palace to seek my hand in marriage. But I hadn’t agreed so I could help the Vale forge an alliance with one of the other kingdoms so we could stand stronger against the wolves.
I’d agreed so I could find a princess who would support a rebellion against Queen Laila and the Vale.
Now I had to convince Queen Laila that my decision to eliminate Princess Bianca was for the best interest of the Vale—despite the fact that Princess Bianca hailed from the Vale’s greatest ally, the Carpathian Kingdom.
“Princess Bianca had the emotional capacity of an insect.” I walked over to the sitting room, aware that this conversation wouldn’t be short. But I couldn’t sit down yet—as queen, Laila needed to sit first. Instead, I rested my hands on the back of the sofa, standing strong as I spoke. “She pales in comparison to Princess Karina.”
Princess Karina was the other princess from the Carpathian Kingdom, and what I’d said was true. Princess Karina was intelligent and charming—everything that Princess Bianca was not.
“The Carpathian Kingdom cares about the Vale more than any other kingdom.” Laila joined me in the sitting room, although she didn’t take a seat. “King Nicolae cares for me deeply. Eliminating one of his princesses first was insulting.”
“I didn’t eliminate Princess Bianca first,” I reminded her. “That honor would go to Princess Daniela of the Tower.”
“Princess Daniela lost control of her bloodlust and attacked one of the humans in our village,” Laila snapped. “You had no choice but to eliminate her.”
“I did have a choice,” I said. “I chose to eliminate Princess Daniela because it was what was best for the Vale. Which is the same reason why I eliminated Princess Bianca.”
“You eliminated Princess Bianca because you didn’t like her on a personal level,” Laila said. “Not because it was beneficial to the Vale.”
“It would hardly benefit the Vale for their prince to be married to a miserable—”
“Stop.” Laila held a hand in the air, cutting me off before I could say what I truly thought of the cold-hearted princess. “What’s done is done. In the future, however, you’re to consult with me before eliminating another princess.”
“I can’t promise you that,” I told her, and she narrowed her eyes, looking like she wanted to kill me then and there. “But I can promise not to eliminate Princess Karina without consulting you first.”
“Will you make a blood oath on that promise?” she asked.
“I will.” I walked over to my desk and opened the drawer, pulling out a knife and using it to make an incision on my palm. Once done, I handed the knife to Laila, who did the same.
We clasped hands, our palms connecting where the cuts bled.
“You promise me that you will not eliminate Princess Karina of the Carpathian Kingdom from the selection we’re holding in the quest for your hand without consulting me first,” Laila said, her eyes on me as she spoke. “Do you swear to agree to this blood oath?”
“I swear,” I said, and my hand tingled, the magic binding me to my word.
We pulled our hands away, and our cuts sealed.
“Very well.” Laila nodded and walked back to the sitting room, taking a seat on the sofa. “We have much to discuss, but let’s jump to the most important matter first.”
“Which matter is that?” I sat down in the sofa across from her, although I kept my posture stiff, not feeling comfortable enough to relax just yet.
“We need to discuss Princess Ana of the Seventh Kingdom.”
Jacen
The mention of Princess Ana brought a tangle of emotions to my throat that I didn’t quite understand.
Because Princess Ana reminded me of Annika, the human blood slave who had captured my attention last month and whose life I had failed to save. They weren’t similar in looks—Princess Ana had red hair while Annika had dark hair, Ana had green eyes while Annika had brown, and Ana had freckles while Annika’s skin was as smooth as porcelain.
It was the little things that reminded me of Annika. Like the way Princess Ana tilted her head when she waited for me to answer a question, the way they both were dedicated gymnasts, and the way they both refrained from drinking alcohol even during festive celebrations. Ana didn’t think anyone noticed that she didn’t touch her glass of champagne at the welcoming ball, but she was wrong.
I’d noticed.
But despite those similarities, the girls were also very different. Annika was fiery and open, while Ana was quiet and reserved. When I’d danced with Annika at the Christmas celebration in the village square—when I’d disguised myself as a human in the hope of feeling normal for a night—Annika had been quick to open up about her past and how she’d gotten to the Vale. Ana, on the other hand, revealed nothing about herself or where she came from. The conversations I’d had with Annika had flowed naturally and easily, while my attempts with Ana had been stilted and awkward.
Still, I refused to give up on Princess Ana just yet. There was something about her… something that made me want to give her a chance to open up.
I also knew that comparing her to Annika was futile. Because Annika was dead. She was never coming back.
I would never find out where the spark between us could had led.
“Have you learned more about the Seventh Kingdom?” I asked Laila, making sure I sounded as neutral as possible. I couldn’t let Laila know that Princess Ana intrigued me as much as she did.
Laila was too quick to smash anything I cared about that didn’t directly benefit herself.
“I’ve learned nothing,” she said. “Neither have the leaders of the other kingdoms. Queen Mary of the Haven is even involving herself in the investigation, and she’s come up empty handed as well.”
“I thought the Haven represented neutrality and stayed out of political affairs?” I didn’t know much more about the vampires of the Haven, other than that they fed off animal blood instead of human blood and that they allowed any non-royal vampire who was able to live in accordance to their diet to come live with them. Which wasn’t easy, since animal blood only gave vampires about half the strength
as human blood, but many were willing to do it in exchange for safety.
Oh, and also that they were protected by the tiger shifters who shared their land.
“The Haven is as invested in learning about another possible kingdom as much as anyone else,” Laila said. “But like everyone else, they’ve been unable to discover any information.”
“The Seventh Kingdom must be hidden exceptionally well,” I said, finally feeling comfortable enough to lean back in my seat.
“Perhaps,” Laila said. “Although it’s far more likely that the Seventh Kingdom doesn’t exist at all.”
“Yet no vampire king or queen has claimed to have sired Princess Ana,” I reminded her. “And Ana is clearly a princess, since she can use compulsion. She must come from somewhere.”
“It doesn’t add up,” Laila agreed. “But the mysterious princess seems extremely taken by you. I see it in the way she looks at you. I was hoping you’d been able to glean some information from her about her kingdom.”
Laila’s comment took me by surprise. If Princess Ana seemed “taken” by me, I hadn’t noticed it. Ana certainly didn’t seem as taken by me as Princess Eve, who had invited herself to my bedroom after the welcome ball and had given herself to me for the taking.
I assumed Princess Eve meant for her actions to increase her chance at being chosen as my bride, but it had really done just the opposite.
“Princess Ana has revealed little about herself and nothing of her kingdom,” I said, since it was the truth. “But I also want to learn more about the Seventh Kingdom. How would you feel about pushing up my date with Princess Ana to… tonight?”
Now that the welcome ball was complete, I was having individual dates with each of the princesses. So far, the only date that had taken place was the one with Princess Karina. Tonight was supposed to have been my date with Princess Bianca, but clearly that wouldn’t be happening, since I’d eliminated her.
Anticipation rushed through my veins at the prospect of time alone with the mysterious Princess Ana instead.
“That would be too obvious of an insult to the princesses of the other kingdoms,” Laila said. “But Princess Bianca’s departure allows us to change the schedule around, and we should use that to our advantage. We’ll recreate the schedule and place your date with Princess Ana in the middle. That way you can get information from her sooner, without giving her any obvious preference that might make the other princesses jealous.”
“A fair deal,” I agreed.
“But be careful about what you say around Princess Ana,” Laila warned. “It’s far more likely that she’s up to something than that she’s truly from a kingdom of myth.”
“I know,” I said, although I hoped Princess Ana was telling the truth. Mainly because I wanted to trust her, but also because of the possibility that the Seventh Kingdom might want to help me in my mission to take down the Vale.
“In the meantime, it’s best to keep her here,” Laila said. “At least here, we have an eye on her and can discover who she is and where she comes from.”
“I’ll do everything I can to uncover the truth,” I said, although my reasons for wanting to do so were very different from Laila’s.
Because if Princess Ana was trying to harm the Vale, I would do everything I could to help her succeed.
Annika
I walked through the hall of the palace with a book tucked under my arm, heading to the library.
The Vale operated on a nocturnal schedule—everyone was awake at night and slept during the day. The schedule was to accommodate the vampires, who were weakened in the sunlight. It had been a tough adjustment, but I’d gotten used to it since being kidnapped to the Vale about a year ago to be a blood slave in the human village.
In the human village, I’d worked at a bar called the Tavern, serving the standard fare of chicken, rice, beans, and watered down beer to humans on their breaks from work. I’d had time to read at the end of the day, but not much—unless I stayed up later than I should have to finish a book I couldn’t put down. Which, to be honest, happened more often than I cared to admit. I’d simply been glad that while humans weren’t allowed to have television or internet, we were allowed to read books. I hadn’t been much of a reader before being kidnapped to the Vale—my life had always been packed with school, gymnastics practice, and homework—but with only books available to the humans of the Vale for entertainment, I’d quickly learned what I’d been missing out on.
Now that I was disguised as a vampire princess and had my own quarters in the palace as “Princess Ana,” I had less to do in my waking hours than ever. And so, I’d been thrilled when my guard Tess had shown me the royal library. It contained way more books than the small bookshop in the human village could ever imagine. And unlike the books in the human village—which were worn, torn, and had smudged pages—the books in the palace library were fresh and new.
In the human village, I’d been in the middle of reading a popular series—so popular that there were theme parks built after it. It had been easy to find the book that I’d left off on so I could get back into the story.
I’d just finished the book and was bringing it to the library to return it and grab the next one when I ran into Prince Jacen in the hallway.
He was dressed casually, in jeans and a button down shirt. It was the most casual I’d seen him since I’d arrived to the Vale as Princess Ana. It reminded me of the first time I’d met him—when he’d snuck into the village in disguise as a human.
I’d liked the person I’d thought he was that night. More than liked—I’d been instantly attracted to him.
But that person had never existed.
“Princess Ana.” He stopped walking. His eyes traveled from my face, to the book in my hand, and then back to my face. “I see you’ve discovered our library?”
“Yes,” I said, bringing the book in closer to my chest. I searched for something else to add, but came up with nothing.
Why did my brain go haywire every time I was in his presence?
My guard Tess stepped aside and looked away from us, clearly trying to give us as much privacy as possible.
“I’m on my way to return a book.” It was stating the obvious, but at least it was better than saying nothing.
“I see that.” He looked again to the book I was holding. “I’ve seen the movies—haven’t read the books.”
“They’re amazing,” I told him. “I didn’t read much as a human—I was always so busy—but since being turned into a vampire I’ve had much more time on my hands. I can’t believe I didn’t read this series sooner.”
“I think that’s the most you’ve told me about yourself since you arrived to the palace,” he said with a smile. “Would you like me to escort you to the library?”
“If you want to,” I told him. “I don’t want to keep you if you have somewhere important to be…”
“Nothing’s more important than spending time with the princesses who have journeyed here to get to know me,” he said, starting toward the library. “Come. Let’s walk.”
I did as he said, not having much of a choice.
We walked in silence for a few seconds, and I searched my mind for something to say. I’d never had a problem talking with him as Annika—back then, it had seemed like I was always bursting with questions for him. But as Princess Ana, it was different. I was afraid of saying something that might blow my cover.
Taking on a new identity was much harder than I’d anticipated.
How had Jacen done such a good job of it when he’d pretended to be human that night in the village?
I could only guess it was because he was a born liar. Anger filled me at the reminder of his betrayal. He’d shown his true colors by lying to me, convincing me he cared about helping me escape, and then leaving me for dead.
I, on the other hand, always liked to be honest. But honesty was impossible when I was lying about who I was, which left me at a loss of what to say. However, my silence certainly wouldn’
t help me in my goal to get Prince Jacen to keep me here as long as possible so I could learn how to kill Queen Laila. And I could already see the entrance to the library, so I needed to say something.
“Do you come here often?” I finally asked, at the same time as he said, “I’m switching around the nights of the dates.”
We stopped walking, our eyes meeting as we exchanged awkward smiles.
“Do I come here often?” he repeated my question, chuckling. “I live here.”
“I meant to the library.” I turned my eyes down, my cheeks heating. “Never mind. What were saying about the nights of the dates?”
“Due to Princess Bianca’s departure, I’ve switched around the order of the dates.” He straightened, clearly back to business. “Instead of next week, your date with me will be on Thursday night.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s… soon.”
“I was hoping you would be more excited than that,” he said.
“I am!” I assured him. “I’m just nervous, is all.”
“Don’t be,” he said smoothly. “These dates are so we can get to know each other. I want you to be comfortable.”
“It’s hard to be comfortable in those fancy dresses I have to wear at each meal.” The comment came out before I realized what I was saying, and I squirmed, embarrassed by my mistake.
What kind of princess complained about having to wear fancy dresses? He was going to think the Seventh Kingdom was barbaric.
Not like it mattered, since the Seventh Kingdom didn’t exist at all.
“I couldn’t agree more.” He smiled again—a real smile that reached his eyes. “If you don’t show up on Thursday night dressed comfortably, I’ll be extremely disappointed.”
“So I can wear jeans?” I asked.
“If that’s what you’re most comfortable in, then you better wear jeans,” he said.
“Challenge accepted.” I returned his smile with one of my own, surprised at how easy it had been to slip into friendly conversation with him.
The Vampire Wish: The Complete Series (Dark World) Page 31
