I might as well take the one in front of me.
I took the stake from Laila and held it in my hand. It was heavier than I’d expected—or maybe I just wasn’t used to the weakness that came with being back in my human form.
Then, not wanting to allow myself to overthink this for a second longer, I raised the stake and plunged it straight into Laila’s heart.
Annika
The vampire queen’s eyes went wide, and she disintegrated into a pile of ashes.
Warmth rushed through me—starting from my hand holding the stake, and traveling through my entire body. I felt alight with it—alight with power. The warmth wasn’t just something I felt outside, either. My skin glowed with it, casting its light on everything around me before finally dying down. Then my vision sharpened, easily matching the heightened vision I’d had after drinking vampire blood, and my hearing amplified. Everything was crisper and more intense.
My veins buzzed with a need I’d never felt before. A need to fight. Along with a confidence that I had the power to win.
“Nephilim,” Camelia whispered, backing away from me in shock.
The vampire guard closest to me moved to me, ready to grab the stake, but I thrust it into his heart at the same time as I kicked the guard behind me in a place I knew it would hurt. The third guard lunged for me, but I jammed the stake in his chest before he had a chance to touch me. Then I turned to the final guard—the one who was still hunched over from my kicking him in the balls—and drove the stake through his back, straight into his heart.
The guards were all dead. But their bodies were still in tact, scattered in a circle around me. The only one who had turned to ash was Laila. I half expected her to rise from the ashes—like a phoenix—but nothing happened.
Her remains were still.
In the time I’d been fighting, Camelia had run up to the thrones where Jacen and Karina were standing. They all stared at me in shock, and Camelia had a phone to her ear. I could just make out the end of the conversation, where she repeated the word “Nephilim” and ordered guards to come to the throne room—now.
I met Jacen’s eyes—there was so much I wanted to say to him. I wanted to explain everything from my perspective so he could understand everything I’d done.
But if I stayed, I was putting my life at risk. I didn’t know how I’d taken down those three guards, but surely Camelia had sent for many more than that.
Whatever had happened to me when I’d staked Laila had somehow made me strong enough to fight vampires, but despite this newfound strength, I doubted I could take down an army of guards. I needed to be smart. I needed to stay alive.
Regret filled my chest as I reached into my hidden pocket and pulled out the sapphire ring, still holding the stake with my other hand. This weapon had saved my life. I had no intention of ever letting it go.
I rubbed the sapphire and out came Geneva.
Her eyes widened at the scene surrounding us, horror filling them when she saw the pile of ashes on the floor.
“Take me to the Haven,” I commanded her. “Now.”
She blinked and we were gone.
Karina
Laila was dead.
The human girl—no, the Nephilim—had killed her.
King Nicolae was never going to forgive me.
The king was in love with Laila. No—he was obsessed with Laila. He’d sent me here to assist the wolves in bringing down the Vale so that once Laila was weakened, he could swoop in and bring her with him to the Carpathian Kingdom.
Laila’s dying throughout all of this hadn’t been something we’d thought possible. Because the Nephilim were dead. They’d been slaughtered—every last one of them—in the Great War.
The blood oath I’d made with Nicolae said that once the Vale was destroyed and Laila was in the Carpathian Kingdom, Nicolae would allow me a wish on Geneva’s sapphire ring. He’d been so confident that Laila had the ring.
Not only had he been wrong, but because I was no longer able to complete my part of the promise, the blood oath we’d made was null and void.
If I returned to the Carpathian Kingdom and told Nicolae what had just happened, he would lose his mind. He couldn’t think straight when it came to Laila. He might even blame me for her death.
With a sinking feeling, I realized I could never go back to my home. Once Nicolae learned that Laila had died under my watch, I would never be welcomed there again.
When the girl removed the ring and rubbed it, I ran for her. But I wasn’t fast enough.
She—and Geneva—blinked out of the room before I could reach them.
The guards burst through the doors seconds later.
“Where is she?” their leader asked, scanning the area. “Where’s the Nephilim?”
“She’s gone,” I said, and then I bolted out of the throne room, not looking back.
Karina
There was so much commotion in the palace that it was easy for me to leave. And for those who gave me a hard time—well, that was where compulsion came in handy.
Once out of the palace, I ran through the woods, past the boundary, and straight to the wolves’ camp.
A wolf guard stopped me at the perimeter, sniffed me, and then shifted into human form. “Daria,” he said the false name I’d given the last time I’d been here. “The vampire who’s helping our Savior rise. What do you need?”
“I need to speak with Noah,” I said calmly. “The First Prophet.”
I didn’t think there were any other Noah’s in the pack, but one never knew.
The guard led me through camp, where the wolves were cleaning up from dinner, forging weapons, and practicing fighting. Campfires lit up the night. There were more wolves around than there had been last time—their numbers were growing. A few of them glared at me and growled, but they were quickly hushed by wolves who explained to them who I was.
Noah was sitting on top of a picnic table, surrounded by children who appeared enraptured by whatever he was saying.
He stopped mid-sentence when he saw me.
“What happened?” he asked, his eyes full of concern.
I looked down at my dress, understanding his worry. I was wearing my nicest morning dress, and the hem was dirty and torn from my run through the woods. I’d always changed into appropriate clothing whenever I’d met him at the boundary—the fact that I hadn’t changed this time must have made it apparent that I was running from something.
“I need to speak with you.” I raised my chin and kept my voice calm, trying to remain as dignified as possible. The last thing I wanted was to bring any more attention to myself than I already had. “Alone.”
He led me to a tent near the end of camp and let me in, following and zipping up the flap behind us. The inside of the tent was sparse, with a cloth folding chair, a sleeping bag, and an extra set of clothes.
I shuddered at the realization that this was his home.
“Please, sit,” he said, motioning to the chair. “And make sure to keep your voice down. Wolves have better hearing than vampires.”
I situated myself in the chair, doing my best to make myself comfortable. He sat cross-legged on top of the sleeping bag.
“Laila’s dead,” I whispered, unable to keep it in any longer.
“What?” His eyes widened. “That’s impossible. She’s an original vampire. She can’t be killed.”
“She can be killed,” I told him. “By the Nephilim.”
From there, I told him everything that had happened in the throne room earlier. He took it in stride, letting me talk without interrupting.
“You forgot to explain one thing,” he said once I was done.
“What?” I asked.
“That ring on your finger.”
I glanced down at my hand, my eyes locking on the gigantic diamond I’d been wearing all morning.
“It’s nothing.” I ripped the ring from my finger and threw it onto the ground. “With Princess Ana exposed, Laila came to my room at sunset and tol
d me that I was the only princess left in the running. She gave me the ring and instructed me to wear it to the throne room so Jacen knew that he was to marry me.”
“The prince never proposed?” Noah asked.
“No,” I said. “Although he’d been told of Princess Ana’s betrayal hours earlier, so he wasn’t too surprised to find me wearing the ring. The biggest surprise he had was when Camelia revealed Ana’s true form. He’d been told that Ana was an impostor using a transformation potion—and vampire blood—to pretend to be someone she wasn’t, but he didn’t know her real identity until Camelia injected her with the counter-potion. Apparently she was someone he knew.”
“So you’re not going to marry him?” Noah glanced at the discarded ring once more.
“Of course not,” I said. “I can’t return to the Vale. Once King Nicolae hears of Laila’s demise, he’ll blame me and come for me. The Vale will be one of the first places he’ll look.”
“I’ll protect you.” Noah’s eyes flashed with a fierceness stronger than I’d ever seen in him. “I know we just met, and I know that our kind have hated each other for centuries, but I won’t let anything happen to you, Karina. You have my word as the First Prophet of the wolves.”
“Thank you.” Warmth filled my chest at how much I knew he meant it. “But I need more than protection. I need your help.”
“You need only to ask.” He moved closer to me, resting his hand on top of mine. “I’ll do everything in my power to help you. Just let me know what you need.”
“I need to track down the Nephilim girl,” I told him, determination racing through me as my eyes met with his. “So I can steal Geneva’s sapphire ring.”
Marigold
I stood on top of the table, surrounded by children gazing up at me adoringly.
“Our Savior sees us, He’s watching out for us, and He’s ready to rise!” I said, looking at each of them as I spoke. They sat attentively, leaning forward as they clung to my every word. “He’s ready to bring peace to the wolves. After centuries of fighting, our time has finally come. With our Savior leading us, we’ll find happiness and prosperity. But what needs to happen in order for Him to help us?”
A young girl raised her hand, and I pointed at her to speak.
“The vampires of the Vale need to leave,” she said with a smile.
“More than leave,” the boy next to her said, his eyes narrowed and angry. “They need to die.”
“Yes.” I smiled at the boy. “They must die. All of them must die. We must spill their blood over the land they stole from your ancestors centuries ago. This will show our Savior that we’re not just ready for Him—but that we’ll fight for Him! Once we prove our loyalty, He’ll rise and bring us enlightenment that no supernatural race has ever seen before.”
My voice spoke the words, but inside I was screaming. I was trapped—an observer inside the shell of my possessed body.
I’d tried to break free. I’d cursed at the demon that possessed me. I’d willed my boyfriend—Cody—to look into my eyes and see that this wasn’t really me.
It was hopeless. The demon had access to my body and my mind. He knew so much about me that he’d been able to pretend to be me. I hadn’t known the wolves for long enough—not even Cody—for any of them to notice how I’d changed.
When Princess Karina had come to the boundary to see Noah, and the demon had spoken to her through my lips, I’d thought she might question how much I’d changed. This person—this fanatic—that the demon was making me out to be was nothing like my true self.
All the time that I’d lived at the Carpathian Kingdom, I’d been quiet and even-tempered. I wasn’t someone who would call for the extermination of an entire kingdom.
Yet, they’d all fallen for the words of the demon. They’d fallen so easily. They were so desperate to believe that a Savior existed who would bring them everything they wanted that they’d clung onto the possibility, not daring to question it.
I continued to speak to the children, brainwashing them. The entire time, I screamed and screamed inside my body. I clawed at my skin from the inside. But of course, it was no use.
I was trapped, unable to reveal the truth.
Because what was coming wasn’t their Savior.
What was coming would kill them all.
The Vampire Fate
Dark World: The Vampire Wish 4
Annika
“Take me to the Haven,” I commanded Geneva.
Going to the Haven was my only option.
When the vampire queen Laila of the Vale had handed me her stake and dared me to try to kill her, she clearly hadn’t expected that I’d be able to do it.
I hadn’t thought I’d been able to do it.
But that was why I’d disguised myself as a vampire princess and come to the Vale—to kill the vampire queen. And I’d done it. I’d driven a stake—her own stake—straight through her heart.
All that remained of the centuries old queen was a pile ashes by my feet.
But I wasn’t looking at Laila’s remains after reaching for Geneva’s sapphire ring and commanding her to take me to the Haven.
I was looking at Prince Jacen’s silver eyes. The eyes currently staring at me with a mix of shock and anguish.
I couldn’t blame him for looking at me like that. For weeks, he’d thought I was dead.
I’d thought he didn’t care that I was dead. I’d thought he’d eventually planned on killing me himself. And I had a valid reason for thinking that, since it was what he’d told Queen Laila and the witch who acted as her second-in-command, Camelia. I’d seen the entire thing myself.
Jacen had no idea that I’d been masquerading around the palace in disguise, passing myself off as a mysterious vampire princess named Ana who had come to the Vale to seek his hand in marriage.
It had only been last night, during a private dinner with the prince, when I’d found out the truth. Jacen had never wanted me dead. Far from it.
He apparently hadn’t been able to stop thinking about me since the last time we’d seen each other. Not only that, but he had his own plans of vengeance against the Vale—just like I did.
We were on the same side.
I was so close to coming clean with him last night about who I truly was. But I’d been scared. I thought that if I told him the truth, he would be furious and unable to forgive me.
But I couldn’t keep lying to him. So that morning, I’d decided to tell him the truth.
I’d been about to do so when vampire guards had surrounded me and dragged me to the throne room where Queen Laila, Prince Jacen, Princess Karina, and the witch Camelia were waiting.
Somehow, Camelia had found out everything. She’d injected me with the antidote to the transformation potion I’d taken and revealed who I truly was—not Princess Ana from the Seventh Kingdom, but Annika, a human blood slave of the Vale. Not only that, but she knew I had Geneva’s sapphire ring.
Luckily, she’d assumed I was hiding the ring in my quarters. She didn’t know I was keeping it in a hidden pocket in my underwear.
She’d sent guards to my quarters to find the ring, but it wouldn’t be long until they realized it wasn’t there, and that they should check me more thoroughly.
Everyone was so shocked by Laila’s death that I’d taken the moment for what it was—an opportunity to reach for the ring and command Geneva to transport me to the only place that might keep me safe—the kingdom of the Haven.
From what I knew about the Haven, it got its name because it was a safe haven for supernaturals. The vampires who lived there survived on animal blood, not human blood. But mostly, the Haven was neutral territory that believed in peace amongst all the kingdoms.
I just had to pray that once they heard my side of the story, they would help me.
Geneva was bound to do as I said, since I was the current owner of the sapphire ring that held her captive. So right after giving her the command, we both flashed out of the Vale.
I’d done wh
at I’d come to the Vale to do—I’d killed Queen Laila.
My only regret was that I might never be able be able to come clean to Jacen with the truth.
Annika
My stomach dropped, and I was surrounded by darkness.
Seconds later, my feet hit the ground, warmth surrounded me, and my vision came into focus.
I was standing in a courtyard. Full trees arched overhead, and while it was still dark, it had the feeling of right before sunrise. The entire place was alive—with greenery, chirping birds, and with vampires dressed in all white. They looked like they were at a yoga retreat—not like they lived in one of the most powerful kingdoms in the entire world.
The vampires were doing all sorts of things—sweeping, cleaning, and carrying baskets through the open halls.
Suddenly, they stopped what they were doing and turned to me, their fangs out as they barreled in my direction.
“Protect me!” I called to Geneva.
The witch looked as shell-shocked as I felt as she held out her hands and spoke a spell.
I held my stake in front of me and bent my knees, ready to defend myself against the oncoming vampires.
Well, it wasn’t really my stake. It was Laila’s stake—the stake she’d handed me before challenging me to kill her.
When I’d killed her, the stake had done something to me. I’d felt a burst of warmth, and suddenly, my senses were as strong as they’d been while I was masquerading as a vampire.
But there was more to it than that. Because my reflexes had improved, too.
Out of nowhere, I’d known how to fight. I’d taken down the three vampire guards surrounding me as if it were nothing. And those vampires were strong. I shouldn’t have been able to do that—not even after consuming vampire blood to temporarily give me the abilities of a vampire.
The Vampire Wish: The Complete Series (Dark World) Page 44
