“A witch can’t rule the Vale,” Alexander added. “This is a vampire kingdom. We must be ruled by a vampire.”
“It has to be one of us.” Scott looked around at his siblings, his gaze serious. “One of the vampires in this room.”
“Not me.” Stephenie tossed back another glass of wine—she must have polished off four glasses by now. “I know my strengths, and ruling an entire kingdom isn’t one of them. I’ll leave it up to the three of you to decide.”
“I’m also going to step out of the running,” Jacen said, which surprised me—out of the three brothers, I thought he would make the most fair ruler. “I’ve only been a vampire for slightly over a year. The two of you have far more experience than I do. It should be one of you.”
Scott nodded, apparently pleased with Jacen’s answer.
But there was one big factor he apparently hadn’t considered.
“A prince can’t rule the Vale.” I sat straighter and matched their fierce gazes with one of my own, refusing to be dismissed by the vampires again. “All of the other kingdoms are ruled by an original vampire—even the Haven. Only an original can turn humans into vampire princes or princesses. A prince or princess can only turn humans into regular vampires who can’t use compulsion. Without being ruled by an original vampire, and therefore not being able to create any more princes or princesses, we’ll be the weakest kingdom in the world. We’ll lose all the respect and rapport we have with the other kingdoms.”
“There are only five original vampires remaining, and they each already have a kingdom of their own,” Scott said. “An original ruling the Vale isn’t an option. It must be one of us.”
“You’re wrong,” I said, smiling smugly. “An original vampire ruling the Vale is an option.”
“How so?” Stephenie raised an eyebrow, clearly doubtful.
“I’m a powerful witch,” I said. “I’m certainly strong enough to perform the spell on myself that will turn me into an original vampire.”
“I thought the knowledge of that spell was lost?” Scott asked. “That’s why no more witches have been able to turn themselves into vampires.”
He was right—the spell had been lost. When the original vampires had bargained with the fae for a spell that would make them immortal, they’d agreed to give the fae all of their memories in return for the spell. They’d cast the spell, and then their memories had been taken.
No one knew the details of the spell except for the faerie who had given it to them. And from what Prince Devyn had told me of that fae, she loved collecting lifetimes of memories.
There was no way in Hell that I was giving up all of my memories. Memories make us who we are. Giving them up is basically the same thing as suicide.
Which meant I needed another way to get the spell.
However, the only reason I knew all of this was because Laila had told me. And before Laila had told me, we’d made a blood oath where I’d promised that I wouldn’t reveal what she’d told me to anyone.
Blood oaths lived on even after death.
If I told the others what I knew, my blood would turn against me and kill me. So I would need another way to get the spell—a way that didn’t involve divulging Laila’s secret.
“It’s true that knowledge of the spell has been lost,” I started. “But there’s one person in the world who might be powerful enough to know the spell—Geneva. We just need to get control of her ring. Once we have control of it, even if she doesn’t know the spell, we can command her to acquire it for us.”
Even though I was bound not to tell anyone what Laila and the other original vampires had done, I could always pretend like going to the fae to bargain for the spell was my idea. Then I could command Geneva to go to the fae and bargain away all of her memories in return for the spell.
“We’re getting that ring,” Jacen spoke up. “I’m going to make sure of it.”
“Good.” I nodded. “Once you have it, you’ll give it to me so I can get started.”
“My brother will do no such thing.” Scott’s voice filled the room—he sounded like he already thought he was king. “That ring will come directly to me. Once I have it, I’ll command Geneva to do as you wish. If you’re able to become an original vampire, then we’ll accept you as our queen.”
“We will?” Stephenie pouted, clearly disagreeing with him.
“We will,” he said firmly. “Camelia is correct that if the Vale isn’t ruled by an original vampire, we’ll be seen as a second tier kingdom in comparison to the others. We might not even be seen as a kingdom anymore at all. It’s the best interest of all of us—and for our kingdom—for Camelia to acquire that spell and turn herself into an original vampire.”
“Now that we have the concealment charms, I’ll meet with the guards to solidify our plan.” Jacen moved forward on his seat, clearly ready to get started.
“Not so fast.” Scott held up a hand, stopping him. “Before you leave, you’ll need to make a blood oath.”
“What sort of blood oath?” Jacen froze, suspicion dawning in his gaze.
“An oath that once you get custody of Geneva’s sapphire ring, you’ll kill Annika and will immediately return to the Vale to give the ring to me.”
“Deal.” Jacen didn’t falter.
I was impressed. Scott had clearly proposed the oath to ensure that Jacen was truly on our side. After all, it had been no secret that when Jacen had first met the irritating human, he’d had a soft spot for her.
At least he was rational enough to realize his mistake, given that Annika had played him for a fool and was actually a Nephilim—a creature whose sole purpose in life was to kill supernaturals.
“Fantastic.” A small smile crept across Scott’s face. “In the meantime, I’ll serve as acting king of the Vale. Does anyone in this room contest my right to do so?” He looked mainly to Prince Alexander—the only one of his siblings who hadn’t said he didn’t want to be king.
Prince Alexander said nothing, giving his older brother only a single nod of acceptance.
“Perfect,” Scott said, leaning back in his seat. “Now, someone fetch me a knife. We have a blood oath to make.”
Annika
I had so many questions for Mary, mainly about how it was possible that I was a Nephilim when all of the Nephilim were supposed to be dead, and about why I’d only come into my powers this morning. But Geneva was back in minutes with both humans in tow, so I’d have to wait to ask my questions until later.
I’d known what the humans would look like—I’d been disguised as the redhead the entire time I was pretending to be Princess Ana, and Geneva had been disguised as the older woman.
The humans she brought look nothing like I’d expected. Their clothes were filthy, and their hair was tangled and stringy. They were covered in dirt, grime, and their own waste, the stink overpowering the entire cabin. The stench was so strong that I could barely breathe.
The older woman stared at us in shock.
The redhead bolted for the door. She was fast—for a human.
Mary rushed past her in a blur, blocking the way out before the human had a chance to blink.
That didn’t stop the girl. She raised her arm up, getting ready to punch.
Mary’s hand was wrapped around her wrist in a second. “We’re here to help you,” Mary said calmly. “There’s no need to fight us.”
As if the human ever stood a chance.
“Okay.” The girl was surprisingly calm. Her back was facing me, but she sounded like she might even be smiling.
Mary let go of her grip and lowered her hand down to her side. She relaxed when the girl didn’t try to run again. “I’m sure you have many questions,” she said. “We’ll answer them all after you freshen up. I’ll show you to the washroom.” She headed to a nearby door—one that I assumed led to the bathroom.
The girl followed. But once they were halfway there, she bolted for the door again.
Again, Mary blocked her path, moving in a blur.
Mary held both of her wrists in a second, holding her in place. “What’s your name?” she asked the girl.
The girl stood completely still, saying nothing.
“What’s your name?” Mary repeated, although this time, she sounded different when she spoke. There was something fuller—more musical—to her voice.
She was using compulsion.
Normally, when vampires used compulsion, they sounded no different than normal. There was only one explanation for why I could suddenly tell that she was using compulsion—it must be one of my heightened abilities as a Nephilim.
“Raven,” the girl said automatically.
“It’s nice to meet you Raven,” she said, still holding onto her wrists. “I’m Mary, and I’m the leader of the place where you are now—the Haven.”
“What are you?” Raven asked.
“You’re not going to panic after I answer your question,” Mary said, once again infusing her voice with compulsion. “I’m a vampire.”
As instructed, Raven didn’t panic. The older woman crossed herself and muttered a few words in prayer.
“I assume you have many questions,” Mary continued. “My friends and I will happily answer them for you. But first, the two of you need to get cleaned up. I only have one washroom, so you’ll need to take turns. I’ll set some clean clothes in there as well. We’ll answer your questions once you’re both cleaned. Now, I’m going to let go of your hands, and I recommend that you don’t try to escape again. Like I said, my friends and I want to protect you. But if you leave this cabin, the tiger shifters outside will immediately maul you to death and eat you alive. Unless, of course, the hungry vampires get to you first…”
She let go of Raven’s hands, and this time, the redhead didn’t fight or run.
This time, she looked properly terrified.
“Very good.” Mary smiled. “Now, come. It’s time for the two of you to get cleaned up.”
Annika
Once Raven and the other human—Susan—were cleaned up, they sat down with us in the living room.
They both wore the same loose fitting, all white outfit that Mary and the other vampires I’d seen in the Haven wore. Since they were in Mary’s size, the pants were short on Raven and too tight on Susan, but both of them had managed to squeeze into the clothes.
A shower had done them both wonders, and they now looked just like the versions of them that I’d expected. Raven didn’t try to run again—I supposed Mary’s threat of tiger shifters and hungry vampires was enough to make the fiery human realize that escaping would be futile.
Once they seemed as comfortable as they were going to get given that they were still in a room with their abductor, a vampire, and that there was no hope of escape, the three of us told them everything.
“So you truly had no idea what she was doing to us?” Raven asked me once we were done, glaring at Geneva.
“I didn’t,” I confirmed. “If I knew she was keeping you prisoner, I never would have gone through with the plan.”
I briefly remembered one moment when I’d almost asked Geneva how she was getting the vampire blood and making the transformation potion for me each day, but I’d been interrupted before I’d had a chance. I don’t know what answer I would have expected, but the thought had never crossed my mind that Geneva had taken them prisoner in some abandoned supernatural prison, telling them nothing of why she’d taken them and leaving them to think they were going to die there.
I’d assumed that if Geneva had to do something so inhumane and horrible to follow through with my command, she would have told me so I knew exactly what I was asking of her.
I was starting to realize why the witches had wanted to stick Geneva in that ring all those decades ago and throw the ring into a cave that no one was supposed to ever be able to access.
“I believe you,” Raven declared.
“You do?” I was shocked at how easily she’d trusted me, given the circumstances. “Why?”
“I’m good at reading people.” She shrugged. “Plus, your story is so far out there that I sort of have to believe it. If you were trying to lie to me, you would tell me something normal—something I would be more likely to buy into. It’s either that, or you’re all crazy. And given that I’ve seen some of your powers already, I know that’s not the case.”
“I suppose so.” I smiled slightly, since she had a good point. “I truly do feel awful about what you went through. I didn’t intend to hurt innocents—especially not any humans—but I’m still the one who made the wish. So it’s my fault. For that, I’m so, so sorry.”
Beyond telling us her name, Susan had barely said a sentence this entire time. And she’d only told us her name because Mary had compelled her to do so.
I assumed she was still in shock.
“She wasn’t like this when she was first brought to the prison,” Raven said, glancing at Susan. “She was confused, but she spoke. Then she saw the vampire—Princess Stephenie—suck all the blood out of that squirrel, and something broke in her. She hasn’t been the same since.”
“What she saw goes against everything she’s ever thought possible,” Mary said. “It makes sense that she’s in shock.”
“It does.” Raven nodded, her eyes strong and determined, and sat straighter. “And you say you’re on our side. So—what do you plan on doing to make this up to us? Because after everything we went through, you owe us a lot.”
“I suppose we do.” I sat back, thinking about my answer and trying to put myself in their positions.
After I’d found out about supernaturals, what was the one thing I wanted most of all?
I’d wanted my regular life back. I’d wanted my family back, and to return to my regular routine of school, gymnastics, and homework. I’d wanted to go to college—University of Florida had been my top choice, but of course, I had some backups in mind as well. I’d wanted to compete in my college gymnastics team. I hadn’t been sure what I’d wanted to major in yet, but my parents had told me that was okay—I could take all the general requirements to get them out of the way and hopefully figure out my major from there.
All of that had been ripped away the moment vampires had cornered me and my family on that ski vacation over a year ago, killing my parents and brother and kidnapping me to become a blood slave of the Vale.
If we hadn’t been on that exact ski trail at that exact time, my family would still be alive, and I would be starting the second semester of my freshman year of college.
Because my family had been killed, I could never get my life back. But Raven and Susan’s families hadn’t been harmed because of their kidnappings.
They could return to their regular lives.
They just needed to forget about everything that had happened to them since they’d been taken by Geneva.
“I have an idea,” I said to Raven, who was watching me expectantly. “Would you mind if I spoke with Geneva and Mary privately first to make sure it’s possible?”
“That’s fine.” She glanced around the tiny cabin. “Where should we go?”
“No need to go anywhere,” I said, and then I turned to Geneva. “Create a sound barrier around me, you, and Mary so the humans can’t hear us.”
“Done.” Her voice was clipped and icy.
“They can’t hear us?” I needed to make sure before continuing.
“Correct.”
“Good.” I turned to Mary, who was much more receptive than Geneva. “I think we should wipe their memories of everything that’s happened to them since being kidnapped.”
“It makes sense,” Mary agreed. “I can compel them to forget everything since then. But they’ve been gone for so long that we’d have to replace their memories with something else—a reason why they’ve been gone. A potion would be more effective than compulsion to replace their memories with new ones.”
“I assume you can make this potion?”
I asked Geneva.
“I’ll need the right materials, and the potion will take a few hours to brew, but yes,” she answered.
“We have all the materials you’ll need in our apothecary,” Mary told her. “I can call on one of our witches to bring you there.”
“Perfect,” I said, and then I turned to Geneva, needing to make it official. After the stunts she’d pulled so far, I needed to be extra careful about how I phrased my commands. “You’re to go with Mary’s witch to the apothecary and immediately create the potion to erase all of Raven and Susan’s memories from the moment you captured them and replace the memories with stories we’ve approved. Once the potion is complete, you’ll immediately return here and give it to us. You’ll go nowhere else but the apothecary and this cabin.”
“My witch will remain in the apothecary with you the entire time you’re brewing the potion,” Mary added. “Once the humans have taken the potion, I’ll have witches of the Haven return them to their homes.”
She didn’t say it directly, but the implication was clear—if Geneva went off-plan, Mary would find out, and there would be consequences.
“Once they’re home, you’re not to get near either of the humans ever again,” I told Geneva. “Understood?”
“Yes, master.” Her tone was laced with sarcasm.
“Perfect.” I turned back to Mary, ignoring Geneva’s attitude. “I doubt they’ll like what we have in plan for them, but I truly believe it’ll make them happier in the end.”
“As do I,” Mary said. “I’ve been alive for centuries. In my lifetime, I’ve compelled away memories of the supernatural from many humans. None of them ever want to lose their memories, but it makes most of them happier in the end.”
“Most?” I asked. “What about the others?”
“There are always a handful that spend the rest of their lives searching for something they know is there, but can’t quite remember,” she said. “It’s occasionally gotten them into trouble. But that’s the exception, not the rule. And the rule is always the safest bet when it comes to decisions like this one.”
The Vampire Wish: The Complete Series (Dark World) Page 49
