“What do you mean?” I asked, although I was secretly glad she hadn’t brought up the topic of wanting me to find a bride again.
“You’re hardly the first potential vampire prince that I’ve turned,” she said with a musical laugh. “Throughout the centuries, I’ve identified many human specimens who had potential to become princes of the Vale.”
“Such as Scott and Alexander,” I said, naming the “brothers” who I’d barely spoken to during my time in the palace.
“Of course,” she said. “Haven’t you wondered why they haven’t made much of an effort to get to know you? You are brothers after all.”
“They worried I would take my own life because I couldn’t handle the transition,” I said curtly. “Like many others have before me.”
“You’re only partially correct.” She brought her hair over her shoulders and smiled, as if preparing for another revelation. “It’s true that many humans I’ve turned have taken their own lives. But there are other ways they’ve been eliminated.”
“What sort of ways?” I asked, since that was the only one I’d heard of thus far.
“Only the strongest humans come close to qualifying to being turned into a vampire prince,” she said. “And, as you also know—from your own experience—the stronger a vampire is, the harder it is to control the bloodlust.”
“And?” I asked, since she wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know.
“We cannot have a prince of the Vale who’s unable to control his bloodlust.”
“So what?” I asked, but then I paused, realization dawning on me. “If I hadn’t gotten control of my bloodlust, you were going to kill me,” I said, having a dreadful feeling that I was correct.
Her pause confirmed my suspicion.
The only thing keeping me from attempting to strangle her right there was knowing that she was one of the strongest vampires in the world, with centuries of fighting experience, and that if I tried anything her guards would be here in a second.
“Like I said, it would be unacceptable to have a prince of the Vale who was unable to control his bloodlust,” she repeated. “I nearly ended you after your attack on the village. But it was the first time one of my princes made it past the guards and to the village, and it was so soon after your transition. You held so much promise that I simply couldn’t allow it. No—I had to see if you lived up to your potential. Even if just to satiate my own curiosity.”
“How many others have there been?” I asked, refusing to give into her obvious attempt at goading me to thank her for letting me live.
“Between you and Alexander?” she asked, since he was the youngest of my two “brothers.” “A few. They all went mad from the bloodlust. Once they reached the point of no return, if they didn’t kill themselves I had the guards take care of it for them. Or, if they were taking so long to adjust to the bloodlust that it was clear they would never get control over themselves, I had them taken care of as well. But this past week—by proving you’re able to control yourself while feeding on humans, by mastering compulsion to escape the palace, and by not murdering any humans while you were out in the village—you’ve proven yourself a worthy prince. Finally.”
“So you’re not going to kill me,” I said, my voice hollow.
“Not anytime soon.” She chuckled.
I stood completely still, more on guard than ever. If I didn’t realize it earlier, I now had no doubt—Laila had no humanity left in her.
If she ever had any at all.
“Relax,” she said, and she stood up, walking around her desk to face me. “You’re about to become an official prince of the Vale. I expected you to be happy to hear the news.”
“I would be,” I said through gritted teeth. “But you still haven’t brought up your previous request for me to find a bride, and I know it isn’t because you’ve forgotten. And as an official prince, I would like to have more say in who I marry and when.”
“Oh, you will definitely still be choosing a bride, and soon.” She narrowed her eyes, as if daring me to challenge her. When I didn’t give into the bait, she continued, “But first things first. Because in one week, we’ll throw a party to officially present you to kingdom. Afterward, you’ll be able to roam the Vale as you please.”
I should have been rejoicing. After all, she was giving me what I’d wanted—freedom from the palace walls.
But all I could do was wonder what Annika’s reaction would be when she realized who I truly was. Which only gave me more incentive to get her to admit to having wormwood, and having her remove it so I could compel her to forget me.
And now I only had one week to get it done.
Camelia
I sat on my bed in my room, hunched over the seeing crystal that the human boy had snatched in his failed mission to the Crystal Cavern. Each day the visions I saw in the crystal were becoming more and more clear.
I knew by now that the person who could successfully free Geneva was a girl. The crystal had shown her to me from a distance, or from behind, or as blurred image—but I still hadn’t gotten a clear view of her face. All I knew was that she was pale, short, and slender, with dark brown hair… and that she lived in the human village. But I couldn’t exactly order every human who lived there to attempt to enter the Crystal Cavern. No—I needed to know precisely who I was searching for.
I also knew that whoever she was, she stole food from vampires. I’d seen it in the crystal. It appalled me that a thief was destined to obtain Geneva’s sapphire ring, but what would be would be. And I supposed it was a good thing, in the long run. Her criminal activities would provide the perfect reason to capture her and get her to do my bidding.
But first, I needed to see exactly who she was.
I’d been resting my magic as much as possible for the past few days—as much as I could, given that it was my responsibility to keep the boundary around the Vale. But I had been lessening the magic I’d been using on temperature control. A few older humans hadn’t survived because of it, but oh well—the sacrifices were worth it for the possibility of freeing Geneva.
Especially because the rest made it so my magic felt stronger today than it had been in a long time.
And so, I gazed into the crystal and said, “Show me the face of the one who can enter the Crystal Cavern and free Geneva.”
An image started to form in the crystal, blurry at first, but soon it sharpened around the edges. I saw a room—no, a crawlspace—with bookshelves and blankets and a tiny window. Below the window was a blurry form of the girl.
I dug deep into my magic, forcing it to rise within me and throwing all of it at the crystal. As I did, the scene sharpened from the outward in, and the shape of the girl finally became clear.
I gasped upon seeing her face. Because she was the girl who’d been with the boy the night he’d killed the wolf in the village.
I didn’t know her name, but I knew where to find her—at the pathetic little bar that the humans called the Tavern.
Annika
I served a Tavern customer one of the standard fares—beans with rice, and a pint of cheap beer—unable to keep myself from looking over my shoulder every couple of seconds. I couldn’t explain it, but I hadn’t been able to get rid of the feeling that someone was watching me.
It had started soon after Mike left for his job in the palace, and it was growing stronger and stronger each day. Even while I was alone reading.
I chalked it up to the fact that it was my first time since being kidnapped that Mike hadn’t been around to look out for me. Each day he was gone, I got more and more worried about where he was and what he was doing.
Now, on top of that, there was Jake.
After Jake had left last night, I’d climbed out of the window and come inside normally. The Tavern had been nearly empty since most people in the village had still been out partying. I’d gone to sleep before they’d returned.
But Jake was so strange and mysterious, and since he’d left, I hadn’t been able to get him off my mind. I was like an elementary school girl with a crush.