“So,” Camelia said once she’d finished explaining the task. “What do you say?”
I thought about her offer, balancing my options. Apparently, I was the only human in the entire world who could enter this Crystal Cavern and retrieve the sapphire ring that imprisoned the most powerful witch in the world, Geneva.
But why me?
It made no sense.
On the other hand, refusal would mean rotting away in this prison until the day I died. And Camelia needed me. Which meant I had the upper hand. And while I hated her for what she let happen to Mike, I knew that Mike wouldn’t want me to let this opportunity go to waste. He would want me to use it to free myself—to escape the Vale once and for all, and to never be at the mercy of the vampires again.
“I’ll do as you ask,” I finally said. “But only for a cost.”
“Your reward is that you won’t be locked in this prison.” She balked. “What more could you possibly want?”
“I want to be turned into a vampire.”
Her eyes flashed with surprise, and she set her nearly finished margarita down in the cup holder. “Why on Earth would you want that?” she asked. “I thought the humans here hated the vampires.”
“I don’t hate them nearly as much as I hate being at their mercy,” I told her.
“A blood slave has never been turned in the history of the Vale,” she said. “You’re unfit for the transformation.”
“Do you mean that I wouldn’t survive the transformation because I’ve given blood to the vampires?” I asked. “Because if what you say is true and a blood slave has never been turned into a vampire, I don’t see how you could possibly know if that’s a fact or not.”
“You’re unfit because you’re tainted,” she said simply. “You’re not worthy.”
“So it’s merely a prejudice,” I concluded. “And apparently according to this seeing crystal, I’m worthy enough to fetch this sapphire ring—worthier than any other human in the world. So if you need me as much as you claim, you’ll grant my request.”
She eyed me up for a few seconds, thinking. “Fine,” she eventually said. “If you succeed in bringing me Geneva’s sapphire ring, I’ll speak to Queen Laila on your behalf and recommend that you become a vampire.” She stood up and brushed herself off, as if she considered the conversation done.
“Wait,” I called out, and she turned around, glaring at me once more. “While I appreciate your promise, your word is not enough,” I said, enjoying how her expression hardened at my words. “I want us to make a blood oath.”
“Why am I not surprised,” Camelia said bitterly. “It took a blood oath to convince Mike, too.”
“Because Mike was smart.” My heart panged at the memory of my friend—at the reminder that I would never see him again. “He took me under his wing after I was brought here. And one thing he drilled into my mind was this—never trust the word of a supernatural, unless they’ve made a blood oath.”
“Very well.” Camelia sighed, pulled a knife out of her boot, and slit her palm. “Now, give me your hand.”
“Give me your knife,” I demanded instead.
She raised an eyebrow. “I’m not giving you the knife,” she said. “Give me your hand. Unless you don’t wish to continue?”
“Fine.” I sighed and held my hand out, since after all, I was merely testing her. I wasn’t naive enough to think the knife would help me escape my current situation.
She made a similar incision on my palm, and I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from grunting from the pain. Once done, she wiped the knife clean, shoved it back inside her boot, and clasped her hand with mine.
“I promise that if you give me Geneva’s sapphire ring, I’ll tell Queen Laila of your feat and will do everything in my power to convince her to turn you into a vampire,” she said. “Do you swear to agree to this blood oath?”
“That’s not enough,” I told her. “I want you to promise that you will have me turned into a vampire.”
“As I am not a vampire myself, it’s not in my power to make such a promise,” she said. “But I have sworn my best effort to speak on your behalf, and as Queen Laila respects my opinions, she will likely listen.” She leaned closer, her eyes narrowing. “This is the best promise you can possibly hope for, girl. You’re closer to the chance of becoming a vampire than any blood slave in history. So do you accept, or not?”
“I accept,” I said, and the moment I spoke the words, warm energy rushed through my body, starting at the place where my hand met Camelia’s. A golden aura glowed around both of our hands, growing hotter and hotter, as if burning the oath into our souls.
The glow eventually died down, and Camelia pulled her hand out of mine.
I examined my palm—the cut was gone.
“It is done,” Camelia confirmed. “We’ll leave for the mountain at dawn. In the meantime, I’ll brew the herbal remedy and will bring it down for you when it’s ready. You’ll need your energy for what’s to come.
The chair and margarita glass vanished with a snap of her fingers, and then she turned around, leaving me alone in the dungeon.
Jacen
I awoke in my bed to find Laila and multiple guards looking down on me, surrounding me.
“Where is she?” I shot up, grabbed Laila by the neck, and pinned her to the wall. “Where’s Annika?”
The guards pulled me off of her, and she waved them away, as if their help wasn’t necessary.
“I do not know where the girl is,” Laila said calmly. “Camelia was the one who wanted her—not I.”
“Don’t act like you have no idea why,” I told her. “Camelia answers to you. If Camelia wanted Annika, you know the reason.”
“I think it’s best you speak to Camelia about that.” Laila smiled. “How are you feeling, by the way? The guards had to inject you with a double dose of wormwood to knock you out. Quite impressive, if you ask me—a testament to your strength.”
I rubbed the back of my arm—the spot they’d jabbed me with the needle. It had happened soon after they’d knocked out Annika. I’d been fighting the guards, and then I’d seen one of them jab a needle in her neck. It had only taken that one moment—that short distraction—for one of the guards to catch me unaware.
“I’m going to find Camelia,” I declared, standing up and heading for the door. Once I found Camelia, I would find Annika. And once I found Annika…
Well, I wasn’t sure what I would do once I found her. For now, I just needed to know she was alive.
“Wait.” Laila held out a hand, and the guards rushed to the doors, blocking my path. “After your first shot of wormwood, you were awake but in a state of delirium. The guards reported you said something curious…”
“And what was that?” I asked, because the faster I gave into her little mind games, the faster I would be free to find Annika.
“You said that Annika would be safe because she was wearing wormwood.”
“No I didn’t,” I said instantly, hating my half unconscious self for revealing such a thing. I didn’t even remember it—the wormwood they’d injected me with must have made me truly delirious.
“You did,” she continued. “So we checked the girl for any trace of wormwood. We found none.”
I stared at her, shocked. How could that be? Annika couldn’t be compelled—she had to have been wearing wormwood. There was no other explanation for her resistance to my magic.
But I stood straighter, composing myself. I wasn’t sure how it was possible for a human to be immune to compulsion, but if it were, bringing it to light would put Annika under more scrutiny than before. They might even kill her.
If the vampires hated one thing above anything else, it was a threat to their power.
“I have no idea why I would have said that,” I said instead, trying to act nonchalant. “Clearly I was delirious.”