“Have you ever killed anyone without magic?” I asked.
“That’s none of your concern.” She waved away my question. “Especially since I can’t interact with the mortal world, and you only have command of my magic. So even if I wanted to kill someone without magic, I wouldn’t be able to do so. I could use my magic to get you in the position to kill someone, but the killing would be on you.”
“Good to know.” I nodded, feeling more and more suspicious of her by the second. With everything she said, I worried that the witches truly did have good reasons for locking her away forever.
But now, she was on my side. I couldn’t let myself forget that, no matter what other crazy things she might say. And she was right that a million people would kill to have possession of this ring.
I wouldn’t let my luck go to waste.
“I can’t manipulate or travel through time,” she continued. “And lastly, I can’t make anyone fall in love. Love potions and spells—as fascinating as they would be—are things of mythology. They don’t exist.”
“I wouldn’t have anyone to use one on, anyway,” I muttered.
“Not even your handsome, silver-eyed prince?” She smirked.
My heart broke at the mere mention of Jacen. “He hates me.” I tried to sound as cold as he’d sounded when he’d said he was toying with me and would eventually kill me, but my voice wavered, giving away how much he’d hurt me.
“Perhaps,” Geneva said. “But men are fickle creatures. Totally untrustworthy, if you ask me.”
“Bad experience?” I asked.
“I was the most powerful witch in the world,” she reminded me for the gazillionth time. “Men don’t like women who are stronger than they are. It emasculates them.” She crossed her arms, and I couldn’t help smiling slightly, proud of myself for hitting a nerve in her seemingly icy interior.
But of course, she recovered nearly immediately.
“Now you know my limitations, and you know the truth about those you thought you trusted,” she continued. “So tell me, young mortal… what do you wish for?”
Annika
I pressed my lips together, contemplating her question.
What did I wish for?
My two closest friends were gone. My family was gone. My grandparents had been dead for years, and both of my parents had been only siblings. So I didn’t have any extended family who might want to care for me. And even if I did, I could never go back to living a normal life. Not after everything I now knew existed.
I wrapped my arms around myself, my chest feeling hollow, and it hurt to breathe. Because there was no one left who cared about me. No one left who loved me.
I was alone in the world.
My thoughts wandered to Jacen—to the person I thought he’d been when he was trying to help me escape. During the time we’d been together, I’d actually let myself feel something for him. I’d thought he’d felt something for me, too. But I was being desperate and foolish. Pinning any bit of hope on a person I’d just met. A person who apparently had eventually planned on murdering me.
I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
So what did I want right now?
I wanted revenge.
Revenge on the vampires of the Vale—all of them. They’d ruined my life in every possible way. And not just my life. They’d ruined countless lives. They needed to be stopped. The humans who were trapped in the village needed to be freed.
I wanted to destroy the Vale… but how? It was so carefully guarded, not just by vampires, but by wolves. The vampires never let anyone inside the palace except for their own.
Even Geneva’s magic couldn’t possibly save me from an entire kingdom of supernaturals set on destroying me.
But then I smiled, remembering the rest of the conversation Jacen had had with Laila after telling her he would have drained me dry. Specifically the part where he’d said he was going to welcome vampires from across the world inside the palace.
That was my way inside the palace—as a contender for his hand in marriage.
It was the only way to get close enough to all of them and remain undetected so I could figure out a way to destroy them.
“You look like you have an idea.” Geneva rubbed her hands together, clearly ready to get started. “Please, do tell.”
“I want you to turn me into a vampire.” I stared her straight in the eyes, wanting her to have no doubt about my conviction. “And not just any vampire. I wish to be a vampire princess.”