When they got home, Lucette slunk into her room and collapsed onto her bed. She heard the door shut as her mother entered behind her. Never had she seen her father so angry or her mother so shaken. And if that weren’t bad enough, she was confused about everything. Not that she believed everything the vampire boy had said, but it was hard to discount him completely. He’d been so sincere, and kind of nice, even while she kept arguing with him. In fact, before she knew what he was, she’d been starting to like him a little bit. He was the first boy she’d ever talked to. If he had been a boy, that is.
“How are you feeling, Lucette?” Her mother sat down on the bed, leaned over her, and placed her hand on her forehead—cool and soft and soothing.
“I’m so sorry, Mom. It’s just that I’ve never been in the forest before and the music was so boring and I’d never seen fireflies, and . . .” If she said she’d also seen a vampire, her mother would become as overprotective as her father. That information had to stay secret.
“We’ve kept you too sheltered,” her mother said. “I keep telling your father—”
Lucette sat up and interrupted her mother with an embrace, longing for the days when she could curl up in her lap. She’d been taller than her mother since age ten, and her mother could probably curl up in her lap now. Worse, her mother yet again confirmed what Lucette had known since she could remember. Her parents’ fights were always about her.
It would be better to change the subject to one her mother never tired of. “Are all vampires evil, Mom?”
Her mother stroked her hair. “Where did that come from?”
“I’m just wondering. I mean, Dad always says that they aren’t all bad, but I know you don’t agree, and every time I bring it up, Dad gets mad and I don’t want . . .” She let her voice trail off instead of adding “to cause another fight.”
Her mother cupped her cheek. “Since marrying your father, I’ve learned to tolerate most nonhuman creatures, but vampires are vile, evil monsters, and their queen is the worst of all.” She dropped her hand and her expression hardened.“The only good vampire is a dead vampire.”
Goose bumps rose on Lucette’s arms and neck. Even though her mother had said those words before, she’d never seen such hatred in her mother’s eyes and her insistence that all vampires deserved to die seemed extreme—especially after meeting Alex. But if her mother were right, it was chilling to think how close she’d been to a vampire tonight, how close she’d come to death.
She felt foolish for running off into the woods. Some days it felt as though she couldn’t take one right step. She sighed and hugged her mother. “Some days I feel like I’m cursed.”
Her mother stiffened and pushed her back to arm’s length. “Who told you about the curse?”
Lucette sucked in a ragged breath. “What?” She scrambled off the bed. “Do you mean I really am cursed?” She’d only said it so her mother could say “Don’t be silly, Lucette. Of course you’re not cursed.” Instead, it felt as if the world had tilted on its side, as if the room were closing in around her, as if the air were suddenly too thick to breathe.
“What do you mean?” She looked at her mother, hoping for answers.
Her mother slid off the bed, stepped up to Lucette, and hugged her tightly. “My darling daughter, it’s time you knew the truth.” She pulled back, but gripped Lucette’s upper arms tightly. “And it’s time you learned how to defend yourself, how to fight.”
“Like a vampire slayer?” Her mother had to be kidding. Her parents were so overprotective it was crazy, and the idea that they’d let her learn to be a slayer—it was too much to hope for.
But her mother’s expression remained serious. “Your father thinks he can protect you. He thinks it’s his job to keep his wife and daughter safe, but I think it’s important we also learn to protect ourselves.”
“I’d give anything to be a vampire slayer.” Lucette felt excitement bubble up inside her. Had her mother been watching the other night when she’d been practicing her slayer moves? Reading her mind? She looked into her mother’s eyes for clues.
“Lucette,” her mother said evenly and calmly. “It is crucial that you train as a vampire slayer.”
Crucial? Confusion set in. This afternoon she would have jumped for joy at the opportunity. Now she wasn’t so sure. But if training to be a slayer meant shedding the protective blanket her father had smothered her under, she was on board.
“Are you serious, Mom?” Lucette wasn’t convinced she could actually kill a vampire, but the training sounded exciting, and she wasn’t about to question her mother’s motives and risk her changing her mind. This was sure to spark another parental fight, though. Torn between her dreams and keeping the peace, her stomach hurt.
Her mother let out a heavy sigh. “Lucette, your father doesn’t want to scare you, but I think you’re old enough to know what happened when you were a baby.”
Lucette opened her eyes wide.
“Sit down,” her mother said. “It’s time you learned about your curse.”
The next morning, Lucette approached the room to which her parents had summoned her and kept her gaze focused on the marble floor with its alternating pattern of silver and blue tiles. She’d barely slept last night, and learning about the curse had left her feeling numb and in a state of disbelief. She couldn’t imagine why a vampire queen, whom she’d never even met, would hate her enough to curse her.
A guard opened the door, and she bit down on her lip in irritation. She wasn’t allowed to touch any doorknobs herself, even though all the doorknobs in the palace were perfectly smooth. It seemed unlikely that one would ever cut her—especially since she’d worn leather gloves every day for her entire life. But at least now she understood her father’s obsession with finger safety—sort of.
According to her mother, her father thought she needed to develop good safety habits before turning sixteen—hence the gloves and his rules—whereas her mother thought she should have a chance to live a normal life until that fateful birthday. They also disagreed on the subject of her learning how to defend herself. Her father thought the idea of her training to slay was ridiculous and morbid, and his focus was completely on finger-prick prevention. Her mother, however, thought the curse was inevitable and that it was better to face it head-on. At least some of their fights made more sense now, even if it confirmed Lucette’s fears that she’d caused them.
As she walked up to her parents, the air in the room seemed icy, and she imagined what it would look like if one of them reached out to take the other’s hand. Better yet, what if both of them reached out at the same time, then turned to smile at each other as their hands joined? The image felt as real as a memory, yet Lucette knew she was projecting the actions of other couples she’d seen around the palace onto her parents. She’d never seen her parents hold hands. She herself had never held anyone’s hand—without a glove.
Lucette stepped up to her parents and clasped their hands; at least now they were connected through her. She looked at each, timidly wondering what her punishment would be. “I’m so sorry about going into the woods. It was foolish and crazy, and I’ll never do anything like that again. I promise I can be more careful.”
“I hope you learned your lesson.” Her father’s face was stern. “But we called you here to discuss something else.”
She felt the tension build in the room. “Is this about the curse?”
Her father spun toward her mother. “You told her?”
“It was time she knew.” Her mother shrugged. “She’s not a little girl anymore.”
“How could you!” the king bellowed. “She’s just a child! Look how you’ve scared her.”
Lucette scrambled to find some way to intervene. Her big mouth had done it again, and she’d made everything worse.
“We can’t keep her sealed in a bubble, Stefan.” Her mother’s cheeks flushed. “It’s crazy. If you’re doing all these things now, what do you plan for after she’s turned sixteen?”
“So you want to just give up and let the curse fall?”
“Of course not! I simply believe she deserves to have a tiny bit of freedom—especially until she’s sixteen. After that, she may end up isolated and alone in the night without having any skills or preparation.”
“That will never happen if she follows her safety rules.”
Lucette’s knees threatened to crumple as the full weight of her curse sank in.
Alone. In the night. With vampires. And they wouldn’t all be as nice as Alex.
Her mother shouted, “You treat your own daughter like a prisoner!”
Her father raised his voice. “The precautions and rules I’ve set up have helped her develop good habits to prevent the curse! You think I like restricting our daughter?”
“Stefan, let’s discuss this later.” Tight-lipped, she glanced at Lucette, then back at her husband.“You promised we would offer her the choice.”
Lucette looked up at the word choice. At this time yesterday, she’d felt so mistreated because she had to wear gloves, be escorted everywhere, and was coddled like a baby. In less than twenty-four hours, she’d met a vampire, learned she carried a horrible curse, and caused yet another big fight between her parents. After all that, they were expecting her to make some kind of choice?
A solution popped into her head. “Mom, Dad. If I’m going to bring a curse down on the kingdom, why don’t we just leave Xandra? Go somewhere else?”
Her father shook his head. “I can’t leave. I’m the king.”
“But—” She stopped herself. The last thing she wanted to suggest was that their family split up.
“I thought of that too, Lucette,” her mother said. “If it would work, I’d have taken you from Xandra the day after your naming ceremony, but it won’t. I asked the fairies. If you leave the kingdom, everyone else in Xandra will fall asleep forever.”
Lucette gasped and felt tears spark the backs of her eyes. This couldn’t get any worse.
Lucette’s father turned toward her, his expression showing obvious pain. “Let’s not dwell on things that can’t be. Let’s focus on the present.” He tugged down on his velvet jacket. “Your mother thinks we should allow you to leave the palace on weekdays, but I think it’s a bad idea. Even though I’ve banned most sharp objects and regulated their use for essential services, there might be a few sharp objects that could prick you.”
“I think you should attend charm school,” her mother stated quickly.
“Charm school?” Lucette repeated slowly. Last night her mother had promised she’d find a way to let her attend slayer school. Was this part of that plan? Linking her daily trips outside the palace to a charm school seemed clever, if devious. Her mother had chosen a lie the king might actually support.
“I do agree that you’d benefit from such training.” Her father stepped toward her and cupped her chin tenderly.“It takes more than great beauty to charm young men, but”—he shook his head in disappointment—“I had expected your mother would teach you such things.”
Her mother pursed her lips, as if holding back arguments, and Lucette was grateful.
“If you do need charm lessons”—he squeezed her gloved hand—“I’d prefer we bring a tutor into the palace. Certainly your scare last night showed you that you’re much safer at home.”
“The charm school is very safe.” Her mother’s voice was sharp, but she didn’t argue any further.
Her father sighed. “As long as you promise to follow your safety rules, I’ll allow you to attend—but only if it’s what you want.”
The door to the room opened and a guard stepped in.“Your Highness, the king and royal wizard from Judra are here for your meeting.”
“Lucette,” her father said, “you’re a sensible girl. In spite of your escapade last night, I’m sure you’ll make the right choice . . . the sensible choice.” He kissed her cheek. Then, without looking back at his queen, the king left the room.
As soon as he was gone, her mother grabbed her hand. “Lucette, of course you’ll choose charm school over a private tutor. Your father will never know that I’m having you taken to the Vampire Slayer Academy instead.”
“But, Mom.” Lucette was beyond excited, yet nervous. “Someone will tell him and when he finds out, he’ll be so angry.”
The queen shook her head. “I’ll register you under a secret name so no one will know it’s you.”
Lucette lowered her eyes. Training as a slayer was her greatest dream, what she’d always wanted, but a lie between her parents meant another reason for them to fight. Excitement and trepidation mixed inside her. She looked back up at her mother. “Keeping such a big secret will be impossible.”
Her mother shook her head. “The palace staff members who came with me when I married your father are loyal, and they’ll take you each day. You’ll train as a slayer and your father will never know.”
“Do you really think we should lie to him?” Nerves scrambled inside Lucette.
Her mother put her hands on her hips. “I don’t like it, either, but do you think he’ll agree willingly? He won’t even let you hold a pencil. Do you think he’d let you touch a sharpened stake?” Her expression softened and she reached forward to touch Lucette’s arm. “Darling, I wish there were another way, but learning to defend yourself is important. Of course, I hope the curse will never come to fruition, and after you turn sixteen, you should do everything you can to prevent it. But until then, I want you to learn some basic survival skills in case the worst happens.”
Anxiety rushed through Lucette’s body, increasing her heart rate and making her queasy. She feared the consequences if her father ever found out about this deception.
If you were Lucette, what would you do?
OPTION A: Lucette should go along with her mother’s lie. She’s always longed to train as a slayer, and as terrifying as she finds her curse, someday she might be the only one awake at night to defend herself and protect her family. Isn’t it her duty to learn? The Vampire Slayer Academy is the best place to study. If you think Lucette should choose option A, go to section 2: The Academy (page 43).
OPTION B: Lucette should refuse to lie to her father. With time, he might become reasonable and agree she needs slayer training. Avoiding this lie, she has a better chance of keeping the peace, and if she causes another fight between her parents, she’ll never forgive herself. If her father finds out about the lie, he might never forgive Lucette and her mother. If you think Lucette should choose option B, go to section 3: Big Secrets (page 77).