Filed to story: The Vampire Prince’s Bride
“It doesn’t work like that,” she said.
“Oh.” I frowned. “Well, I was thinking about a lot of things. Mainly that I’m not sure where I would go. You see, the vampires of the Vale killed my family. And given all that I know of the supernatural world, I could never return to living a normal human life.”
“Do you want me to wipe your memory of the knowledge of the supernatural?” she asked. “Because it’s in my power to do so. And if you wish it, I can-“
“No!” I said sharply. “I don’t want to forget. I won’t be ignorant. I won’t let myself be a victim ever again.”
“Good.” She smiled. “I was hoping you would say that.”
“Also, I made a blood oath with Camelia,” I told her. “She’s the strongest witch of the Vale. She has to follow through with her promise to me.”
“What did you promise her?” Geneva raised an eyebrow. “Because blood oaths are a strong, ancient magic-so strong that even I cannot reverse them.”
“I promised her that I would give her the ring, and she promised that in return she would try her hardest to convince Queen Laila to turn me into a vampire.”
“Those were the exact words?” Geneva asked.
“I think.” I scratched my head, trying to recall the conversation we’d had in the dungeons. I still hadn’t recovered from the vampire blood hangover at that point, so my memories were hazy. “I suppose I don’t remember the exact wording. But it was close.”
“Well, luckily you have me on your side.” Geneva reached for the crystal nearby, but her hand passed through it again. “Rhatz!” she cursed, turning back to me. “I can’t interact with anything in the mortal world unless you command me to do so.”
“What were you trying to do?” I asked.
“I was going to use the crystal to view the moment when you made the blood oath with this witch Camelia,” she said.
“Okay.” I nodded. “Then I command you to use the crystal to view the moment I made the blood oath with Camelia.”
Geneva reached for the crystal again, and this time, she was able to touch it. She grinned and pulled the crystal onto her lap, her hands hovering above it as she gazed inside.
“Well?” I asked, leaning forward. “What do you see?”
She looked up at me and smiled. “I saw the moment you made the oath with Camelia,” she said. “She promised that if you gave her the sapphire ring, she would tell Queen Laila of your feat and do everything in her power to convince her to turn you into a vampire.”
“If,” I realized. “Not when.”
“Exactly.” Geneva smirked. “You’re under no oath to give my ring to this witch Camelia. In fact, I urge you not to do so. This witch never had your best intentions at heart.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “She swore that she would do everything in her power to turn me into a vampire.”
“She also told everyone in the palace that you were dead,” Geneva said simply. “Including your vampire prince Sean.”
“No.” I shook my head, my heart dropping deep into my stomach. “She wouldn’t.”
“She would,” Geneva said.
“Even if she did, he wouldn’t believe it,” I insisted. “Not without seeing a body.”
“Your instincts are correct,” Geneva said. “While you were sedated, Camelia stole a strand of your hair and created a transformation potion. She gave the potion to your friend Tanya-the short blonde girl who worked at that bar with you. Once Tanya had taken on your form, Camelia had her killed. She showed the girl in your form as proof of your demise.”
I shook my head, unwilling to so easily accept that Tanya was gone. “That doesn’t make any sense.” I reached for the crystal, but Geneva pulled it away.
“Do not touch that.” She held it out of my reach, her eyes ablaze.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because as long as you wear my ring, it’s my duty to protect you,” she said. “And the dark crystals contain powerful magic that kills non-witches on contact.”
“Oh.” I flexed my fingers, shocked that I’d just been millimeters away from death-and grateful to Geneva for saving me. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me,” she said. “If a wearer of the ring dies on my watch, I’ll be trapped in its depths until the end of time. I will always save its wearer. Anything else would mean condemning myself to an eternity of imprisonment.”
I wanted to point out how selfish that sounded, but I kept my mouth shut. Because she was my only hope- and she was apparently bound to do as I said and keep me alive-so I had to make sure this relationship got off on the right footing.
“Tanya’s truly dead?” I asked instead, my voice cracking.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
I didn’t respond to her empty condolences. Geneva didn’t care about my grief. In fact, I had an instinctive feeling that all Geneva cared about was herself.
Luckily, Geneva’s self was tied to my self. And I wanted revenge. On Camelia, for killing Mike and Tanya. On Laila, for creating this kingdom that treated humans like animals. On all the vampire nobles who followed her blindly, enjoying their lives in the palace while we lived in poverty. And on the vampire guards who had killed my family, along with countless other innocent lives.
And I had the most powerful witch in the world at my disposal to help me do so.
I would not let this opportunity go to waste.
“I should go to Sean,” I realized, running my hands through my hair. “He’ll help me figure out what to do from here.”
“Are you so sure about him?” Geneva asked with a knowing smile.
“Yes,” I said firmly. “He tried to save my life. He’ll help me. I know he will.”
She placed the crystal down between us, watching me carefully. “When I looked for the moment when you made the blood oath with Camelia, I saw something else as well,” she said. “Something that I think you’ll want to see.”
“Show me,” I told her. “I command it.”