Filed to story: The Vampire Prince’s Bride
“So why do you wish to become one?” she asked. “Why do you want to become the creature you despise?”
“Easy,” I said, and the vengeance filled my body, making me feel strong and powerful. “Because as long as I’m a human, I’m weak. And I need to be on equal footing with them in order to get my revenge.”
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“Y ou want to destroy the entire vampire race?” Geneva asked in disbelief. “You do know that the Nephilim tried to do that once, don’t you? And you know how that ended up?”
“Of course I do,” I said, since the vampires loved to tell humans the story to remind us how powerful they were. “The vampires teamed up with the witches, and together, they killed every last Nephilim onEarth.”
“You know your history.” Geneva nodded. “So what makes you think that one human girl-even a human girl who wears my ring-can destroy one of the strongest supernatural races onEarth?”
“I don’t want to destroy the entire vampire race,” I said, since that would be ridiculous. “I just want to take down theVale.”
“Just take down the Vale.” Geneva rolled her eyes. “And how exactly do you intend to do that?”
“By slaying their queen,” I answered, glad that I’d already thought of the answer to her question. “Laila’s been queen of the Vale since creating it centuries ago. The kingdom would be nothing without her. And you heard what Sean said-he’s inviting vampire princesses from around the world to come live in the palace so he can choose a bride. Becoming a vampire princess-and thus a contender to his hand-would have been my way inside of the palace. Once inside, I could have learned my way around, gained their trust, and eventually run a stake straight through Laila’s heart when she least expected it.”
“A poorly thought out plan,” Geneva said. “But the general idea could be a decent starting point.”
“Not that it matters,” I reminded her. “Since you can’t turn me into a vampire.”
“True,” Geneva said. “But let’s pretend for a moment that I could.”
“Okay.” I stared at her, waiting for her to continue.
“And-for the sake of it-let’s pretend that you managed to get close enough to Laila to kill her,” she said. “You’ve given no thought to what would happen after her death.”
“The Vale would no longer have a queen,” I said.
“And what of your fate?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged, realizing that she was right-I hadn’t thought out this plan thoroughly.
“You would die,” Geneva said simply. “The vampire guards would stake you in a second.”
I said nothing, since she was right. And while I knew what the martyr thing would be to say-that dying would be worth taking down the queen of the Vale-I couldn’t say it. Because I didn’t want to die.
I wanted to live. That’s what I’d always wanted. I remembered the way I’d felt when those vampires had killed my family in front of me-when I’d thought they were going to kill me, too. In that moment, I’d thought I was going to die. It had been terrifying. Because there was so much in life that I still had yet to experience. And despite all the horrible things that had happened to me in this past year, I refused to give up. I would live my life, and someday, somehow, I would find happiness. I would find freedom. Maybe I would even find love.
That was what I was fighting for.
“You don’t want to die,” Geneva observed.
“Of course not,” I said. “But the Vale needs to be brought down. All of the humans living there as slaves… it isn’t fair. It isn’t right. They- we-deserve a life. A real life.”
“And you’re going to be the one to free them?” she asked.
“I would like to,” I said.
“Yet you want to be a vampire.”
“I do.” I nodded. “I hardly have the strength to help them as a human.”
“A vampire who fights for humans.” She chuckled. “You do realize the irony in your statement, do you not?”
I pressed my lips together and glared at her-this witch was truly infuriating.
“If you were a vampire, you would no longer be on the side of the humans,” she continued. “You would need their blood to survive, as all vampires do.”
“I could survive on animal blood,” I said. “It is possible for vampires to survive on animal blood, right?”
“It’s possible,” she said. “The vampires of the Haven do just that.”
“The Haven?” I asked, since I had no idea what she meant.
She eyed me up curiously. “What do you know of the vampire kingdoms beyond theVale?”
“Nothing.” I glanced down at my hands, embarrassed by my own ignorance. “None of the humans in the Vale know about much of anything beyond theVale.”
“Then let me enlighten you,” Geneva said. “There are six vampire kingdoms, including the Vale. They’re spread out throughout the world. The Haven is the vampire kingdom located in India. They survive off the blood of animals instead of humans. But this has a side effect-it makes them weak. They only have about half the strength of a vampire who survives off of human blood.”
“So how does the kingdom still exist?” I asked. “Wouldn’t they be overpowered by the stronger vampires who feed on humans?”
“They’re protected,” she said with a smile. “By tiger shifters.”
“Tiger shifters?” I repeated, my eyes wide. “Those truly exist?”
“They’re the strongest shifters on Earth,” she said. “They greatly respect the vampires of the Haven for their choice to not prey on humans, and in turn give them their protection. The Haven is a place of peace and refuge for all vampires who are willing to give up human blood.”
“It sounds lovely,” I said.
“It is not without its faults,” Geneva said. “But enough about the Haven. Because like I told you before, your previous idea wasn’t a terrible starting point. And if you’re willing to listen, I believe I have a solution for how you can accomplish your mission.”
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