Filed to story: The Vampire Prince’s Bride
“So if I were to step onto Utopia, I would be killed?” I asked.
“Precisely.” She nodded. “They believe that men are inherently violent-and that this natural violence is amplified in male vampires. If we face a threat from the wolves, I hardly think the Utopians would come to our aid. They might even support the wolves, since they likely want to see all of the male vampires in the Vale slain.”
“Interesting,” I said. “I see the issue there.”
And I planned on trying to learn more about the Utopians… although I would be on guard as well. It seemed like they would be more trouble than they were worth, since they would likely see myself and all the other male vampires in the Vale as threats.
“It sounds like the Carpathians are the best bet, then?” I asked, more for Laila’s benefit than mine. After all, it seemed like she thought the Carpathians were our best bet… therefore it would benefit me if she thought I was on the same page.
“Likely.” She tilted her glass to her lips, finishing the rest of her wine in a single gulp. “I’m glad to hear that you’re taking this seriously. I had my doubts about you at first, but your progress goes to show that my instinct was correct. You’re going to bring the Vale into a new era.”
“I plan on it.” I raised my glass in a toast and drained it, smiling at the thought that yes, I would be bringing the Vale into a new era.
Just not the era that Laila intended.
Camelia
Camelia
I threw every pillow off of my bed, desperate to find the missing crystal. I’d been at this for hours-I’d scavenged every inch of my room to the point where it looked like a hurricane had torn through-and had found nothing.
The crystal was gone.
Or, more likely, stolen.
After the rumbling avalanche that had sounded from the Crystal Cavern-and the clouds of dirt that had burst from its mouth-I’d held on hope that somehow the girl had survived. The crystal had told me that she would be the one to retrieve Geneva’s sapphire ring, and the crystal couldn’t have been wrong.
But I’d waited, and waited, and she hadn’t emerged.
It had taken a lot of magical energy to transport both myself and the girl to the entry of the cave-transporting a human was exhausting business-so I’d had to wait a few hours before gathering the strength to teleport myself back to the palace. I’d gone straight to my safe to retrieve the piece of the Omniscient Crystal that I’d owned, only to find it missing. And so, I’d ransacked my room, at the same time as I tried to figure out what I was going to tellLaila.
The queen was going to be furious. Both because she wanted the ring, and because I had let her down.
But she would be even more furious if I hid this information from her. So I needed to tell her the truth of what had happened. Now.
I freshened myself up-doing one last look around for the crystal-and walked to Laila’s quarters. I kept my shoulders squared and looked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with the vampires I passed on my way there. Once I arrived, I knocked on the door, standing still as I waited for a response.
“Come in,” Laila called through the doors.
I pushed the doors open, finding Laila and Sean sitting across from each other on the sofas. They both held empty wine glasses in their hands, the bottle open on the coffee table.
“Apologies for interrupting.” I lowered my head in respect to the queen and prince. “I’ll return at a later time.”
“No need.” Laila brushed my comment away and placed her empty glass on the table. “Sean and I were just finishing up.”
Sean stood, gave me a brisk nod, and hurried out of the door. I couldn’t help but shudder at the way he’d looked at me-his eyes had been full of hate.
I assumed it was because of the human girl. Scarlett.
Yes, I remembered what he’d said about her after I’d shown him her body. (Well, the body that he and everyone else believed to be hers.) He’d said that he never cared about her and was going to eventually drain her dry himself. But his eyes… they gave away the emotions he refused to voice. He’d cared about the girl.
Or perhaps he was simply angry with me for killing her first.
The doors closed behind him, and I set my gaze on Laila, reminding myself why I’d come here.
“You have news of Geneva?” Laila asked, sounding more eager than ever. The vampire queen rarely showed such emotion. And I understood why-locating Geneva and having control over her ring would bring the Vale more stability than I, or any other witch in existence, could possibly provide. With the threat of the wolves growing outside the kingdom, we needed all of the protection we could get.
“I do.” I took a deep breath and straightened my skirts, dreading what I had to say next.
“And?” She motioned to the sofa across from her-where Sean had been sitting-and looked at me to continue.
I took the seat, placing myself on the edge of the cushion. I could hardly let myself become comfortable-I needed to prepare for the worst.
“The girl was unsuccessful in retrieving Geneva’s sapphire ring,” I began, pulling at the sides of my skirt as I spoke.
“How is that possible?” Laila narrowed her eyes. “The Omniscient Crystal showed you that she was the one who could survive the Crystal Cavern and bring us the ring.”
“It was only a piece of the Omniscient Crystal,” I began, readying myself to tell her what I’d been trying to convince myself since finding the crystal missing from my quarters. “It’s possible that since it’s not whole, it’s not fully functional.”
“So you’re telling me that this piece of the Omniscient Crystal-which you promised me would show you the one who could successfully fetch Geneva’s sapphire ring-gave you incorrect information?”
“Yes.” I hung my head, unable to look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry, YourMajesty.”
Laila took a deep breath, her hands digging into the cushions beside her. “Well, then.” Her voice was stiff, her words more enunciated than usual. “I suppose you’ll have to figure out another solution, won’t you?”
“Another solution?” I stuttered. “I don’t know how… the sapphire ring was locked inside the Crystal Cavern decades ago. The witches who cast the spell made sure that the items locked inside would be trapped there forever. Those items are said to be of dark magic. Perhaps…”
“Perhaps what?” Laila glared at me, daring me to continue.
“Perhaps we should trust that the witches knew what they were doing, and let the artifacts be.”
“We shall do no such thing!” Laila reached for the glass on the table and flung it against the wall, shattering it into pieces.
I flinched at the sound, although I did my best to keep my expression neutral, not wanting to bring on more ofLaila’s rage.