Filed to story: The Vampire Prince’s Bride
“Queen Laila wants to make an alliance,” I said, since that much was obvious. “Do you have any idea why?”
An alliance between two kingdoms hadn’t been made since before the Great War, so it was certainly curious that the Vale was reaching out to all of the kingdoms right now. It was simple to conclude that they must be in need of help. But why they needed help… that was the question.
“I do.” He nodded, rubbing his thumb over his jaw. “But more on that later. Because I brought you here to discuss the most urgent issue from the letter-the princesses who will be sent to theVale.”
“Which two do you have in mind?” I asked him, running through the possibilities in my mind. Alina seemed the most obvious choice-she was young, kind, and warm hearted. Bianca was another possibility, although sometimes the princess could be so cold that she scared even myself. And there was alsoSofia…
“Bianca,” he said, staring me straight in the eyes. “
And you.”
“What?” I gasped, my arms falling to my side. Because he knew I couldn’t do that. I wasn’t ready. I would never be ready. Not after losing Peter. I could never love anyone else.
Shouldn’t he send someone who could?
“You heard me.” He was still in his throne, appearing every bit a hard vampire king. “You’re going to be one of the princesses who goes to the Vale to court PrinceSean.”
“Why me?” I asked, my voice strained. “You know as well as I that Peter and I were soul mates. He was my one true love. Prince Sean may be the most wonderful man in the universe, but he could never replace Peter. No one ever could.” My voice wavered, and I managed to swallow down the tears forming in my throat. I couldn’t allow myself to cry. I wouldn’t show such weakness.
But the idea of being forced to journey to another continent and pretend like my heart hadn’t been shattered by Peter’s death-to pretend like I was able to love again-I couldn’t do it. And I’d thought Nicolae knew me well enough to know that.
“It must be you,” he insisted, his gaze hard and calculating. “I trust you more than any other princess in the kingdom. You need to be the one to do this.”
“What exactly do you intend for me to do?” I asked suspiciously. “There’s more going on here than you wanting me to steal the prince’s heart, isn’t there?”
“As always, you’re quick to understand the undercurrents of the situation,” he said, tapping his fingers against the armrest. “Which is precisely why I called upon you to complete this task.”
“What task?” I asked, relief coursing through my veins at the realization that he didn’t want me to actually fall in love with Prince Sean. Because while I wasn’t capable of falling in love again… there was much I was capable of when it came to political tactics. With so many centuries of peace, there hadn’t been many diplomatic issues to deal with as of late. But with the possible alliance looming, I had to admit that I was intrigued. “Tell me what you’re truly requesting of me,” I said. “Then I’ll let you know if I’m the best for the job.”
“The peace between the vampires of the Vale and the wolves outside of their walls is fraying,” he said slowly. “As I always knew it would. That’s why we fight wolves with swords and fangs in the Carpathian Kingdom. Shifters are animals, and animals only cower to one thing-violence.” He sneered as he spoke, his eyes glinting with determination. “The vampires of the Vale have allowed the centuries of peace to allow them to grow weak. They don’t have the military power to defeat the wolves should they attack. And trust me-they’re going to attack, sooner rather than later.”
“How do you know all of this?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
“One of our witches is helping the wolves outside of the Vale,” he said simply.
My eyes widened, and I stared at him in shock. “Why?” I asked, trying to remain calm as I spoke. “How? You’re allowing this to continue?”
“The ‘why’ is simple,” he said with a smirk. “Our young witch-Marigold-fancies herself in love with one of the wolves of the Vale. I assume he’s using her for her power, but their drama is none of my concern.” He waved it off, and I knew he spoke the truth. “Because while she doesn’t have the strength to break down the boundary created by the witch of the Vale, she’s been able to create tears in the barrier-small enough tears that allow the wolves to sneak through. Not enough to cause a true threat, but enough to make Queen Laila worried.”
“I fail to see how this is a good thing?” I asked, since the Vale was one of our closest allies, should we ever need them. It made no sense to put them in danger.
“That’s the best part of this plan,” he said with a grin. “Marigold has been happy to act as a messenger between our kingdom and the wolves of the Vale. I want her to continue to do so and to escalate this rebellion the wolves are planning. Because if the Vale falls… Laila will finally be my queen-the queen of the Carpathian Kingdom-like I know she’s someday meant to be.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his final comment. If Nicolae weren’t the king of the Carpathian Kingdom, he would be seen as pathetic for his inability to let go of his unrequited love for the queen of the Vale. As it were, everyone-including myself-had to pretend to respect his feelings. To pretend like we thought Laila might someday return his affections.
We all knew it would never happen.
However, there was a part of me that felt bad for his inability to put his feelings for her to rest. She visited our kingdom often, and while she clearly wasn’t in love with him, she gave him enough hope during each of her visits to make him believe that someday it would be possible. She toyed with him to get what she wanted. It was surely a tactical decision on her part-a way to make sure that whatever may happen in the future, the Carpathian Kingdom would side with the Vale in any potential global conflicts.
But what Nicolae had just said was beyond what even I thought he might ever do to makeLaila his.
“You want the Vale to fall?” I asked, making sure I’d heard him correctly.
“I do.” He nodded and licked his lips hungrily. His eyes flared with determination, and I took a step back.
It was moments like this that made me fear him… that made me think he might not be completely sane.
“If the Vale falls, Laila will have nowhere to go,” he continued. “She’ll need help and safety. She’ll need me. She’ll need us-the Carpathian Kingdom. I’ll propose to her, and she’ll finally realize that this is where she’s been meant to be all along. By my side, as my queen.”
“That makes sense.” I kept my tone polite and formal, knowing better than to show that I had any doubt of Laila’s possible affections for him. “But where do I come in with all of this?”
“I am sending you to the Vale not to win Prince Sean’s heart… but to act as a spy,” he said smugly. “Although of course, in order to succeed as a spy, you’ll need to make the prince like you enough to keep you in the palace as a contender for his hand. But you’re charming enough that I’m sure you can figure out how to do that. You certainly have the looks for it.”
I knew what he was referring to-the fact that my appearance resembled Queen Laila’s. My looks were what had drawn Nicolae to turn me in the first place.
Luckily, it hadn’t taken him long to realize that despite our resemblance, I would never replace the queen who had stolen his heart.
“So you want me to stay in the Vale for long enough to gain information,” I assumed.
He nodded that I was correct.
This was good. I took a steady breath, since as long as I wasn’t being sent to win the prince’s hand, I could do this. But first I needed to know more about what would be expected of me.
“What information do you want me to seek?” I asked.
“Weaknesses in the Vale,” he told me. “While you’re there under the pretense of seeking the prince’s affections, I want you to be exploring the palace and the surrounding town. If you see any places where they’re weak-where the wolves might be able to get through or stage an attack-report them immediately.”
“To you?” I raised an eyebrow, since that plan hardly seemed solid. I couldn’t very well send a letter-there was too big of a risk it might be intercepted. And requesting a witch to transport me to and from the Carpathian Kingdom might raise some eyebrows amongst the royalty of the Vale. The last thing I needed was anyone becoming suspicious of my intentions, or worse, finding out what I was doing.
That could result in a break of the peace between our kingdoms and a full- blown war.
“Of course not to me.” He sneered. “We’ve developed a rapport with the pack of wolves that Marigold has connected with. You’ll report to their leader-a wolf by the name of Noah. He’ll be expecting you, and will send a messenger with the information of where you can find him once you arrive in theVale.”
“Okay.” I bristled, but straightened a moment later, trying to hide my distaste at actually talking to one of the wolves. I’d only ever fought with wolves-never spoken to them. They were animals. They couldn’t be reasoned with.