Filed to story: The Vampire Prince’s Bride
“It’s not much of a secret-at least not in the Tower.” She glanced at the doors, which had just been opened. “But I’ll have to tell you later. Because now, the ball’s about to begin.”
Scarlett
I’d thought the throne room had to have been the most luxurious room in the palace, but I was wrong. The ballroom somehow managed to be even more elaborate.
It was two high floors tall, with steps that reminded me of the grand staircase on the Titanic leading up to the balconies above. Add in the parquet floors, crystal chandeliers, and walls covered in decorative gold, and I felt like I’d stepped into a fairy tale.
Except this was no fairy tale.
Not while the vampires continued to enslave innocent humans.
As expected, each of us was introduced in a similar way that we were this morning in the throne room. All of the other kingdoms were introduced in alphabetical order-except for me. I was last. It was as if the vampires of the Vale were trying to make it clear that they didn’t believe the Seventh Kingdom existed.
I was offended at first, until I reminded myself that the Seventh Kingdom likely didn’t exist.
“Princess Ana of the Seventh Kingdom,” the announcer called my name.
My stomach swirled, and like the girls before me, I rested my hand on the top of the railing and made my way toward the top of the grand staircase.
Except that when the girls before me had been introduced, the vampires had clapped politely.
For me, they were silent.
Instead of clapping, they stared at me-as if I were an anomaly. As if I weren’t welcome here.
My heart rose in my chest, and I looked down at them in terror. What was I doing here? I was no vampire princess. I was a phony-a fraud. They all knew it.
I had a sinking feeling that it wouldn’t be long until they proved it.
Then one person started clapping-Sean. He looked every bit a prince in his white tie suit.
My eyes met with his, and he gave me a small nod, as if telling me that I should continue down the stairs. A few more people followed his lead, and soon the entire audience was clapping along with him.
Gratitude overwhelmed me, and I held up my dress and walked down the staircase, my eyes locked on Sean’s the entire time. As long as I was looking at him, I felt safe and welcome. He wanted me here. I could feel it in every inch of my bones.
The whole audience was clapping, but he was the only one I saw. In that moment, he was the only one who mattered.
I reached the bottom of the stairs, joined the other princesses, and the clapping died down. Princess Isabella even gave me a small smile of encouragement.
Then Sean stepped forward and everyone quieted.
“Thank you for gathering here tonight,” he started, looking around at everyone in attendance. “It’s my pleasure to host this ball to welcome these eight lovely princesses to our kingdom-one of them who will be my future bride. Now, to kick off the celebration, I will be choosing one of them to share the first dance with me.”
Light chatter started throughout the crowd-no doubt people guessing which one of us he would select. I couldn’t help noticing that Eve straightened and flipped her hair, smiling seductively at Sean as if she anticipated being chosen. His eyes paused on her, his lips parting ever so slightly.
I was suddenly reminded of the way he’d looked at me the first time he’d seen me at the Christmas celebration in the village square.
He’d looked at me the same way he was now looking atEve.
I stood straighter, trying to mimic her confidence. After all, this was an important moment. Surely the princess he chose right now was the princess he was currently the most interested in marrying. Not like he could know which one of us he wanted to marry-since he hadn’t had time yet to get to know us-but clearly the princess chosen would be the one he was most attracted to.
“The princess who will be sharing the first dance with me will be…” He paused, taking a second to look at each one of us.
My breath caught when his gaze landed upon mine and I stared into those silver eyes that had bewitched me from the first moment I’d seen them.
I’d been silly in trusting him back then. That had all been an act, the same way he was surely putting on an act right now. But I couldn’t let him see my suspicion, so I widened my eyes and curved my lips into a soft smile, hoping to encourage him to select me.
“Princess Karina of the Carpathian Kingdom,” he said, and he ripped his gaze away from mine, focusing on the petite European princess as she stepped forward to take his hand.
My heart dropped with the disappointment of not being chosen. At the same time, I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing at the scowl that had crossed over Eve’s face. The other princess from Utopia-I now knew that her name was Margaret-whispered something to Eve, but whatever it was only made Eve’s scowl deepen.
A circle formed around Sean and Karina, the orchestra started to play, and they began to dance. They both danced beautifully, as if they were gliding on ice.
When my turn came, how was I supposed to dance like that? I’d assumed that we’d be dancing to current day music. I hadn’t expected to feel like I’d been thrown into another century.
I took a step back, looking around the room of vampires and feeling overwhelmed once again. The air felt thin, and I had to focus to breathe.
Then a familiar witch stepped up beside me. Camelia. Her tall frame towered above mine. She wore a black mermaid gown that accentuated every curve of her body, and her dangling earrings dropped nearly to her shoulders.
She’d been wearing black every time I’d seen her. Except for the charm on her neck with the green plant inside of it-wormwood. She was, of course, wearing the charm now.
Hatred poured through my veins at the sight of her-the witch who’d killed Mike and Tanya, and who had left me in that cave to die.
Who else had she killed since?
There was no way to know.
All I did know was that the sooner I succeeded in my mission, the sooner Camelia would be stopped from using and blackmailing helpless, desperate human blood slaves to do her bidding.
“Princess Ana,” she said with a small smile, holding out a black-gloved hand to greet me. “It’s wonderful to officially meet your acquaintance.”
“Hello.” I swallowed and shook her hand, unsure what to say next. Because whileI’d met her as Scarlett, I hadn’t yet been introduced to her asAna.
Should I pretend I didn’t know who she was? I almost opened my mouth to ask, but I stopped myself. As a princess, I would likely know the identity of the strongest witch in the Vale and the advisor to the queen.