Filed to story: The Vampire Prince’s Bride
“So it sounds like they’re our best bet,” I said, although I inwardly made a mental note to not to choose a princess of the Ward, as it sounded likely that they would thwart my true agenda. “Perhaps even more so than theCarpathians.”
“Perhaps,” Laila mused. “But I trust the Carpathians more. The vampires of the Ward can be quite brutal, and while they would be a better choice than some of the other kingdoms, I can’t say for certain that they would fight for our cause. They might, but there’s also the possibility that they would send us their princess and not involve themselves in our plight.”
“Unless we had something to offer for their help,” I said.
“Now you’re thinking like a prince.” She smiled.
I walked over to the counter and opened a bottle of wine-laced with human blood, of course-and poured myself a glass. “Would you like one?” I asked Laila, starting to pour the second glass without waiting for her answer. If anyone else had helped themselves to her wine, she would have been irritated, but being one of her sired princes came with certain perks.
“Of course.” She pulled her hair over her shoulders, and when I brought the glass over to her, she clinked it with mine. She settled into an armchair, making herself comfortable.
Once she was seated, I did the same. One of the first things I’d learned in the Vale had been never to sit if the queen was still standing.
“What about the other kingdoms?” I asked, since I still hadn’t figured out which one Laila wanted me to avoid. I planned on paying extra attention to the princesses of that kingdom-whichever it might be.
“The Haven would be the least advantageous,” she told me. “They’re the ‘Switzerland’ of the vampire kingdoms-they remain neutral at all costs. They also feed only from animal blood, which makes them weak.”
“I didn’t know that was possible.” I somehow spoke calmly, despite the rage boiling in my veins at the realization that vampires could survive off of animal blood. No one had bothered to tell me or give me this option. How many humans might I not have killed if the vampires had let me feed on animal blood instead of providing me with humans on a platter?
I didn’t want to think about it-there was no changing the past-but this new knowledge only intensified my desire for revenge.
“A vampire who survives on animal blood is only half as strong as a vampire who survives on human blood,” Laila said. “And animal blood never fully satiates. They feel hungry all the time. The only reason why the vampires of the Haven don’t lose themselves to the bloodlust is because they live in an isolated mountain range in India, far enough away from humans that they can’t catch their scent. Once the vampire princesses from the Haven arrive, they will have to feed on human blood. If they don’t, they’ll risk losing their minds to the bloodlust or going on a murder rampage through the village. Clearly, neither of those options are acceptable.”
“No,” I agreed. “
They’re not.”
At the same time, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to survive on animal blood either. I couldn’t risk weakening myself around others of my species, and an increase of my bloodlust would only put more humans at risk. Better to drink human blood in moderation and maintain my full strength than starve myself on animal blood.
“There would be, however, one possible benefit to an alliance with the Haven.” Laila sat back in her chair and took a long sip of her wine.
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “What would that be?”
“The tiger shifters,” she said simply.
“Those exist?” I lowered my glass, stunned at this revelation. “I thought wolves were the only shifters.”
“Shifters are an ancient species,” Laila explained. “They evolve from their environment. Wolves are a powerful predator in the Canadian Rockies, thus why we’re surrounded by wolf shifters.”
“So in India, they have tiger shifters.” I shook my head, still taking this in.
“Yes,” Laila said. “And tiger shifters are the most powerful known shifter species in existence. They respect the vampires of the Haven for resisting the call of human blood-even going so far as to worshipping them as immortal gods. If you were to marry a princess of the Haven and she came to live in the Vale, the tiger shifters might fight for us. But given that the princess would have to drink human blood to be a princess of the Vale, it’s far more likely that the tiger shifters would forgo their allegiance to her. So I don’t believe an alliance with the Haven would prove beneficial to our cause.”
“Understandably so,” I said, although I was certainly curious to meet their princesses and learn more about their kingdom from the vampires who lived there themselves. Although, if the Haven wanted neutrality, I doubted they would want to get involved in my quest for revenge. “That leaves us with two more kingdoms, correct?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Utopia and theTower.”
“What should I know about them?”
“The Tower would be acceptable for an alliance, I suppose,” Laila said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “They’re located in Caracas, Venezuela-right in the middle of the city. They live in a skyscraper… thus why they call their kingdom theTower.”
“They haven’t had any clashes with humans?” I couldn’t imagine vampires living so blatantly under mortal noses.
“Caracas has one of the highest murder rates in the world,” Laila explained. “The majority of the murders are unsolved. Many are due to the vampires of the Tower. They’re a wild bunch-King Devin turns only the most beautiful women he comes across. I’m sure you’ll find the princesses they send quite appealing.”
“Sounds like it,” I agreed, although when I thought of what I truly found appealing, an image of Scarlett flashed through my mind. But I forced the thought away-Scarlett was dead. There was no use in thinking about what I could never have. “But what of the Tower as a potential alliance?”
“The vampires of the Tower are capable fighters,” she said. “But fighting isn’t their strength.”
“Oh?” I cocked my head, balancing my wine glass on my knee. “Then what is their strength?”
“Partying.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sounds entertaining,” I said. “I might have to keep those princesses around to bring some fun to this place.”
“They’ll be fun… and high maintenance,” Laila said. “The vampires of the Tower only drink blood from the vein. We’ll have to have more humans in stock in the dungeons than normal to keep up with their appetite.”
I suppressed a shudder. “Hopefully they’ll stay in control of themselves and won’t drain them dry,” I said. “We wouldn’t want them to inconvenience us by lowering our supply of fresh blood.”
“Agreed,” Laila said. “It’ll be interesting to test the princesses to see how they adapt to the Vale. Whoever you choose should have the ability to easily slip into our way of living.”
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” I said, since at least that was one thing Laila and I agreed on-I didn’t want a princess who didn’t have control over her bloodlust to come to live in the Vale. I’d worked too hard this past year to gain control over my own bloodlust, and while it was difficult, I’d been able to do it. I imagined most of these princesses would have been turned before I was. I didn’t imagine I would be able to respect it if one of them hadn’t managed-or hadn’t cared enough-to learn how to control herself. “What about the final kingdom?” I asked. “
Utopia?”
“Barbarians.” Laila scrunched her nose. “You should dismiss them as soon as you’re able.”
I took a sip of my wine to stop myself from chuckling again. “What makes them barbarians?” I asked coolly.
“They’re an all female clan,” she said. “They live on an island off the shore of NewZealand.”
“I could see how that might make them sexually deprived,” I observed. “But not barbarians.”
“Oh, they’re not deprived.” Laila laughed. “They keep human males on the island for pleasure… and for food, of course. But turning a male is against their laws. A male vampire even being on the island is against their laws. If that law is broken, the vampire is put to death.”