Filed to story: The Vampire Prince’s Bride
“We need that ring,” she continued. “You promised me you could get me that ring. What happened to the girl? Why was she not successful?”
“The cave collapsed while she was inside,” I said quietly. “There was no way she could have survived.”
“And the artifacts inside?” Laila asked. “What of them?”
“I do not know.” I shrugged, wishing I could tell her more. “I tried my best, I’m so, so, sorry.”
Laila said nothing for a few moments.
I sat still, unsure what more I could say to make this situation better. In the meantime, I reminded myself that it was best that I came to her now instead of waiting. If I’d waited… who knew how much worse her reaction might have been? The queen never lost her temper like this-at least not in front of me, or anyone I’d ever spoken to.
It was the most humanI’d ever seen her be.
“The only way I could think to possibly retrieve the items would be to speak to the witches who created the Crystal Cavern,” I said. “They’re the only ones who could lift the spell that bars all supernaturals from accessing the artifacts. But those witches are all dead. So that would be impossible.”
Laila brought her eyes back up to meet mine, determination flashing in them. “Unless we figured out a way to speak with the dead,” she said.
“We can’t.” I gasped. “That’s impossible. It’s more than impossible… it’s not natural. You were a witch once-you should know this more than anyone.”
“When I was a witch, it was believed that becoming immortal was impossible, too.” Laila smiled, flashing her fangs. “And look at me now.”
“The immortality spell was dark magic,” I reminded her. “And yes, the spell granted immortality, but it got twisted in the process. It created…” I paused, feeling like it was unnecessary to remind Laila how her spell had gone awry. Because when Laila and her circle of witches had cast the immortality spell, they’d intended for it to give them true, pure immortality. They hadn’t expected it to force them to drink the blood of humans to survive. The dark magic had twisted the spell in ways they hadn’t imagined. But Laila knew what she was-she certainly didn’t need me to remind her. Especially since I wanted to become a vampire myself.
The spell that had created the vampires may have gotten twisted, but it had still given them what they’d wanted-immortality. And I still wanted that for myself. Because being immortal-even if it meant relaying on the blood of humans to survive-was better than aging and dying. I hated the thought of getting old and feeble while everyone else in the kingdom remained young and strong forever. Why should I die when they got to live? It wasn’t fair.
“It created the vampires,” Laila finished my thought. “There’s a spell for everything-even if that spell is currently unknown in our world. You just have to be willing to pay the price.”
“Dark magic always has a catch,” I said. “Who knows what that catch would be with something as risky as speaking with the dead?”
“You can’t know unless you try,” Laila answered simply. “And for the chance of acquiring Geneva’s sapphire ring, I think it’s worth the risk. But it’s your call, of course, since you’re the one who’s able to cast magic.”
“Like you said, such a spell is unknown.” I clenched my hands into fists, doing my best to reign in my frustration. “You’re asking me to cast a spell that doesn’t exist. It’s not possible. I’m powerful, yes. But I don’t know how to do that.”
“I did it once,” she reminded me. “All of the original vampires did.”
“And all of you have kept the secret of what you’ve done since then,” I told her. “How did you do it? Tell me, and I’ll try.” I stared at her, desperate to know. Because it was the question that all witches had wondered since the original vampires had cast the vampire spell upon themselves. But they’d refused to tell us what they’d done. They’d kept it secret for centuries.
Laila paced around the room, winding her hands together and looking anywhere but my direction. Was she truly contemplating telling me this centuries old secret?
I held my breath, waiting. If she told me… well, I would have to assume that there was more of a reason why she wanted to acquire Geneva’s sapphire ring than she was saying. I’d known Laila long enough to know that she always had an ulterior motive for everything she did. And right now, she appeared more shaken than I’d ever seen her.
There was something she wasn’t telling me. And I was determined to discover what that something was.
Finally she stopped and stared me straight in the eye. “I will tell you what we did,” she said simply.
“Really?” I asked. “Just like that?”
“I will require a blood oath, of course,” she continued. “Where you will promise that you will tell no one of what I’m about to reveal.”
“Of course.” The answer fell from my lips quickly-how could I turn down her offer of such knowledge? I couldn’t. And I didn’t even need to tell anyone of what I would learn-I could benefit enough from the knowledge on my own. So my response was a no- brainer.
She walked over to the bar, opened the top drawer, and pulled out a knife. Then she walked back over to me, her gaze on mine the entire time. Once she was directly in front of me, she dragged the knife across her palm, blood oozing out of the incision. She wiped off the blade, handed the knife to me, and I did the same, making sure not to wince as I dragged the blade across my skin. Once finished, I handed it back to her.
She licked my blood clean off the knife, smiling as she swallowed.
I knew that my witch blood tasted bland to her compared to human blood-the blood of supernaturals was rather tasteless to vampires-but I knew why she did it. She was showing me that she was the one in control.
As if I could ever forget.
“If I tell you the secret of how I discovered how to create a new spell, you will swear that you will tell no one of what you learned, nor will you tell them that I told you this secret at all,” she said, her gaze locked on mine. “It will remain strictly between us, for all eternity. Do you swear to agree to this blood oath?”
“I swear,” I said, and then I placed my palm in hers, and the oath was sealed.
Camelia
Camelia
“T he fae,” Laila told me once the blood oath was complete.
“What about them?” I flexed my hand as the cut on my palm healed. Unlike vampires, witches didn’t heal automatically-only with spells. But the magic of a blood oath was unique. After the oath was completed, the cuts always healed, even on humans.
“They told us how to create the immortality spell.”
“You spoke to the fae?” I widened my eyes, shocked.
The fae ruled the Otherworld-a realm separate from Earth. No creature on Earth was known to have been to the Otherworld and lived to tell the tale, but its glamour and luxury were rumored to put Earth to shame. There was no need for the fae to bother with Earth when they were practically gods of their own magnificent realm. Plus, the iron on Earth was poisonous to the fae. They used to occasionally come to Earth to toy with humans while bored, but that came to a halt after the industrial revolution. Now, they avoided Earth at all costs.
But Laila and the other original vampires cast the immortality spell centuries ago, way before the industrial revolution. So I supposed it wasn’t too far-fetched that they might have come across a few members of the illusive species.
“We did,” Laila confirmed.
“But…” I paused, winding my fingers together. “The fae are dangerous. Mischievous. We all know to never trust the fae.”
“They are rather tough to deal with,” Laila agreed. “They demand payment for everything. Nothing they do is without cost-a high cost. They’re like gods-their magic is far more powerful than I believe any of us truly understand. Of course, they hardly bother with those of us on Earth. But if you’re willing to pay their price… I have no doubt that they would do more than just provide you with a spell to speak with the dead. They have the ability to answer your question outright-perhaps they even have a spell to counteract the spell cast upon the Crystal Cavern all those years ago.”