Filed to story: The Vampire Prince’s Bride
Daniel’s eyes widened in shock, and his cheeks turned red. “Please, no,” he begged, although his hands acted against his will. He tossed his jacket to the floor, pulled off his shirt, and moved toward his pants. “She can use compulsion!” he shouted, looking to Queen Laila for help. “I swear it!”
His pants dropped to the ground, and I couldn’t help but smile slightly as he kicked them off along with his shoes. This might not be the revenge I’d wanted, but it was better than nothing.
“You do not need to listen to Princess Ana,” Laila told Daniel, looking steadily at him. “I supersede her incredibly undignified commands. Please, dress yourself. Immediately.”
I pressed my lips together as Daniel re-dressed himself. I knew that an original vampire could override the compulsions of a prince or princess, but I’d hoped Laila would have allowed it to go a bit farther to truly prove that I’d been using compulsion.
Still, I wasn’t surprised. Of course she didn’t want Sean’s bodyguard embarrassed in front of the entire court.
It didn’t matter. Once I took down the Vale, Daniel was going to be one of the vampires I took down with it. He would eventually have that stake in his heart-I would make sure of it.
“Does this mean that you’ll welcome me to take part in the selection?” I asked Laila, flashing her what I hoped was an innocent smile.
“I’m only halfway convinced that you are who you say you are,” Laila said calmly. “You’re clearly a vampire princess-there’s no other way you could have used compulsion. But the Seventh Kingdom is a myth. I’ll speak to the leaders of the other kingdoms and see which one of them claims you. You can stay in the Vale until then, as I don’t want to step on the peace between the kingdoms. But once I discover your true identity, you’ll be exiled from the Vale and sent back to your continent at once. Your sire will then have to deal with you as he or she sees fit.”
“And when none of them claim me?” I challenged, since none of them would.
“One of them will claim you,” Laila insisted. “A vampire never forgets the faces of those they’ve sired.”
“Except that none of the five originals that you know were my sire.” At least, amongst all of the lies, that was the truth.
“We’ll see about that,” Laila said. “In the meantime, the guards will escort you to your rooms.”
“Perfect.” I nodded. “I’ll prepare for the parade this afternoon.”
“You will not be presented in the parade,” Laila said sharply. “Nor will you attend the ball tonight. You’ll be confined to your quarters until this matter is sorted.”
“Why not?” I asked. “I received an invitation.”
With that, I whipped out a copy of the invitation. It had, of course, been created by Geneva-an apparently perfect rendition of the ones Laila had sent to the other five kingdoms.
“Where did you get that?” The vampire queen sat forward and narrowed her eyes, her entire body prickling. “Bring it here.”
I did as she commanded, clasping my hands in front of me as she took the invitation and examined it.
Now that I was closer to her, I was even more aware of Sean’s presence-of his eyes studying me from where he sat on his throne. But I refused to look at him. Not now.
I was scared of what he might see in my eyes-the anger, or worse, the desire. Either way, it would put me in hot water. It was better for now to turn my gaze to the floor and play the role of the humble princess.
“You didn’t answer my question, girl.” Laila waved the paper in front of my face. “Where did you get this invitation?”
“It was delivered to the Seventh Kingdom,” I said, looking up at her in what I hoped was complete innocence. “Our leader gave it to me after choosing me to attend the selection, as proof that I am whoI say.”
She just stared at me, her expression hard, as if she could unravel the truth with her eyes.
I only met her gaze for a second before lowering mine. Today was the first day I’d ever been so close to the vampire queen, and it amazed me how intimidating she was despite her small stature. I knew that she’d been around twenty when she was turned, but she was a young-looking twenty-the type that could have easily passed for fifteen. It was like seeing a child on the throne. The only hints that she was far older than she looked were her eyes and the expressions she made. The combination of that and her youthful appearance made her all the scarier.
Especially since she was glaring at me as if she wanted to stake me on the spot.
“Princess Ana will be presented in the parade,” a familiar voice boomed from next to Laila-Sean. “And she’ll also attend the ball tonight.”
I looked up at him, shocked. Despite being a prince, Sean didn’t have authority here-that was all Laila. Yet, he’d spoken on my behalf. Why? What could his motives be?
As I searched his face, I saw nothing that gave me any clue. He was hard. Regal. The perfect picture of a cold, unfeeling vampire prince.
Why had I thought he’d felt any real emotions for me back when he’d known me as Scarlett? I’d obviously let my imagination and desires run away with me.
However, I quickly got a hold of myself, realizing that he was waiting for a reaction to his proclamation. “Thank you, Your Highness,” I said shakily, lowering myself into another curtsy.
When all else failed, at least I could resort to proper etiquette.
“No need to thank me,” he said, his eyes still as cold and unfeeling as ever. “Unless your claim is proven false, you have just as much of a right as the other princesses to take part in my selection. Now,” he continued, gazing out to the crowd. “We need to prepare for the parade, so you’re all dismissed. After all, I’m sure the rest of the kingdom is eager to get a look at the princesses who have traversed the globe to seek my hand.”
He stood up and strode past me and the other princesses, not looking back at us once.
Sean
L aila and I shared the front carriage for the parade. My brothers and sisters were in the carriage behind us, followed by the princesses from each kingdom. The princesses were two to a carriage, and each carriage had been decorated in the colors of their kingdom.
The only princess who rode alone was Ana. She was in a plain carriage in the back that had been tacked on at the last minute to accommodate her presence.
I wasn’t sure if I believed her claim that she was from the Seventh Kingdom. In fact, I seriously doubted it. Laila knew more about the vampire kingdoms than any other vampire in the Vale, and if she believed the Seventh Kingdom was a myth, I suspected she was correct.
But there was something about Ana that I couldn’t put my finger on… something that had urged me to go against Laila’s wishes and insist that Ana was included in the ceremonies. Her mannerisms-the way she tilted her head, the way she lowered her eyes, the way she pressed her lips together when she was nervous-they were so much likeScarlett’s.
It was a ridiculous notion, since Scarlett was dead, but the way the vampire princess reminded me of her had pulled at my heart and urged me to let her stay.
I knew that if I gave the command at court, in front of all of the other vampires and princesses from the other kingdoms, Laila would have too much dignity to argue. It had been a risky move. But it had been one I’d been compelled to take. After all, this was my selection. And Laila had wanted me to make this alliance. Yes, I’d agreed, but I would decide who stayed and who left- not her.
“Why did you insist that Princess Ana participate in the selection?” Laila only waited seconds until after we’d situated ourselves in our carriage to ask.
We proceeded down the path, heading toward town. The vampires who lived there would be waiting to see the procession. From there we would continue all the way to the human village, so the humans could feel like they were part of the celebration as well. I’d had an extra cup of blood this morning to prepare to be surrounded by all of them.
“Ana is a vampire princess,” I said simply, purposefully sounding as neutral as possible about the topic. “She had an invitation. Why shouldn’t she stay?”