by L. Danvers
I shrugged. “What can I say? I selected only the best. Our brother’s got his work cut out for him.”
My sister pressed her mouth into a hard line. Her green eyes narrowed, studying me.
“What is it?”
“You almost sound like...” She stopped herself. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. Just remember: no distractions.” And with that, Charlotte swept across the room and left.
Aiden
“Aiden,” Xander said, lifting his eyebrows, surprised to find me returning to my room so soon. “Need a break from women throwing themselves at you?”
“Hardly. More like I need a break from the constant reminder of how much they fear me. I excused myself while they got some lunch. I see you’ve made yourself comfortable.” I crossed the bedroom and sat beside him, looking out upon the kingdom. When I was little, I didn’t understand why the Royal chambers looked out upon the village when they could have had the view of the sparkling sapphire waters that surrounded Crescent Cape. My father had told me it was important to always keep your people’s needs as your sole focus—hence the view of the village. Of course, that was back when actual villagers lived there, not people our family had kidnapped and brought to serve as blood slaves.
“You look like you need a drink,” Xander said. I’d hardly sat down before he got up and headed for the bar. He sifted through the bottles, looking for the one filled with artificial blood. He picked it up and squinted through the amber glass, turning the bottle to its side to see how much was left. “You’re out.”
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Xander went to answer it for me. He held the door wide opened and motioned for Freya to enter. “Perfect timing.”
I stood to greet her. The witch’s ash blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and her delicate hands were carrying a brand-new bottle of artificial blood that she’d concocted for me. “Sorry,” she said. “I meant to have this ready before you came back.”
“Freya, I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Probably go on another one of your killing sprees,” she teased. I forced a smile, even though I didn’t find it particularly funny. “Sorry. I shouldn’t make light of it. Don’t worry, Prince Aiden. I’d say you have another sixty years or so to figure that out.”
Being that Freya was a witch, and therefore not immortal, she had a point. At some point, I was going to have to find myself another witch to serve under her tutelage and learn how to craft the artificial blood for me.
Xander took the bottle from her and began to pour me a drink. Wrinkling his nose at the smell, he added a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon in there, too. I wished I could have told him it was an acquired taste, but it wasn’t. It tasted dreadful. But, as Freya had alluded to, it was better than giving in to the darkest side of myself.
I sipped from the chalice, remembering why I’d started drinking this dreadful stuff in the first place.
It had happened so fast. After draining a man and woman dry, I’d caught sight of the frightened look in their child’s eyes. In them, I saw my reflection: a beast, my mouth dripping with blood. The sight of myself would be burned in my memory forever. I’d never actually seen myself in the act until that moment.
I had intended to compel the child to forget what happened—to run away and never look back. But my sister Charlotte caught up with me before I had the chance.
With her watching, I couldn’t let the child go. I was the prince of Crescent Cape. A blood heir. So, I brought the kid back to the village as a blood slave.
Charlotte had been skeptical at first, but she didn’t press the issue. We were constantly having to replenish our supply of blood slaves anyway—some would grow old and die, and others would occasionally get killed by vampires who couldn’t contain their thirst on Donation Day. So, having another child in the village would be a good thing, as far as Charlotte was concerned. It meant more food on hand.
But I vowed then and there never to let human blood touch my lips again. So, I’d reached out to one of the Albright witches, Freya, and asked her to supply me with artificial blood. Thankfully, she obliged.
I think it bothered some of the others in her coven that she helped me. While our mother had permitted them to openly practice magic in exchange for Claudia giving her heirs to the throne, the witches viewed us as an abomination. Vampires were never meant to exist. Yet, years ago, we’d convinced the coven to set up a boundary around Crescent Cape.
It wasn’t that we were afraid for people outside of our territory to know what we were. The fact of the matter was that my siblings—and I at the time—enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. Blood slaves ensured that we would always be fed, which was good, but it didn’t quite satiate the natural instincts we had as predators.
Thanks to the Albright witches’ magic, vampires could cross back and forth across the boundary as we pleased. Humans were unable to stumble upon our secret kingdom on their own. Meaning that when we hunted outside the boundary, we had the element of surprise on our sides—which made the chase all the more exhilarating.
If it weren’t for the boundary, word of what we were would spread, and hunting for sport would no longer be an option. Humans would stay far, far away from this place—as they should.
In recent years, the witches had implied that they wished to end the boundary once and for all. But Freya had convinced them to keep it up. She knew that it was best for everyone if the boundary stayed up. Yes, it protected the vampires. But it also protected humans from unwittingly entering into our kingdom like lambs to the slaughter.
The elders in her coven weren’t entirely persuaded by her reasoning, but Julian had convinced them to comply. I had to hand it to my brother—he did have a way of getting things done.
“Thank you, Freya,” I said after gulping my drink down. “I needed that.”
She folded her arms, resting her head against the door frame. “So, I see you’re hiding out here already. It’s only the first full day, Prince Aiden. Are the women already stressing you out?”
“He’s bothered by the fact that they’re scared of him,” Xander interjected. I shot him an angry look, which he ignored. He cupped his hand over his mouth like he was telling her a juicy secret. “You know how ashamed he is of the whole vampire thing.”
“Aren’t you?” I said incredulously.
“Not at all.” Xander waved his hand. “Sure, it was an adjustment for those first couple of centuries, but after a while, I got used to it.” He spun around to look at me, stuffing a hand in the pocket of his leather jacket as he spoke. “You know what your problem is? You’ve been drinking that garbage for so long that you’ve forgotten how exhilarating the hunt can be. When you hunt, it’s like you’re allowing the truest part of you to be set free.”
“The truest part of me was a human.”
“Was being the operative word.”
Freya chuckled. “I see the two of you are picking back up right where you left off.” She jerked her head toward the hall. “I’m going to get back to work. Let me know if you need anything, Prince Aiden.” She stole a glance at my brother, the blue in her eyes giving a flirtatious twinkle. “Same goes to you, Xander.”
With that, the witch left.
“I always liked that one,” Xander said.
“Don’t even think about it,” I warned. “You know how much I need her.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what that means. You don’t have a good track record with women. And I really don’t want Freya getting pissed off.”
He raised his arms in mock surrender. “Relax, Aiden. I wouldn’t dare interfere with your fake blood dealer.” Making himself comfortable, he headed across the room toward the fireplace to start a fire—he was always rather cold. “In all seriousness, though, what do you think of the women?”
I chewed the inside of my cheek while I considered the question.
“I know that look, Aiden,” he said, glancing back at me over his sho
ulder. “Spill.”
“Well, there was one. Danielle...” I let her name linger on my lips. I didn’t know what it was about her that I found so alluring. Sure, she was beautiful. But all of the girls were pretty. It was more than that. There was something about her eyes that was so familiar... like I’d known her in a past life or something. I felt this connection between us.
“And?”
I cleared my throat. “And nothing,” I said. “Because I’m not going through with this preposterous plan.”
Fire roaring behind him, Xander plopped into the seat across from me. “And if you had met her on her own?”
I forced down a lump in my throat. I knew what I was trying to say, but the words wouldn’t come.
“Victoria?” he said knowingly.
“Yeah.”
“Look. I know it’s weird for us to talk about her given the history and everything, but it’s been so long. It’s okay to move on.”
I shook my head. He didn’t understand. She wasn’t the kind of woman you moved on from. My love for her was eternal. Which was what made my attraction to Danielle even more unnerving. I felt so ashamed that for a fleeting moment I’d even dared to think of what it would be like to snake my hand around the small of Danielle’s back and kiss those soft, full lips of hers...
“Aiden?”
I snapped myself out of my daze. I had to change the subject. I had to stop thinking about her—at least for as long as I could. Thanks to Julian, I had a date with her this evening. “I think I’ve more than answered your questions, brother. And now I have one for you.”
“Sure.”
“Why are you here?”
“I came to check on you.”
I sighed. “No, that’s not what I mean. I mean what brought you back to the castle? It couldn’t have been to watch me date a few girls.”
He chuckled. “Hey—if you really don’t want to date them, I’ll take them off your hands. I got a peek at the blonde in the blue dress last night.” He let out a whistle.
“Don’t waste your time. And I’m serious. What are you doing here?”
He picked at the studded leather armrest, avoiding eye contact.
Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on my legs and clasped my hands together. Staring him down, I demanded to know. “What did you do?”
Aiden
He was reluctant at first, but eventually, Xander told me everything. He and his old pal Emric had met up beyond the boundary of Crescent Cape. He hadn’t seen Emric in years. Emric had left our kingdom decades ago, telling Xander at the time that he saw the boundary as a weakness—as us vampires being ashamed of what we were rather than embracing it. So, he and a handful of others left our kingdom for good.
He and his followers had built new lives in the Kingdom of the Silver Seas—a place with far fewer restrictions on vampires.
As far as I was concerned, I wished him good riddance. I’d never been a fan of Emric. He and Xander had a long and exhausting history of debauchery together—frivolous escapades with women, drunken nights of hunting, you name it.
Still, every now and then, the old friends would meet up and hunt together—outside of the boundary, of course. And that was exactly what Xander had been up to before returning home.
But this time, something had gone very wrong.
“I made a terrible mistake,” he confessed.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “What happened?”
Worry clouded my brother’s dark eyes. I could have sworn I saw a glint of guilt—which filled me with concern, as that was not a trait Xander was known for possessing. He ran his fingers through his wavy hair, searching for the words, but they wouldn’t come. Exasperated, he buried his face in his hands. “I... I killed one of the young men he sired.”
“What?! How?”
“We were trailing a scent up in the Highfort mountain range when Hank turned on me. He jumped me from behind. All of a sudden I felt something digging into my flesh, breaking through my bones.” He lifted his gaze, looking me in the eye. “He staked me! He was going for my heart, Aiden.”
Unlike other vampires, we blood heirs were immune to the effects of a stake to the heart. But we didn’t make that information common knowledge. So it made sense that Hank would assume it would work. “But why would he do such a thing?”
Xander dug his fingernails into his scalp. “I have no freaking idea! I knocked him off of me, but he kept attacking. So, of course, I defended myself. I didn’t mean to kill him. But he wasn’t going to stop. He was out of his mind.”
“Do you think he could have been compelled by Emric?” I suggested. “I mean, he was Emric’s sire. He’d have the ability.”
Xander rolled his eyes in frustration. “Of course you would blame Emric.”
“What? It’s the logical explanation. Only blood heirs and sires can compel another vampire.”
“No. Emric wouldn’t do that. Maybe Hank was spelled by a witch or something. Emric may not like you, but he wouldn’t do that to me. At least... he wouldn’t have until now...” Needing to sort through his thoughts, Xander stood and paced the room. “So apparently Hank was one of Emric’s more recent sires, and they’d become really close. Like they had some sort of father-son thing going on. Aiden, you should have seen the look on Emric’s face when he found us. I’ve never seen him like that. When he found me standing over Hank’s body...”
I went over to the bar to pour Xander another drink. I could tell he needed one. “It wasn’t your fault. Emric knows that.”
“I’m not so sure,” he said, giving his chalice a swirl before knocking the drink back. “I hope you’re right. But after the way he reacted, I fear I may have made an enemy out of him.”
Aiden
I could hardly focus at all during my date with Grace. I took her out on the water. She looked radiant and was slightly more cordial than she had been the night before, but honestly, I was having a hard time focusing. All I could think about was my conversation with Xander.
I couldn’t understand how he couldn’t see that Emric had to be behind the attack on his life. Who else would have done such a thing?
Sires could only compel the vampires that they themselves had turned—with the exception of the blood heirs. We could compel anyone. But obviously, Charlotte and I wouldn’t have compelled anyone to attack our own brother. And Natalie was busy gallivanting in the Kingdom of the Silver Seas, so she couldn’t have been involved.
I was so perplexed by the whole situation that I had excused myself from joining the women at dinner. I still intended to honor my commitment to take Danielle on a date, but I needed another drink—and the thought of sipping on artificial blood in front of four humans felt awkward.
The drink took the edge off—a little.
One of the servants sent word that the ladies had finished dining, so I did one last check in the mirror before heading downstairs to meet Danielle. I adjusted my navy suit jacket and fastened the middle button. I ran my fingers along my cheek, wishing I’d taken time to shave. It didn’t matter, though. As intrigued as I was by Danielle, there was no real need to impress her. She’d be gone soon enough.
With that, I headed downstairs to the drawing room. Danielle was there alone, reading a book.
How could such a delicate creature be so captivating by doing something as simple as reading?
Upon seeing me, she slipped a bookmark between the pages and slammed it shut. She quickly readjusted the thin strap of her sundress, which had slid off of her shoulder. Her cheeks flushed.
“I see you found the library,” I said.
“What?” She rose to her feet, a little off balance. “Oh, yes. I hope that’s okay. Julian said I could borrow a book.”
“Yes, of course. You look...” I started, suddenly unable to think of a word to describe how intoxicating she looked.
She tucked a loose wave behind her ear. “Ridiculous, I know. Flora insisted that I wear these things.” She twisted her long, milky leg, revealing her
wedged sandals. But all I could focus on was how perfect every little edge of her was.
She set the book down on the couch and pursed her lips, unsure of what to do or say. Honestly, I didn’t know either. I hadn’t put much thought into my interactions with the other young women. But now that I was here, looking into the most mesmerizing eyes I’d ever seen, I had this undeniable urge to know everything about her. “I see you’re a fan of bookmarks.”
She knitted her eyebrows.
“I tend to dog-ear pages when I read.”
A look of horror shadowed her face. She looked more upset about that revelation than the fact that she was standing a few feet away from a vampire prince.
What a curious young woman.
“Come,” I said, extending my hand. She hesitated at first, but then, to my relief, she took it.
Her gentle hands were so warm, her touch so soft. It’d been so long since I’d held a woman’s hands. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed the feeling of a human touch.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked as we wandered through the maze of hallways. She sounded a little defensive like she thought there was a chance I might take her to a dungeon and feed from her.
I hadn’t yet told the ladies about my dietary preferences. I probably should have, though. I imagine it would have put them more at ease. It simply hadn’t occurred to me, though, being as this whole Choosing Ceremony had been thrust upon me at the last second by Julian.
“You’ve been in the castle all day, haven’t you?” I inquired.
“Yes.”
“I thought you might enjoy some fresh air.”
Uncertainly, she said, “That sounds nice.”
After a couple more turns, we reached the double-doors that led to the courtyard. I opened one for her and motioned for her to walk ahead of me. I caught up with her, and although it may have been a little forward of me, I placed my hand on her back to guide her as we walked.
I found myself smiling as I watched her soak the beauty of it all in.