by Leigh Walker
“Shut up, cat lover.” Anthony glowered at him. “Let her do her thing.”
I wanted to object, but more importantly, I wanted to get the heck out of here. So I did what Anthony asked. I strode back and forth, my skirts billowing out behind me, then leaned upside down and raked my fingers through my hair, fanning it out. When I stood back up, I nodded at Anthony. “If he likes the way I smell… Wait, I don’t smell like a cat, do I?”
Fitz winced. “No, you’re much more delectable than that. Your blood is different, like nothing I’ve ever sensed before. You make the cats smell like sad, week-old gruel. You’re mouth-watering, darling.” He leaned forward, inhaling deeply.
Anthony scoffed. “I’m sure I’m not spoiling anything by telling you that you have no chance with her.”
He and Fitz glared at each other.
“Right.” I stepped closer. “Let’s get on with it.”
Anthony motioned for me. “Come over and stand by me, Tor. I want you to face the prisoner—but don’t get too close.”
My heart started thudding as I did what he asked. I was curious to learn more, but I was also afraid. What on earth had I been getting up to down here in the dungeon?
“Can you smell her, Fitzy?” Anthony asked.
The prisoner’s eyes blazed and turned an icy, unearthly fluorescent gray. “Yes.” His fangs glinted in the dim light from the lantern. “Bring her closer, you git ginger!”
“No, I don’t think so.” Anthony stepped to the side, leaving me directly in the path of the restrained vampire. “Now, Tori, close your eyes. Focus on Fitz. Send him a message.”
I hesitated. “What sort of message?”
“The prince told you about vanishments. I want you to use one.” He pointed at Fitz. “Erase him. Make him forget you.”
“But I’m standing right in front of him—”
“Just try it. Be still and focus. Don’t underestimate the power of your mind.”
Frowning, I gave Fitz one last look. His gray eyes blazed, his nostrils flared, and his fangs glinted. Maybe closing my eyes wasn’t such a bad idea.
I blew out a deep breath and focused. Send him a message. Erase him. Make him forget you. But how does one accomplish such a thing?
Stilling myself, I listened to my breath, feeling more than a bit ridiculous as Fitz snarled and Anthony waited. It was like praying in public or wishing on a star. I knew they were both wondering what was going on inside my head.
“I don’t feel anything,” I mumbled.
“It always takes a few minutes. You can do it, I promise you. I’ve seen it.” Anthony sounded sure of himself.
I took another deep breath, in through my nose and out through my mouth—yoga breathing, the same technique I used when I felt a panic attack coming on. Don’t underestimate the power of your mind. Anthony was right about that—my mind was responsible for the anxiety I’d experienced in the past year. My brain was the one orchestrating my heart palpitations, trouble breathing, and ultimately, passing out. How can I control it?
I focused on the stillness inside me. Though my heart fluttered, I felt something else, a strong presence of calm. I’ve been here before. I didn’t remember, of course. You can do this.
I clenched my fists together and thought about the pond, the way it had looked like smooth glass in the moonlight, calm and serene but powerful and mysterious underneath. I pictured my brain like that, with ripples within. I reached out with my mind’s eye to the vampire in front of me. Forget me. I breathed a few more times, repeating the mantra over and over again. Forget me, forget me.
When I opened my eyes, Fitz was staring at me blankly. “Mr. Fitz?” I peered down at him, but his eyes were vacant. “I did it! I think I did it! He looks—Anthony, he looks erased!”
“Yeah, you think?” Anthony inspected the vampire, poking him in the chest. Fitz just sat there, unresponsive. “Funny, I’ve never seen it work that fast before…”
“That’s because it did nothing, you foul red-headed beast!” Fitz suddenly cackled, his shoulders shaking. “She’s gone and lost her touch, I tell you! She couldn’t vanish a cat’s brain!”
Anthony jabbed him in the chest again. “That’s enough out of you. Let’s try this again.”
I looked at Anthony helplessly.
“Ah, come, now. You can do it. Just takes a bit of practice is all.” He stalked to the other side of the cell and crossed his arms against his chest. “Let’s get going. What kind of teacher would I be if I let you give up so easily?”
“This is exhausting.” I threw up my hands. “We’re not getting anywhere!”
“I’m at least amused.” Fitz chuckled. “It’s not like I had anything better to do.”
“Shut it, Fitzy.” Anthony nodded at me in encouragement. “Focus on your breathing. You might not remember your power, but trust me, it’s in there.”
I blew out a deep breath. “Okay.” Closing my eyes again, I shook my hands out, letting go of the tension that had built up over all my unsuccessful attempts. I quieted my mind and focused on my breathing, and—
Footsteps thundered down the hallway.
“Oh, for the love of all things holy!” Anthony looked at the door, panicked. “If they find us down here, they’re going to stake me and throw you to the blood slaves!”
“Wait, what? What’re we going to do?”
Anthony stepped forward, chest rising and falling rapidly. “If they catch us, we’re dead. You’ve got to do something.”
The footsteps were getting closer. Fitz cackled quietly from his bench.
Panicked, I looked at Anthony. “Me? What on earth am I going to do?”
“If the guard comes in here, vanish him.”
“I can’t! You’ve just seen me try a hundred times!” Hysteria bubbled in my chest. “Why can’t you do it?”
Fitz’s shoulders shook with laughter. “I told you he was a no-good ginger.”
Anthony winked at me. “You can do it, Tor, and you’d better start believing it. Otherwise, we’ll both be as dead as doornails.” He turned to Fitz just as the guard reached the door. “If you keep your mouth shut, I’ll bring you a cat.”
Fitz blinked at him. “I don’t believe—”
“Believe it, and shut thy mouth,” Anthony hissed then shrank back into a shadowy corner. “Showtime, Tori. You’d best get a move on.”
Someone banged on the door. “Who’s in there?” the guard bellowed. “I heard voices!”
I froze, unsure what to do.
Fitz cleared his throat. “It’s just me, you idiot.”
The guard threw the door open and stared at me in surprise. “What the bloody hell’s a sacrifice doing in here? Aw, I can’t wait to tell Her Highness about this! And the prisoner’s going to finally get the stake for lying to me! I won’t have to listen to his bloody wailing anymore! Now come with me, miss, right this—”
“No.”
He pulled himself up to his formidable height, his muscles rippling beneath his uniform. “What did you say to me, you human scum?”
I cleared my throat. Though I wanted to smack him, smacking a vampire guard wasn’t exactly a plan. But I couldn’t let him bring me before the queen. And poor Fitz couldn’t get the stake just because I’d been down here, practicing on him…
The guard stepped closer. “I asked what you said to me! I know you humans are as dumb as sacks of stone, but I thought you could understand a simple—”
I closed my eyes, and without thinking it through, I leaned my head forward. I concentrated hard, believing in the power of my brain, believing I could do it. Anthony believed in me enough to hide in the corner, so…
Thinking of the pond again, the ripple, I kept the image in my mind and held very still. Then, from inside me, something strong and pure and completely natural undulated out—energy, a conscious thought, an entity of change. I launched it like a spear. I could feel the power of it as it left my body.
The guard stopped midsentence. I opened my eyes and peered at him.<
br />
His jaw went slack as he stared straight ahead, gobsmacked. He blinked a few times. “Who’re you?” he finally asked, his words slurry.
“I’m no one.” I hoped that was the right answer.
“Where are we?” He scratched his head.
“You’re in my chambers in the middle of the night. Now go back to your station, or the prince will have a stake with your name on it. Go on, now.”
Clearly afraid, the guard rushed from the room without another word.
Anthony laughed. “Well done, Tor.”
“Thank you.” I glanced back over my shoulder at the prisoner. “I suppose I owe you a cat, Mr. Fitz.”
22
Antsy
“How did you do that?” I whispered through clenched teeth as Anthony hustled me back to my chambers.
“I didn’t do anything. It was all you, my lady.”
“But how did you make me do it?” I looked around quickly, making sure no guards were in the hall. “I thought only vampires could do vanishments.”
“It’s been a little theory of mine for a while now that you might have the same power. In the right dosage, your blood has a similar impact. I figured you, as the source of said blood, might have a related talent or two.”
“Does Dominic know about this?”
He scrubbed a hand across his face. “Not yet.”
“Anthony.” I stopped walking. “This is crazy. If I can do something like this, he needs to know!”
“Then I’ll tell him. I’ve been waiting until you did it perfectly.”
My jaw dropped. “I’ve never done it perfectly before?”
“Nah, not even close. It only lasted on Fitz for a second or two.”
I pointed back at the dungeon. “That guard could remember me at any moment. You put both of us at terrible risk!”
He shook his head. “That vanishment stuck. You can tell the difference, you know.”
“I can’t believe you took a chance like that!”
He winked at me, his eyes glittering in the light from the nearby lantern. “I knew you could do it, Tor. Sometimes you just need a little faith. And, of course, the proper motivation.”
“His Highness will be here in half an hour—what on earth happened to your dress?” Mistress Olivia scowled at the bottom of my gown, which was damp and covered with dust and cobwebs.
“Uh…maybe it got muddy in the garden? I don’t know.”
“Well, it won’t do for your date! Come, dear, let’s get you changed.” She hummed as she selected a bright-coral frock with a pretty lace inset. “This’ll do nicely.”
“I have a date with the prince tonight?” With all the fuss about the vanishment, I’d forgotten all about my obligations. I’d almost forgotten about kissing Dominic earlier. Not to mention what had happened with the other sacrifices that morning.
I eyed my bed. Maybe I’d already had enough excitement for one day.
Mistress Olivia nodded. “Yes, miss. He’ll be here shortly.”
“Great.” I feigned excitement. “Lovely.”
Someone knocked on the door.
“Yes?” Mistress Olivia called.
“It’s me.” Dominic.
“Lady Victoria isn’t ready yet, Your Highness.”
The door swung open anyway, and the prince strode through, all tallness, chiseled features, and dark eyes. My heart did a somersault. I might have already had enough excitement, but there I was, excited.
“My lady.” He bowed before me. “I’m so sorry, but I have to cancel our plans. I’m needed in another council meeting.”
“Is everything all right?”
He nodded. “The queen has asked the council to consider hosting some foreign ministers. She wants them to come to the kingdom to discuss her…ambitions.”
I swallowed hard. “I see.”
“But enough about that.” He tapped me under the chin. “It’s nice to see you again. I did so enjoy our time together earlier.”
I blushed. “Me too.”
He studied my face. “I wish I didn’t have to run off like this.”
“It’s okay.” I shook my head, though I didn’t want to see him go. “Today has been a long day.”
He reached for my hand and brought it to his lips. “Then I’m already looking forward to tomorrow.”
He kissed my hand, and my whole body flushed. I had that feeling again—that yearning. “Goodbye, Dominic.”
For some reason, the words made my heart hurt.
Mistress Olivia had the kitchen staff send a dinner plate to my room. I ate in silence before the fire, trying to process everything that had happened to me over the past few days, but it was too much. My brain would only focus on one thing at a time—cutting the roast, putting a bite into my mouth, spearing a haricot vert, and so on.
As tired as I was, I tossed and turned once I got into the cold bed. Images from the day flashed before my eyes—Alexandra, strutting to the front of the room, all the better to insult me; Elise in her slinky black gown, cheeks flaming as the prince chastised her; Dominic as he loomed over me and held me in his arms; the vampire Fitz, chained in his cell; and finally, the guard that I’d vanished. The utterly blank look on his face has been a surprise and a revelation.
I’d done it. I’d vanished him. But what did that mean?
Suddenly, I wanted my mother more than anything. Just her hug, her smell, would soothe me. Even in these extreme circumstances, she would somehow know exactly the right thing to say. She would make me feel less crazy, less jagged, and would help me make sense of it all, though it seemed impossible.
But I wondered what she would make of my attachment to the prince. “Love is love,” she used to say. I thought she meant that it didn’t matter who you loved—whether the other person was a different color, the same gender, or from an exorbitantly different background. You couldn’t help who you loved, and your differences should make you stronger, not keep you apart.
But what would she say about me loving a vampire prince from the future?
She would definitely agree that he was handsome and much more civilized than you would expect from a vampire. Maybe she would even say, Go for it. But my mother, who was in so many ways a free spirit, was also very grounded. She always told Iz and me that we were capable of doing great things and could be anything we wanted, but she was also insistent that our desires be backed up with dedication and hard work. When Iz had said she wanted to be a prima ballerina, my mother had enrolled her in a competitive ballet program. Then when my sister cried about her bleeding toes and sore calves, my mother only shrugged. “Did you think that something so graceful and beautiful would be easy? It’s all about the discipline, sweetie. If you want to be part of that world, you have to live there. And work very, very hard to stay.”
Iz had quit later that year, and my mother never said another word. She was good like that—she didn’t beat us over the head with “I told you so’s.” She knew we were smart enough to get it.
I wondered if she would let me travel to the kingdom with her blessing if she were still alive, and if she would wait patiently until I tired of the vampire world or it tired of me. If you want to be a part of that world, you have to live there. And work very, very hard to stay.
But I had a sinking feeling that she would have reservations about my situation. I lay in bed, imagining her asking things like: How would this work logistically? What about finishing high school? What about your future? Are you going to give up your old life, your independence, to just go and live in this guy’s castle?
And the clincher: Are you really going to get married at the next full moon? You do remember that you’re only eighteen, right?
I doubted that she would judge Dominic for being a vampire. She would be more likely to judge me for being boy crazy and abandoning my plans for college. But I have special powers, Mom, special blood! I can travel through time. I can vanish vampires’ memories with my brain waves!
I could just picture her respon
se to that: I’ve always known you were special, sweetie—you didn’t have to tell me that! But what are you going to do if things don’t work out with this boy? Will you go back in time and try to find the thread of your old life? How on earth will you explain such a crazy gap on your resume?
My mother had left my father when I was two and Iz was a baby. She’d worked two jobs and somehow managed to keep a roof over our heads without ever getting a dime in child support. She was a true believer in “love is love,” but even more than that, she believed in being independent, responsible, and taking care of yourself and had instilled that in my sister and me since we were toddlers.
Staring up at the ceiling, I watched the shadows from the fire dance above me. I was a true believer in “love is love” too. Even so, maybe it was crazy to have feelings for a vampire prince from the future. I didn’t care. Closing my eyes again, I remembered Dominic’s lips on mine. My feelings were real, and they were mine. But I couldn’t throw my life—what was left of it—away for them. Feelings were important, and love was love. Still, I would do well to remember myself. My old life was far from perfect, but it was mine.
My mother couldn’t protect me anymore.
I was the only one left who could do that.
23
Reasonable Doubt
I woke slowly, my eyes fluttering open, and squinted at the morning sun streaming through my windows. Then I squinted at the vampire lying next to me. Dominic was lying on his side on top of the covers, grinning.
“Your Highness!” I pulled the comforter up to my chin. “How long have you been in my bed?”
“On my honor, I stayed over here. I mean you no harm, Victoria.” His eyes twinkled. “And I’ve been here just long enough to listen to you moan in your sleep. And cry out for me, of course.”
“I did not.”
His grin deepened. “Did so.”
Deciding to change the subject in case he wasn’t lying, I cleared my throat and asked, “How was your mother yesterday? What did she say about the class, or the class that almost was?”