by Susan Harris
I might’ve been a vampire, but I was a vampire who’d spent enough time watching Hallmark movies to be impressed with the setup. We hadn’t left the apartment all day, so when I turned and eyed him with suspicion, he grinned. “Present from Jack and Atticus.”
I rolled my eyes, and Nickolai slipped his hand from mine, shifting it to the small of my back and steering me toward the blanket. Lowering myself down, I stretched out my legs and placed my hands out behind me.
Nickolai kneeled beside me and set the basket down and pulled out champagne—straight from the royal stash! —chocolate-covered strawberries, and all kinds of delicious nibbles. I dove straight in, attempting to commandeer a strawberry when Nickolai swatted my hand, telling me to have patience.
He was enjoying this far too much.
The prince poured the champagne and handed me a glass. I took it, sipping slowly, unsure how my stomach would react considering the last time I’d had alcohol. Then again, having the person who’d wronged me dead as a dodo made sipping champagne easier.
Nickolai chatted away, telling me details about his mother’s upcoming birthday party next week, the party that would be thrown to celebrate our liege’s day of birth. I nodded and smiled at appropriate times, my answers sounding bored and tired as Nickolai growled to be more enthusiastic.
This was part of the plan, for me to look as if the last thing I wanted to do was deal with royal politics even if I was supposed to be in love with the prince. Dropping the royal talk, Nickolai lay down on the blanket, his tall frame stretching across the entire bridge.
My senses prickled, sending a shudder running through my body. Turning so I’d be looking down at Nickolai, I took one of the strawberries in my fingers and held the fruit to Nickolai’s lips. He parted them slightly, the berry moving to just on the edges of his lips.
His eyes never wandering from mine, he bit down on the strawberry, flicking out his tongue to graze my fingers as he leaned up before sitting upright and took the rest of the fruit into his mouth. I grinned, putting my fingers in my mouth and sucking the flavor from them.
The heat in his eyes was enough to set the bridge on fire. We toyed with each other, joking and playing, feeding and drinking champagne until the curfew neared and our time was running short. Nickolai threw a piece of dried fruit at me, and I ducked, laughing softly as I downed my champagne, waiting for his next strike as I flicked a nut at him.
His arm snaked around my waist, pulling me astride him, my hands falling to his chest as he inched closer to me. My heartbeat kicked up an awful fuss as Nickolai tucked my hair behind my ear, leaning in so close his breath tickled my neck.
“I want so badly to kiss you. To claim you like I’ve wanted to do since you stormed back into my life. But when I do kiss you, when I claim you, it will be on our terms, not some rogue who has a hard-on for you.”
One of my hands followed the path from his chest to his shoulder, cupping his face as I struggled to find a coherent word. “You seem very sure of yourself, Nicky.”
“I am.”
He tilted his head ever so slightly, the ghost of his lips on my neck, and this time, this time I didn’t freeze or flinch because it was Nickolai and I trusted him.
Nickolai’s phone vibrated, breaking the connection as I rolled off, looking extremely annoyed.
Nickolai groaned. “I have to take this.”
“Of course you do.”
“Hey, don’t be like that, Ry. Please.”
I turned my head away from him as Nickolai gave a very overexaggerated sigh and stormed off out of view. I drained another glass of champagne, and my body jerked to attention as I lowered the glass from my lips. Maxim had appeared at the end of the bridge, and I leapt to my feet and braced for an attack.
Maxim came into view as he lowered his hood, and I could see the resemblance he bore to his brother. But where Boris was sleek and regal, Maxim was wild strength, his shoulders broad, his face stern, his neck thick. He glanced in the direction in which Nickolai had disappeared, then back to me.
“If I had you pressed against my body, my little butterfly, I would not be called away by silly phone calls.”
Taking a step toward him, I tilted my head as if interested in what he had to say. “Tell me, Max, tell me. How would it be different with you?”
The smile he gave me was breathtaking, and Maxim moved even closer, the need to hide his identity gone. “Clever, clever, girl. Tell me,” Maxim rasped, “did my brother despair when you discovered his failures?”
I heard the hoarseness in his throat thicken as his eyes filled with hate for his brother.
“I’m not Boris’s favourite person at the moment,” I replied.
“No, I would think not.”
We stared at each other for a moment, neither of us making any sudden movements. I stepped forward ever so slowly as Maxim regarded me.
“I know who you are as well, Ryan Callan—my beautiful butterfly created from the ashes of her parents’ deaths.”
“Did you kill them?” I spat.
Maxim smirked. “And what would you do, Ryan,” he purred, holding his hands out as if he expected me to react, “if I told you it was, indeed, I who ripped your parents’ heads from their bodies?”
His statement rocked me to my core. Maxim was a murderer, but he hadn’t killed my parents—he probably didn’t even know their names. My parents hadn’t been decapitated; they’d died of multiple stab wounds.
Shaking my head, I gave Maxim a look of surprise. “Why lie, Maxim? Why take the blame for something you didn’t do? Do you really wish to be villainized so much you take responsibility for others’ deeds?”
“Clever Ryan—far more than her species gives her credit for. Beautiful, smart, and a warrior as well. The prince will never know your worth. Come with me now, and I will make you a queen among vampires.”
I needed to switch gears, to throw Maxim off his game, hoping he’d get sloppy. His intelligent eyes flashed with lust as he studied me, and I knew exactly where to kick him to hurt him the most—his heart.
Channeling my best Nattie impression, I chuckled. “Oh, Max, I pity you really. Why would you think I would trade a real prince for the likes of you? I mean, Boris isn’t exactly a catch, but Mia still chose him over you. Why is that? Did you have problems, Max?”
Maxim didn’t catch my meaning under I dropped my eyes to his crotch and then lifted them back to his bloodred eyes once again with a shrug.
Maxim sneered, flashing his stained teeth as he lurched forward a step or two. “Come closer and see for yourself, butterfly. I will show you how much of a man I am.”
Rolling my eyes, I dismissed him with a wave of my hand, feeling a presence behind me. I dropped to my stomach on instinct as a second rogue flew over me. Pivoting, I smashed a glass and drove the shards into his throat the moment I was on my feet again. The blood gurgled from him as the vampire tried to scream in agony, stopping almost immediately as I ripped the glass from his throat and plunged it into his chest.
I tossed the dead rogue to the side, stepping over his body as I rolled my shoulders. “If you want me, Max,” I said, taunting the other vampire, “come and get me.”
Maxim paused, highly amused by my bravado. “In which way, darling? Do not get me wrong—both ways involve rope, but I feel it is important to clarify my intentions before we continue.”
There was a 99.9 percent certainty this would not end well for me.
The other 0.01 percent were the odds I would win.
Hell, sometimes even I got lucky.
“Oh, by Eve, men,” I said in exasperation. “Can’t we just kill each other without the sexual innuendo?”
Distracted by my snark, I took the opportunity to surge forward, my sai in my hands a heartbeat later as Maxim pulled a dagger from his waist. I leapt, bringing my weapons down, the clash of metal screaming through the air as we collided.
Maxim was strong, there was no denying it as his hand closed around my throat, squeezing
so tightly I was sure he’d snap my neck like a twig. I attempted a move my girl Arya Stark had perfected, dropping one of my sai and then the other, letting the second fall into my now-free hand and shoving the sai through Maxim’s ribs, trying to pierce his heart.
The vampire flung me away, my sai thankfully coming with me, and I rolled with the momentum of my body when I hit the ground, coughing at the soreness in my throat. Maxim let loose a roar of pure animal frustration, and I rose, darting forward and kicking up my other sai, then falling into an attack position.
Maxim pressed a hand to his ribs, growling at the blood he felt as he staggered backward.
It was now or never; I had to kill him now.
Starting forward with a growl, my rumble cut off as the wind changed and a number of scents accosted me. My eyes darting to the forest, I saw red eyes shining through the trees, so bloody many I couldn’t count them all.
Hundreds of rogue vampires, men and women—warriors, from the way they carried themselves—stepped out of the trees, various weapons in their hands that told me their ranks were many. We were more outnumbered than we’d imagined, and I knew this was not a war I could win by myself, no matter how skilled I was.
Maxim sneered as he retreated, the support he had marking him as truly a king amongst rogues. He tipped an imaginary hat to me as one of his vampires came forward and helped him away.
I snarled in frustration, even as Maxim turned back to me.
“I will see you again soon, Ryan Callan. And perhaps then you will see you were wrong to choose the Sanguine Crown over me.”
“I doubt that, Max, but why wait? Let’s finish this now… or are you afraid to have your ass handed to you by a girl?”
The rogue holding Maxim waved the field of rogues forward, but as they closed the distance, sending my heart ricocheting into the stratosphere, Maxim held up a hand to halt them.
“Think on my words, little butterfly. You are wasted bowing to a crown who would betray you. When we come face-to-face again, if you do not join me in creating my kingdom, one of us will die.”
I snorted. “The only kingdom we’ll create together, Maxim, will be six feet long and six feet deep. I’ll make sure it’s dug for you.”
As one unit, the rogues retreated into the forest, and I ran a hand gingerly over the abrasions on my throat when they were gone. Sinking to the ground, I sheathed my sai and took a massive gulp from the champagne bottle. I barely noticed that Nickolai, along with Jack and Atticus, had returned, no doubt having witnessed my failure.
Glancing up, I offered Jack the bottle of champagne and cocking my brow. “Well, I think we’re all fucked. They have an army. If they launched an assault right now, we’d all be dead.”
I didn’t bother to listen as the men made calls and updated the crown with regards to what happened. But I found myself thinking on Maxim’s fake confession. Why had he claimed to have killed my parents when he must have known I’d know he was lying? Someone had to know exactly what happened that night, and I would find out.
Nickolai crouched down and asked me what was wrong. For a moment, I considered telling him, but I didn’t. I kept it to myself. Instead, I let Nickolai help me to my feet and gave him a smile so fake, I felt sick at myself.
But what were a few lies between friends, right?
23
The next few days were a blur of strategy meetings and frenzied calls to the vampires of other, smaller courts for aid. Should the rogues eviscerate the Romanov vampires, we reminded them, what would stop them from spreading across Europe and Africa?
As a lot of foreign dignitaries would be coming for the queen’s birthday celebration, it was decided discussions would take place after the party. Nickolai and I remained on campus for the few days as classes resumed, and I finally got to have the college experience—pouring over textbooks and feeling alive during debates on religion and politics.
I spent a lot of time with Krista, too, laughing harder than I’d ever laughed, but in the back of my mind I was constantly thinking about my parents. I felt driven to discover the secrets behind their deaths and had planned to grill Jack, but he’d been suspiciously absent for the last few days.
Avoiding Nickolai was harder than finding Jack; the crown prince was everywhere I went, it seemed. Even when Krista and I went to a movie night at the restaurant where we’d had our first conversation, Nickolai was there with the remainder of his gang of guy friends.
When the on-screen vampire flashed his fangs I groaned, knowing all too well the clichés that would follow: the clap of thunder and flash of lightning as the vampire dipped his well-endowed companion low, exposing ample cleavage to the audience before sinking his fangs into her neck. Turning away from the absurdity, I caught Nickolai watching me from afar.
Before I could give into the desire to glance in his direction again, Krista nudged me, handing me some popcorn. I smiled at her, taking the popcorn as she turned back to the movie. We’d had so much fun together lately, and I was surprised at how much I’d let myself relax—even when my mind was a constant melee of questions.
Now, having said goodbye to Krista, I waited outside for the car that would take us home for the next few days—a long weekend of diplomatic pleasantries. Well, that’s what the school thought, anyway.
Shifting my weight to my right side, I wondered if Maxim was recovered by now. The memory of his fingers on my throat was still enough to rankle me. I would train harder; next time, I’d be ready. Not even his army of rogues would stop me from ending him.
The car pulled up to the curb, and I ducked inside, not waiting for Nickolai. I enjoyed a brief respite before the door opened and he slid in, the air heating around us as I struggled to go back to how we’d been before. He’d tried to pry my thoughts from me, but I’d brushed off his concerns.
We made the journey in silence, and the moment we arrived at the compound, I scampered away like I was being chased. Nickolai made to follow after me but was halted by his father as he welcomed his son home.
I secluded myself in my room for most of the night and then the following day, rising to dress in my formal guard uniform despite my worries that, since I hadn’t killed Maxim, Nickolai would rescind my promotion to his guard. Sweeping my hair off my face, I braided it so it hung loosely down the front of my uniform, the ends free of color as I tried to be respectful of the queen’s birthday.
The party was in full swing when I arrived, and I kept to the shadows as I slipped into the ballroom. A full-blown orchestra was seated where the thrones were normally located, the queen content to be whirled around by her youngest son. They played a slowed-down version of Alessia Cara’s “Out of Love,” and it was beautifully done.
My eyes roamed around the room, taking in the vampires from all around the globe, the contrast in skin tones and accents so tantalizing it made me smile. My smile dropped, however, as I considered if someone wanted to rid the world of all of its most influential vampires, then now would be the time to mount an assault.
Spying Jack dressed impeccably in a uniform that, apart from the badge attached to the lapel of his jacket, matched my own, I stepped out of the shadows and hot-footed it in his direction. Before I reached him, however, I was ambushed by the Heathers.
Each one of the girls looked like a model—dripping in jewels and dolled up to the nines. They circled me like a mangy pack of dogs, Nattie giving me her trademark sneer as she said my name in greeting.
“Ryan.”
“Natalia.” I didn’t bother greeting the rest of the sheep as Nattie tried to bore holes in me with her laser-beam eyes.
After several heartbeats, I sighed, making to step outside their little circle. “Well, this has been anything but fun, ladies. I’ll just leave now.”
Nattie stepped in front of me again, blocking my way as she leaned in, the scent of her flowery perfume an insult to my nose. “You think he will choose you, right? You think just because he asked his mother to be allowed to choose his own bride, he’
ll pick you instead of one of us?”
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” And I didn’t. I was so clueless Cher Horowitz would have approved.
“Nickolai asked his mother to let him pick his queen, and she agreed. It’s tradition for the reigning monarch to choose their child’s spouse.”
Taking a step back and almost colliding with Farah Nasir, I held up my hands. “Again, I haven’t the foggiest as to what you’re going on about. Ask Nickolai himself if you’re so bothered, but get the hell out of my face.”
“Nickolai might keep you as a consort, but you will never be queen!”
Her shriek came out shriller than she’d expected, and I laughed as her face reddened.
“And you will? Oh please, get a grip, Nattie. You’re sleeping with his baby brother because he dissed-and-dismissed you. The difference between me and you is you reek of desperation and everyone can smell it.”
Nattie lifted her palm to strike me, and my fingers snapped up to catch her before she connected with my face. “Try it, Nattie. Let’s see who ends up bloody.”
“Ladies, is there a problem?”
Kristoph’s voice cut through the tension as Nattie tried to take back control of her hand. I maintained my grip on the first attempt, and again for fun on the second, letting her go on the third attempt and grinning as she staggered backward. I snapped my teeth at the other girls, and they stepped out of my way.
Kristoph grinned as I strode by, patting him on the cheek as I passed. “Don’t forget to muzzle your pets, My Liege. Dangerous animals should always be broken in, you know.”
The prince’s laughter followed after me as I returned to my pursuit of Jack. Crossing the floor, I nodded to vampires who bowed their heads in my direction. I must have made it halfway across the dancefloor before a shadow bore down on me and I twisted to discover Nickolai blocking my way.