Anna and the Vampire Prince
Page 6
“You do not think we could become a race of innovators on our own? Why do you think so little of us? Steffan did not.”
“Steffan was an ego-maniac. Once you did his bidding, he would have gotten rid of you, one by one, until his was the only ‘kingdom’ left standing. The world would become a bleak place. One I would not care to inhabit.”
There was a pause. We could hear Renaldo pacing the room. “Then,” he said at last, “it’s a good thing you will not be around to suffer it.”
He signaled telepathically to the vampires hidden among the vines. Unfortunately for him, we hear his signal, too. The three of us jump soundlessly from our hiding place and go to meet the vampires rising from the vineyards. They are not expecting to see anyone, especially three powerful vampires appearing before them like specters. Amélie and Alexander take the three to our right. I take the two to our left.
Renaldo’s vampires were all relatively new and while they expected to be able to take one vampire, even an old, powerful one like Vlad, they were caught completely off guard by us. I grab the first vampire’s head and twist until I hear vertebrae pop. He drops. I will finish this one off after I take care of the second.
He is older and squares off against me with a snarl. We circle each other until I grow tired of the game and lunge. I catch him with a hand against the back of his neck. He fumbles for a knife in his belt. I get it first and slash at his throat. The first spilled blood unleashes the beast. I grip his head and pull his neck toward me, latching onto to the wound with my mouth. He struggles but only for a short time. As his blood becomes mine, his life flashes in my head. It was a life of brutality, beyond redemption. I feel no remorse when blood turns to salty, bitter water. He is gone. I let his body fall to the ground.
The second vampire is struggling to his feet, his head in his hands as he tries to straighten his neck. A piece of vine lay at my feet. I pick it up and plunge it into his chest. He collapses in on himself, his head still at that odd angle, but now, his hands scrabble for the stake in his heart. I hear the beating stop and his blood cease to flow. I think of drinking from him, too, but the first kill gave me enough to sustain nightmares for a month. I do not want to take on this one’s transgressions, too.
I turn to Amélie and Alexander. Two vampires lay dead at their feet and they are drinking from the third. I watch until they are finished, their eyes glowing yellow at me when they stand.
Everything happened silently and was over in minutes. We move as one toward the building. When we sweep the curtain inside, it’s to greet a startled Renaldo, who was expecting a sight far different than that of three bloodstained, snarling vampires smelling of his vanquished friends.
Chapter Thirteen
Renaldo gasps and whirls to face Vlad, his face gone white, his hands shaking. His thoughts project to all of us, first feigning shock that Vlad would have broken his trust by bringing friends. When he reads from our own thoughts and sees what has happened, he protests innocence, saying the others acted alone and not at his bidding.
Vlad says nothing for a long while, letting Renaldo squirm as his own thoughts are completely sealed off. Finally, he reaches out to me alone.
What is your counsel this time?
I am caught off guard by Vlad’s question. I know what I should say, mercy, set a good example, etc. etc. But it’s what I said the first time, and that led us here. You have no choice, I say sadly. Do what you must.
He turns then to Alexander. As new leader, do you concur we should pronounce the second death on this vampire?
Alexander steps forward and draws a sword from the folds of his coat. He starts to hand it to Vlad, but Vlad steps back and away.
Renaldo drops to his knees. As new sovereign, Alexander, I pledge loyalty to you. Please—
The sword slices through the air. Renaldo’s head parts from his body, his blood turning to red ash as it hits the air. In a moment, his body bursts into flame.
Then there’s nothing left but dust.
Vlad pulls a cell phone from his pocket and sends a message to his driver to come back. I stop him.
“Tell him we will meet him at the road. There has been enough damage done to my father’s fields.”
“This means—”
I sigh. “I know. This means we will have to carry the bodies out. But I’m not sure how I’m going to explain rows of old-growth vines being destroyed. I can’t risk anymore.”
He passes the message on to his driver. Then, “I suppose we might as well get it over with,” he sighs.
I can only imagine the picture we make, the four of us carrying the dead bodies of five vampires out of the fields. Amélie, Alexander, and I each carry one. Vlad has two, one slung over each shoulder. We pile them into the back of the SUV and climb in ourselves. The car reeks of old blood and bile.
Vlad instructs the driver to let me off at my driveway, where I’d left my car, then to take Amélie and Alexander home. When I get out, so does Vlad. He sends the driver away.
I look at him with upturned eyebrows.
He laughs. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you to let me spend the night. I just wanted to be alone with you one last time.”
It’s my turn to chuckle. “I think you once told me that to a vampire, there is no one last time. We have forever, remember?”
“So I did.” His expression sobers. “I meant what I said to you, Anna. You are the first woman since my beloved Jusztina—”
“No, Vlad,” I say, stopping him. “There is no future for us.”
“Not now, maybe.” Vlad lets a smile play at the corner of his lips. “But…”
He takes me in his arms before I can resist, and his lips are on mine. His strength is formidable; he’s in my head, promising pleasure beyond description. He lets me taste it, feel it in every part of my body before breaking away to leave me wilted and breathless.
“That’s not fair,” I whisper.
“It wasn’t meant to be.” He releases me and steps back. “Goodbye for now, Anna Strong,” he says.
Before I can reply, he’s gone.
It takes me a while to relax enough to fall asleep after Vlad’s departure. When I finally do, it’s to dream about him and I awake feeling guilty. I realize I’ve been away from Frey too long. As soon as Trish’s play is over, I’ll call for my jet to pick me up. First stop, will be to see my husband and son.
I go downstairs, knowing Trish will have already left for school and Dad will be in the fields. I doubt he’ll discover the ruined vines for a while. They are pretty remote. When he does, maybe I’ll be gone and won’t have to come up with a story or even worse, feign innocence. I’m such a bad liar.
I’m not sure how I’m going to occupy my time these next few weeks. Except for vampires, I have only my family here. Maybe I’ll join my father in the fields. Hard work and fresh air may take the edge off a body whose sexual appetites were deliberately awakened by a kiss from a vampire prince. I’m not even tempted to track him down. Who I want is Frey.
When the curtain falls on Trish’s acting debut, our house is turned into party central. Dad spares no expense, catered food, a band, open bar. The yard is festooned with lights, excited young actors fill the house with laughter. I watch from the stairway as they come and go, reveling in the knowledge that I played a part in making this happen. A large bouquet of long-stemmed yellow roses is delivered to Trish with the inscription, “Congratulations on a stunning performance. Your faithful friend, Vlad.”
Had he been there? Probably. But he kept his distance.
The doorbell rings again soon after the flowers arrived. Since I’m closest, I open it.
“I can’t believe I missed the play,” a familiar, wonderful, warm voice greets me. “But we got held up in—”
It’s as far as Frey gets. I’m in his arms, swallowing up his words in a breathless kiss. I pull him in.
“Where’s John-John?”
“He’s with his grandparents. He only has two more weeks of scho
ol so—”
Once again, that’s as far as he gets. No one has seen him yet, and I’m not going to let this opportunity pass. I pull him upstairs and into our bedroom, slamming the door shut behind us and jumping into his arms.
Now, the party can begin…
The End
Thank you for reading Anna and the Vampire Prince. It’s the latest in the Anna Strong series and takes place right after the ninth book, Blood Bond. I hope you enjoyed it!
If you’d like to know when my next book is available, in either series, you can check the Facebook page for me, Jeanne C. Stein, the S. J. Harper page, or check my website, Fallensiren.com.
My writing partner, Samantha Sommersby, and I are working on the next in the Fallen Siren Series and hope to have it to you by summer’s end. So please stay tuned!
Also, please leave a review. Reviews help readers find books and whether positive or negative, all are appreciated.
Thanks again for sharing this latest Anna Strong adventure.
Jeanne
About the Author
Jeanne C. Stein is the award winning, national bestselling author of the Urban Fantasy series The Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles. Anna Strong was named one of Paranormal Fantasy’s Top ten Ass-Kicking Heroines by Barnes and Nobles’s reviewer, Paul Goat Allen in 2013. Jeanne also has numerous short story credits, including the novella Blood Debt from the New York Times bestselling anthology Hexed and, most recently, The Wolf’s Paw in the bestselling anthology, Nightmares Unhinged.
Jeanne lives in Denver, CO and is active in Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (where she was honored by winning the Writer of the Year award in 2008 and was nominated again in 2011.) Her newest venture, The Fallen Siren Series, is paranormal romance written in collaboration with Samantha Sommersby under the pseudonym S. J. Harper. The first book in that series, Cursed, debuted in 2013. A prequel novella, Captured, is available free and the second book in the series, Reckoning, was released October 7, 2014. Novella 2.5, Forsaken, is available at all online stores.
For more information on other books by Jeanne, visit her official website: www.fallensiren.com.
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