by Leigh Walker
“This looks delicious. Thank you.” I nervously handled my spoon while the king and queen stared. They watched me in painful silence as I had my first taste then another. “It’s excellent.”
Dom tried to help me escape the spotlight. “What news have you, Mother? Father told the council this morning that almost all of the dignitaries you’ve invited to the wedding are attending. Who are we missing?”
My ears perked up. I was desperate to hear information about my family and the evil emperor vampire who had them in his grasp.
“Almost everyone has responded yes—it’s going to be the event of the century.” Queen Danica was sour on most topics, but her eyes sparkled at the mention of the wedding. “I’ve decided that we should hold the ceremony in the main church in the village. It will be good for the villagers’ morale. We’re having it gutted first, of course. But won’t that be quaint? It has that old-world charm, with all that stained glass…”
“That church is beautiful,” Dominic said. “I like the idea of holding the ceremony in the village. The citizens will be thrilled, of course.”
Seeming pleased that he wasn’t arguing with her for once, the queen said, “That means a lot to me, darling. I’m glad you approve. It’s your special day.”
Underneath the table, the prince put his hand on my thigh. “I’d like to take Victoria to the church, if I may. So she can see it. It could be an event—something to get the citizens even more excited, like the ring ceremony.” In order to maintain enthusiasm for the upcoming royal wedding, the prince had placed an astounding ring on my finger during a public event staged for the villagers.
“That’s a rather good idea.” The queen’s smile broadened. “I’ll notify the guard they are to make a public announcement. They will take you into the village after that.”
“Thank you, Mother. I think it’s very important that we continue our outreach efforts with the humans.”
She laughed quietly, indulgently. “You and your outreach. It’s adorable.”
Dominic put down his glass. “Wanting what’s best for the people in our care is hardly adorable.”
“I’m so glad we’re on the same page.” The queen had another sip of wine.
“Excuse me?” Dom scoffed. “On the same page how?”
The king shot me a look, as if to say: here we go again. Then he had a large gulp of wine. I could feel the tension mounting in the room. It was official: the prince and the queen could get along for exactly three seconds, nothing more.
Queen Danica smiled tightly at her son. “We agree we need to do what’s best for the people under our rule.”
“I don’t think we actually have a meeting of the minds, Mother.” Dominic’s voice was low.
“You said so yourself: you agree with me that the humans need our guidance. They are not capable of caring for themselves. They need to be ruled from sunup to sundown, and everything in between.”
“That is hardly what I said—”
“It doesn’t matter, because the facts are irrefutable.” Queen Danica straightened her shoulders. “Look what they did to the earth—burning the rainforests, polluting the oceans, ruining the ecosystem with their ridiculous obsession with cheap plastic garbage and electronics. And now they’re living under our rule, just as they should be. They clearly cannot be left to their own devices.”
“Mother.” Dominic was struggling to keep his voice under control. “You realize we have a human seated at our dinner table. One who is about to join our family.”
“She should hear the truth. She is just as responsible for her race as I am for mine. I am done sugarcoating things for the humans. I’m tired of all the time and effort we waste performing vanishments on them. The humans should finally know of our existence. Look at how the blood slaves have handled it. They’ve adjusted fine!”
“Letting the humans know of our existence and lording it over them are two different things. I don’t believe they were born to serve us, Mother. I don’t believe they are beneath us.” Dom gripped my thigh. “That, I’m afraid, is something we will never see eye to eye on.”
“So be it.” The queen shrugged dismissively then rang her bell. “Please bring me my slave. I’m famished. Declan?”
The king shot me an apologetic sideways glance. “Of course, my dear. I know you hate to eat alone.”
I put my spoon down, my appetite suddenly evaporating. The queen didn’t care if I ate with her. I was beneath her; I didn’t count as company. But her icy gaze missed nothing, and she snapped her fingers at me. “Finish your meal. You need to keep your strength up for my son.”
Dominic bit back a curse, but I gave him a silencing look, one that said, I’m okay, you’re okay. But I felt something quite less than okay when the blood slaves came in. It was my two least favorite sacrifices, Alexandra and Elise. They cherished their roles as blood slaves and actively sought the attention of the royals.
But tonight they looked positively petrified.
4
He And I
“Ah, ladies, how kind of you to join us. Not that you had a choice, of course!” The queen laughed merrily, sending chills down my spine.
“Would you like some wine?” the king asked the girls. He sounded as if he were talking to skittish horses.
Both Alexandra and Elise nodded, neither daring to say a word. What’s wrong with them? At a quick glance, Alexandra appeared to be her normal, stunning self. Her dark skin was glowing against the lavender of her gown. Elise was as sultry as ever, dark curls spilling over the shoulders of her champagne-colored cocktail dress. Normally, both of the sacrifices were enthusiastic about their duties to the royal family. They served as blood slaves with pride. But tonight, Elise’s hand shook as she drank from her goblet. Alexandra, who was athletic and moved with the grace of a ballerina, looked a bit wobbly on her feet.
Dominic scrutinized them. “Elise, Alexandra. How are you this evening?”
They looked at each other nervously before answering.
Alexandra finally bowed her head. “Fine, Your Highness. Thank you for asking.”
Elise sank into a jittery curtsy. “Good. I mean, excellent, Your Highness.”
Dom’s brow furrowed. “What’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing,” they said in unison. They didn’t dare look at the king or the queen.
Alexandra cleared her throat. “We’re just grateful for a glass of wine before servicing our masters. In fact, I would be quite thankful for another.” She chugged the entire contents of her goblet then held out her hand for a refill.
Elise immediately followed suit, and the queen chuckled.
“I suppose they’re just nervous about the new rollout Professor Talbot announced today. Is that right, girls?” she asked.
“It was a bit…abrupt is all.” Elise’s voice wobbled a little. “We thought we made you happy. We thought you were pleased with the way we did things.”
“Ah, you have both pleased me since you’ve been here. You are two of my finest slaves—always performing to expectations.” Queen Danica smiled at the young women, but it was not a nice smile. “But just like any long-term relationship, it’s good to mix things up after a while. To keep it fresh, you know?”
“Of course, Your Highness.” Elise kept her gaze on her wine.
“What on earth are you talking about?” Dom looked as if he were about to spring out of his chair and throttle his mother. I half hoped he would.
The queen smiled as she languidly leaned back in her seat. “Your father and I have decided that we’ve become a bit bored with our regular feeding schedules.”
“Danica…” The king shook his head. “You know I have nothing to do with this.”
“Fine.” The queen shrugged, dismissing him. “I’ve become a bit bored. So I wanted to try something new!”
The muscle in Dom’s jaw twitched as he waited for his mother to continue.
Queen Danica had a sip of wine. “I, for one, have always enjoyed draining my pre
y dry. It’s just so satisfying when they die, and for some reason, it makes the blood taste better. Perhaps it’s because the human’s life is ending, and all their experiences are coming out, making their blood more vital for those last few moments.” Her eyes got the faraway look of a foodie describing the best meal of their life.
Under the table, Dom put his hand protectively around mine. But he couldn’t shield me from the queen’s words.
“But it’s just not practicable, leaving all those corpses around. Then we’d have to go out and recruit more virgins to keep as slaves, etcetera, etcetera.” She waved her hands as if that were a nuisance. “So instead of drinking all the slaves to death then having to bother with replacing them, we’re trying something new.”
I stole a glance at the sacrifices. Alexandra’s whole body was visibly shaking. Elise clasped her hand.
“I’ve tried it a few times, with only one or two casualties. Poor Mia was the last one,” the queen continued. “Now she’s a vampire, although we’ve had to lock her down in the dungeons. Apparently she didn’t turn out quite right—too much trauma, or some such thing.”
Alexandra and Elise clung to each other, horrified expressions on their faces. Mia had been one of them, a blood slave, a favorite of the royals. Queen Danica had fed from her the first time we’d dined together. I would never forget the petrified then resigned expression on the poor girl’s face. She hadn’t moved while the queen had ravished her long, pale neck.
“Mia?” Dom leaned forward, the cords in his neck standing out. “You said a guard killed her.”
“No, no—the stupid fool couldn’t manage to revive her after I tried my little experiment, so in the end he just turned her. Let me explain. What you do is almost kill the slave. You drink deeply, more deeply than I usually dare with our girls. You get right to the point where their heartbeat slows down to near death. Then you force yourself to stop! It still tastes great, and there’s the excitement of it all, of course, the almost killing them. It seems rather naughty.” She waggled her eyebrows.
“Then here comes the twist, my favorite part! We transfuse blood from random donors into the slaves afterward. It gives them a whole new taste.” The queen’s eyes glittered. “Like when a human tries a new salad dressing, I suppose. It really mixes things up, and it can be quite a surprise—like you’re anticipating a Pinot Noir but get a Malbec instead. “
At the mention of wine, both slaves grimly held out their glasses for another refill.
“You are not doing that to our sacrifices, Mother. Not tonight and not any night.” The prince stood and motioned to the guards. “Take the women back home, please. There’ll be no feeding here this evening.”
“I beg your pardon,” Queen Danica cried, “but of course there will be! I’ve gotten myself quite riled up, just thinking about it. Guards, don’t move. No human leaves here until I’ve been satisfied.”
The guards hesitated, and I held my breath. No one dared cross the queen. I looked at Alexandra and Elise, who were clinging to each other miserably. I had to do something.
“Your Highness.” My voice quavered. “What if the prince and I did something for you instead? Something to…satisfy you?”
The queen put down her goblet, narrowing her eyes at me. “Are you going to let me feed from you, almost to the point of death?”
“No, but—”
“Then I’m not interested.”
“I’ll let the prince feed from me.” My heart hammered in my chest. “You’ve said from the beginning that’s what you wanted. He can have my neck tonight, right here, right now.”
It had been a point of contention between Dominic and his mother for years that he refused to drink directly from a human. He only drank donated blood. Part of the reason—likely the only reason—his mother supported Dom’s impending marriage to a human was because she wanted him to drink from me. She hoped that if her son was in a committed relationship with a human, he might be more likely to drink directly from her. Then, once Dominic fully embraced and enjoyed the primal vampire experience, he might actually support his mother’s quest to make my race nothing more than walking blood banks, slaves to their vampire masters. At least, that was what I’d extrapolated from all the queen’s crazy talk.
“Victoria, no.” Dom’s face was white with fury.
“Oh, Victoria, yes.” The queen rang her bell without taking her eyes from my face. “Get these whiny slaves out of here—I no longer need them. This evening just got a whole lot more interesting.”
The guards snatched Elise and Alexandra and hustled them from the room. Dom didn’t move from where he was standing, his hands clenched. I swallowed hard. I’d wanted to help the slaves, but I’d made a terrible mistake.
My blood made vampires sick. It made them die. I shuddered, remembering the guard that had attacked me in a field near the palace. He’d died on top of me, and it had been a terrible, gory mess. I couldn’t let that happen to Dom.
“Well, let’s see this.” The queen turned to her son. “Dominic? You do what you’re told, or I swear I’ll go and drain those slaves dry tonight, in front of all the other girls.”
Dom gave her a look filled with hatred but came and sat by me nonetheless, knowing his mother would be true to her word. He took my hand. His face was a mask of grim fury but also resignation.
The king and the queen moved their chairs together and had their wine refilled. They watched us eagerly, as if a movie they’d been dying to see were about to start. Even the king looked intrigued, as if he were about to watch his son ride a bike for the first time.
And I was going to kill the prince. In front of them. Their son.
The man I…had feelings for. With a capital F that was actually an L.
“Dominic.” I clasped his hands, my voice urgent but low so his parents couldn’t hear me. “I’m so sorry. I think I had a bit of a blond moment just now. I wanted to help the sacrifices. But I wasn’t thinking about what this would do to you.”
He shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. That’s not what’s important.”
“Of course it’s important,” I hissed. “What am I going to do if you d—”
“Enough,” the queen commanded. “Feed from your bride now, or I’m coming after her too. For treason.”
The king looked deflated. “Danica, isn’t that a bit extreme?”
“She promised me something. If she doesn’t deliver, it’s a move against the crown. You know I take such things seriously.”
The king shook his head, and Dom cursed under his breath. “I’ll never forgive you for this, Mother.”
The queen rolled her eyes. “Add it to your list of grievances. Now feed from her. It’s about time you stopped being such a baby.”
Dominic turned back to me, fury in his eyes, and I reached out and stroked his cheek. “I’m so sorry—I don’t want to hurt you,” I said. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
The fury in his eyes faded, and his gaze turned tender. “You won’t. I promise you I’ll be fine. You have my word, Victoria.”
I stared him down. “Say it again.”
“This won’t hurt me. I swear it.” He gently kissed my cheek. “And I’m the one who should be sorry. Please forgive me for what I’m about to do.”
My breath was coming rapidly, and I feared I would have a panic attack. I remembered how much being bitten hurt. I’d thought that guard was killing me, slowly and painfully, with a rusty blade to the throat.
Sensing my discomfort, Dominic gently stroked my hair. “Shh, it’s okay. Remember—this is me. I would never hurt you, Victoria.” He nuzzled my neck, and suddenly, my breathing was ragged for a different reason. He kissed my throat gently, working his way from the top to the bottom.
“For the love of the gods, get on with it,” the queen groaned. “Stop playing with her.”
Dom looked at me, and for a moment, the rest of the world fell away. It didn’t matter that his mother and father were at the head of the table
, invading our privacy and barking orders. It didn’t matter that his fangs were about to plunge into my neck. All that mattered were he and I.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
I nodded, heart thundering.
His eyes flashed, turning a bright, fluorescent shade of brownish-black, and his fangs sprang out. He ran them along my neck, making me shiver. Then he gently pierced my skin.
“Ah!” I leaned back against my chair as he began to drink. But my cry wasn’t one of pain. I felt something else entirely—a tingling pleasure, a warm flush of satisfaction. I relaxed a little. He drank from me slowly, carefully, worshipfully.
It was an intimate exchange. Dom was tender as he drank from me, nuzzling my neck. I could sense his enjoyment, which made me feel strangely powerful. He caressed me as he drank, and as my blood flowed into him, I could feel part of us twining together.
I reached out, and he took my hand, lacing his fingers through mine.
Soon—too soon—he pulled away from me. His cheeks were flushed, and his breathing was rapid. He quickly wiped his face then held a clean napkin to my neck. “Are you okay?”
My chest was heaving, and I felt a bit dizzy but not in a bad way. “Yes.” I peered past him to see his parents regarding us with smug expressions on their faces. “Although this all seems a bit inappropriate to me now.”
Dominic didn’t turn around. “Mother, Father, leave us at once.”
For once in her life, Queen Danica didn’t argue. In fact, she gave me an approving nod as she accepted the king’s arm and swept from the room.
“Dominic.” I slowly sat up once they’d left. “You’ve been holding out on me.”
He sighed. “Not really.”
“What do you mean? I quite enjoyed that! And why didn’t you die—or collapse, at least?”
“Victoria…” He clasped my hand in his. “I’m afraid I haven’t quite told you everything. Not just yet.”