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Her eyes fell on the belt she’d worn on the way to the camp with her crescent blades sitting on top. Darting over to it she grabbed one and marched back to where he’d sunken into a chair by the fire. Vlad turned to look up at her and froze as she pressed her blade beneath his chin.
“I hate you, you evil bastard,” she snarled. “Why me? Why did you have to pick me? Why pick any of us? You cruel….monster!”
He never flinched. His eyes never left hers. “I never claimed to be anything else, Princess, but know this…I would never force you to marry me. Choosing a potential wife every fifty years is simply something my people require of me. It’s a way to…ease their fears. It’s an illusion, a show that I put on to make them believe I can control the humans at our borders, and keep them safe.”
She arched an eyebrow. “You mean to tell me that your people think kidnappingonewoman is supposed to prove you can control all of us?”
“Like I said, it’s an illusion. Purely a ceremonial gesture,” he said. “Believe me, I wouldn’t bother with the tradition if it weren’t imperative to keeping my people safe. Choosing you was the lesser of two evils.”
“But whyme? You’ve never picked a member of the royal family before. Why now?” She asked, letting her blade fall from his neck as she took a step back.
“Your fire, I suppose.” He shrugged. “When I saw you there, hiding among the trees…you struck me as someone who’s been confined her entire life. Sheltered to an extreme and deserved to be free.”
“I had a good life,” she said, sinking into the chair beside him. “Now what? What am I now?”
“Whether it be on your side of the mountains, or mine, you will always be Mina, Princess of Distova,” he said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “As for what’s next, well that’s easy. For the next six months, it will be expected that you and I make a visible effort at falling in love. If we haven’t at the end of those six months you may choose any part of my kingdom you’d like, and I will ensure that you are given whatever you need to live in the lifestyle you’re accustomed to.”
“Six months?” She asked.
“Six. That’s all,” he said. “As I said before, this doesn’t have to be an unpleasant time for you. It is unfortunate that you cannot return home, but you can make a good life for yourself in my kingdom. I promise.”
Mina laughed and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She was trapped, but from what he’d said so far, all hope wasn’t lost. There had to be a way around the curse. Curses were meant to be broken, and if he was being true to his word then she would at least have freedom totryand find herself a way out.
“You should get back in the bed and get some rest. There are still a few hours before morning,” Vlad said, breaking her train of thought.
Mina met his eye again and sighed. Her anger burned white-hot in her gut, but logically she knew there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t kill the vampire king. Not while she was surrounded by his soldiers, and if she was being honest with herself, she didn’twantto kill him.
Vlad had saved her from those things in the woods, he’d crossed into the sun for her, and on top of that, he had clearly ensured a healer saw to her wounds when they got back to the camp. He was such a juxtaposition her mind couldn’t wrap around him. She couldn’t decide if she should hate him, or if she could actually like him.
Mina bit her lip and tugged on the hem of her bed shirt. “You don’t need to sleep in the chairs. We’re both adults, and I think we both know it’s pointless for me to try and kill you, so…please, join me. You said we must make a visible effort after all, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he said, frozen in place again.
“I’d rather feel awkward lying in bed beside you, than feeling guilty for making you sleep in a chair,” she said, forcing herself to stand up and walk back to the side of the bed she’d chosen for herself.
She felt him watching her as she pulled back the furs and bedding to slip onto the mattress but didn’t move until her head touched the pillow.
“I’ll sleep on top of the—”
“Not necessary,” she said, rolling onto her side, fluffing her pillow. There was no way she’d give him her back during the night, no matter if she was choosing to trust him or not. “Get under the covers. You can keep me cool.”
He laughed and made his way to the side of the bed. She watched as he undid his jacket and kicked off his boots. He pulled his shirt from his pants, and then sank onto the mattress beside her, facing her as she faced him.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked, curling an arm around his pillow.
“As sure as I can be.” She shrugged, her eyes feeling heavy. “I suppose it’ll take time before I feel truly okay with any of this, but for now this is…fine.”
He gave her a soft smile. “Then sleep well, Princess. Nothing will harm you while I’m here. I promise you are safe with me.”
She didn’t want to be the first who’d fallen asleep but it wasn’t long at all before she felt herself being pulled into the abyss as a nightmare swallowed her whole.
Running through the woods again, she couldn’t breathe. Her heart thundered in her chest, but she wasn’t running away from anything this time. She was running towards something. Searching for someone.
She came to the clearing at the edge of the mists, and there he was. Vlad, who to her horror was stepping across the border and into the sun.
She raced after him, shouting his name, but when she reached the edge, her hands slammed into a transparent wall, hard as stone.
No! She gasped, banging her fists against it again and again.
