Unraveled

She popped a bubble. Moonlight bathed her, illuminating the paleness of her skin. “The one and only.”

“Another vampire princess who belongs to Vlad. She. Must. Die.” Thomas raced forward with every intention of attacking. Only, he smacked into the same invisible wall Aden had encountered in his world with a thud. When he realized he was blocked, he pounded at the wall with his fists.

Aden forced himself to concentrate on the vampire. “What are you doing here? Is something wrong with Victoria?”

“Physically, no, but I was one of the girls chosen to date you. So yeah, there’s something wrong with her mentally.” He did not like hearing that. “Take me to her. I need to—”

“Slow down, cowboy. She’ll be fine.”

Fine. That wasn’t good enough. “You’re still taking me to her. And FYI, I won’t be dating you.”

“’Cause you only want Vic. Yeah, yeah, I know.” Stephanie rolled her eyes, flattened her hands on the pane and leaned toward him, saying quietly, “I also know she likes you and didn’t want strangers laying the moves on you, especially when she can’t trust them not to bite and enslave you. So here I am. Chosen, and not fighting it.” Now she splayed her arms and turned, giving him a full view of her bright red tank and microscopic miniskirt. “Me, in all my glory. Do you know how lucky you are? Lauren and I were promised to others, but with Vlad’s death all bets are off and you get a chance with me. And you might want to rescind your command, oh, mighty king, because if I take you to her now, I’ll be taken off the list, and it’s better for everyone if I’m on it.”

His stomach churned into hundreds of little knots. “All five girls have been chosen, then?”

“Yep. And let me tell you, the council didn’t want you dating another of Vlad’s daughters, but most of the girls basically had to be forced to agree to see you—sorry, but it’s true, you being human and all—even though their fathers want to make that royal connection, and as I was volunteering… By the way, I’ve met every single girl on the list. So, I change my vote. You aren’t a lucky boy.”

“I hadn’t realized,” he replied dryly.

She laughed, and it was a musical sound.

That was the kind of laugh he wanted to elicit from Victoria, at least once a day. Soon, he thought wistfully —and then felt all kinds of guilty. Victoria was perfect, just the way she was. She was smart and dedicated and understood him and his past. Without judging. With acceptance. And he didn’t mind working for one of her beautiful smiles. Liked having to do so, even. Was proud and excited when he won one. Except, she deserved to be happy all the time and now he was probably making her miserable.

At least, he kind of hoped he was.

More guilt bombarded him. He shouldn’t want her to be jealous, but he far preferred jealousy to the indifference she’d shown him at the vampire mansion.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Stephanie asked.

He glanced over his shoulder. Shannon still stood against the doorway, expression curious. Thomas was still beating at that invisible wall. “Actually,” he said, turning back to her, “I’ll join you out there.” He was due to meet Riley, Victoria and Mary Ann in the forest, anyway. In…two hours, he realized with a glance at the clock. Not soon enough. Not that he didn’t like Stephanie, but he was uncomfortable with this situation. “Shannon,” he began, only to be cut off.

“Yeah, I k-know the drill. Go. I’ll cover for you.”

“Thank you.”

As Aden sheathed his blades in their ankle holsters, Stephanie said, “Don’t forget your ring.”

Vlad’s ring. Oh, yeah. He removed the opal from the drawer where he’d stuffed it after returning from the vampire mansion, slid the metal in place and climbed outside. God, it was cold. So cold mist formed in front of his face every time he exhaled.

They walked side by side toward the forest, but just before they reached the line of trees, Stephanie grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“Goblins and wolves are out there.” Even as she spoke, a howl rent the air. The howl was quickly followed by a high-pitched screech—a sound no human could have made. He cringed.

“Where should we go?” he asked.

“We’re going to be all romantic and crap and sit out here, under the stars. I have to report back, you know, so we have to make this seem real.” Grinning, she waved her arm, motioning to his feet. “Behold.”

Looking down, he found a black blanket, spread out and velvet soft. So. They really were going to be “romantic and crap.” With a sigh, Aden plopped down and stretched out, staring up at the sky, stars twinkling from their perches like diamonds.

Stephanie lay down beside him. “So what do you want to talk about?”

I bet she’s soft, Caleb said.

You’re gonna get us in trouble, Elijah snapped.

“I want to talk about Victoria.”

She snorted. “I’m shocked. Really. Well, what do you want to know?”

“Are you okay with my dating her?”

“Why not? You’re cute.”

A compliment. Surprising. “Yeah, but your other sister hates me.”

“She does indeed. Like a rash.”

He smiled; he just couldn’t help himself. “Thank you for sparing my feelings.”

“Welcome.”

“You’re…different,” he said. He hooked his hands under his head, hoping that would warm them. “Not like the others.”

“I know. Isn’t it wonderful?” she asked, nudging him with her shoulder. Heat wafted from her, enveloping him.

His smile widened. “Victoria says you used to sneak out.”

“Yep. Every chance I got.”

“You weren’t afraid of your father?”

“Of course I was. We all were. He believed punishment was the only way to train someone, and that man was all about training us to be the undefeatable army he’d always craved as a human. But Lauren was his favorite, his main concern. She is a warrior through and through, after all, so most of his attention was directed at her. Me, I was too…uninterested, I guess is the word, but he wanted my mother happy. Females were his weakness, not that he would ever admit that aloud. He admitted to no weaknesses. Anyway, he washed his hands of me, didn’t even give me a wolf guard, and left me in my mother’s loving care.”

She spoke as if her father’s desertion didn’t bother her, as if the man had done her a favor. “What about Victoria?”

“What about her?”

“He didn’t wash his hands of her?”

“We don’t share the same mother, and he didn’t care to make hers happy. So no, there was no washing.” Stephanie rolled to her side, peering over at him, her hands tucked under her cheek. “He pushed her to be his next Lauren. If she laughed, she was punished. If she disagreed with him, she was what? Punished.”

No wonder Victoria was so serious. No wonder she rarely relaxed. Aden was suddenly glad the man was dead.

Something about that thought disturbed him, causing the fine hairs on the back of his neck to rise and his brain to ache. Every time he thought about Vlad, he felt this way. Why?

“So what are your plans for us?” Stephanie asked. “For all the vampires?”

“To find you a new king,” he answered honestly. “Before that, though, I don’t know.”

Her eyes widened, her expression pure puzzlement. “You don’t want to be king? Really?”

“Really.”

“That’s just… I mean, wow. Who doesn’t want to rule the best vampires on the planet?”

“Me.”

She popped a bubble. “That’s wise, I guess. I mean, you’re just a human. But in the meantime, if you make it to your coronation, I have some suggestions.”

“Wait. Remind me when the coronation is taking place.”

“Twelve days, my friend. Twelve long, long days.”