Vampire Girl

I try to grab the wall but there's nothing to hold onto. The three Fae flip around so their feet point up.

"Do as we do," the woman says. "The gravity will shift in a moment and you will land on your head if you remain as you are."

I turn myself upside down just in time. When the gravity returns, we fall on what was once the ceiling. Now, we are moving up. Or down? Or... I don't know what just happened.

"Our kingdom is on the other side of this world," the woman says. "I would say bottom, if you imagine you've been living on the top. But really there is no bottom or top. It's all gravitationally irrelevant. We are now halfway home."

None of the maps I looked through indicated there was anything on the 'other side.' It looked like a floating island in the sky.

But if the woman is correct, and the princes don't know, they are in danger. They think the rebel Fae are isolated to the Outlands. They have no idea there's anyone living on the other side of the world.

I sit on the floor, my back against the stone, and try to process all my thoughts. My wrist is throbbing and my bandage is bleeding through, but I don't have any supplies on me, so I press my hand against the wound, hoping to stem the blood loss until we get where we are going.

The woman sees the bandage and frowns. "You were injured?"

I don't want to explain I was feeding a vampire, so I just nod. She sinks to her knees, cuts the ropes tying my hands together, and pulls my hand toward her, unwrapping the bandage as she does. "This is deep. We must heal it quickly. You've lost too much blood."

She pulls out a small knife and pricks her thumb, rubs a bit of blood on a green stone she takes from her pocket, then chants words in another language with her eyes closed until the stone begins to glow. With her eyes still closed, she presses the stone to my wound. It burns, and I bite my lip to keep from crying out. A deep ache spreads through my arm, and when I look down, the skin is knitting itself back together, healing the cut.

I feel lightheaded, and the woman looks paler than she had, but I'm no longer bleeding. There's not even a scar. "How did you do that?" Though I know the answer. I saw Kayla do nearly the same thing with Daison.

My heart drops at the thought of the sweet boy.

The woman smiles and slips the green stone back into a small leather pouch. "The magic is in our blood. In your blood. You will learn all of this and more."

While the idea of learning magic appeals to me, nothing they say can be trusted. I've seen how they attack the people I care for. How they burned an entire city, a city that included their own kind, just to lure me and Fen out. They are not my kin, and I will not be seduced by their empty promises.

The elevator finally stops, and the stone door opens, revealing a long tunnel lit with lanterns.

The glowing light above our heads disappears, and I follow the three of them through the tunnels.

The tall man has my sword strapped to his back, and I imagine taking it and fighting them all, but I'm still too weak. I have no idea where I am and how to get back to Fen. So I let them lead me until I can think of a better plan that might work. Maybe I can still draw the mark? I rub the ring Fen gave me as a talisman to give me luck and strength. I'm going to need both before this is over.

We walk through winding underground paths, then up stairs until we reach a giant cavern. Blue stalagmites hang from the ceiling, lighting the area. And before me stands a castle. More majestic than anything I've ever seen. It is made of crystal and marble with the most graceful and elegant design throughout. Tall spires rise high above, blending with the cavern's walls. The large gate is decorated with two white stags. It opens on its own.

I'm led inside, to a large hall with a wooden table in the center. It is covered with food and drink and at the head a man sits eating a piece of meat. He looks up and smiles when he sees me, then stands, arms out. "Princess Arianna, here at last. It is such a pleasure to finally meet you."

I know his face, but it's impossible. He can't be who I think he is.

"I know, it is quite a shock. I should be dead after all, but alas, as you can see, I'm very much alive."

"King Lucian? But, how?"

"I'm afraid that bit of trickery was necessary in order to find you and bring you here, in order to change things on our world for the better. My sons didn't understand when I tried to explain."

"I don't believe you. This is madness." I tremble. Confused. None of this makes sense.

"I can understand why you might not trust me just yet. But perhaps there is another whose word you might trust more?"

A man walks out from the shadows. A man I have come to know over the last few weeks. A man I thought I could trust.

"Hello, Arianna."

"Hello... Asher."

EPILOGUE

Fenris Vane

"They have unleashed the Prince of War."

—Arianna Spero

I wake with a start, my heart hammering in my chest. "Arianna!" I scream her name into the dark cave. It is cold, too cold for a human. The fire has been dead for hours, and though I can still smell Ari's scent lingering in the air, she is gone.

And she is in trouble.

Her blood pumps through me. It healed me faster than anything should have. And now, I understand why my father chose her above all others.

I need to see Asher. His answers to my questions will determine whether he keeps his head or not.

Baron whines at the entrance, and we both tear through the snow and run as fast as our legs will carry us. Her scent fades now that we are in the open. New snowfall has covered her tracks, and it doesn't take us long to lose any hope of finding her. I scream into the woods, and Baron matches my grief with his own howl.