Page 21 of Married to the Vampire Prince

I was so stupid; stupid to have imagined Silas was someone other than his true, cruel-hearted self, stupid to have hoped I could have a human-like bond with a vampire.

This was an arranged marriage; we were of different species, and he was much older than me. We were too different. There had been so many warning signs, yet I had ignored them all.

I couldn’t turn back now though. I had married Silas, and now I had to become the princess everyone expected me to be. I would learn diligently and make sure not to embarrass the royal family. I would give my husband my ruby blood.

I would not long for more, though. Not anymore.

If Silas truly cared for me, he would have come to see me each day after my lessons were over, but for over a week he hadn’t visited me even once. Yet, here I was, missing him.

Ridiculous.

The thought that I had fallen for an imagined version of my husband stung, but no more.

I would focus on my lessons and close off my heart so that I wouldn’t get hurt. I would become the best princess I could be. At least then maybe Silas wouldn’t toss me aside or decide he didn’t need me after all if he ever grew bored of the taste of my blood.

Chapter Eight

Silas

The Rosworth vampires were attacking the Athalis vampires ruthlessly, driving their stakes through their enemies’ hearts. The cries of the dying filled the air. The ground, muddy after it had rained, squelched under the fighters’ boots.

“I think this is enough to confirm that a war is indeed going on,” I glanced over at Luke.

We were both hidden in the woods near the active battlefield. With our advanced vampire sight we could see the details of the fight easily even from a large distance.

A part of me, however, wished I couldn’t see how the violence was unfolding. Yet I couldn’t run from the truth.

“Athalis is getting their ass kicked.” Luke said aloud the exact thought that was on my mind.

“Yes, this battle doesn’t seem good for them,” I nodded.

“The previous one I witnessed earlier wasn’t either. Rosworth is getting deeper and deeper into enemy territory and closer and closer to Athalis’ capital,” Luke said in a worried tone. “And they’re showing no sign of stopping or slowing down.”

“Athalis is still in disarray after the civil war,” I noted.

Recently there had been an uprising of vampires of lower standing against the Athalis ruling caste. The high nobility had won but they were still in the middle of sorting out their problems. Rosworth had observed their current weakness and decided to attack.

“Yes, and the situation is worse than I initially thought. They can’t seem to repel any attacks due to the total current lack of organization and discipline in their ranks,” Luke said.

“Right. That’s my take on it too,” I agreed.

“If…” Luke licked his lips, and I realized he was nervous. “If Athalis falls, do you really think Estone will be next?”

I thought about his words for a moment. “We don’t have enough information to say one way or the other, but if Rosworth wins this war and they incorporate Athalis vampires into their army, we will be in a lot of trouble.”

Luke nodded. “Rosworth will end up stronger than us, even with the Athalis vampires resisting their commands.”

“The outcome of any war would still come down to who commands their army better, but they would have a huge advantage in numbers.”

“We need to figure out some way for the war not to come to our doorstep in the first place then?” Luke gave me a curious glance.

However, I didn’t have an answer for him yet about the strategy we should take. “For now just have your people observe the situation and report back to me.”

“Right,” Luke agreed.

“Let’s go back to the castle. I’ve seen enough,” I got up, turned around and started my quick vampiric sprint back towards Estone.

Luke ran next to me, and the world became a blur of shapes and smells around us.

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