Page 24 of Married to the Vampire Prince

Showing me off was an understatement – I sat here now wearing an expensive red silk gown with a flared skirt and low neckline, and my hair had been put up in an elaborate chignon.

I looked every bit the image of a proper Princess.

I just had to hope I really was capable of acting the part.

I took in a breath, steeling my resolve. I managed to calm myself down just in time for the appetizers to come.

I managed to navigate the dinner well as the meal went on, much to my surprise. I remembered the right cutlery, ate only dainty amounts from each dish, and behaved exactly like a royal should.

When the time for dessert came, Lord William spoke up. Silas leaned back a little, letting him see me as he spoke.

“It’s such a pleasure to be able to sit so close to our Princess,” the Lord cooed, “and to finally be able to speak to you.”

I smiled, my cheeks warming. “Thank you, my Lord.” I remembered not to lower my head. I was the royal here, so I wasn’t inferior to this noble.

“I wanted to ask you about something, actually, if you’d indulge an old man,” he flashed me a sweet smile.

“Of course,” I relaxed a little. Maybe I really shouldn’t be intimidated by the nobles? They only wanted to talk and get to know me… right?

“I’m particularly fond of the history of our realm. Tell me, what do you think about the Victory at Graypoint?”

I blinked once, then twice. I tried not to show any emotion on my face, but meanwhile a storm raged in my heart.

I had no idea which battle the Lord was referencing.

In my history lessons we had touched mostly upon the last war, and I didn’t recall there being any kind of combat at Graypoint. Heck, to my panicked brain, Graypoint was just a word. I didn’t even know in which country the place was located, so I couldn’t attach it to any of the wars I knew of between our neighbors.

I was so screwed.

Silas’ hand wandered to mine and covered my clenched fist. I glanced back at him, realizing I had been silent for a while. He squeezed my hand, but the look in his eyes was serious and questioning. He tried to get a read on me.

I took a deep breath. I couldn’t even lie to this lord by making up a response – I just didn’t have enough history knowledge to fake my way through a believable reply. If Graypoint was a topic he was particularly passionate about, he would easily catch me in my lie anyway.

I took a deep breath and let it out. I sat up straighter in my seat. I opened my mouth to tell him the truth – that I had no idea what he was talking about.

Just then Silas leaned down close to me, and placed a kiss on my cheek.

He then leaned back away and turned to the lord with a smile. “I’m sorry, my lord, maybe my wife can chat with you about old battles later. Suddenly I’m overcome with the desire to sweep her away and dance.”

The lord answered him with a smile of his own. “Ah, to be young again.” He laughed.

The atmosphere between us relaxed so easily. Silas got up from his seat and extended his hand to me.

I wanted to get away from the table. I wasn’t ready to hold conversations with the nobles yet, after all. I had taken my studies seriously, but only now did I fully realize just how important and extensive all those topics were in vampire society. I definitely wasn’t ready to mingle just yet.

I put my hand into Silas’ and let him lead me to the dancefloor.

The tune the orchestra played was familiar to me. I had practiced the dance in my lessons. I still sucked at it, but at least it was a dance where the woman relied on the partner to lead her. I just hoped Silas didn’t suck as much at dancing as I did.

Wait, Silas, the bloody war hero… dancing? Somehow the fact that he wanted to dance with me didn’t fit with the warrior-like mental image I had of my husband.

Nothing about his actions toward me so far in our marriage fit that image though, so… which one was the real Silas? The dangerous killer of the battlefield or the man who treated me like something delicate and precious – the one who was now guiding me to take the correct position for the dance.

He held me close but kept enough distance between us to hold a conversation, as the rules of the dance dictated. We started moving to the beat.

Silas led me through step after step with expertise that betrayed years of experience. His skill was truly astonishing. I would never have imagined him dancing much.

“You’re…” I spoke in a whisper, for his ears only, knowing that with his vampire hearing he would catch what I said easily. “You’re not forcing yourself to dance with me, are you?”

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