The Definition of a Bad Situation
This halfling would surely be the cause of Vivienne’s death.
Maybe I should turn around and head straight for the king?
The thought had some merit. After all, there was a slight chance that if she explained everything quickly enough, the king wouldn’t kill her for abandoning her post and losing his brother-in-law.
And maybe the sky was pink, coffee wasn’t delicious, and vampires other than the thrice-blessed queen could walk in the sun.
Gods above.
This was the definition of a bad situation.
The prince was striding away from her, his long legs eating up the forest floor in a matter of seconds.
“I’m going to need more information than that, Your Highness.” She glared at him.
North could mean so many things. None of them were good.
He ducked beneath a low-hanging branch and glanced over hisshoulder. “Far north.” He waved a hand in the air. “A remote area near the Black Sea.”
Of course, the prince of Eleyta wasn’t just planning to take a little jaunt through Ithenmyr. No, he wanted to go as far as possible.
Huffing, Vivienne hurried after him. “Could you elaborate?”
He shrugged. “I will eventually.”
By all the gods. She would’ve declined this position if she’d known the prince was this incredibly vexing.
Vivienne was of half a mind to knock the prince out, throw him over her shoulder, and carry him back to the ball. She hadn’t already done that because she didn’t think King Sebastian and Queen Luna would take kindly to that course of action.
See?
The absolute death of her.
Vivienne gritted her teeth, wishing Isvana had seen fit to bless her with shadows. She loved her wings, and flying was her favorite part of being a vampire, but moving through the Void would’ve been an extremely useful skill right now.
The prince was still walking away from her.
“I see.” She ran in a blur to his side. “Why do you have to leave now? Why can’t you wait until we’re back in Eleyta?”
The royal vampires were scheduled to shadow them back to Castle Sanguis before dawn. Even though Vivienne couldn’t walk through the Void on her own, thanks to her lack of shadows, the royals were strong enough to pull multiple people through the darkness at once.
“This is my only shot.” The frustrating man kept going.
She furrowed her brows, mulling over his words. “What do you mean? You’re a prince. Can’t you do whatever you want?”
She hadn’t spent much time at court, but the life of royals seemedfairly easy. People waited on them hand and foot, and they were willing to do anything for them.
Vivienne’s life had never been easy. Even as a mortal, she’d had to work for everything. That hadn’t ended when she was Made.
This job was the perfect example: she’d worked extremely hard as a soldier, trained with vampires far stronger than her, and climbed the ranks to earn this position. Not that it seemed worth it at this particular moment, but it was the thought that counted.
They walked in silence for several minutes, and Vivienne was beginning to doubt whether he’d heard her question.
The trees thinned, revealing a road up ahead.
“No, I can’t do whatever I want.” The prince’s voice was deep, and he didn’t look at her as he strode forward. “Your presence is a perfect example of that.”
