Royally Cursed Read online

  Royally Cursed

  A Vampire Princess Book

  Cameron Drake

  Copyright © 2017 by Cameron Drake

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  For my secret angels

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  Contents

  Foreword

  Royally Cursed

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  End Of Book Two

  Turn the page for an excerpt of DreamShifters Book One: ORIGINAL WITCH

  Dreamshifters Book One Excerpt

  Excerpt of Second Sight

  Second Sight Excerpt

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Cameron Drake

  Also from Pincushion Press

  Foreword

  This is the second book in the Vampire Princess series. You can find the first book here.

  Enjoy!

  Xo,

  Cam

  Royally Cursed

  I’m in love with two boys, and neither one of them are human. Then again, who am I to talk?

  It’s the summer before my Senior year and I’m in trouble. Besides needing to pass my driver’s test, I’m cursed with an insatiable hunger for blood. I have to be locked up when the urge strikes me, and the thirst is terrible.

  Only drinking the blood of a Vampire can sate me.

  Maxim offers himself to me. But it is another’s blood I truly crave. The blood of my ex-boyfriend Dylan.

  He hates me for breaking his heart. Little does he know I did it for his own protection. And because his Fae family might kick my butt.

  When he learns the truth about me, nobody expects what will happen. But how can I choose between the two? And none of it will matter if I can’t save my Kingdom.

  But first things first: I need a dress for prom.

  Prologue

  “What about this one?”

  I saw Bernard holding up yet another pale pink dress. I made a face, wrinkling my nose. It wasn’t that I hated pink. I actually loved it. But I wasn’t feeling the pink right now.

  It was too feminine and fragile.

  It was too sweet.

  It was too hopeful.

  And I was exactly zero of those things at the moment.

  I pulled a black dress with a tulle skirt off the rack and smiled. He raised an eyebrow and sighed as if he was extremely put out.

  I could practically hear what he was thinking. Actually, thanks to my new empathic ability, I could feel it.

  Teenagers, amirite?

  It was all an act though. I know he was loving this as much as I was. We’d waited years to do something like this.

  Dress shopping for prom.

  It was so… normal.

  I was ecstatic about it to tell the truth.

  Or I would be, if I wasn’t remembering the note I’d found in my locker the day before. I’d been clearing everything out as kids ran amuck through the halls. School was over, officially.

  We just had a couple of finals left. And prom/graduation for the Seniors. Then I could go into hiding again.

  I was used to hiding. I’d done it most of my life. But usually, we also ran, starting over every few months.

  This time we weren’t leaving town. I’d refused to run this time. So, if I’d actually had any friends, I could hang out with them.

  Sadly, my ride or die people were unavailable.

  All I had now were my vamps.

  Well, that wasn’t true. I still had some human friends. They just didn’t make up for the giant hole that Dylan and Karen had left behind.

  And that wasn’t even the worst part of it.

  “Black darling? Really?”

  Bernard put his hand on his hip.

  “Aren’t we playing a little too close to stereotype here?”

  I shrugged. It was true, but I didn’t care. Besides, there wasn’t really a protocol here.

  How often did a half human, half Vampire go to the prom?

  “I don’t care. I’m not doing pink.”

  “Fine, fine. Make sure it fits. I do hope it is abominably expensive.”

  “It is.”

  He smiled at me, knowing that Caleb was footing the bill. Caleb never seemed to run out of money or even think twice about spending it. I swore I’d pay him back when we retook the throne but he always waved me off.

  I guess being alive for a thousand years meant you had time to really save up your money.

  “And we can get lots of sparkly accessories.”

  I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh. Caleb and Bernard had a complicated relationship. Bernard had never hidden his affection for the older vamp. Caleb, on the other hand, was always holding back the love we all knew he truly felt. And Bernard was getting tired of it.

  Not that I blamed him.

  “Sparkly sounds good.”

  I slipped into the dressing room to try on my dress. I tried to block out the note that I’d found. I could still see it, thanks to my photographic memory.

  I could still call up the exact emotion I felt when I saw it.

  I still dream about you.

  -D

  I shook my head, forcing myself to focus on the dress. It didn’t matter that I still dreamt about him too. I zipped it up on the side and stared at the mirror. I looked gaunt.

  Goth, but not in a cute way.

  Maybe Bernard was right.

  I’d lost weight since… well, everything. The pressure of the coming war was weighing on me. And the not knowing was worse.

  When would it start? Would the people I love survive? Would the Kingdom survive?

  And what kind of person would I be on the other side of it? If I even survived it. If they didn’t take me too, and slowly drive me insane like they had with my father.

  “Let me see!”

  I stepped out and Bernard clapped his hands together.

  “Oh darling, you do look lovely but…”

  He held up another dress. It was pale lavender and embroidered with pale gold thread. Sort of flowy and bohemian. It was elegant but also relaxed.

  It was perfect.

  I took the dress without a word.

  The silk fluttered around me as the dress fell into place. It was stunning. And a lot more comfortable than the last few dresses I’d tried on.

  I stepped out and he nodded approvingly.

  “Told you so.”

  “Fine, you win.”

  “Not at all, Sophie.” He smiled and flashed a credit card. “I think we should get both.”

  “I don’t really need two prom dresses.”

  “Ah. But what if you get invited to a fancy funeral?”

  A gaggle of girls appeared in
the dressing room and I tensed, feeling the hunger rise. I slapped a hand over my mouth.

  Bernard’s eyes grew wide. He knew what had happened. What had been happening, with alarming frequency.

  My fangs were out. I was hungry. Those teenage girls would not have stood a chance against me.

  That wasn’t what was alarming. Vampires needed to drink blood, after all. What was alarming was how frequently I seemed to need to feed. The first had been infrequent at first, but lately the hunger came on too quickly, no matter how much I fed.

  At the moment, I drank more blood than the three vamps in our house.

  Combined.

  I’d already drank half a pint of bagged blood back at the house before we left.

  And the rest of the bag in the car.

  I changed quickly, trying to calm the urges that were rising up inside me. I wanted to drink, and not gently. Not the way I’d once wanted to feed on Dylan.

  No, now it was worse. Now I wanted to shred everything in sight. I wanted to drain them all, one after the other.

  I wanted to kill.

  Bernard knocked on the door.

  “Hurry, Soph.”

  I nodded and stared at the floor while we paid and hurried out to the parking garage. Sparkly accessories would have to wait for another day.

  “I think it’s time to go!”

  That was an understatement.

  Chapter 1

  I stood to the side of the auditorium, awkwardly holding a cup of punch. The cavernous room was decked out in blue and white. There were balloons everywhere, and cheap paper streamers hanging from above like vines in a rainforest.

  There was nothing fancy about it. Not one thing, except sheer determination and lots and lots of masking tape. Somehow though, the decoration committee had worked wonders.

  It looked magical.

  It was magical.

  It was my first prom. My first dance. My first everything.

  Who knows? It could very well be my last. I had no idea when the war would begin. It was coming. I had no idea if we’d still be in this town for my Senior year.

  I hoped so. Despite everything, I wanted to stay.

  I smoothed my hand down over the lavender silk and tulle. I loved my dress. I couldn’t have imagined anything better, even though Bernard had found it. He had an eye for fashion, always attributing it to his French upbringing.

  Caleb usually just laughed, reminding us that Bernard had been a barefoot peasant in his human days, but I thought it might be true. Maybe living in the French countryside just made you instantly stylish. He certainly was fun to pick out clothes with. I hoped we could do it again soon.

  His taste was a lot more youthful than the older of my two Vampire guardians. Maybe Caleb’s six-hundred-year head start had made him too stodgy. His faint Slavic accent and frequent scowls never detracted from his elegant good looks, however.

  I was sure Bernard agreed with me on that.

  The prom shopping excursion alone had been something I’d dreamed about for years. My normal teenage fantasies were coming true one by one, culminating in tonight. I was surrounded by friends. Mostly my fellow cheerleaders and but also other kids I’d gotten to know this year. Not good friends, or anything all that deep. But people actually liked me here.

  That had to count for something.

  But the truth was, I was miserable.

  The reason was standing about twenty feet away, looking heartbroken and gorgeous in a light gray suit. I wasn’t sure how he did that. Managing to look dark, and passionate and heartbreakingly handsome.

  He looked like freaking Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights.

  Tragic and beautiful.

  Dylan, with his gorgeoues blue eyes flashing at me from across the auditorium. He hadn’t brought a date. As far as I knew, he hadn’t so much as looked at another girl since I ended things a few months ago.

  He wasn’t even with friends tonight from what I could see. He was just standing there, blatantly staring at me from across the room.

  I looked away, an unsettling feeling in my chest.

  I could feel his emotions. And they weren’t good. He was still devastated. It hadn’t changed from that day in the woods. If anything, it was worse.

  I hated that I had done that to him.

  I hated that he was still hopelessly in love with me.

  I hated that he stared. And I hated how I felt on the rare occasions when he didn’t.

  I should be used to it by now but I wasn’t. I caught him staring a lot. He had never really given up on us.

  I had done everything I could to discourage him, even as it tore me up inside. I’d stopped hanging in the cafeteria during lunch, instead finding a spot to go and eat by myself somewhere on campus. If it was raining I’d find a quiet classroom and sit alone, reading a book.

  I hadn’t been to a single party since I ended it. I hadn’t even hung around after a game. Once football and basketball season was over it had been easier. I’d just kept to myself, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.

  Yeah, I’d pretty much done everything I could.

  Except show up with another guy.

  Until tonight.

  “I guess you really are with him.”

  I swallowed, my heart thudding in my chest. Dylan had come up behind me. I had been trying so hard to ignore him that I’d actually missed him crossing the room.

  It wasn’t easy to sneak up on a half human-Vampire hybrid, but he’d done it. He had barely talked to me in months, other than the note. But tonight, he was confronting me head on.

  All because I’d brought a date.

  Maxim was outside, walking the perimeter of the grounds. Running probably. He was fast, and deadly, even without his throwing stars and blades.

  He was the perfect protector.

  The truth was, he was more security detail than a date.

  Besides, we were just friends, I reminded myself. Even though I knew he wanted more. I’d been evasive and I thought he had finally accepted that it wasn’t the time or place for romance.

  It was kind of suspicious how many times I had to tell myself that though.

  I turned to face Dylan. The look of hurt in his beautiful blue eyes almost undid me. I exhaled shakily, not sure what to say.

  Nothing I could say would mend what I had done to him. What I’d had to do. The lie that I didn’t want him. That I didn’t care anymore.

  Because I did care. Nightfall knows, I did.

  Too much.

  “Dance with me.”

  I couldn’t say no to such a simple request. The truth was, I couldn’t have said no even if I’d wanted to. I was too drawn to him.

  One dance, I told myself. One dance with the boy I dreamed about.

  I let him take my hand and lead me to the dance floor. Just as a slow song started. A slow, romantic song about still loving the one who got away.

  Great. Perfect timing, DJ.

  I could smell him as he pulled me close, his hand sliding to my lower back. His familiar scent made my eyes well up with tears. And something else.

  The hunger came back with a vengeance.

  Why did he have to smell so good? It was worse than usual. I realized again how delicious he was. He was different. Special. And the scent of his blood underneath his skin was going to make my fangs pop.

  Not that it was his fault, but still. It was a problem.

  I ran my tongue over my teeth, telling myself to stay cool. To keep those fangs in check. Just for one dance. One song that I could look back and remember over the years.

  I braced myself, focusing on fighting the need to feed instead of the sadness overwhelming me.

  We danced in silence for a little while, but Dylan’s eyes never moved from my face. I could feel them boring into me. Finally, I looked up and our eyes met.

  My breath caught in my throat.

  Dylan’s eyes were dark and full of pain. Up close the changes in him were more noticeable. I realized that he looked
like he’d lost weight since we broke up. A lot of weight. He looked haunted.

  He still loved me.

  There was no doubt in my mind.

  His words echoed my thoughts, eerily similar.

  “You still care about me. I know you do.”

  I nodded, looking away. I owed him that truth at least. I just couldn’t tell him how much I cared.

  “Of course, I do.”

  “Why, Sophie? Can you tell me that at least?”

  I shook my head.

  “You must have a reason. I know you do.”

  “I’m sorry, Dyl. I can’t. I just…”

  It was too much. We weren’t going to get our dance after all. His heartbreak and my own overwhelmed me. I pushed away from him and slipped through the crowd.

  I fought to hold back tears as I ran outside into the darkness.

  Maxim was nowhere to be found. It didn’t matter. I had to leave. My fangs had descended along with the rivers of tears. I could handle myself in a fight if I had to.

  Besides, who would crash a prom?

  As soon as I rounded a bend into the darkness I felt it.

  I was not alone.

  A tall figure stepped out of the trees. Not a human. It was one of our kind, but no one I’d ever seen before. He bowed mockingly. I felt a wave of contempt wash over me.

  His contempt.

  “There you are… I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Your Highness.”