“I know my history. And my romance novels.” She opened it, inhaling the musty scent of the pages. “It’s beautiful. Reminds me of why I got into the study of history in the first place.”
“And why was that?” He leaned his arm against the shelf, watching her intently. Was that why she was here? To study a darker side of history? A history filled with monsters and magic.
She blushed and chuckled softly. “I guess I’m nostalgic for a time I didn’t even live through. It’s like a mystery, uncovering the story of yesterday. How people survived, thrived, and most of all...loved.”
His chest rose with a heavy breath. Feelings he couldn’t name burst inside him with a heat of the midday sun. Working his jaw, he tried to maintain his composure.
“I guess you’re kind of like a walking history textbook,” she said, smiling warmly at him and causing another burst of emotion in his gut. “Seven hundred years of history. I’ll have to pick your brain sometime. See if some of my theories on Victorian England were correct.”
He nodded, mesmerized by the light in her eyes. He wasn’t one for rehashing history, but at that moment, she could’ve asked him anything. Her passion for her subject was intoxicating.
However, this sudden peace deal between them meant nothing. She was still nothing but a greedy, grasping human. He couldn’t let her charms distract him from the truth. She didn’t want him. She wanted his immortality. The thought made his head buzz with frustration.
“Come along, you two.” Queen Anna was standing next to an ajar closet door with Jezebel at her side. She motioned toward them with a graceful hand. “The surprise is waiting.”
Cate bit her bottom lip with a bit of hesitancy and slid the book back into its spot on the shelf. He heard her take a large inhale of breath and then bravely step forward, following the ladies into the darkness of the waiting doorway.
He couldn’t wait to see their responses to what lay ahead.
?
Cate sighed and followed Queen Anna into what she’d assumed was another closet. She’d been trying her best to get through the date. The sudden shock of the brewery had fizzled out the last embers of her anger. Now, she simply felt weary. Her entire existence was riding on the hope that Prince Viktor didn’t rescind his offer and decide to suddenly end their deal. He was the crown prince, after all. He had the power to decide whether she left this island a mortal or immortal. That was a lot of power in one man’s hands.
Stepping through the doorway, she realized she needed to stop assuming all the rooms inside royal suites led to clothing racks. The walls were lit up with neon blue lights that reflected off of mirrors on almost every available surface. Dozens of drawers lined the room and had been pulled open to reveal jewelry encrusted with the most precious of gemstones. She gasped as her eyes fell upon diamonds as big as her thumb set in intricate gold filigree. Luminescent pearls with pink undertones lined several necklaces and earrings, no doubt priceless possessions and worth more than the entirety of her hometown state of Nebraska.
She scanned the multicolored jewels, wondering about the people who’d sculpted such works of art. Were they alive today, like this royal family of vampires? Or, should she say undead? The whole idea was still hard for her to grasp.
An audible gasp went out beside her. Jezebel sprung forward with inhuman speed, her hands reaching out to touch the jewels. The neon blue lights reflected in her eyes, giving her an almost robotic and eerie look. Her jaw dropped open and for the first time in the last few days, she seemed speechless.
“These are the palace jewels,” Queen Anna explained, picking up a string of pearls and running them through her aged hands like water. “A collection gathered over the centuries of our reign. Some are priceless and some may be called worthless. But it is all in the eye of the beholder.”
“They’re gorgeous,” Jezebel panted. “Simply perfect. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so wonderful. My father would die if he knew I were here.”
Queen Anna smiled softly and then placed the pearls back in their box. Prince Viktor stood behind her, his face half in shadow. He whispered something into his grandmother’s ear and she chuckled and patted his cheek. Cate blushed when his gaze turned toward her and she realized she’d been staring. Quickly turning toward the nearest drawer, she bent down to have a closer look.
The jewelry in front of her was probably the simplest piece of the entire bunch. On a delicate silver chain hung a pearl drop about the size of her pinky fingernail. She guessed it would probably hang down to her chest if she were to drape it around her neck. Something about the piece captivated her. With all this extravagance around her, there was something special about this necklace. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have a home among such jewels.
“I want both of you to pick something out,” Queen Anna said from behind her. “Something to borrow for the final ceremony.”
Jezebel inhaled as if she’d just been crowned queen herself. She dove into the drawers to get a closer look, pulling several pieces into her hands at once.
“I pick this one,” Cate said, pointing at the pearl drop necklace. There was no contest. This one called to her.
“Are you sure, my dear?” Queen Anna rushed forward, her brow wrinkling as she peered down at the necklace. “There are so many options much more suited to a grand ceremony.”
“This is the one.” She stuck out her chin. “It’s perfect for me.”
“As you wish.” The Queen bowed her head with a secretive smile. “I’ll have it delivered to your suite.”
“Thank you. That would be lovely.”
She felt the heavy gaze of someone watching her. Looking up, she found Prince Viktor studying her intently, just as he had at the bookshelf. She wanted desperately to read his thoughts, to know if she was screwing up his perfect plan. But her gut didn’t seem to care. A million butterflies burst to life in her stomach as he watched her. She felt her knees tremble and she had to reach out to the nearest shelf for support.
Why did that vampire have such an effect on her? She should be running the other way, but instead, she found herself returning his gaze with just as much intensity — unsure what would become of them both.
Chapter Seventeen
CATE FOUND HERSELF wide awake late that night, slouching in bed in her favorite pajamas. Her emotions were as tangled as the necklaces she kept in her old jewelry box, impossible to separate and just as frustrating. One moment, she was ready and willing to get out of Monstrana and never come back. But the next, she felt utterly hopeless at the thought of never seeing Prince Viktor again. It was confusing and it drove her mad. She shouldn’t feel that way. Any sane human would run for the hills.