The Vampire Prince by Lissie (online e book reading .TXT) 📖

unbuckling her seatbelt and half falling out of the truck.
Elliott chuckled despite the morbid situation and grabbed his school bag, tossing it over his right shoulder and following Cleo inside. He looked on as she continued to attract sympathetic stares and the occasional murmured condolence. It was like Elara was dead, not just gone.
They sat together, as they had taken to doing, at the rear of the classroom. The teachers ignored them, a small bonus because they knew the twins and how close Elliott was to Elara. They never intervened or asked them questions in their lessons anymore. Cleo was barely grateful, but she was forgiven for her surliness.

Elara woke up with a start on the day of her wedding ceremony. She had been dreaming of her sister and of Elliott, of another day that would now never happen. She had seen Elliott in a black tuxedo and herself in a white wedding gown, Cleo standing behind her, holding a bouquet of white lilies. For Elara knew that, had she not been stolen away from them, she would have married Elliott. She didn’t love them in that way, but he would always have been her one and only option for the rest of her life. She would have been happy enough with him, surrounded by dark haired children. And Cleo would have married a jock. But now, maybe Cleo would end up marrying Elliott, because he would take her as second best. If he couldn’t have the twin he wanted, perhaps he could still have one of the pair. Cleo would agree to marry him because she had always loved him, just as he loved Elara.
She sighed and sat up in her bed, smoothing her hands over the silky sheets. She knew her long hair was a mess, but that Jayce would send in maids to tidy her up and prepare her for the day to come. She didn’t know if she loved him, but she could pretend if he came to love her first. And if she fell in love with him first, well then she was doomed for life. Elara slid out of bed and landed gracefully on the floor, then padded across to the floor length mirror. She cocked her head to the side as she looked at herself, wondering, not for the first time, why Elliott adored her so, and why Jayce had picked her instead of Cleo, the pretty one. She could never see herself the same way others did. She supposed that instead, she saw herself the way her parents did, especially her mother. She was surprised to see the lone tear streaking down her cheek, and wiped it away in silence, swaying lightly on her feet. Someone knocked on the door.
“Come in” Elara murmured quietly, still staring at her reflection.
The door opened without a sound, and Jayce entered on quiet feet. He stood behind her, one hand on her waist. He saw the faintly shimmering tear residue and sighed softly, turning her to face him and removing the evidence that she’d been crying before.
“I was sure I heard that human brides are happy on their wedding day, Elara. Why aren’t you happy, too?” he asked, his tone velvety smooth.
Elara choked out a laugh and leaned against his chest, her hands down at her sides.
“I always imagined this day to involve my family as well. I miss them still” she told him, sniffing faintly.
Jayce took a step away and looked her over carefully, his gaze finishing on her pale face. He seemed to make a split second decision, because he nodded to himself and then vanished.
Elara shook her head and sat down on the floor, wrapping her arms around her drawn up knees. Suddenly three young women with matching blue dresses and tidy white aprons pulled her gently to her feet and led her over to the other side of the room, where a new vanity stood, an oval mirror the main setting piece.
“Is it time to get ready?” Elara asked calmly.
One of the maids smiled at her and nodded, bobbing a curtsey.
“Yes, ma’am” she said obediently.
Elara sighed again and sat down in front of the shiny mirror. She felt a hair brush begin its journey through her knotty hair and closed her eyes in resignation. This was her fate, and she would face it with her head held high.

The wine red wedding gown flowed out from her waist and trailed down to the floor. Elara couldn’t help worrying about the strapless corset, but the maids had worked wonders and it wasn’t falling down at all. King Elvin walked at her side, and her right arm was pulled gently through his. He was keeping her upright, it seemed to them both. He smiled at her as he led her outside the castle and onto the grey plains that fell away from the castle walls. As Elara walked, looking around her, she watched in awestruck incredulity as bright flowers bloomed out of nowhere and the dry, deadened grass came to life and gleamed in all shades of green. The sun came out and shone on the top of her head, making her hair glow golden.
King Elvin patted her hand and led her on, down through brand new long grass to the gilt altar in the middle of one of the jewel green fields. Jayce stood with his back to them, his hands clasped behind him and his posture perfectly straight. Elara felt her heart give a slight flutter and she breathed in to calm herself again.
When they reached him, the king released her hand and she stepped up beside Jayce. His father took his place, sitting in the front row of pews with his wife Alba, and Talor, Kimba and Lacey.
A sharp intake of breath alerted Elara to others sitting on the opposite side of pews, where her relatives would sit if this were a normal wedding. Jayce gave her a tiny smile and nodded, allowing her to turn away from him for a long moment and stare behind her at her sister, Alexander and Elliott. Her parents were missing, but she understood just why. Jayce wouldn’t have bothered to fetch those members of her life whom she didn’t belong to. Her best friend and siblings weren’t dressed for a wedding, and this made her realise that Jayce had probably grabbed them at the last minute, and without telling them why. Elliott had a black look on his face and Cleo looked sick. Alexander was being physically restrained by two older, strong vampires. Elara hated his expression; he was angry, grief stricken and struck by hatred all at once. But she closed her eyes and turned back to her groom.
“These ceremonies are very different to your own, Elara. There is no minister, but there is exchanging of rings” Jayce explained calmly, leaning forward to whisper into her ear.
She nodded and held her left hand out to him. Cleo started to cry, and Elara physically ached that she couldn’t go and hug her sister. Jayce produced out of nowhere a circular wedding band made entirely of whitened crystal. She couldn’t help gasping at the inanimate beauty of the ring and Jayce smiled at her as he slid it onto her finger. He then handed his own ring to Elara and extended his hand to her. She held it lightly in her left as she placed the onyx ring on his left wedding finger. Alexander let out a cry of utter frustration and tried again to get out of his seat, but the vampires held him forcibly in place.
“Done” Jayce murmured.
He held both Elara’s hands in his, squeezed slightly, then let them drop. He then moved his hands up to gently frame her face. He stared at her with his blazing black eyes and bent his head to kiss her. His lips were barely there before he moved away again, listening in interest to Elliott’s roar of outrage. Elara flushed as she stood with Jayce, listening as well as he. Jayce glanced at his father, and King Elvin nodded with a slight shrug. Jayce sighed and clapped his hands twice, quickly. The scream was cut off and Elliott was gone. Cleo and Alexander followed him successively, and the two vampires who had been restraining Alexander finally relaxed and slumped down onto the vacated seats.
“They are not dead, Elara. Merely returned to where they belong” Talor spoke up from the first row.
Elara looked down at him, her eyes shining with hope and tears. Jayce’s younger brother looked sorry for her, trapped here without her loved ones. She nodded gratefully at him and faced Jayce again. He stroked her cheek and then he, too, disappeared from sight. She stood there alone, looking out over the realm which would one day be her very own.
Chapter 6
Talor walked Elara back to the castle, through the wild flowers still blooming and then through the wide open double doors. She was comforted by his arm around her waist, and surprised at the warmth.
“Why is that you are so much warmer than your brother, Talor?” she asked, then mentally chastised herself for speaking up.
He smiled at her and laughed quietly.
“He never feeds, Elara. I do, just enough to warm my skin. One day, he might show you. He’s so cold to touch because he has no blood in his veins and none in his stomach” he explained calmly, holding her anchored to him gently.
She felt no need to pull away though; everything seemed safe with the younger brother of the realm of darkness. He posed no serious threat to her.
“Will he ever try to feed off me?” she asked him, raising her brown eyes to search his.
Talor blanched whiter for a second, then recovered his composure once more. He shook his head very slowly.
“He’s not meant to. But that’s not to say he won’t try. He can be strange and unpredictable, even more so than the rest of us. I’ve tried to follow him over the years, but he always evades me. I’d never seen you before the other day, I swear it” he said forcefully.
Elara turned to face him and smiled up at him, her hands on his arm. She laughed at him a little while he stood there, looking puzzled.
“You don’t have to worry about that, honestly. I wouldn’t mind if you’d seen me before. Cleo would mind, but I’m not like her” she told him, her voice quavering slightly as she finished.
Talor looked steadily down into her face and then nodded.
“I am sorry about your brother and sister. I don’t know how I would react if someone took me away from Lacey and Kimba, so I cannot guess how horrible you feel for leaving Cleo and Alexander behind” he murmured.
“And Elliott” Elara said softly, looking at her feet.
“And Elliott” Talor repeated, sliding his arm back around her waist.
Elara lifted her head and let him walk with her again, even though her feet felt as heavy as lead blocks. She watched with vague eyes as the walls and portraits passed her by, one after another.
“Will I be turned into one like you?” she asked blandly, staring at one painting in particular; it portrayed a vampire attacking a human and drinking their life’s blood.
Talor glanced at the painting and grimaced, turning his head from it. He shrugged.
“I’m not sure, Elara. I have no idea if Jayce would be strong enough to not kill you in the process” he muttered darkly.
Elara mimicked his shrug and continued walking, one foot in front of the other, one step at a time.
“It’s okay, Talor. I can never see my loved ones again, so why should I be concerned about maybe living forever? There is no point, really” she