“Do you think about it, Chris?” He turned to me.
“ Of course I do.” I looked down at my hands, “It’s just, it’s not my life, you know? I’m not a princess, let alone material for a ruler of a world I don’t even really belong to.” I met Alex’s eyes. “I’m not what you guys think I am. I’m sorry.”
“ Well you know, just because you don’t want to be our queen doesn’t mean you aren’t a part of our world. I’m sure Father would love to see you again. And they could all help me with your training. And I’m sure you have more questions, right?” H e was excited now. I couldn’t rain on his parade, so I smiled back and gave in, and back to Sangre Real we went.
Eight
I was gr eeted again by Demitri and the g uard members when we walked in.
“ Princess,” he smiled. “To what do we owe this great pleasure?”
“ Father, this is purely a social visit.”
Demitri smiled unsurprised, “Well we are honored, Princess. Please, come sit. Thirsty?”
My mouth fell open , and everyone laughed at my surprised expression. I looked at Alex , embarrassed.
“ Water,” he smiled.
“ Oh, um, yes. Thank you.”
Alex held out my chair for me. I sat down and again everyone followed.
“ Father,” Alex smiled hugely, “so it turns out the princess has quite the unique gift.”
“ She is a Delano.”
Alex winked at me and smiled a crooked little smile. “Show them, Chris.”
I smiled and nodded once. I straightened my face and looked into Demitri’s eyes and concentrated. He looked amused. I blinked my eyes and was sitting in front of Demitri on the table with my legs crossed. In another blink of an eye, I was perched on his back with my teeth pressing gently on his neck, and then I was back in my seat before a full second had passed.
Alex laughed out loud. There was an equal look of fascination and awe on everyone’s faces, even Calpurnia’s. I bit my lip and giggled.
“ Fascinating,” Demitri breathed, “and so fine tuned already. How long has she been jumping?”
“ A few weeks,” Alex stated smugly.
Demitri’s face sparkled with excitement. “Truly an exquisite gift, Princess. It’s fitting for such an unusual birth.”
“ Birth?”
“ Mmm yes, a birth is what we call a vampire born to our world. One who is changed mid-human life we call a newborn.”
I sat fascinated and listened to the stories about this different world. Surprisingly, t here we re many more vampires than I ever would have thought living in big cities across the country. Most of them tend ed to stay in the big cities where their physical differen ces we re less likely to be noticed, but some of them venture to smaller cities where there are just less people to notice them in general.
I was amazed at how comfortable I felt around all of these strangers, these vampires. I told them about my human life, up to the point of finding out that I actually wasn’t of course, and they all seemed interested and asked question after question, though it wasn’t nearly as exciting as about learning about this place.
Full of excitement and animation, Alex told them about my “natural talent , ” as he called it, with speed and strength and sensory awareness.
After a few hours, we had broken up into smaller groups. Alex was with his father. Duncan and Nebula were in a corner somewhere holding hands and smiling at each other. I was with Calpurnia. I was utterly fascinated with her gift. She would ask me a question, smile, pick the answer out of my head, and reply before I could ever speak.
I silently asked her what powers the others have.
“ Well, Demitri can move things with his mind.”
I giggled. That’s so freaking cool.
Calpurnia smiled, “Duncan inflicts blindness on his prey so they never see him coming, while Nebula… well
“ Of course I do.” I looked down at my hands, “It’s just, it’s not my life, you know? I’m not a princess, let alone material for a ruler of a world I don’t even really belong to.” I met Alex’s eyes. “I’m not what you guys think I am. I’m sorry.”
“ Well you know, just because you don’t want to be our queen doesn’t mean you aren’t a part of our world. I’m sure Father would love to see you again. And they could all help me with your training. And I’m sure you have more questions, right?” H e was excited now. I couldn’t rain on his parade, so I smiled back and gave in, and back to Sangre Real we went.
Eight
I was gr eeted again by Demitri and the g uard members when we walked in.
“ Princess,” he smiled. “To what do we owe this great pleasure?”
“ Father, this is purely a social visit.”
Demitri smiled unsurprised, “Well we are honored, Princess. Please, come sit. Thirsty?”
My mouth fell open , and everyone laughed at my surprised expression. I looked at Alex , embarrassed.
“ Water,” he smiled.
“ Oh, um, yes. Thank you.”
Alex held out my chair for me. I sat down and again everyone followed.
“ Father,” Alex smiled hugely, “so it turns out the princess has quite the unique gift.”
“ She is a Delano.”
Alex winked at me and smiled a crooked little smile. “Show them, Chris.”
I smiled and nodded once. I straightened my face and looked into Demitri’s eyes and concentrated. He looked amused. I blinked my eyes and was sitting in front of Demitri on the table with my legs crossed. In another blink of an eye, I was perched on his back with my teeth pressing gently on his neck, and then I was back in my seat before a full second had passed.
Alex laughed out loud. There was an equal look of fascination and awe on everyone’s faces, even Calpurnia’s. I bit my lip and giggled.
“ Fascinating,” Demitri breathed, “and so fine tuned already. How long has she been jumping?”
“ A few weeks,” Alex stated smugly.
Demitri’s face sparkled with excitement. “Truly an exquisite gift, Princess. It’s fitting for such an unusual birth.”
“ Birth?”
“ Mmm yes, a birth is what we call a vampire born to our world. One who is changed mid-human life we call a newborn.”
I sat fascinated and listened to the stories about this different world. Surprisingly, t here we re many more vampires than I ever would have thought living in big cities across the country. Most of them tend ed to stay in the big cities where their physical differen ces we re less likely to be noticed, but some of them venture to smaller cities where there are just less people to notice them in general.
I was amazed at how comfortable I felt around all of these strangers, these vampires. I told them about my human life, up to the point of finding out that I actually wasn’t of course, and they all seemed interested and asked question after question, though it wasn’t nearly as exciting as about learning about this place.
Full of excitement and animation, Alex told them about my “natural talent , ” as he called it, with speed and strength and sensory awareness.
After a few hours, we had broken up into smaller groups. Alex was with his father. Duncan and Nebula were in a corner somewhere holding hands and smiling at each other. I was with Calpurnia. I was utterly fascinated with her gift. She would ask me a question, smile, pick the answer out of my head, and reply before I could ever speak.
I silently asked her what powers the others have.
“ Well, Demitri can move things with his mind.”
I giggled. That’s so freaking cool.
Calpurnia smiled, “Duncan inflicts blindness on his prey so they never see him coming, while Nebula… well
Similar Books
