Troubled (The Binding Chronicles #4)

3. The Definition of a Bad Situation

The Definition of a Bad Situation

T his 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 his shoulder. “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 seemed fairly 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.”

This, again?

“I told you, I’m duty-bound to protect you.”

He spun around, his eyes flashing. “Yes, and how strange is that? I’m capable of taking care of myself, but the queen insists that I need bodyguards, even now. Luna loves me, and I love her, but I can’t stay there any longer. I need to do this.”

Vivienne could tell that he felt passionately about this. She still didn’t quite understand something, though.

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re sneaking off,” she said. “Why not talk to the queen?”

Queen Luna seemed far more reasonable than her husband, all things considered.

“I’ve tried,” he replied.

She thought she knew the answer to her next question, but she still asked, “And… ”

“They won’t let me go.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I left Luna a note explaining everything.”

Vivienne’s hand flew over her heart, and her feet faltered as she gaped at the prince.

Was he serious?

“A note?” An incredulous laugh burst out of her before she could stop it. “You left the Sunwalking Vampire Queen a note explaining why you’ve essentially run away?”

Isvana help her, this night was getting worse with each passing minute.

If Vivienne hadn’t been trapped in the middle of what was rapidly becoming an awful situation, she would’ve found the entire thing incredibly amusing. The halfling prince had left the two most powerful vampires in the world a note, and he seemed to think it was an acceptable course of action.

Good gods, this was turning out to be an unmitigated disaster.

“Yes, I did.” His voice was calm as if he didn’t see the absolute ridiculousness of his actions. “I told her I’d be back.” He shrugged. “Besides, it’s not every day an opportunity like this arises.”

A reminder that Vivienne was still in the dark about what the prince was planning on doing.

She narrowed her eyes. “An opportunity like what, exactly? What did the messenger give you?”

“It’s a long story, but I have a plan.” He started walking again.

Vivienne’s stomach sank. “Is it the kind of story that will have me wishing I was anywhere else?”

He winced as she caught up with him. “Probably.”

That was the theme of Vivienne’s night, so she shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Great.” She glanced at the sky and frowned. They’d have to continue this conversation later. “By any chance, does your plan include a way to get me out of here so I don’t die the moment the sun rises?”

Burning alive wasn’t on her agenda for the evening.

“Actually, it does.” Marius placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

A moment later, a horse whinnied. Hooves clopped, and a black carriage rolled down the road. Led by two chestnut thoroughbreds, the vehicle looked out of place in the woods.

A Death Elf who appeared to be in his mid-twenties sat in the driver’s seat. Blond hair was knotted at the base of his neck, showing off his pointed ears and the red Maturation tattoos crawling up his neck.

The carriage slowed, then stopped.

“You cut it close, Mar.” The driver spoke with familiarity, dipping his chin. “I almost left.”

“I ran into a… complication,” the prince said.

Vivienne bristled, but she bit her tongue.

“I see.” The driver glanced at her and raised a brow before returning his gaze to the prince. “I take it you’re no longer traveling alone?”

“That would be correct.” Marius sighed and gestured to the newcomer. “Felix, this is my new bodyguard, Vivienne. Vivienne, Felix. He’s my friend and a groom at Castle Sanguis.”

Felix smiled, his eyes kind as he leaned forward and offered her his hand. “Nice to meet you, miss.”

“You as well.” She tried to keep her frustration from her voice as she reached out to shake his hand. It wasn’t Felix’s fault his friend was dragging her along on this ridiculous mission.

Her hand had barely touched his when a high-pitched scream shattered the silence of the night. A guttural roar swiftly followed. Deep and long, it was filled with ancient, primal wrath.

Even though the sound came from the other side of the forest, it was far louder than any beast had a right to be…

Because this was no beast.

Vivienne’s muscles tightened, her lungs squeezed, and her knees trembled at the sound of King Sebastian’s fury. Every instinct urged her to fall to the ground and prostrate herself before her ruler.

Felix pulled back his hand. “Is that?—”

The prince cursed, blood draining from his face as he stepped towards the carriage. “I guess they’ve realized I’m missing.”

“It would seem that way,” Vivienne said dryly.

This was a monumentally bad idea.

Instead of turning around, which was what any intelligent man would’ve done, Marius yanked open the carriage door and gestured inside. “Come on, we need to go. Once the sun rises, they won’t be able to follow us. We need to put as much space between us before sunset as possible.”

Vivienne hated every part of this.

“This isn’t a good idea, Prince,” she warned.

“I don’t care. I’m doing it.” He climbed inside the vehicle.

Stubborn, obstinate man.

Felix raised a blond brow and looked at her. “Well? Are you coming?”

She really didn’t want to. In fact, as another roar echoed over the forest and the first rays of dawn slid across the sky, she wished she was anywhere else.

But the prince was in the carriage, and she was bound to protect him.

Wishing she’d accepted literally any other position, she followed the prince inside.

Marius’s brows rose. “You decided to come.”

“Decided implies I had a choice, which I didn’t.” She scowled and crossed her arms .

Out of all her options, this one seemed the least likely to result in her immediate death. Even so, that didn’t make it good by any stretch of the imagination.

The prince frowned. “Like I said, I’m sorry about that.”

“I know.” Vivienne believed him, but it didn’t make the situation any better. It didn’t matter how often he apologized; he was still dragging her into this.

Uncrossing her arms, she reached behind her and shut the door. The carriage immediately started moving. Throwing out a hand, she braced herself against the wall and took in her surroundings.

The vehicle was small, meant for one or two people at most.

A single violet orb burned within a lantern dangling on a hook, the Light Elf magic spelled to never go out. Blackout panels lined the windows, marking the carriage’s origin as Eleyta. Made by vampires for vampires. If she stretched, she could probably touch both opposing walls at the same time.

Fantastic.

Vivienne dropped onto the padded bench across from the prince and stared at him. His legs were spread, his elbows rested on his thighs, and he held a piece of paper. He was staring at it as if it contained all the world’s secrets.

She asked, “Is that it?”

The message that had started all of this.

He looked up at her, his lips tilting up into a smile. “It is.”

How could such a small item have disrupted her life so thoroughly?

“I hope it’s worth it.”

Another roar filled the air, and a look that might’ve been regret flitted across the prince’s face before it was replaced by determination.

“It will be.”

They’d been riding in the carriage for hours. Vivienne’s sword was across her lap, and she ran her fingers over the engraved hilt. She’d owned the weapon for decades, having procured it from an exceptionally skilled blacksmith near the Ipothan border fifty years ago. It had been by her side ever since.

Tracing the mountains carved into the hilt, she wondered which gods she’d angered to end up in this position. Was this a punishment?

It certainly felt like one.

The prince hadn’t spoken since they left, which was fine by her. She’d taken the silence as an opportunity to study her charge.

Even though they hadn’t met before yesterday, she’d heard of him. People whispered about the royals in dark corners of taverns late at night. Most spoke about the king and queen, but some talked about the handsome prince. He used to be sick, but even though rumors said he’d been cured, very few people saw him.

Looking at Marius now, she couldn’t tell that he’d ever been ill, let alone on death’s doorstep.

Rugged brown curls fell haphazardly across his forehead. Strong bones made up his face. The mild point to his ears spoke to his halfling heritage. Silver scars lined the hand absentmindedly tracing designs on the missive still in his lap.

She momentarily wondered how he’d acquired those scars before shaking her head. She shouldn’t be thinking about his scars or admiring his physique, for that matter. Not only was she nearly a century older than the man, but he was her charge. It was one thing for her to note his handsomeness, but she would never, ever act on those thoughts.

She had to keep her mind clear. It was the only way she’d get out of this mess alive .

Sometime around noon, the prince’s head dipped. His eyes slipped shut, and he fell into a fitful sleep. His fingers curled around the missive, even in his slumber.

Vivienne didn’t sleep. A benefit of being a century-old vampire was that she could go several days without sleep or blood. The longer her kind lived, the less their bodies required.

The prince’s snores filled the carriage, and Vivienne’s fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword.

She had a feeling she would need the weapon in the days to come. The prince, for all his insistence that he’d be fine on his own, was still mortal. He’d Matured, as all halflings did, and he would live a long life, but only vampires were truly immortal.

Hours passed.

A knock came on the carriage wall, and the prince’s eyes opened as Vivienne called out, “Yes?”

“An hour till sundown,” came Felix’s muffled voice.

Marius replied, his voice still rough from sleep, “Thanks.”

An hour until vampires could be out again. Usually, this was when Vivienne started her day. Now, fear gripped her stomach as she considered what the impending nightfall meant.

The king and queen would undoubtedly be hunting for the prince.

Had they traveled far enough? How would they conceal themselves from the royal pair?

She swallowed, once again wishing she’d never taken this job.

“Will you finally tell me where we’re going?” She leaned forward, making eye contact with the prince. “I can’t protect you if I don’t have all the details.”

At this point, she was already an accomplice to whatever he was planning. Over the course of the day, she’d determined that the only possible way to avoid the king’s wrath was to return the prince in one piece .

He inhaled deeply before speaking the four words that confirmed Vivienne was experiencing the worst twenty-four hours of her entire life.

“A First has escaped.”

For an extended moment, it seemed like the entire world stopped. A ringing filled Vivienne’s ears, drowning out the wheels rolling down the dirt road, the horses’ steady breaths outside, and even the hammering of the prince’s heart in his chest.

She opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to form words. They were escaping her.

Did he mean…

He couldn’t. Right?

No one could truly be this stupid.

She would’ve assumed this was some kind of sick joke, except the prince wasn’t laughing. His brown eyes, the color of chocolate, were solemn as they stared at her. Almost as if….

She scrubbed a hand over her face.

Worse.

It seemed inconceivable, considering the events that had already occurred, but things were worsening .

No matter how Vivienne looked at this, she came to the same stomach-dropping conclusion: this was an Isvana-damned death sentence.

The carriage walls felt like they were closing in on her, and her heart sped up. The prince’s stare was unwavering, and she realized he was telling the truth.

A First has escaped.

Oh, gods.

She was going to be sick.

How dare he rope her into this? How dare he not give the royals this message directly?

She released the sword, her fingernails digging into the tender flesh of her palms, as she stared at the prince. She should have yelled at him—the gods only knew how much she wanted to do that—but what would be the point? The sun was still up, and she was trapped in this ridiculously tight enclosed space with the prince until it set.

Instead of giving in to the anger deep inside her, Vivienne closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe. In and out, again and again, until she was calm enough that the desire to rip out the prince’s throat for dragging her into this was manageable.

Not gone—she suspected it would never disappear—but she didn’t want to murder him at this very moment.

Progress .

Only then did she open her eyes, meeting his gaze once again.

Marius shifted in his seat, and happiness sparked in her stomach.

Good.

He should be uncomfortable. That was the least he deserved for dragging her into this awful situation.

“Let me see if I’m understanding this correctly, Prince.” Her voice was low. Controlled. “One of the feral vampires who was entombed thousands of years ago after nearly killing the entire population of the Northern Kingdom has escaped, and rather than informing the two most powerful vampires in the land of this development, you decided to tackle this situation yourself?”

A long, uncomfortable moment passed before the prince dropped his gaze and swallowed. As if he was only now realizing how incredibly moronic this entire situation was. As if he thought this wasn’t a death sentence.

“Ah… yes.”

That explanation wasn’t sufficient.

Her nails drew blood from her palms. “Do you wish to die, Your Highness?”

The question was cool and detached as it left her lips.

He jolted upright and covered his stomach as if she’d threatened to gut him. Ironic, considering that disembowelment would likely be a cleaner, less painful death than what he would likely receive from the feral First.

“No, I don’t.” He shook his head.

And yet, here they were, on a mission that said otherwise.

“Then why are you doing this? Why not let the king and queen deal with the escapee?”

Why complicate Vivienne’s life so thoroughly? She was over a century old and strong for a vampire of her age, but a First…

Gods above.

Vampiric strength only increased with time.

She shuddered, thinking about the power coursing through the ancient vampire’s veins. The old queen had been powerful, but a First?

The depth of strength was unfathomable.

Several minutes passed before the prince’s gaze sharpened. “Have you ever met the High Lady of Life?”

What did she have to do with this?

“Not until the ball last night.”

The beautiful Earth Elf had been on stage, giving the welcome speech. Her red hair had flowed around her, her emerald eyes had glowed, and green markings had covered her entire body.

“Well, I have.” Marius stiffened, his jaw clenching. “I’ve met them all. The High Ladies of Life and Death. Their mates and families. The Nightwings and the Carinoc dragons. I’ve heard countless stories from the king’s spymaster, Phyrra, from Luna, and even from Sebastian. I’ve had tutors hailing from each of the Four Kingdoms. I’ve read about every country on this continent and even the fae across the sea, but I’ve never experienced anything. ”

He balled his fists. “I’m just as trapped as the High Lady was in her tower. I need to live , and this is how I’ll do it. I will prove to Luna once and for all that I’m capable, and then she’ll have no choice but to let me be free.”

His chest was heaving by the time he finished.

Vivienne drew in a deep breath, letting the prince’s words sink in as the carriage bumbled along.

Freedom.

Damn, why did his reasoning have to be so compelling?

Silence stretched between them as she let his words sink in before she sighed and shook her head. This was a bad idea on a multitude of levels, but apparently, she was a glutton for punishment because she didn’t stand up and bang on the carriage wall, demanding they head straight for Castle Sanguis.

The problem was that she understood where the prince was coming from. She might never have been held captive before, but she’d been bound from the moment of her birth.

Growing up, Vivienne had always been told that a woman’s place was in the home. Her duty as a female was to get married at a young age, bear children, and keep the house running so her husband could work. She’d never wanted that life, even as a mortal. And then, she’d been Made.

Becoming a vampire had freed her of the binds of childbearing since vampires were incapable of becoming pregnant. The first time Vivienne realized that, she had cried for days in utter relief. She could live free of the social bonds she’d been raised to believe were her future.

How could she deny the prince his freedom?

Leaning back, she unfurled her palms. The crescent cuts on her hands healed almost instantly, and she exhaled. “Alright, Prince. I assume that since a First has escaped, we’re headed to Hoarfrost Hollow. ”

The burial grounds were almost mythical among vampires, and a shiver ran through her as she spoke the words.

His eyes sparked, and his shoulders loosened as he realized she wouldn’t continue fighting him on this. “Correct.”

She rubbed her temples. “And does your plan include a way to get us there without being stopped by the king?”

His lips formed an thin line, and he grimaced. “Well, calling it a plan is generous. But it’s a… loose configuration of ideas that should work.”

Should .

The word bounced around in Vivienne’s skull, giving her a pounding headache. This man would undoubtedly be the cause of her demise.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighed. “Alright. Just tell me.”

Marius spent the remainder of the ride detailing what they were going to do.

By the time Felix pulled to a stop in front of a small, abandoned cottage that looked like a strong wind could blow it over, Vivienne decided that agreeing to guard the prince was officially the worst decision she’d ever made in her entire life.

They would definitely perish on this trip.