The King's Bite

Chapter 1

“He isn't as bad as I originally thought he was.” Cilla was currently sipping on a cup of lemon tea in Allegra’s kitchen, as was their weekly tradition.

“I suppose not,” responded the duchess as she sipped on her own beverage. “I definitely expected much worse.”

And she had. Word of Niklaus was not flattering in the least. As soon as Allegra had heard of their impending nuptials, rampant disdain was all she felt. It was refreshing to see that his reputation was a bit of an exaggeration. It had been two weeks since their pre-engagement party and the Vampire Prince had dedicated that time to getting to know her. Despite how arrogant he could sometimes be, she found herself genuinely liking her future husband.

“He really has been putting a decent amount of effort into this,” Allegra mused.

“I'll say!” exclaimed Cilla. “How often has he been here? Everyday for the past fortnight? The man is clearly smitten.”

Allegra smiled at that. There was no passion between she and Niklaus. They both knew it, but she sensed that his continuous presence was a misguided attempt at trying to find it. Still... If it looked genuine from the outside, she supposed she could not complain. That was why she kept silent and let her best friend continue to draw her own conclusions.

“He’ll be visiting today as well,” she remarked casually.

Cilla’s cup froze on its way to get lips. “He plans to intrude on our tea time?” she asked disapprovingly.

“Oh, relax, Cilla! All we ever do during tea is exchange gossip. It'll be nice to change it up a bit.”

The other woman refused to respond and chose to huff indignantly instead. Allegra only looked upon her with an indulgent smile. That was how Niklaus found them. A servant made sure to show him through to the kitchen and promptly disappeared. He strode up to her and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek and made sure to ruffle Cilla’s hair before he sat down at the table with them.

“Why is it so silent in here? Usually you never shut up when you two are together,” the Prince greeted.

Allegra ignored his last remark as she studied Cilla’s annoyed countenance. “She's a bit annoyed because you're intruding on tea time.”

Niklaus let out a hearty laugh. “Well, I’m sorry to intrude. You'll just have to get used to it, Cilla. When we’re married this will most likely be a regular occurrence.”

The redhead glared at the interloper. “Is that why you chose to disturb us? Just to let us know that you'll be changing up our dynamic? If so, I have news for you... We were already aware of it.”

The amiable smile that Niklaus always kept on his face in public did not waver. “As a matter of fact, no. I wanted to tell you both in person that we plan on throwing an engagement soirée at the palace.”

There was an uncomfortably long pause before either one of the women spoke.

“The palace?” asked Allegra in a feeble, disbelieving voice. “You mean the palace in Nefolktu?”

“Of course!” Niklaus exclaimed jubilantly. “It is your future home, after all.”

Cilla, having noticed how sickly her best friend was starting to look, decided to speak up. “It’s my understanding that Nefolktu is notoriously private. I've never even met anyone who's been there.”

He waved her concern aside. “Yes. We are. However, Allegra is to become a princess of the realm. It only makes sense for the official engagement to take place there. You are invited, of course. I would never even dream of separating the two of you.”

Cilla suppressed a grin at the invitation before turning to look at Allegra, who was recovering from the initial shock. “When are we expected to go?”

“A week from today,” said Niklaus as he distractedly typed something on his phone.

Allegra was completely unprepared to venture into Nefolktu – the vampire capital of the world. It was comforting to think of Cilla being there to support her until she remembered that her best friend had no knowledge of the supernatural world. Now, on top of plopping herself into the midst of a country full of vamps, she would also have to find a way to alienate her closest ally.

“This is so exciting!” remarked Cilla, completely forgetting her previous annoyance with both of them. “We get to go to Nefolktu, Legs!”

Unable to frown in the presence of her best friend’s purely unadulterated joy, a smile broke out onto Allegra’s face. It remained there as they made idle chitchat until the sound of heels on impeccably polished floors disturbed the relative harmony. All three of the room’s occupants turned in time to see the kitchen doors sway open to reveal Elanora. She scanned the room dismissively – as if she had not purposely sought them out – before she took a seat among them. Allegra looked at her older sister with no small amount of annoyance and was about to vocalise it, but Cilla beat her to the punch.

“Aren't you married?” spat the redhead. “Why are you always here?”

Elanora glared coolly at Cilla. “This is my family home. I have more of a right to be here than you do, you plebeian. Besides which, I'm here to assist my sister in getting prepared for her official engagement announcement.”

Allegra turned to glare accusingly at Niklaus. How on earth had her sister heard about this before her?

As if reading her mind, the Prince shrugged helplessly. “We had to make sure the date was free for your parents. I suppose they must have told her.”

“It would be nice if I had a little say in anything to do with my upcoming nuptials, but clearly that's a bit too much to ask,” spat Allegra resentfully.

A cruel little smile quickly flashed on Elanora's face before she snapped her fingers rapidly. One of the kitchen staff materialised from the shadows to obey her order of a cup of tea of her own. The silence as they waited for the servant to disappear once more was stifling. Once she had a steaming cup in her hands, she turned towards them once more with her patented superior smile.

“We have to prepare. This will be your first time in Nefolktu and you will be representing all of Rijavia. We cannot afford to let you ruin anything,” said Elanora.

Cilla rolled her eyes – none too subtly. She had never been one to be able to stomach any extended amount of time in her sister’s presence. She stood up abruptly. “I have to go. I'll call you later for all the details, Legs. It was nice seeing you again, Niklaus.” Without a word to Elanora, the redhead picked up her purse she strode out.

Elanora sniffed haughtily. “A prime example of how all the money in the world does not beget good breeding.”

Allegra sighed tiredly. “Is there a reason why you’re here right now?

“I just told you I'm here to prepare you for –”

“Yes, yes, yes, but the date is days away!” interrupted the testy bride to be. “Do you have to be here at this very moment? Because in case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to have some private time alone with my future husband.”

“Well, I never!” gasped Elanora with all the indignation of a woman decades older. “Clearly, we’ll have to work on your manners as well. I'll leave you alone, but I'll be back tomorrow morning to get started. Remember, Allegra – this marriage is about way more than just you. Be awake and ready by 8AM. It was a pleasure seeing you again, Your Highness.” With a glare in her direction and a differential nod to the prince, Elanora finally left them alone.

Niklaus waited all of ten seconds before breaking out in laughter. “f*****g hell. What have I gotten myself into? I knew your mother was a lot to handle, but your sister is positively bonkers!”

Allegra shoved his arm roughly, a motion he barely seemed to notice. “Shut up. It's your fault she was here in the first place. Would it have killed you to let me know about this thing before you went and set a date?”

“Sorry, love,” he shrugged nonchalantly. “It's not my department. Woke up this morning and my sister had texted me.”

“Doesn't it bother you to have other people control every aspect of your life?” she asked pleadingly.

All of the Prince’s amusement faded away instantly. It was a rare sight, so Allegra paid close attention to his words. “Of course it does. You know it does. Royalty comes with a clause. Unfortunately for us, we’ll never be at the helm of things so we’ll always end up being mere pieces on a chessboard.”

Allegra swallowed at the uncomfortable truth and swiftly decided to change topics. “You invited Cilla. She doesn't know that you’re a vamp, so I'm going to need you to find a way to disinvite her. It has to come from you.”

Niklaus’s characteristic joviality returned. “So you want me to do your dirty work for you?”

“No!” she vehemently denied. “It's not my dirty work! If I had known about this, I would've let you know not to mention this in her presence. It's not my fault you lack communication skills. Besides, this is really hard for me. She's the only supportive person I have in my life. It's pretty hard to know that I have to deal with this on my own. You wouldn’t know since we're going to your home and your support system will be there.”

The Prince’s smile turned wry. “That's where you're wrong. My siblings will be there, of course. However, they're anything, but supportive.”

Allegra’s spine stiffened instinctively. In her frantic mind, she had completely forgotten to even take that aspect into account. “Your siblings? You don't mean –”

“Oh, yes, little wife to be,” Niklaus remarked in a self-satisfied tone. “You think I'm bad? Just wait until you meet Vladislav.”