By the next day, word of Princess Ophelia marrying Ares had spread throughout the empire. I heard whispers about it everywhere I went, which was beyond surreal—seeing as I would really be the one marrying the vampire prince. But no one knew the truth, and I had little time to dwell on what lay in store for me. My entire day was to be spent undergoing the “polishing” the king’s advisors had said I would need before being shipped off to the Farlands.

Polishing, as it turned out, seemed to be a unique form of torture. I spent all day surrounded by a cloud of court servants pushing and pulling me every which way. My only comfort was that Amory was a part of my entourage who’d all been sworn to secrecy. Threatened, I assumed.

The morning started with a bath in the most lavish tub I’d ever seen, a tiled well in the center of the room filled with steaming, scented water. I might have found such an experience luxurious were it not for the presence of the servants and guards. My hesitance to bathe with an audience didn’t necessarily come from shame, but more from the fact that I didn’t want them to see the scar on my arm. To their credit, if they noticed it, they didn’t say anything—though I was sure they would gossip about it later.

Apparently, bathing alone wasn’t enough. The servants insisted on scrubbing me down until my skin felt raw. Afterward, as I sat wrapped in nothing but a towel, they violently combed the tangles out of my brown hair before cutting and styling it into a tight cluster of ornate braids that wrapped around my head like circlets. Then there was the makeup, a series of chalky powders that made me sneeze when the servants patted them onto my face.

“What is this stuff for?” I asked, my eyes watering helplessly as one of the maids applied some sort of charcoal stick to my eyelids.

“To enhance your beauty and make you more appealing to the prince.”

I coughed. “I don’t think he’ll find me very appealing if I choke to death on all this powder.”

No one but Amory laughed at my meager attempt at humor. Instead, they moved onto slathering me with some sort of scented oil-perfume, apparently. To be fair, it did smell nice, but it was strange to smell like roses and lilacs instead of like myself. Everything was so foreign to me that I was thoroughly overwhelmed by the process.

Finally, the servants presented me with an ornate gown, the kind a lady-in-waiting would wear. “Leave the towel and get dressed.”

It was the last straw. Bathing in front of them had been strange enough, and all the poking and prodding afterward had pushed me over the edge. I couldn’t take one more thing. “Could I at least have some privacy?” I asked, my voice wavering.

One of the maids laughed. “This isn’t the sort of gown you can get into by yourself.”

I snatched it from her. “I’ll manage,” I snapped.

Thankfully, Amory stepped in. “I’ll help her,” she said calmly. “Everyone else can step outside.”

Much to my relief, the other servants and guards listened and took their leave. Amory gave me a minute to recover before helping me into the gown.

“It’s all too strange,” I said as Amory slowly buttoned up the back of the dress. “I feel so out of place—servants attending to me, doing my hair, putting makeup on me, dressing me in a gown that probably cost more than my father’s entire shop…”

Amory finished her task and stepped back. “You might feel out of place,” she said, “but you don’t look it. You’re beautiful—even prettier than Ophelia, and without the bad temper. Look at yourself.”

I finally dared to look up and gasped in shock at the transformation. Amory wasn’t lying—I did look like royalty. It was hard to believe I was actually looking at myself.

Amory stood beside me, admiring me for a moment. Then her smile faded, and she pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry, Vel. I’m just so scared for you. I can’t imagine what being condemned to marry a vampire must be like.”

I did my best to keep up a brave face, my thoughts returning to the king’s order: kill Ares. I wasn’t sure if my true mission made me more or less afraid. But I kept that detail to myself, not wanting to worry Amory more than necessary. I gave my friend’s shoulders a firm squeeze. “I’ll be all right,” I said. “Just don’t tell anyone.”

Amory pulled back, wiping her eyes. “I know, I won’t. I heard that one of the maid’s was drawn and quartered early this morning because she was caught even hinting about it.”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Right.”

***

A short while later, we were escorted to the courtyard to prepare for our ride to the Farlands. I tried to hold my head high and keep myself from trembling, but it was a losing battle. Everything was happening so fast. My heart ached at the thought of missing my father and brother, my friends, the home I was raised in, to say nothing of the terror I felt at the great unknown I was walking into.

I gripped Amory’s arm. “I don’t think I can do this.”

Amory took my hand and squeezed it. “Yes, you can,” she said firmly. “You’ve been around royalty all your life. Just act like they do.”

I took a breath to steady my nerves. “I’ll try.”

I felt the cold press of my mother’s dagger against my thigh and tried to take comfort in it. I’d been hiding it from the maids and managed to strap it on. Besides, it’s not like the king would’ve taken it away—he knew what I had to do.

The dagger was a reminder not only of the marriage I was being forced into, but also the murder I was expected to commit. I’d never killed before—what if I couldn’t do it? It was true that I hated vampires more than most; my mother had died during a fight with a vampire, and the threat of war with the Farlands had overshadowed most of my life.

I had every reason to want to kill their beloved prince. I was just afraid I wouldn’t be able to see it through. That somehow I’d be a coward, even with so much at stake.

A horse’s whinny made me jump. I blinked to see a procession of carriages rolling into the courtyard, pulled by teams of horses. I took an automatic step back, causing Amory to look at me in concern. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said.

She eyed the horse and nodded. “Just go slowly.”

It was my turn to nod. Amory knew I didn’t like horses, and I was grateful she was there. I moved in a wide circle around them, shuddering, and then came face-to-face with Princess Ophelia, the king, and several members of the court. Ophelia’s lip curled in disdain.

“You look just like her,” Amory whispered.

To my shock, Amory was right. Ophelia and I could pass for sisters. We even had the same dark hazel eyes. It was unsettling.

King Garrett looked me over, then nodded. “Good. The plan will proceed.”

As the others dispersed, he leaned closer to me. “Remember your goal,” he said in a low voice. “Kill Ares. Vampires are vulnerable when they feed. I don’t care what you have to do or where you have to do it. Just get it done—or you know what will happen.”

I stared straight ahead and nodded, a shiver running down my spine. Was I really capable of this?

***

I sat in the rear carriage, my teeth rattling as we drove along the bumpy road behind the princess’s carriage. I squeezed my hands into fists in my lap, already missing my father. But I couldn’t let myself break down. I had to hold it together if I was going to pull this off.

The carriage came to a sudden stop. I heard hushed conversation outside, and then the door to the carriage abruptly opened. “Get out,” one of the guards ordered.

Baffled, I did so, noticing that Princess Ophelia was also standing outside. A servant pushed an even more lavish gown than the one I was wearing into my hands. “Change into the princess’s gown. Quickly, now.”

The princess gave a derisive laugh. “You can dress her up, but it won’t take much to reveal that she’s nothing but a commoner.”

I smiled sweetly at her. “Wonderful. Then Prince Ares will figure out that the real Princess Ophelia gave him the slip and come for your head.”

Her face went purple. “How dare you!”

She was led away to the rear carriage, and to my surprise, Amory joined me a moment later. “I’ll help you change. The wardrobe will help maintain the swap.”

I changed, and then the guards led me to the princess’s carriage. As I settled in, struggling under the weight of the heavy dress, I was astonished by how beautiful the royal carriage was, roomy and fitted with plush leather, silk, and mahogany.

A second later, Amory joined me inside. I blinked in shock. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m going to be the princess’s personal maid.”

I stared at her, horrified. “Amory, no! Tell me you’re not caught up in all this?”

Amory gave a little shrug and a pained smile. “My family needs the money.”

I squeezed her hands, wondering if that was the only reason.

The carriage proceeded forward with a lurch, splitting off in one direction while the princess went in another. We traveled in tense silence through the countryside. I kept my hands clenched in my lap, looking out the window as the scenery passed by—first rolling fields, then sweeping cliffs plunging into the ocean below, and finally a dark, dense tangle of forest shrouded in mist. Neither Amory nor I had ever seen wilderness like this.

As we were approaching the Zapheri River, the carriage once again came to a jarring stop. Before I could ask what was going on, a tall soldier on horseback rode up alongside the carriage. He wore a black uniform with silver lapels, not ones I recognized. Who was he?

The soldier drew level with the carriage and dropped into a bow. When he straightened up, he smiled, revealing fangs.

I went stock-still. Amory gasped and clutched my hand.

“I’d like to bid you a warm welcome, princess,” the vampire said. “My lord, Prince Ares, has ordered me to escort you to your new home, the Farlands.”