The Vampire Prince graduates High School (Book 3)

Traditions

The rest of the break was a blur. There was always something to do, like make and decorate gingerbread houses, take a stroll through the Christmas light-decorated garden, and the one which took more time - writing thank you notes to everyone that had sent a letter to King Lionel and Violet. It was one of the duties of the ambassadors, aka my parents, and they had me print address labels and stamp the envelopes, to name a few.

Noah and Alexander had their thank-you notes to write. The letters needed to be written by hand and personalized.

"Mine are confession letters," Noah grumbled one afternoon. "They know nothing about me."

Alexander stared at one of his letters. "Yeah, same. More than half of mine are love letters."

"Must be nice," I said from my position on the carpet floor.

One of the many rooms in the palace had been cleared out to sort all the holiday letters after going through security. My parents were in the next room handling logistics. Violet and King Lionel were in their offices working on their notes.

The majority of this room had letters dedicated to Alexander.

"It's a hassle," Noah and Alexander said simultaneously.

I gave them a look. "That's rude to all your fans."

"Maybe," Alexander said. "But aren't they rude for confessing when I already have a girlfriend? It makes me feel like they won't respect you."

I chewed on my bottom lip. Well, in a way, his line of thought made sense.

"I've been here for a few months, and now I'm loved," Noah supplied. "Before, they didn't know who I was."

Alexander and I shared a glance and continued our work. Noah continued to grumble to himself as he quickly scribbled a message. Both had a few stacks of thank-you notes that needed an envelope. Unfortunately, I didn't have an assistant. It was up to me to put the letters in an envelope, find the appropriate labels, and stick them on. Luckily, Mom and Dad were putting the stamps and sending them out.

"At least these are the last," Noah said. "To think it took this long to get through them all."

"There are a lot of fans," I agreed. "Plus, I think it's kind of a neat tradition." I smiled at my ego. "Maybe I'll get fan letters someday."

Noah paused. "Oh, I thought you did. There was a big-"

Alexander cleared his throat loudly. "Less talking, more writing."

I frowned. "Did I get fan letters?"

Alexander rubbed his face. "Yes, you did, but they're not fan letters."

My hope plummeted. "Were they hate mail?"

"Some were," he admitted. "The rest were . . . strange."

"Should I ask what strange means here?"

He shook his head. "I have security searching for ones a bit tamer."

"Were they cringe?"

"Don't worry about it. I have it covered." He looked away.

"Okay," I said. "I trust you. But the other letters might need a response."

"I'll handle those," he assured me. "They won't even know it came from me."

When noon came around, Noah went out for a break. Alexander and I took our meal in the room, sitting cross-legged from each other. I stabbed at the lettuce, hoping to get more ranch on it.

"You don't look too happy," Alexander said. He drank from a dark cup with a straw.

"My mom thinks I need to eat healthier," I told him.

"I did see you sneaking a couple of cookies now and again," he teased.

I stuck my tongue at him. "They're delicious. I can't help it."

He smiled. "Your secret is safe with me."

The door burst open, and Noah rushed in.

"What happened?" Alexander asked, standing.

Wordlessly, Noah handed him the iPad he carried. Curious, I stood and joined him. Alexander scrolled through the iPad quickly that I didn't have time to read any of it. The scrolling stopped, and as my vision adjusted to the words, Alexander handed me the device and stormed out of the room with Noah.

I stared at them before turning my attention to the document. Starting at the top, I read through the report. Security traced the IP address and various accounts to one person: Violet.

I scrolled through the document again and again. This didn't make any sense. How could Violet do something like this? She couldn't have. Violet wasn't that type of person. There was no way she would send people to kill Alexander. No. This was wrong.

Feeling sick, I closed the iPad and rushed out of the room. Guards waited outside Violet's voice when I got there.

As I got closer, they stepped in front of me.

"Miss Borek," one of them said. "His Highness was clear. No one is to enter."

"But she didn't do it," I blurted out. "I don't know why but I know she didn't. Lady Violet is being framed."

"Please wait in your room," the other one said.

"I'm here to bring their iPad," I said.

The guard held his hand out. "I'll deliver it."

"I can go inside," I suggested. "I won't take long."

"Sorry, ma'am," said the first guard. "Those are orders. No one else is allowed inside."

Forcing a smile, I handed the device to the guard and turned away. Since I wasn't a true member yet, I wasn't allowed into any important meetings. Instead of walking away, I waited outside the room. After everything I knew, why were they shutting me out? It's not like I could eavesdrop on the conversation.

Thirty minutes later, they were still inside. Feeling disappointed, I went back to the letter room. Not soon after, my phone rang.

"Hey," I said, glancing at the door. "How's my cat?"

"Can't talk long," Camellia said. "Did you get the juicy news?"

"Oh no," I said. "That's terrible. How could that happen?"

"She's being framed. We can't prove it yet. Whoever did this was covering their tracks or definitely fraud."

"What do I need to do?"

"Nothing," she replied. "We have to keep digging."

"But how are you?"

"Keeping low. For now, we need to keep digging. Henry hasn't shown up anywhere either."

"Okay. Keep me posted."

"Bye."

Ending the call, I sprawled across the floor. This was getting better and better. I was sure Violet wouldn't be arrested but maybe investigated more or put on probation. I was still convinced Lady Hargrave was behind this, even though it seemed no one else did.