The Vampire Prince returns to High School (Book 2)

Fighting Love

I got a call from Cassidy a day later. Violet agreed to a meeting downtown where she was doing a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a vampire-human café business. Luckily it was on a weekend and I  convinced my parents to let me go. 

Cassidy and I carpooled there. She picked me up that afternoon. Surprisingly, Lisa and her bodyguards weren't around.  Unlike most days, I put in a little effort today. If I was going to be in public (maybe) with Violet, I wasn't going to embarrass her. Plus, Cassidy did have an image to protect. 

"We're meeting at the coffee shop," Cassidy explained. "Violet plans on hanging around the area."

"That's brave," I muttered. "Are you sure it's not a decoy?"

"We only use those for major announcements," Cassidy said. "It's not like this isn't huge, but she has bodyguards."

"Speaking of which, where are yours?"

"I gave them a day off. Besides, Miguel needs a chill pill. He's been biting my head off because I'm hanging around you."

"He did seem like the conservative type," I admitted.

Cassidy changed lanes and took the exit downtown. "He wants to keep vampire business strictly within vampire society." She shrugged. "He'll get over it."

We parked in a garage and took the elevator down to the floor level. According to Maps, we were a handful of blocks away from the coffee shop. Walking through downtown with Cassidy felt odd. Other than with Alexander, I hadn't gone out with anyone before. Even with Sonia. We'd just hang out at my house or hers. 

It was a bit exciting. Sure, Cassidy and I weren't friends and we had issues with each other but it was a nice change of pace for me. 

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was over by the time we reached 'the Java Coffin'. It was a cute shop between a boutique and a shoe store. There was a crowd huddled around the door. 

"Follow me," Cassidy instructed.

"I hope you don't plan on skipping all these people," I told her. "They're in line. We can wait too."

Cassidy sighed. "Fine."

Forty-five minutes later, we were in the shop. Cassidy glared at me momentarily. If I had Allure powers, I probably would be cutting in line, but that would be abusive and mean. 

Violet waited for us at one of the furthest tables from the door. Two guards stood by the wall. She waved us over as soon as she saw us.

"Thank Rin for making you wait, Lady Violet," Cassidy said as we approached.

I shot her a look. Here I thought we were having a nice moment and then she throws me under the bus.

"No worries," she said. She gestured around. "I'm in good company and they serve drinks here for vampires. Please, sit down."

Violet moved her teacup away from her as we sat. Cassidy sat between us. 

Violet turned to me. "You wanted to speak to me, Miss Borek?"

I swallowed thickly. "Alex - er- the Crown Heir is looking for a way out of his marriage," I began. 

"We are aware," Violet interjected. "He wants to convince King Caldor to break off the engagement."

"Dad won't let that happen," Cassidy supplied. "He's traditional. Plus, marriage was a way to stop wars."

"War?" I asked, alarmed. "Between vampires? Why would there be a war?"

"Not exactly," Cassidy said. "My family doesn't have much power to influence laws. He's hoping with marriage, we can advocate more for our people in our nation."

Violet turned to Cassidy. "You're on board with this?" she asked. "Your fiancé wants to leave you for someone else."

I looked down at the round, metal table. All this mess was because of me. At this point, it was Alexander's fault too.

"I know," Cassidy said. "Honestly, I'm still against ending our engagement. We'll lose face but I'm more concerned how this will affect our political position."

"Alexander has to go through the marriage," I blurted out. "It's part of his responsibility as the next King."

Cassidy and Violet looked at me for a long time. I leaned back. Had I said something wrong? Wasn't that the point of this meeting?

"Wow," Cassidy said. "He gave you his name. He's never done that with anybody before." She sighed, shaking her head. "I can't beat that."

I frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

"You're pissed," Cassidy told me. "He did lie to you and you were the other woman."

"I feel like there's a 'but' in there somewhere," I said. "Otherwise, you're just rubbing it in."

"Honestly, I was being stubborn. I lost so much because of this engagement, that I just wanted to get it over with so that I could tell myself I did the right thing."

Violet placed a comforting hand on Cassidy's arm. "We often do," she said softly.

"Go on," I prompt.

Cassidy looked me straight in the eyes. "I don't think I'll marry your Alexander," she told me. "He will never be mine. If I think about it, a part of me didn't want to marry him either."

I gaped at her for the longest time. 

"What?" I asked.

Cassidy turned to Violet. "The only issue is to convince my father to switch to no marriage-alliance union."

"It won't be easy," Violet agreed. "Neither King will change their mind without a good reason."

My mind wouldn't think straight. Why was Cassidy changing her mind? This wasn't the plan.

"It sounds like you want to give a whiny child what he wants," I said quietly.

Cassidy laughed. "Maybe," she said. "But, you are stubborn too. You're not going to forgive your Alexander that easily."

She had a very good point.

I turned to Violet. "Why did the King announce Alexander an heir so soon?"

The King had never given anyone the impression that he'd be stepping down soon. It had blinded-sided everyone.

Violet looked thoughtful. "He didn't tell me," she answered. "Maybe there are issues that we don't know about. If the Prince wants to end this engagement, he better figure it out."

"In the meantime," Cassidy added. "I'll talk to my father and try to figure out what would cause him to back off from marrying me off."

"Focus on getting King Caldor a stronger platform," I said. "I'm not exactly sure how the system in your home works, but typically, the more voices someone has, the more they're heard."

Both of them looked at me, surprised. Feeling embarrassed, I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Find out what your people are saying, what they want, and make it happen," I said. 

"Yeah," Cassidy said. "I can do that too."

It wasn't the conversation I was expecting. I had wanted them to agree with me. They hadn't outright told me I was wrong for doing what I had done. Cassidy had encouraged it. Plus, she was right, wasn't she? Just because Alexander wasn't getting married, didn't mean I was getting back together with him.