Camila slumped into the red armchair next to the bed, knees pulled up to her chest. On the television screen in front of her, a woman pranced back and forth with a shampoo bottle, her long black hair practically glowing.

"Brigdeiros are done."

She glanced up. Alex offered her a plate. It smelled like rich chocolate.

"Thank you," Camila said, turning off the television. She couldn't even remember what she'd been trying to watch. "Do you know what the Heart of Catalina is?"

"Does it belong to someone named Catalina?" Alex sat across from her, bracing his forearms on his thighs. "Why do you need it?"

"My parents are still alive. The vampire in charge of the palace, this guy Dragomir, says he's going to kill them if I can't bring him the Heart of Catalina."

His eyes widened. "...Dragomir? That's the guy threatening your parents?"

Camila nodded.

"This is bad."

"Whatever happened to we'll get through this together?" Camila clapped him on the shoulder. "Liven up! It'll be fun."

"...Do you know who he is?" Alex peered up at her through pale blond lashes, his blue eyes worried.

Camila frowned. "I'm guessing evil? Does it matter? We don't really have a choice whether we go up against him or not. We need to save my parents."

"Actually- Camila-" Alex paused. He clasped his hands together, lowering his gaze to the floor. "...I don't think we should try."

"What?" 

Camila pulled away, leaning far back into the armchair. She wanted to be angry, to fight back, but mostly she felt hurt. Alex always had her back. After the attack, the kidnapping, the presumed loss of her parents, her brother's death—she wanted someone on her side.

She always figured it would be him.

"Dragomir is infamous in the vampire community and not in a good way. He's been around so long, I don't think he has a scrap of humanity left. I mean, he worked with Hitler. And he killed Joan of Arc! He fell in love with a girl in Victorian Era England, and when she wouldn't have him, he made her cut her own heart out, cooked it into a pie, and fed it to her fiancé."

His eyes burned into her, wide and desperate. "Camila," he whispered. "Say something."

Camila shook her head. She studied the carpet, not meeting his gaze. 

After a moment, she said, "The pie thing is overkill. So are vampires immortal?"

"Just pureblood vampires. But Dragomir's the only one still functioning, I think. At a certain point, it's just easier for them to spend their time sleeping. I'm pretty sure Catalina was his mother."

"Is she still alive?" Camila hoped not. Tracking down an immortal vampire's lost heart would be easier if she didn't have to cut it out herself.

"Does it matter?" Alex inched forward, grasping her hands. He spoke quickly, rushing to get the words out. "You don't have to do this Camila. How do you know your parents are still alive?"

"He told me." She raised her chin.

"Can you trust him? You need to run, Camila, get out of here, take sanctuary with Tiberius or Jabari far, far away from here, not go off on some suicide mission." Alex took a deep breath. "I saved you so you'd be safe. The kingdom needs their princess safe, not some ancient vampire relic in the hands of our enemies."

She was about to pull away when she registered the panic in his eyes. She'd never seen Alex scared. Then again, she'd never really been in danger.

Something tugged at her heart.

Her hands felt strangely delicate in Alex's large palms. Camila squeezed his hand briefly and pulled away. "He has my parents." She shrugged. "I don't have a choice."

"Then let me find the Heart. Go somewhere where you're safe," Alex said.

"I'm not running away. It's a coward's move."

He shook his head. "No, it's smart-" 

"Alex." Camila took a breath. On the streets outside, rush hour had just begun. Her sensitive ears picked up angry honks, cursing, the roar of engines hurtling down the highway, and the soft hum of conversation. "I've made my decision. You're not going to change my mind."

Alex froze. He stared at her, his expression caught between regret and fear. He shook his head. "Fuck's sake Camila." He sighed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "Are you really this eager to die?"

"No- Alex." Camila rose from her seat, setting the brownie on the bedside table, and joined him on the bed. She leaned her shoulder into his. "I'm going to be fine."

Alex just shook his head, staring blankly at the golden outline of a parrot painted on the wall. Still, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

He was wearing a simple cotton shirt and the material was soft against her cheek. Words lingered on the tip of her tongue—assurances, reassurances, arguments, promises—but she didn't say anything. A couple stomped down the hallway outside, their son complaining loudly about the hot weather.

"Do you remember when my parents died?" Alex didn't move or look at her, although his fingers traced lazy patterns on her shoulder. He looked like he was somewhere else entirely.

"Vampire parents or werewolf parents?"

"The ones that raised me. My real parents."

"Of course." Camila snuggled deeper into his embrace, trying to give whatever comfort she could.

Alex had been fourteen and she'd been ten. It wasn't a vampire attack or an assassination, just a bad storm and a drunk driver after a weekend in Manaus visiting a friend. Werewolves were strong enough to rip apart cement, quick to heal and good in a fight, but at the end of the day they were mortal and they looked human when they died.

Camila didn't remember much. She'd worn a black dress to the funeral. Alex hadn't cried, but he'd been deathly pale and quieter than she'd ever seen him. She'd held his hand the entire time.

"They died and I was- angry. Sad. I don't think I slept at all the first month they were gone. No one else knew I was a vampire, so I was constantly on edge, scared of getting caught. I was lost."

"I'm sorry." Camila looked up at him. He didn't look sad. Pensive, maybe, lost in a different place.

"Don't be. It was a long time ago." Alex sighed and it made Camila wonder if vampires breathed or if it was just habit, maybe some kind of mimicry. "My point is that seeing you, smiling, laughing, up for anything, every day of the week- You're the best part of my life, Camila. You always have been. I can't- I can't lose you. I'd do anything."

"You're not going to lose me. Alex. Hey." She elbowed him gently. "Look at me."

He lifted his head slowly, like something heavy hung around his neck.

Camila reached out, cradling his face in her hands, and tilted his head so he was looking directly at her. "You're not going to lose me." She said firmly.

"You can't promise that."

She opened her mouth, ready to argue, when someone knocked on the door.

"Your highness?" A steely voice called out, the words edged with annoyance. "You're going to need to open the door for us."

Who's at the door? Your options are:

a) Camila's new love interest. Alex and Declan got boring and I'm ready to spice it up.

b) Camila's new best friend. Let's get another female character in here please!

c) Spoon's new dog sitter. All these battles and backstabbing are getting too dangerous for a little corgi!

c) A pizza guy. Pizza is always necessary!

Thanks for reading!

-Harley