Page 1 of Princess of Death

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LILY

Pristine white and pure, it blanketed the branches of the pines and the earth.

Snow.

My mother had described it to me once, but it was hard to understand, living in the Southern Isles, a place with copious sunshine, hot and humid summers, and winters that were sometimes foggy and bone-chilling.

But it never snowed.

Our galleon was secured to the dock, exactly where we’d left it weeks ago. Bobbing in the waves that came in and rose up the white beach. I hadn’t packed clothes for this weather, but the vampires who’d welcomed us had been generous.

Viper watched my stare, his slitted eyes hot against my cheek. “You can stay.”

After I stared at the snow a moment longer, I turned back to him. A gorgeous man who served as a general in his brother’s army. Granted immortal life because of the venom of a kingsnake thathad bitten him hundreds of years before. Our ship had docked to secure supplies because our journey had taken longer than I’d expected—and then it took even longer once I met him. “I’ve already been gone from home for far too long.” I’d told my father not to worry, and he said he wouldn’t—but we both knew that was a lie.

Viper didn’t ask again, just stared at me like he wanted to memorize my face.

I’d had some passionate, clandestine affairs, but having a vampire as a lover was definitely at the top of the list. I knew I was his prey so I should be afraid of him, but I never was, and that made it so much more fun.

My mother would be furious if she knew—and a little proud.

“Then come back—someday.”

“I might.”

A foot taller than me and in the armor and uniform he wore to represent his king, he was muscular and thick in all the right places. He looked at me a moment longer before his arm circled the small of my back, and he pulled me in for a kiss.

A kiss goodbye.

It was slow and purposeful, his hand sliding underneath my coat to feel the bare skin of my back. It lasted a long time, a kiss to burn in our memories long after it was over. He pulled away and gently removed his embrace. “Be safe.”

“I sailed to a distant place I don’t know and had an affair with a vampire who warned me he might kill me… I don’t play safe.”

He smirked, affection reaching his eyes. “Not all monsters are as good as I am. Remember that.” He stepped back and waited for me to go, burying his sadness beneath the surface as much as possible. “Goodbye, Lily.”

“Goodbye, Viper.” I gave him a final look before I turned away and joined my crew on the dock. They were loading supplies onto the ship and preparing to set sail. I placed my own supplies on the bed in my cabin then returned above deck to prepare the ship for departure.

Captain Hartshire gave his orders. “Tormac, the anchor. Gerard, untie the ropes. Lily, get up the main sail.”

“Should I rub it, Captain?” I teased.

He tried to stay serious, but a hint of amusement came over his face. “Just get it up, Lily.”

We set sail and journeyed over the ocean for weeks. The air was cold most of the time, drying our skin and cracking our lips when the wind stuck us head on. Most of the landmasses we’d found on our journey weren’t on the map, so we had new discoveries to report to my father when we returned.

We’d spent the last six months traveling the world, lounging on warm beaches with bottles of rum, squeezing through thick jungles and finding exotic fruit we’d never known before. We saw distant places and met new people, and of course, found treasure along the way.

I let the men keep it all. As Princess of the Southern Isles, I had no need for jewels and coin. I was on this journey for sport, not greed.

We left the Northern Isles, the land where my mother was from, and then began our trek across the Great Sea to the south. I’d been so eager to sail away from home on this voyage, to be truly on my own for the first time, but six months of travel had finally made me weary and sick for home.

I missed my mother’s warm embrace.

I missed my father’s smile.

I even missed my brother.

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