Page 1 of The Ballad of the Vampire Prince

Part I

The Fawn and the Wolf

Prologue Svenn

The night breeze carries a chill with it, but I do not notice the cold. I haven’t felt anything for a while after my curse.

You will never know peace.

A single glance at the gray blocks of this abandoned keep tells me that this is a memory.

One that is a thousand years old, long dead and buried. But the ghosts and skeletons from my past rise from their tomb, threatening to drag me to hell once again.

I settle by the windowsill, casting my gaze southward towards the human settlements. Night has settled over the peaceful town of Caerfyrddin, its denizen deep in their slumber, blissfully unaware of the three lethal predators lurking in a distant fortress.

A gentle moan draws me from my thought. I shift my head to look at the three figures on the bed. Two Strigons and one brave girl.

“Your turn,” the red-haired girl says with an exhausted smile, offering Han her wrist.

He merely smiles at her and kisses her hand. “I’ll find my meal around the harbor later. But I do want a taste of something else.”

She lets out a sharp gasp when he pulls her ankle and buries his head in between her thighs.

Turned at twenty-two, Han still has the boyish charm from his human life. I pity the fisherman, sailor, or whoever he finds at the dock. He takes his time and plays with his food—the same way he draws pleasure from the girl.

The girl’s cries get louder, breathless, until her legs tremble over his shoulders. Han loves it when women moan for him. She pushes his face, trying to get away, her body squirming and writhing in desperation. From behind her back, Bas restrains her arms just to fuck with her. The movement is easy, effortless from their difference in strength.

“Don’t stop, please,” she begs, her voice needy. Usually, Han is a bastard who will keep on edging her until she can hardly take it anymore. But he is merciful tonight.

Another throaty scream and her back arches. Her lips part and her eyes flutter as she is lost in a daze of pleasure. Some might call that glowing look breathtaking or beautiful.

The girl did not look that way the first time we met her at the side of the road several moons ago.

We were riding in the countryside to complete our assigned task when we noticed a body near the road. A mortal might have missed it easily as it was covered in the bushes, but our senses are far keener.

The pitiful creature dragged that frail and weary body to Han’s foot. He nearly kicked her head because he thought she’s a ghost that had crept out of a well.

Please,she begged him, but not for her life.

Save the village. Save my family.

It was Bas who leaned down for a better look. He lifted her chin to study her face. Freckles cover her skin like stars, but other than that she was bland, common.

“A plague has taken my village. The children… please help them.”Her lips trembled from the cold and her sickness.

To me the girl was too pale. It was not worth the effort to lean down for a bite. She would’ve probably tasted like shit too because of her illness.

We had a kingdom to conquer and our tasks to complete.

But Bas saw something else in her brown eyes, a resilient fire and the will to live. The strange Strigon had chosen to treat these humans as equals despite Lilith telling us that they are lesser beings.

He swept her into his arms without a word and carried her to our lair. The girl became his ward and he declared her as untouchable. She stayed with us long after Bas healed her home village. He taught the girl how to read. Over several late night readings, many teas, scrolls, and parchments later, she could read and write better than most lords and noblewomen in town.

The girl is a fast learner and always eager for knowledge. In that regard, she is similar to her guardian. It’s only natural that she eventually developed a strong attachment and adulation towards her savior. Bas more than cherished her companionship and reciprocated her feelings instantly.

And it wasn’t long until Han started having affection for her too and they all started fucking.

Just like that, the girl becomes a constant presence among us, like the pair of crows nesting on the bookshelf and the stray cat roaming the castle.