LITMIR.BIZ

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her way through the crowd, reluctantly holding on to Lord Capulet’s arm, acrid whispers were needling her ears. Her father seemed impervious to the noise, slowly floating above the marble floor with his chin jutting out and his fiery eyes locked on the raised platform where he was to meet Lady Capulet and greet Prince Radu. With her head hung low, Juliet tried to block the steady stream of voices from her mind, but they were impossible to ignore.

      “Lord Capulet is fooling himself. He will never convince the prince to revoke his ruling,” said a distant female relative who Juliet couldn’t quite place. The woman shared Lady Capulet’s high cheekbones, and from the look of her silken violet-coloured dress, also the lady’s impeccable taste in exquisite fabrics.

      A statuesque, crimson-eyed man clutching a goblet filled to the brim with a dark red liquid seemed annoyed by her comment.

      “For God’s sake, look around you. He has turned our family into a dynasty, in spite of those scum-sucking Montagues. He is capable of anything, and charming anyone, including the prince of peace here.”

      The man put his nose up to the rim of the glass and inhaled, like one would do with a fine wine, but his lips pursed as though he smelled something repulsive.

      He must have taken one of the large pewter cups full of pig’s blood that the servants were passing around, Juliet thought. Since the treaty, all of the Capulets had been reduced to living off it. From the looks of things, this big change hadn’t seemed to affect the vampires, but many believed that human blood was what made vampires so strong, and over time, the lack of it would substantially weaken them.

      From the way her parents had been acting lately, Juliet figured the theory was true. Yet at the same time, she didn’t want to believe it. While the peace treaty could not protect her from her initiation rite, Prince Radu had finally done what Juliet had never been able to do—stop her family from harming people. Not only that, it would certainly discourage the Montagues from hunting her vampire relatives down, now that they would be facing a death sentence.

      Still, Juliet believed that the Capulets feared losing their political power, social rank, and affluence more than losing their physical prowess. Without their superhuman strength, they would not be able to guard any of it.

      So it wasn’t just the lack of bloodlust that separated her from the rest of the Capulets—it was also her lack of greed.

      As Juliet walked towards the platform at the head of the Great Hall, she tried to settle her thoughts, but the twittering of the crowd had become more insistent.

      “This treaty might just redeem their souls, don’t you think?” a brunette-haired maiden chirped, her limestone crucifix pendant catching the light emanating from the candelabras on the ceiling. All the human guests at the ball were wearing one type of cross or another around their necks—doing so would make their bodies hot as fire to any vampire who dared touch them. It was certainly a bold reminder to the Capulets that they were far from being trusted.

      “Do you honestly believe a diet of pig’s blood and a signed scroll is going to bring out the good in them? We’re better off letting the Montagues hunt them to extinction, which will be easy once their bodies are weakened,” her short and pudgy male escort replied.

      Juliet swallowed hard. Perhaps the treaty would not be so effective in protecting her family as she’d thought. As she took a few more steps forward, her father’s strong hand tightly clamped over her own, she shut her eyes briefly and tried to clear her mind.

      When she opened them a moment later, Lady Capulet was within view, as well as Prince Radu and his highest-ranking knight, Felix. Juliet never believed she would find anyone more intimidating than her mother, who stood so straight and rigid that she appeared to be a good ten feet tall. However, the longer Juliet looked at the prince, with his salt-coloured hair, pink windburned cheeks, and virtuous-looking pale blue eyes, the more in awe of him she became.

      Once she and Lord Capulet ascended the platform, Juliet could also see that the prince was wearing a red military-type uniform, which was similar to that of his sergeant at arms, only slimmer in the shoulders and more decorated with medals. Everything about him demanded respect, especially the brutish, scowling Sir Felix, who made no effort to conceal the long-sword at his side.

      When her father bowed before the prince, Juliet lowered herself into her most reverent curtsy, her gown rippling around her like a wave of green spring leaves.

      “Good evening, Prince Radu. We are delighted to have you and Sir Felix at our home,” Lord Capulet said.

      “Thank you, good sir.” Prince Radu raised his eyebrows in amazement as he watched Lord Capulet levitating above the floor, right next to Juliet. “I am pleased to be here among your family and … shall I say ‘friends'?”

      “Acquaintances mostly, but future allies, I hope.” Lord Capulet extended his hand to a lavishly dressed Lady Capulet and guided her to his left side. “You already met my lovely wife at the gate.”

      “It is a great honour, Prince Radu,” Lady Capulet said as she delivered a perfect floating curtsy. Juliet was surprised that her mother could even get back up—the onyx choker around her neck was so gigantic, it must have weighed twenty pounds.

      “And this is our precious daughter, Juliet.”

      Juliet stifled a sarcastic laugh. If anyone had caught her with her father a few minutes ago, they would have questioned his use of the word “precious".

      Nevertheless, Prince Radu smiled at Juliet and planted a gentle kiss on her hand.

      “It is a privilege to meet you, Your Highness,” Juliet said.

      “The privilege is mine, young lady,” the prince replied.

      After a few moments of pleasantries, Juliet’s father gestured towards the expansive Great Hall.

      “Shall I show you around the castle before I present you to the rest of our company?” Lord Capulet offered.

      The prince glanced around the room, taking in the artistry of the Gothic rose windows and beautiful hand-woven, wall-hanging tapestries all around him. “Yes, I’d enjoy that.”

      As Lord Capulet began to lead the prince and Sir Felix away, Juliet felt her mother’s fingers lace through her own. A cold sensation travelled up Juliet’s arm and deep into her chest. When in the presence of her mother, she usually was tense, but this feeling of dread was in a class of its own.

      “Good God, I thought they would never stop talking. There is no time to waste,” Lady Capulet said, pulling her daughter down the stairs of the platform with great fervour.

      Juliet tried to writhe away from her mother’s grip, but it was useless. Lady Capulet’s strength matched that of her husband’s.

      “Where are you taking me?” Juliet asked.

      Lady Capulet grinned, her teeth slightly stained with pig’s blood. “You will see soon enough.”

       CHAPTER FOUR

      Romeo peeled back the hood of his grey cloak and gazed up at the foreboding mass of stone and brick that was Capulet Castle. Protected by a gigantic iron gate that seemed to reach into the clouds, the building stretched out for at least seven hundred yards and had four enormous towers from which a handful of guards with crossbows stood watch. Romeo was dumbstruck by its imperviousness. He could hardly believe that any Montague had ever breached these grounds, let alone launched a fully-fledged attack on the vampires inside.

      A fierce wind roared through the heavy brush outside the castle’s perimeter, where Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio lay in wait, crouched down behind a swathe of shrubbery under the light of a half-moon. Even though the fabric of his cloak was thick wool, a frigid chill ravaged his body and he shuddered. Then again, perhaps his nerves were just getting the best of him.

      For over an hour, he had been waiting for a sign

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