The Exiled Princess and the Forgotten Wolf

Nadezhda

The bell rang just as I pushed off the starting line, and the entire Royal Arena seemed to move with me.

Cool air struck my face as my skates cut across the black crystal track, the blades leaving thin silver lines behind them while thousands of voices rose from the stands.

I could hear the commentators shouting my name over the crowd, but I kept my eyes on the three competitors ahead of me.

The first stage of the Royal Championship was a twelve-lap speed trial, and only the first four would move into the next round. I had won this event every year since I was fourteen, and everyone in the arena expected me to win again.

That expectation was not pressure on me. It was something I had learned to carry.

I lowered my body as the first turn came, shifting my weight before the others even reached the curve.

Sorina Dragic was two positions ahead of me, exactly where I expected her to be. She was fast, careful, and probably the only competitor here who knew enough about my technique to make me work for the victory.

She glanced over her shoulder for half a second, saw me closing the distance, and immediately pushed harder. I almost smiled because that was Sorina. She would rather break her own legs than let me pass her easily.

“Come on, Princess!” someone shouted from the upper stands.

I heard several people laugh, but I didn’t look up. My father was sitting in the royal section, and that was the only person I cared about impressing.

King Varek Veyra rarely showed emotion during competitions, but I had spent my entire childhood learning the smallest changes in his face. A raised eyebrow meant I could do better. A slight nod meant I had done well. And when he smiled, even for a second, I felt like I had won something bigger than a medal.

I wanted that smile today.

Not because I needed the kingdom to know I was good enough.

They already knew.

I wanted my father to look at me and know that every morning he had dragged me out of bed before sunrise, every training injury I had hidden, and every hour I had spent learning to control my Bloodrush had been worth it. Today was supposed to be the day he officially announced me as his heir.

So I could not lose.

I reached the fifth lap and activated Bloodrush.

The change was immediate. Heat rushed through my veins, my heartbeat became heavier, and the world around me seemed to slow.

The arena lights stretched into pale lines at the edge of my vision while every movement ahead became clear.

I could see Sorina’s right shoulder tightening before she changed direction. I could see the competitor behind her preparing to cut across the inside lane. I knew exactly where they would be three seconds from now.

I moved before they did.

My skate struck the track, I leaned sharply into the curve, and I slipped between them with barely enough space for my shoulder to clear the barrier.

The crowd exploded when I came out ahead, but I only focused on my breathing. Bloodrush was powerful, but it was not free. If I pushed it too long, my muscles would begin to tear and my control would weaken. I had learned that when I was eleven, after waking up in the healing ward with both legs covered in blood.

‘Never let the power decide how far you go.’

That was what my trainer used to tell me.

I had never forgotten it.

By the eighth lap, I had created enough distance to breathe properly again. Sorina was still behind me, refusing to give up, while the other competitors fought for the remaining qualifying positions.

The arena had become a wave of movement, royal colors, flashing scores, and screaming spectators. Above us, the enormous ranking board displayed my name in first place.

NADEZHDA VEYRA.

VAMPIRE KINGDOM.

RANK: 1.

I looked at it for only a moment, but that was enough to make something warm settle in my chest.

Then I saw Milena.

She was standing near the edge of the royal section beside my father’s chair, dressed in the pale silver uniform she always wore during important events.

She wasn’t competing today. She had never reached the level needed to enter the Royal Championship, and I knew that hurt her even though she rarely complained about it. When our eyes met, she smiled and lifted one hand in encouragement.

I smiled back.

For years, I had believed Milena’s jealousy was harmless.

She was my stepsister, and although we were not related by blood, I had never treated her like an outsider. Whenever people compared us, I told them she would find her own strength someday. Whenever she looked disappointed after another failed trial, I stayed with her until she felt better.

She was still my family.

That was why I didn’t think twice when I saw her move closer to the track.

I should have.

My Bloodrush changed.

The warmth in my veins suddenly became something sharper and I stumbled.

My skate dragged across the crystal surface, and my body twisted before I could correct it.

The crowd went silent for one strange second as I fought to stay upright. Bloodrush had never done that to me.

Not once.

I had trained with it in snow, rain, darkness, exhaustion, and pain, yet my body had always answered when I commanded it.

Now it felt like something inside me had heard a different command.

“Nadezhda!” Sorina shouted from behind me.

I forced my breathing steady and pushed forward.

The strange feeling disappeared almost as quickly as it came.

I looked toward Milena again.

She was no longer smiling.

Her hand was pressed against her chest, and for a moment her face looked frightened.

Then she noticed me watching and quickly lowered her hand.

I frowned, but the final lap had already begun.

I couldn’t afford to think about it.

I pushed harder.

The crystal track flashed beneath my skates as I drove myself toward the final line.

Sorina came after me with everything she had, but I had already calculated her last move. She would take the outside curve because it gave her more room to build speed, then cut inward during the final straight.

I waited until she committed.

Then I changed lanes.

Her eyes widened.

I crossed the finish line first.

The arena erupted.

I slowed only after clearing the final barrier, breathing hard as the officials confirmed the result on the enormous ranking board. My name appeared at the top, followed by Sorina’s, and the crowd began chanting.

“Nadezhda! Nadezhda! Nadezhda!”

I stood there with my hands on my knees, sweat cooling against my skin, while the sound washed over me. Then I straightened and looked toward the royal section.

My father was standing.

He wasn’t smiling. But he was applauding.

I had done it.

Again.

The announcer’s voice thundered through the arena as the results were displayed, calling me the fastest young vampire in the kingdom and reminding everyone that today’s victory had placed me one stage closer to becoming the next heir.

I should have been thinking about the next event.

Instead, I looked at Milena.

She was staring at me.

There was something wrong with her expression now. It looked almost like fear.

Then my fingers began to tremble. I looked down at my hands.

The last trace of Bloodrush should have been fading from my body, but a strange pulse still moved beneath my skin instead, starting from my palm and travelling slowly toward my wrist.

I closed my hand.

It stopped.

For the first time in my life, I wondered if I had really been in control of my power.