LexOpal is having her first ultrasound today. She initially refuses to let me come with her to the appointment. I manage to sway her into letting me be there since she has no one else to accompany her. Her brother is in the dungeon of Castle Graystone, and her father is too busy to give her his tim
***EmoryKane has to leave Crimson Peak to meet up with his allies. Unfortunately, but not surprising, King Peter has found out about my pregnancy and has been threatening to tell the other vampire kingdoms about it. Kane tells me not to worry and that he is going to get ahead of this before things
“I’m going to be fine,” I reassure him. “We are going to be fine.”He cups my face in his hands, his blue eyes staring intently as if he’s trying to memorize my face. “I love you.”“I love you too.” Then I tease him, “Please don’t leave me for Queen Olga.”His dark eyebrows furrow. “She’s old enough
KaneQueen Olga leads us to the adjoining throne room. At a long table sits the majority of our allies, old and new. Half of them have been ruling before I was even born, and the other half came into power with me around the same time. There are a few new faces, no doubt hoping to raise their cache
“How are we supposed to believe you when you say you never touched Princess Opal when you clearly can’t keep your hands off any whore that comes your way–” I move before I even think about it, getting up from my seat and rushing toward King Matthias to grab him by the neck and slam him against the
I’m always tired or unwell. Some days, I can barely do anything but lie in bed. I feel like an invalid as my body betrays me. I’m not used to feeling so weak, and it frustrates me. “I keep wondering why I don’t have that pregnancy glow they talk about,” I tell him. “I feel like a wilting plant. I lo
EmoryI am so sick of bed rest. I’m bored out of my mind, and I miss the outdoors. As I’m about to enter my second trimester, I feel worse by the day. Helga and Nellie hover and ply me with calming teas. They fluff the mountain of pillows I lie on and cater to every food craving I have no matter how
“You have me.”I smile. “Yes, but your job is to be a kid. That’s all you have to do. I take care of you.”“King Kane takes care of you?”“He does,” I reply. “He’s the king. He is supposed to take care of everyone.”I know that Lola still feels wary of Kane. I can’t blame her, and I expect it’s goin
MichaelThe emissary to Red River–the real one–isn’t anyone I recognize. He’s tall and pale blond, his red eyes gleaming in the brightly lit ballroom where he and his posse of royal Red River guards have gathered. He scans the group before him–myself, my father, and my uncle, and smiles faintly, hi
I listen intently, watching a myriad of emotion play over her face as she knits her fingers together. “We spent an entire summer sneaking around,” she says softly, closing her eyes. “He’d find me in the garden, in the library, sometimes going as far as to sneak into my room at night. We couldn’t st
FayeStill in the library, I listen intently as Emelda discloses far more than I expected her to.There was a point in Emelda’s life as a vampire that she’d accepted she’d always be alone. Her bed would always be cold, her skin unblemished by a loving touch. She’d never know love again, and for deca
Faye“It really is gorgeous,” Emelda says the next morning while walking with me to the library. She runs her thumb over the massive sapphire ring and smiles faintly, raising her brows. “I think it’s a family heirloom, too. You should expect a load of fine jewelry to follow.”“You know I don’t care
FayeKing Kane is a slightly terrifying man. His presence is all consuming–like he sucks the light out of the room. He doesn’t look his age, like all vampires. The only indication that he’s a senior vampire compared to his son is the faint gray glow around his temples where his dark hair is starting
MichaelI watch Faye run a comb through her hair, over and over. The golden strands shine like golden silk in the pockets of sunlight shimmering through the curtains. Beyond the glass, knee-deep snow covers the castle grounds in a blanket of pure, untouched white. Deep inside, I feel a flicker of m
I shake my head, sniffling, trying to pull my tears back into my eyes but fail miserably. They trickle down my cheeks, freezing to my face. “We would have been caught.”“I wouldn’t have cared. I still don’t!”“You were getting married–”“I’ve been betrothed since I was a child,” he says hotly, gritt
Emelda“Why are you out here?” Cole asks, his hand moving up my back as he presses me closer. “You’re freezing.”“I wanted to check on Ravenfell–”“I was on my way–”“It’s not your responsibility–”“I was on my way to find you,” he cuts in, taking a breath. I open my eyes, breaking out of the haze
Finn leans against the fireplace while Cassidy stokes the fire, but everyone is waiting for me to start talking. That’s why I came here, after all. To share news from the castle about our duke and our friends. “Lowe is likely going to survive,” I say to the group, ignoring the shuffle of feet as pe