“I just want to take a look around,” I reassure Helga. “I’m not going to try and climb the ruins.”“Why do you want to be running around the ruins anyway, Emory?” my mother asks. “What’s so fascinating about an old church?”“It’s a church that was for worshiping Selene. The vampires used to revere t
“That might be it,” Willow cut in with a conspiring tone. “We were too jealous of the Moon Goddess’s favoritism, and we turned on her. Vampires don’t play second fiddle to anyone. We’re a proud lot.”Lola purses her lips. “Who do vampires worship now?”“We don’t,” Willow answers. “After King Aeneas
Emory“Willow is a witch,” Lola says like she’s not talking about the impossible. I remember what Willow told me about her life before she was turned, but it’s hard for me to grasp. In my mind, witches aren’t real. No one has seen one in centuries. Growing up, I thought they were a fairy tale to mak
I know I have to tell Kane about this. Learning that one of the vampires in his castle is also a witch with magical powers is too great of a secret to keep. As much as I feel sorrow for Willow, this is too important to keep to myself. Even if I swore my maids and my mother to secrecy, there is a hig
The two maids share a look, communicating silently, before Nellie finally concedes. “She went west. There’s that old hunting cabin near the border.”“I remember,” I reply. “Thank you.”Helga grabs my arm firmly. In a serious tone, she tells me, “She’s terrified. She won’t come willingly.”I suspect
RainerAn arrow flies through the air and embeds itself in the wall beside me, narrowly missing me by a few inches. It’s chest level, so I know she was aiming for my heart. I stare at the arrow and then back at her in horror. She could have killed me.Her blue eyes are wide in shock too as if she ca
“Then what was it?” I cut in, moving to stand by Emory. “What did you do?”Willow blinks, her face panicked. “I don’t know.”“You’ve been in this castle for a long time. You’re old enough to have witnessed the witch hunts.” Emory has already told me the story Willow told her about how she came to be
“You managed to keep it,” Emory declares. “Like some kind of magical loophole.”That makes me glance at her belly even though she still isn’t showing. Nature has given us a loophole to have a child. It gave a witch turned vampire the ability to maintain her magic, which isn’t that far off. Nature al
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