The guard leads us to a ballroom filled with people. There’s a string quartet playing music in the background as royals and courtiers drink glasses of blood, talking amongst each other.King Myenas is at the center of it all, holding the attention of all the vampires in the room. I’m reminded of the
RainerWillow tells me that Lex and Ivy will be in the castle for the little party King Myenas is throwing. I stay close to the ballroom and am able to watch as the two appear and follow Igor into the ballroom. I wait by the open doors for one of them to come out, trying to act like I’m just doing m
IvyOnce we know the potion is effective, Rainer and I go to the ballroom. He has to inform King Myenas of Lydia’s unexpected death while I get Lex and use the commotion to disappear unnoticed. Lex is in conversation with King Myenas and King Matthias. He’s managed to look like he belongs with them,
RainerI know that King Myenas might be upset with the news of Lydia’s death since he’s been using her as a bargaining chip with Kane. The fury he unleashed at the sight of Lydia’s unmoving body on the bed is a sight to behold. He has every servant and courtier within near distance running away in f
LexIvy’s hazel eyes stare at me in shock. Her gaze bores into me as she tries to decipher if I’m serious or not. A younger me would have laughed and made a whole production out of this situation. I don’t have the same need to turn everything into a joke anymore.“What?”“I need a love potion,” I ex
RainerSneaking a body through a castle shouldn’t be that difficult, but I have a few close calls with guards patrolling and a few guests who got lost in the labyrinth of hallways when they left the ballroom. Lex and Ivy should be waiting in the tunnel so we can all escape together. I have heard of
IvyLex and Rainer both look flabbergasted as the guards abruptly collapse to the ground. A simple sleeping spell is hardly anything to gawk at, but vampires and shifters tend to be weird about magic. They are either awed like I’m performing a miracle or deeply confused about how it works. Growing u
RainerThe alarm in the cave is still screaming, attracting the attention of the vampires in the field. It’s packed with cars. The guards of the vampire royals have been sitting in the vehicles or talking amongst themselves to pass the time. Seeing me running toward them carrying a woman wrapped in
Michael“The second born son of this union will be handed over at birth to King Mattias and his court to be raised in Red River as the rightful heir to the throne,” Dad reads aloud as he paces in front of the windows in his office that overlook the bleak, snow drenched landscape beyond, “to ensure t
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