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February 8 - February 11, 2025
“I’m feeling benevolent this evening, so I’ll allow you to decide how you want to die.”
Brynleigh was a doubly blessed vampire. The night of Brynleigh’s Making, Isvana, the moon goddess, had gifted the new vampire with both wings and shadows. Most vampires had one or the other. A few had none. Some, like Brynleigh, had both. Even now, darkness pulsed a reassuring melody through her veins.
Besides, Maker bonds were some of the strongest ones that existed. Even more than a mating bond, the link between Maker and progeny was incredibly powerful. There had only ever been one person who’d successfully broken their Maker bond, which happened thousands of years before.
“I’m going to enter the Hall of Choice, make Captain Ryker Waterborn, Head of the Fae Division in the Republic’s Army, fall in love with me, and then I’ll kill him on our wedding night,” she declared.
She’d been reborn into a creature of the night, and the darkness was her home. Her safe place. It called to her.
Obsidian eyes, sharp fangs, and a predisposed hatred of silver and wooden stakes were things all vampires in the Republic of Balance shared.
There wasn’t a single person in the Republic of Balance who didn’t know about Valentina Rose. After all, her mother was Chancellor Ignatia Rose, the head of the entire government. The fae had kept her daughter sequestered and guarded for decades, only parading her out for select functions with the Representatives. She was so well hidden that no one knew which element her magic favored.
Ryker had a rule that it was always better to befriend those who could possibly cause him problems in the future. That was how he acquired his two best friends, Atlas and Nikhail.
Brynleigh’s stomach twisted at the sound of the Fortune Elf’s voice. Hallie sounded so much like… No.
A siblings death is the worst pain😢😢
Of course, Valentina was a fucking fire fae. Why not? That was the worst possible scenario. Just once, Brynleigh would like for things to go her way. Being in the Choosing with someone who could kill her with a flick of her wrist was a sick, twisted joke.
three things could cause them significant harm and even death: silver, wooden stakes, and flames.
Right then and there, Ryker had stopped taking notes. They wouldn’t be working out. He didn’t need a partner who made snide comments about other women.
Ryker’s voice sounded good. His gravelly, almost smoky tone sent a bolt of desire running through her.
If Brynleigh had to become a fucking comedian to make the captain fall in love with her, then she’d do it. She would be whatever he needed.
Fae couldn’t lie. Everyone knew that. Whatever warmth had been flourishing in Brynleigh was doused as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on her.
“I bet you have a very sharp bite,” the water fae said, a hint of humor in his voice.
“I’m… alright.” Her tone made it sound like she was anything but. An alarm blared in Ryker’s mind. Finding out what was wrong was the only thing on his mind. “What’s the matter?”
Six years had passed since that fateful midsummer storm. Six years of being utterly and completely alone. Seventy-two months. Two thousand, one hundred and ninety days since she’d said goodbye to her family. He’d stolen them from her.
“I, too, enjoy games. Especially chess.” Ryker’s eyes widened, and he grinned. “That’s my favorite.” There was no hiding the enthusiasm in his voice.
Brynleigh de la Point was a frequent guest in Ryker’s mind during all hours of the day and night. He couldn’t stop thinking about her.
“I don’t know, Captain,” she teased. “What will you do when you lose?” A chuckle started deep in Ryker’s chest and rumbled through him. “Sweetheart, you don’t know this about me yet, but I don’t lose.” He slid his finger down the side of the board and pressed the hidden button. It lit up, and he added, “Ever.” She snorted as black and white pieces appeared, flickering before stabilizing. “Maybe that used to be true, but now you’ve met me. You should get used to losing, Ryker. You’ll be doing it a lot in the future.”
“There are more guards here than normal.” He placed the coffee on a red coaster. The AI said, “If you say so, sir.” “I can count, so yes, I know there are double. Why are there more guards here?”
“I… didn’t sleep well last night,” she admitted after a moment. A growl rumbled through his chest, and he clenched his fists. “What happened? Did someone say something to you?” If they hurt her, he’d find them and make them pay.
“Why would you want to hear about my bad dreams?” His brows tented, and he leaned forward. “Because they bothered you, sweetheart, and I care a great deal about you.”
Ryker didn’t think Brynleigh was the one yelling. She wouldn’t do that. She’d probably bite someone who touched her without permission. And fuck if he didn’t like that thought. Not the time.
“You needed me, so I came,” he said as if it was that simple. As if she knew exactly who he was, and they had something deep between them. “I’ll always come for you, sweetheart.”
“Fuck, you taste divine,” he murmured, a baritone rasp edging his voice. “Like the night and shadows and everything I’ve been missing in my life.”
“Where. Is. She?” Ryker bit out the words and crossed his arms.
“There is no one else? It’s highly irregular—” “No.” His voice was firm. “She’s mine.”
She was the other half that would complete him. His soul recognized hers.
I could do it all day long. Like an enchantress, you enthralled me with your voice.”
The mere thought of one of these other men sending his vampire anything made him want to roar his frustrations skyward. She was his and no one else’s.
“To say that I enjoy your company, sweetheart, would be a vast underestimation of how much I look forward to hearing your voice and spending time with you. I do not enjoy it because that is too simple of a word. Rather, I am quickly finding that I am desperate for your company. For you. I thought I proved that yesterday.”
“I just… I don’t exactly eat… food.” Blood rushed to Ryker’s cheeks. By the Black Sands, how could he have made such a monumental mistake? He’d somehow forgotten this crucial fact about vampires. He was a fucking idiot.
“I want you to marry me, Brynleigh de la Point,” he breathed. “I’ll ask you formally on the night of the Masked Ball, but there’s no point pretending I haven’t decided. If you’ll have me, I’m yours.”
“Fuck you.” Brynleigh’s fangs burned. Her nails sliced through her palms and drew blood. Stepping closer to Valentina, she met those violet orbs and hissed, “He’s mine.”
That was unlikely. When Brynleigh was six and Jonah was nine, she’d witnessed the unfortunate event of Jonah eating a worm. There wasn’t enough time to make her forget that. “I don’t think so.”
“You are the moon, shining your brilliant light into my life,” Ryker murmured, his voice deepening. “I lived in darkness before I met you and didn’t even know it. You complete me. I wake daily thinking of you, and you’ve already taught me so much.”
Again, Brynleigh wondered at the forcefulness in Zanri’s voice. Maybe it was just her time away from the safe house, but he seemed so… insistent. It struck Brynleigh as odd. Why was he pushing this? He didn’t have anything at stake.
Fucking great. Of course, the incredibly handsome water fae she was supposed to kill had dimples. Why not?
“You lie so beautifully, little vampire.”
Ryker constantly worried about River. Her power exceeded both his and their mother’s. It was both extraordinary and deadly.
Except… Ryker had given her the sun. The one thing she missed most since her Making. How was she supposed to ignore that?
“No matter what she says in there, I picked you. I Chose you. I will continue to do so until the end of time.”
“Do you like this?” she asked softly. Did he require air to breathe? Did water run through his veins? Was he completely in love with this woman?
