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Apparently, the “auspicious circumstances” of my birth were a sign. According to them, since I had been born beneath an eclipse that only took place once every eight hundred and forty-six years, I was the perfect candidate for being sold into this marriage.
Auspicious. As if the scientific movements of the sun and the moon were enough reason to send me to my probable death.
That was my worth as determined by the Council of Lords: grain and an army.
I knew who I was. Luna Brielle Wisethorn, fourth daughter of the Human Lord, lover of books and all things academic. And now, a vampire’s bride.
Two enormous, jet-black wings extended from his back, curved like those of a bat, filling the dark space behind him. He was a head taller than the other two, his skin a shade paler than my perpetual tan, and his black hair hung ruggedly around his face. An obsidian crown was perched on his head, slightly askew.
I was certain that being bitten by a vampire would not be a pleasant experience.
Meanwhile I'm like, I'M HERE. BITE ME 🤪
I was coming as a bride, not a blood donor. Certainly, they wouldn’t make me… provide for my husband in that way. Right?
If there was one thing I had learned over the course of my life, it was that while the romantic love of ballads did not exist, bravery certainly did. People were brave every day, even when they felt like their lives couldn’t go on.
Was there any pleasure to be found in this land of snow and ice? Any beauty? How did one entertain oneself when it snowed for ten months out of the year?
She wasn’t pretty. That was too simple of a word. She was a ray of sunshine in the middle of a dark night. A cool breeze amid a storm. The first flower that bloomed after a long winter. She was an infusion of light into the abyss that was my soul.
I had tried to help stave off the panic I could tell was growing within her. But somehow she pushed past my mental Persuasion. That was a surprise. In all my years, I’d never met a human who couldn’t be Persuaded. It was definitely something I would have to deal with later.
he eyed the weapon in Luna’s hands. “Is that really necessary, Princess?” “It is,” I growled. “If it makes her happy, she can keep it.”
My earlier assessment was incorrect. Misery was too weak of a word to describe how it would feel being in Luna’s presence and not tasting her blood. I was doomed to a lifetime of agonizingly terrible torture.
I would rather stand in a pit full of snakes than be in a room absent of light.
“Because, Princess, we’re not just Bound.” I took a step back, shaking my head as I worked to wrap my head around this. “We are Tethered.”
How was I supposed to explain that while a Binding connected a vampire to their Source, providing them both with the long lives of my kind, a Tethering was a more complete connection? This bond was so archaic that the information I knew about it was little more than rumor. How was I supposed to explain something I didn’t even understand?
I would not have considered myself mouthy two weeks ago, but apparently, that was what happened when I was forced into an arranged marriage with a vampire. I lost all common sense and said the first things that came into my mind. If I didn’t get a handle on this new situation, it was probably going to get me killed.
“No one has been Tethered for centuries.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I didn’t even know it was still possible. When I was Made, I read about it, but I’ve never met anyone who was subjected to this. Tethering is… archaic.” I picked my words carefully. “It’s essentially a magical rope tying us together.”
I could safely say that coffee was one of my favorite parts of life.
“Old things long forgotten are stirring. The gods are angry and the balance is broken. The harbinger is the key. Promise me you will keep her safe.”
“I need you,” he whispered, his voice so rough it was barely more than a breath. “All of you. You’re driving me mad. The way you taste. Your smell. Sitting across from you in the library for the past twenty-one days, sleeping in the same room as you, and refraining from touching you has been the most agonizing experience of my entire existence.”
She might have had a name, but she didn’t need it any longer.
In a castle filled with vampires, how did one find a murderer? Weren’t they all killers? I didn’t have the energy to debate the semantics right now. I didn’t have the energy for anything.
What was death when one barely lived?
“That’s ironic,” I whispered, a morose chuckle rising in my throat. She gaped at me. “What?” “I finally have a reason to live, and I could die here.”
Our lips met in a crashing symphony of want. There was nothing nice or gentle about this meeting of our mouths. This kiss was claiming, bruising, and world-changing.
If he kissed like this with a stake in his chest, what would he be like without it?
What was a fear of the dark when I had the Prince of Darkness by my side?
“Luna, you snuck up on me like a bolt of sunshine after an endless storm. When you came to me, you gave me a reason to keep on living.”
“Make no mistake, darling, you are mine. My wife. My princess. Your enemies are my enemies. Your problems are now my problems. I will destroy anyone who threatens you. I will tear them limb from limb, painting the snow with the blood that runs through their veins before presenting you with the stakes used to pierce their blackened hearts.”
