“This is fucking stupid.”
“Is it? I read in my mother's Helsing guide that almost all dark fae are bisexual. Are you?”
Vin’s eyes shrunk to deadly slits. “As an alpha, I prefer a female form. If you were a fae, you would be my beta. Therefore, it would be your responsibility to birth my young. Regardless of your gender.”
“So that's a yes?”
“What does that matter?” he snarled, his tone loud enough to send birds exploding from nearby trees. “I hate Deathwish.”
“No, you don't, you fucking liar. He killed your father, sure. But you forgave him for that. You said so yourself that the fae king was evil. And Eros was just doing his duty as a Monster Hunter. You were just using that as an excuse to ignore the bond you two share.”
Vincent's hands dropped to his sides, and his knuckles cracked as he flexed them into fists. “We don't have a bond.”
“You do,” I told him, my voice dropping to a hushed whisper. “I felt it the night you two shared me in my father’s crypt. And I see how you look at him when you think no one else is watching.”
“Ruby,” he hedged on a growl.
“No! You're not going to bully your way out of this conversation. Think about it. Even if you did hate him, would it matter? Think about my mother and father. They were fated mates. They weren't given a choice, they couldn't fight it, and you can't fight your connection with Eros.”
“I've had enough of this.” All the little hairs on my body stood up at the dark electricity roiling in his tone. It was my final warning to turn back before he really lost his temper.
I remembered something Sterling had told me not long ago.“Keep pushing him, Ruby.”
“Maybe that's another reason why you ran away. You're scared of getting closer to Eros. You're too prideful to admit your feelings.”
“Silence!” he roared, snatching my wrists and jerking me against his chest. He shook me violently. “Never speak of this again!”
“Or what? What will you do, big man? What could you possibly do to hurt me more than you already have?”
I feared the worst answer. And the worst answer came when I got no answer at all.
He fell silent and didn't speak to me again on the entire journey back to the Life Tree. When we landed at the door to the royal quarters, he didn't so much as look at me.
“Someone will come by soon to bring you to the ceremony,” he finally said as he turned his back to me.
“I thought you said you didn't want to leave me alone while I’m in heat.”
More brutal silence. I thought he was going to say something, anything, to break up some of this horrible tension between us.
He said nothing, stomping away without a word more.
A second later I was alone, with nothing but the dark thoughts in my head and cold tears of fury trickling down my cheeks.
Chapter thirty-one
Bloody Bride
Awomancameforme an hour later. She said not a word to me. Because she couldn't speak English or because she was one of the ones that resented my marriage to the Prince, I wasn't sure. And I didn't care.
I felt completely numb.
It was almost surreal to think how happy I'd been when I woke up this morning. Stupid me for thinking a feeling like that could last, especially in the company of Vincent Feral’s monster.
Maybe I should have waited until he’d shifted back to talk about his relationship with Eros. Would it have made a difference? More and more, it seemed there was less of a line between the dark fae prince and the vampire prince.
When the female led me outside, I paused in the doorway. “Um, should I be wearing a dress or something?”
I gestured to my naked body, which was covered in nothing but body paint. The ravens Vincent had painted over my skin were pretty, but was this gonna be all I was wearing to my wedding?
