A tempest of rage and fear swirled in her eyes, making the shadows inside me writhe with dark delight.
I nodded at the guard, and he dragged her out of my office, her angry protests fading into the distance as the door closed behind them.
I stared at the door. Vivian would fight me every step of the way—that much was clear. But in the end, she would bend.
Everyone under my watch always did.
I walked back to my desk and tapped a button on the side panel, summoning my assistant.
My guards didn’t know who Vivian truly was or why she was here. Apart from me and my personal assistant, everyone else would only see the illusion I wanted them to see—a prisoner of war, a rogue vampire living out her sentence of servitude in my castle. I had chosen to keep her in my wing for my purposes. The illusion would keep questions to a minimum and would also keep my father from recognizing a human woman living on the estate.
The thought of him finding out I was marrying a human chilled me to my bones. He would kill her and leave me to deal with the repercussions of his fury.
There was a soft, almost imperceptible knock on the door.
“Enter.”
Eldora stepped inside. Her gaze swept over the room, then those piercing pools of silver-flecked lavender landed on me.
“I noticed we have... a guest,” she said cautiously, her smooth voice laced with an infuriating undercurrent of curiosity. One pale eyebrow arched ever so slightly.
“Don’t give me that look, Eldora,” I warned, though we both knew the threat held little weight with her. Eldora had served the Gallanti family long before I was even a thought in my father’s twisted mind, and fear was a weapon that did not work on her.
She pressed her lips into a thin line, though the faintest twitch at the corners betrayed her amusement. “Forgive me, my lord, but I’m afraid to ask what you plan to do with the girl,” shesaid, her tone carefully neutral. But I knew that look in her eyes—an expression of silent judgment, as if she could force me into making the right decision simply with the intensity of her stare.
I leaned back in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’m going to marry her.” I watched her for any sign of surprise. Eldora was notoriously difficult to catch off guard.
Her eyebrows shot up, the first real crack in her otherwise stoic demeanor. “Marry her, my lord?” she echoed, her disbelief almost tangible. “Forgive me, but how exactly do you plan to force that young woman into marriage?”
I rolled my eyes and resisted the urge to snap at her. “It’s simple. I saved her life—she owes me a debt. If she wants to keep that precious boy of hers alive, she’ll comply. This marriage will solidify my alliance with Altair. It’s a means to an end.”
Eldora’s expression hardened. “And you believe that being forced into a marriage with a man she fears is any better than the execution she narrowly escaped?” She shook her head. “Is that truly what you’re telling yourself, Raffaele?”
I winced at her use of my birthname. Eldora was one of the only people who called me by that name.The Shadowhad a much more terrifying, overbearing ring to it.
A wave of annoyance, frustration, perhaps even guilt passed over me, but I buried it under layers of indifference. I rose from my chair, the shadows in the room curling toward me as they sensed my rising agitation. “I didn’t summon you here to question my decisions, Eldora. I’ve made up my mind. Now, I need you to handle the practicalities.”
She studied me for a moment, her eyes narrowing as if weighing whether or not to push further. Then, with a resigned sigh, she dipped her head in a slight bow. “As you wish, my lord. What would you have me to do?”
“Vivian will need clothes. Most pressing would be something appropriate for her to wear to dinner this evening. With me.”
Eldora nodded and turned to leave. “As you wish.” She paused at the door, a maternal softness in her gaze. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Raffaele. With Lord Thorne lurking in the shadows, waiting for you to falter... this is a dangerous path you’re treading.”
The mention of my father sent a chill down my spine, though I refused to show it. “I always know what I’m doing, Eldora.”
“Be that as it may, you know how Lord Thorne complicated matters for me. I’d hate to see the same misfortune fall onto another innocent woman. Of course, I chose this life. Vivian, however, is not choosing it.”
Tears filled her eyes, and my guard dropped. “I’m not my fucking father, Eldora. Please, give me a little credit.” Surely she knew I’d never go to the same extremes he had. “This is a business transaction, nothing more, nothing less. Vivian will not be harmed.”
“This is not the way to accomplish your goals.” Her gaze lingered on me for a heartbeat longer, as if she could see every dark corner of my soul, every doubt I kept hidden even from myself. Then she simply nodded and slipped out the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I ascended the winding staircase,each step echoing through the cold stone halls. The chill in the air seemed to seep into my bones, and it had nothing to do with the draft. When I reached the top, I paused outside the door of the room where Vivian was locked away. The silence from within was deafening.
I pressed my ear against the door. Nothing. No sobs, no angry shouts—just silence. For some reason, it was more unsettling than her weeping would have been.
With a flick of my wrist, the magical wards parted, allowing me access. The door creaked open, and I stepped inside.
She stood in the center of the room, wrapped in nothing but a towel, her hair cascading down her back in damp waves. The sight of her—raw and vulnerable and nearly naked—was distracting. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and she instinctively tightened her grip on the towel.
