“She was always going to get married…” I breathed. “Her father, he would have forced her.”
Max smiled. “If not for you, Aurelia would be stuck in a family that abused her and impregnated her without her consent, all for some made-up power play that would have meant nothing in a few decades.” The venom in his voice didn’t match his innocent look. “Youplayed the perfect pawn to the prophecy. Killing him opened a way for the Castle family to fade into history like they should have long ago. Because now, Aurelia has something to fight for.”
Darkness took over my vision, and I was sent plummeting back into my consciousness, but not before I was hit with images.
Images that didn’t make sense. Not at first.
I saw her in the garden.
Roaming the halls.
In the middle of the throne room, her body covered in blood.
The images changed. I saw her in the middle of an auditorium-like room. Chains bound her arms and legs. She looked awful, hanging there with no energy, her body weaker than I’d ever seen it.
“Remember what’s at stake before you go messing with everything again.”
Jerking awake, I was met with a shocked Cedar, her eyes wide. Atlas was behind her, her arms crossed and a frown on her face.
The last image I saw just before my eyes opened lingered. A place I knew all too well.
“No time,” I gasped and got up from my position on the hard ground.
“You weren’t supposed to wake up yet?—”
I grabbed her and walked us both in the direction my bonded was calling me.
“I know where she is.”
Aurelia
Idowned another glass of blood, hating the feeling ofhisblood still in my mouth, knowing all the blood in the world wouldn’t get rid of the pull in my chest to the man sitting right next to me.
I leaned into him and laughed at something random he said. My brother was eyeing us from across the table, looking for a flaw. But there wouldn’t be one.
Caspian wrapped an arm around me and left a kiss on my forehead. It was enough for my brother to look away.
The wedding party was small, with only a few of his most loyal allies and a few hours of laughing and kissing their asses. We would be done soon, though, because there was one thing we were required to do to keep our standing in the vampire community, and my brother knew it.
There was only one thing royal vampires loved more than a messy wedding.
A messy after-party, perfect for blackmail.
General Lee was at the end of the table, his eyes lingering on me for far longer than they ever had before. He was pissed, it didn’t take a genius to understand it.
I pulled one over on him to get this done, and his gaze told me I would pay for it, but he would have to go through mybrother first. And, by the looks of it, he wasn’t going to escape punishment from Adrian that easily.
I pulled away from Caspian with a sigh.
“Well, this has been fun, but Caspian and I have to go…”
I trailed off and gave him a meaningful look.
“Break in this new bond,” he finished for me with a devilish smile that I’m sure any other vampire might have swooned over.
Inside, I was holding back my gag.
“Congratulations to the happy couple,” my brother said, raising his glass. His face held a smile, but his eyes were sharp and watching my every move. “I will see you in the morning.”
