That feels good.
We are finally both members of royalty.
I am not his servant.
His pet.
To my surprise, Aurelius leans closer. “As long as you call meAureliusagain, then I will adore calling you my Queen,Your Majesty.”
My breath hitches.
He means it.
I search his gaze. “Not for long. Won’t I be Lanlin’s Queen?”
Aurelius plays with Daire’s pinion feather, pushing it more firmly behind my ear, tidying it into place. “War is stationed outside with her personal unit. It should at least ensure that we have this time without the risk of being spied on. We may manage half an hour at best, while my uncle is distracted…”
“You meantorturingDaire.”
“Semantics.” Aurelius arches his brow. “So, Your Majesty, this may be our last chance to be alone…to touch…to anything...before you’re taken from me.”
He rests his forehead against mine. Embers from his horns fall around us like blackened confetti in our own private marriage ceremony.
“But I’m not being taken from you,” I whisper at the same time that I can’t make myself pull back from Aurelius; I need his touch as much as he’s desperate for mine. “You offered me as a prize to a monster. Do you think I’ve forgotten that you’re close to feral from suffering through your ruts alone? Pheromone starved? You need my pheromones to keep you safe. You’ll be vulnerable and in agony if a rut hits and you go through it without me there.”
“That doesn’t matter.” Aurelius strokes over my back like he’s trying to map every inch of me and imprint it to his memory. He truly fears this may be the last time we see each other — that he’s losing me. My heart speeds up. “Hate me, but please, give me these moments with you, my fiery Goddess.”
The reverence in his tone takes away my breath.
My eyes burn with tears, but I lean into his hold. “I understand that this scheme is to save our lives. But the way that you can hide yourself from me scares me.”
“If you can never love me again,” Aurelius’ voice breaks, “that’s your right. But don’t reject me. I don’t know what would happen to the golden threads that bind us. I am a rough warrior, brutal and trained in war strategy, rather than strategies of the heart. I know how to push down my emotions, until I am no more than a weapon, but it seems, not how to make sure I don’t turn that on the ones who love me. I haven’t been loved and I am struggling to learn what love is...what it can be. You have shown me. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Too late.”
He flinches.
“I have a responsibility to every member of my kingdom, to the shades of those killed in the attack on the Carnival ofShadows, and to my brothers and sisters in the army. Do you know who else?” Aurelius’ eyes gleam. “I have a duty to every child in the military academy who face pain and death like I did. This never-ending cycle of revenge and war, paid for by the blood of children, must stop. By any means possible.”
“By any means?” I demand.
He looks caught out, before cocking his head. “It is an arranged marriage, but it’s all theater. Fake.Maximinus has a trick to capture the fucker before you bond him. I know Lan better than anyone. Since he was a child, he has been devoured by loneliness. Like me, he was denied love or the chance to bond. He thought that he was alone. Yet he still dreamed of having his own vampire nest one day. It will have crushed him to have been kept separate from you. It’s why he will lose his war with me for your sake. After all, he will have been in agony these three years. I wonder how sane he’ll still be. How feral.”
My brow furrows. “Why?”
“A Shadow Vampire only has one bonded Omega in their long life, and once they discover them, the need to bond is a consuming hunger. Even the dedication of a fae to their soulmate is nothing compared to a vampire’s devotion to their true Omega. Lan won’t hurt you.He’ll fucking worship you.”
I swallow.
I can’t imagine anyone being more committed to me than Daire is. It makes me shift uncomfortably on Aurelius’ lap to imagine using that dedication against my fated mate.
Even a beautiful monster like Lanlin.
He’s lonely? In pain?Feral?
He’s checking all my boxes for perfect groom material.
I sigh.
