I never knew it was possible for Raleigh to turn paler than he already was.
‘You had fifteen years to realise this!’I was too incredulous to really be angry with him.‘Did it never occur to you that she might have meant that literally?Forget the new century.If you left in October, the end of the fifteenth year isOctober.’
‘She said the end of the fifteenth year,’ Raleigh repeated, weaker this time.
I felt dizzy.Over the last six months my deadline had been like a looming beast, but it had been a comfort too.Dwindling time was still time.Now I knew it was time I never had.
At my most generous estimate, the harvest festival marked the end of Raleigh’s fifteenth year.This was why Yorik and Lukas were here.Not to drag Raleigh to court prematurely, but because he had outstayed his agreement.
No, it wasn’t too late.If I could convince the Queen I loved him, Raleigh would have no need for a bride.We could both be free.
And if I couldn’t, maybe I could still cure him.
I sat back down.Through the cushions, I could feel the tension as every muscle in Raleigh’s body went rigid.
‘You’re wasting sunlight,’ he said.
‘I’ve been invited to the royal court,’ I said.‘Father would have killed for this opportunity.I can’t let it pass without at least meeting her.’
Raleigh’s expression was carefully still.‘There are better ways to hurt me.’
I let my eyes drift.‘It’s not you I want to hurt.’
Raleigh inhaled sharply.He spun so his legs straddled the settee.‘Clara, no.Listen to me.Look at me.’His hands found my shoulders, wrenching me to obey.‘Don’t try.You could barely touch Lukas, and his power doesn’t compare to hers.Have you ever killed anything bigger than a rabbit?’When he saw my expression, he said, ‘Have you ever killed anything?’
My breath hitched.He was right.I’d seen men come back from hunts with their kills, even watched Johanna wring our chickens’ necks, but the blood had never been on my hands.I’d never felt the weight of life draining away between my fingers.
‘I won’t need to kill her,’ I said, ‘if we can convince her you won.’
‘She can tell when humans are lying.’
Did he still think I would be?I no longer knew myself.I felt like I was dangling from the edge of a crevasse, closer to falling than climbing back out.Maybe I already had.I certainly couldn’t imagine finding my own happiness if I knowingly abandoned him to his fate.The problem, then, was what awaited me if I fell.Would I be the only one lying?
‘But not you?’
‘Our kind don’t have the same tells.That’s why I planned to change you at the end of the year, so she wouldn’t be able to read you.’
So that was why he needed to curse me for eternity.He planned to steal my humanity for one simple lie.
That answered one question, but not the one I’d asked.Raleigh caught me watching for his reaction, held my gaze for a moment, then realised my true meaning.
He let go of my shoulders, withdrew entirely and intertwined his hands delicately in his lap.And in that, I had my answer.I swallowed down the despair that began to wind around my heart and tried to focus only on his words.
‘It won’t matter,’ he said.‘The moment we set foot in the palace she’ll glamour you.The whole place is enchanted.’
‘Then glamour me first,’ I said.A human couldn’t be entranced by two vampires at the same time.I’d read that in the library, and Lukas confirmed it last night.
‘No,’ was all he said.
‘Raleigh—’
‘You have no ideawhat it’s like,’ he said sharply.He sounded angry, but there was a barely perceptible waver to his words that told another story.
‘Like bliss,’ I said.‘Like the air is sweet and everything is perfect.Even if a man who repulses you has you in his arms and his lips at your throat.But you still know that something’s wrong, even if there’s nothing you can do to resist.’
Raleigh stared.‘I’m sorry.’
‘I don’t mean you,’ I said.I had nearly forgotten that he’d hypnotised me in the woods all those months ago.It had felt different when he did it.‘I’m human, Raleigh.The Queen isn’t the only vampire I have to worry about.You’re the only one I trust to never hurt me.’
