“I barely know her.”
Viktor shifts in his chair, and I get a better view of him. He looks exhausted with sharp cheekbones and dark circles under his eyes. “I had an arranged match with Elara,” he says quietly. “We never had the Blood Calling. I cared for her and I love our daughter but I never felt what you’re describing.” His voice roughens. “The Blood Calling is rare. You have something most of us will never have.”
“What about the future of the entire country?” Maxim cuts in. “You can’t talk like this is an easy thing for him to throw over Serina and take this human as his mate. The entire country treated you like a hero, Viktor, because you mated with Elara and produced a child together. They wept for you when Elara passed. We’ve been told our whole lives to do what you did. And that if we don’t have an arranged marriage, we will be responsible for the deaths of thousands.”
“Maybe there’s another way and Nikolai can have Claire?”
“Or maybe he will instead lose everything and cause civil war.”
“Nikolai can defy the Council,” Sebastian mutters, “and then there’s hope for the rest of us.”
Maxim ignores him. “What about the human herself? Does she even know what a Blood Calling is?”
“I don’t think so,” Nikolai admits.
“Then tell her. She needs to understand that she’d be entering into a life-long commitment. And that she’d be immediately pregnant because Blood Callings are matings. And also, she needs to know her offspring would be half-human. And tell her how you’d both be banished and if you chose to stay, you two could cause war.” Maxim’s voice hardens. “Consent matters. Stumbling into this blind isn’t fair to either of you.”
Nikolai nods in the affirmative.
Viktor glances toward the window. Through the gap, I can see the sky has turned dark. Snow is falling heavily now.
“The storm is getting worse. We need to return to our estates before the passes close.”
They all stand and move toward the main door.
“Talk to her,” Maxim says firmly. “She deserves the truth.”
“Don’t wait too long,” Sebastian adds. “Time runs out faster than you think.”
Viktor pauses at the threshold. “Choose what makes you happy. We will support whatever decision you make.”
Their footsteps fade down the corridor.
I wait, frozen, until I’m absolutely certain they’re gone, including Nikolai. Then my legs give out entirely and I slide down the wall until I’m sitting on the floor with my knees pulled up to my chest.
The King of Krovenia thinks I’m his fated mate. A human maid with fifty-seven thousand dollars in student debt and a brother who thinks vampires are evil masterminds running a global conspiracy. He’s never felt desire before and I triggered it by being in the wrong place at the wrong time with his family photograph in my stupid, clumsy hands.
I press my palms against my eyes, trying to stop the tears.
Nikolai was cruel to me only because he was fighting something neither of us asked for.
You make it impossible to think when you’re near me.
That was a confession of helplessness.
He’s engaged to a princess and his entire kingdom expects him to do his duty. And instead, his blood chose me. If he claims me, he could lose his throne and cause war to break out in his country. Thousands of Krovenians could be killed, just like the last time this happened.
I came here to help my brother, and instead I’ve become the thing that could destroy a king.
This morning I thought Nikolai wanted an affair with the maid. A quick fling, easily forgotten. The truth is so much worse. The truth is that he thinks I’m the person his blood has chosen. If I stay, I’ll continue to temp him and possibly destroy him.
I think about Maxim’s words:She deserves to make her own choice.
But what choice is there?
I could never ask Nikolai to give up his kingdom for me. He has a princess waiting for him — appropriate, noble, everything Claire Adams from Chicago could never be. If I left he might never feel passion, but he’d still have his throne and his kingdom. And no one would die because of me.
I stare at the cold stone floor, tears dripping off my chin. The horrible truth is that I’m falling in love with him.
