This wedding was meant to strengthen ties between our communities, to build the cooperation that Grandmother had told me was crucial. Now my family was threatening the vampire king within minutes of speaking our vows.
Quandary chose that moment to make his presence known again, chirping and stretching one tiny wing toward Kieran. In all the years he’d been with me since bonding, my companion had never once shown the slightest interest in meeting new people. Yet here he was, practically preening for my new husband’s attention.
“What is that about?” I asked, but Kieran was already extending one finger toward Quandary, letting the little drake sniff him.
“Hello there,” Kieran cooed, leaning close. “You’re quite gorgeous, aren’t you?”
Quandary puffed up with pride and rubbed his tiny head against Kieran’s finger. His purr started up again, louder this time.
“He likes you.” I couldn’t keep the bewilderment out of my voice. “He never likes anyone but me.”
“Animals often have good instincts about people.” Kieran kept scratching under Quandary’s chin. “Perhaps he approves of our match.”
My blood ran cold. “Approves? Why would he?”
The air between us went razor-sharp. Even Quandary stopped purring, his little claws tightening on my shoulder as if bracing for impact.
Kieran’s eyes met mine, and I saw the exact moment he realized what he’d just revealed. “I… That is… We met. Your grandmother?—”
“You knew,” I hissed, though why I’d started to have doubts was beyond me. “Youknewit was me. All along, you knew.”
Silence stretched between us like a tight wire. Sasha’s eyes narrowed as she sensed undercurrents she couldn’t understand.
“Cyrene,” Kieran said, but I held up a hand to stop him before he spouted more lies.
“No,” I barked.
Several vampires scowled in our direction, their disapproval practically radiating across the garden. “You don’t get to explain this away. You knew exactly who you were marrying, didn’t you?”
His jaw tightened. “Actually, it’s not that simple.”
“Actually, it’s simple enough to me. You knew I was the witch who fell for your lies six years ago.”
“That’s not?—”
“What lies? And what happened six years ago?” Sasha wedged herself between us, latching onto my shoulders. “Cyrene, what’s going on? You two knew each other already?”
I kept my voice controlled. “We met at a magical festival six years ago. He told me he was awizard.”
“You told her you were a wizard?” Sasha snarled over her shoulder at my new husband. “But you’re the vampire king.”
“Every word out of his mouth was a lie,” I said. “Three days of lies. Three days of making me believe in fairy tales, and then he disappeared without a word.”
“Cyrene, please,” Kieran said, trying to politely ease Sasha to the side. “Let me explain.”
“Oh, do you wish to tell me how you thought it would be amusing to play with a naive witch’s heart? Or how you probably laughed about me for years?”
“I never laughed.” His voice came out hoarse with emotion, but I didn’t trust it one bit. “Not once. Not ever.”
“Then why did you leave? Why didn’t you come back? And why didn’t you say something tome, not my grandmother or my companion, but me, when you knew I was going to be your bride?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Whatever explanation he had, he clearly wouldn’t voice it in front of my sister.
“I see,” I bit out.” Still keeping secrets.”
Quandary squawked and pressed closer to my neck. Even my companion could sense how badly this was going.
“Cyrene,” Sasha hissed in a low voice. “Perhaps we should discuss this privately?—”
