“When you agreed to step in as proxy,” Thalia said, staring at the ring on her finger, “you were agreeing to marry me yourself, given the fact the prince never could?”
Cassius swallowed. “Yes. I always—I always knew it would be you, no matter what.”
Thalia’s throat tightened, and she flicked her gaze to his. “Shall we take the vow, then, officially?” At Cassius’s raised brow, she continued, “Go to the springs and vow that no matter what darkness comes, even if we become darkness ourselves, we shall be by each other’s sides? That we’ll face whatever trials this age brings—together, two souls entwined.”
Cassius gripped her chin. “Princess, I would like nothing more.”
Thalia grinned, sealing her lips against his, their silent vow stronger than iron.
Epilogue
Three months later
“Iswear, are you even listening?”
Thalia jerked, banging her knee against the top of the desk in her office. She hissed, shaking her head to try to clear her thoughts. But it was rather hard considering the sensation currently traveling up her thighs. “What?”
Camilla stood before her, golden eyes narrowed. She held a cream letter in her dark hand, but Thalia couldn’t make out the wax seal. “I said that House Gallinus will not be attending your coronation.”
Thalia shook her head once more, trying to calm her rising heartbeat. “Oh.” She ignored the huff coming from between her legs. Her heart rate spiked.
“How do you want me to reply?” Camilla tilted her head.
Thalia paused, chewing the inside of cheek. House Gallinus seemed more opposed to her upcoming coronation than any other House. After Lord Adrian had slunk back to Cupisco, he’d been … quiet. But that didn’t mean winning over the other Houses had been easy, even with the cure now spreading throughout Vaccarium and the bitten Vampyrs being cured. It had taken months and countless meetings with the other Houses to regain some degree of their trust. At least for now they seemed resigned to the fact that she’d be ruler ofVaccarium, but she still had a long way to go if she ever hoped to be seen as their true ruler.
Later. She’d deal with that later.
“Just leave it,” Thalia finally said. “I’ll figure it out—” She sucked in a sharp breath, fingers tightening on the arms of her chair. Tiny fires erupted along her skin, setting her core molten. She tried to clamp her thighs together, but there was a pressure currently keeping them open.
Camilla raised a brow but set the letter on the desk. Before she left, the shifter turned. “Oh, tell Cassius to hurry up. The Houses will be here tomorrow, and we still have a lot to prepare for.”
She left, closing the door to Thalia’s new bedroom behind her.
Thalia shoved back her chair, yanking up the hem of her dress. “You couldn’t have waited until after she was gone?”
Cassius sat back on his heels, a faint hint of fangs gleaming. “And waste what little time we have before the shitstorm arrives?” Thalia glared at him, and he smirked. “Forgive me, Princess, for wanting to ensure you’re entirely relaxed and taken care of before your coronation.”
He leaned forward once more, blue eyes set with such intent that Thalia resisted the urge to open her legs again.
“Camilla’s right,” Thalia got out, staring at the letter on her desk. Cassius paused. “There’s still so much to do before the rest of the courts get here.”
Cassius flicked his gaze up, challenge evident on his handsome face. “Good thing I work fast.”
Thalia couldn’t help the smirk that came to her lips. Cassius started pushing the folds of her gown aside, but she stopped him. “How do I reply?”
“Don’t.”
Thalia gripped his wrist, forcing his attention back to her. “I can’tnotreply, Cass. All the Houses were summoned. House Gallinus is choosing to ignore it—ignore me.”
Cassius’s brows narrowed, but he rose, grabbing the letter Camilla had left behind. He leaned against the desk, scanning the contents.
Finally, he said, “Well, Lord Adrian was at least … polite in his refusal to show. I doubt he wrote it, given the flowery prose.”
Thalia snorted, but all humor died as she stared at the wax emblem of a stag with eight legs on it. “The other Houses will recognize this as an act of defiance.”
Cassius set the letter aside. “The other Houses are not as stupid as House Gallinus. They know you are the reason we have a cure.”
Except they didn’t know to what extent.
