There must have been a rebellious streak within me because I wanted to do nothing more than to turn and run in the other direction, simply because he told me to stop.
A retort rose to the tip of my tongue, but before I could give it voice, I made the mistake of looking into the vampire prince’s eyes. They were wide, imploring me to pay attention
I took a step toward him, still blocked by those wings, and I hissed, “What do you want?”
He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, drawing me tight against him as he lowered his head. I kept my back as straight as a board, ignoring my body’s desire to lean into the male who had no right to be this handsome.
“If you don’t calm down,” he murmured in a voice so low only I could hear, “she’ll force this on you.”
His eyes flicked to the queen, then back to me.
I pushed past the growing lump in my throat, the meaning of his words clear.
Power emanated from his mother. She sat on her black throne, overlooking the crowd like a goddess of death. Queen Marguerite was both stunningly beautiful and incredibly dangerous.
“You mean…”
“If you don’t cooperate, she will kill you,” he said, finishing my sentence.
“But the alliance—”
Sebastian tightened his arm around me. “Don’t push her, Luna. I know we just met, but trust me when I say you do not want to get on her bad side.” He paused, as though searching for words. I could have sworn a flash of pain went through his eyes. “That never ends well.”
The knot in my stomach was back, and time seemed to slow as I ran various options through my mind.
On one hand, if the queen killed me, it would affirm my worst fears about my arranged marriage. From the moment the Council of Lords told me about the union, I knew it was probable the vampires would be the death of me.
If I were being honest, dying was not something I had planned on doing tonight. The only other viable option seemed to be to accept this Binding. If I did, I would have to deal with the consequences later.
Seeing as how I rather valued living, despite the recent problematic turns my life had taken, I went with the latter option.
“All right. I’ll do it,” I said.
Maybe I imagined it, but I could have sworn a flicker of relief went through the prince’s eyes. Just as soon as it was there, it was gone. Sebastian pulled an impassive mask over his features, nodding at the priest who stood a few feet away from us.
The male clapped his hands, his white robes fluttering around him as he grinned. Moments later, a door I hadn’t noticed opened up on the other side of the throne room. A female clothed in a simple black dress stepped into the throne room. She walked slowly, carrying a gilded tray bearing a golden chalice and a dagger. A red ribbon was around her neck like a choker and her hair was braided back, displaying her rounded ears.
The servant was the first human I’d seen since coming to this frozen castle. She glanced at me, her eyes filled with pity before she looked away quickly and bowed before the queen. “Your Majesty.”
The royal vampire waved her hand in the air. “Go on, let’s get this over with.”
“Of course.” This came from the priest, who walked over to the servant and took the items from her before the pair exchanged a few words. Once the human’s hands were empty, she bowed to the queen once more, backing up slowly as she returned the way she came.
The door banged shut behind her.
Only then did the priest turn. His smile was almost feral as he met my gaze. “It is time.”
My eyes widened as Sebastian’s hand slipped down to the middle of my back. My stomach twisted and cold dread spread through my entire body.
That panic returned, and this time, fear ran through me like a raging river. What had I gotten myself into?