Last week, when I visited my little brother, Syndra, one of the witches assigned to his care, pulled me aside and told me that things were getting worse. Marius was barely eating, and he wasn’t keeping anything down.
She knew someone, she mentioned, who might be able to help Marius. A researcher who specialized in strange illnesses. Syndra promised she would contact me if she received any information that might help.
Papa leaned forward, his lips brushing my cheek as he squeezed my hand. “Remember who you are,” he whispered.
I knew who I was. Luna Brielle Wisethorn, fourth daughter of the Human Lord, lover of books and all things academic. And now, the bride of the vampire prince.
A heartbeat later, the doors to the Great Hall banged open with a reverberation that echoed through my entire body.
This was it.
I stared into the hall, my heart beating a rapid rhythm in my chest as I took in the darkened space. I had been here hundreds of times before and I’d spent countless hours dancing and playing with my sisters in the Great Hall. It should have been comforting, saying goodbye in this place I knew like the back of my hand.
But it wasn’t.
This was the end of my life as I had known it.
Darkness shrouded the Great Hall. Even on the day of Kinthani’s funeral, natural light had been allowed to shine through the windows.
Not tonight.
Thick ebony drapes hung heavily upon the large rectangular windows, blocking any hope I might have had of seeing the last rays of sunlight dancing across the sky. Tall white candles in golden tapers lined the thick red carpet running down the center of the stone floor. The candlelight flickered ominously, casting dark shadows on the waiting crowd. There wasn’t even a drop of natural light. I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Vampires were not welcome in the presence of the sun.
Servants lined the walls, their backs rigid as they stood at attention. The Council of Lords and their families were present, and further down the hall, I spotted my three sisters and their husbands. They stood with my stepmother, Ysabel, and as expected, Marius was not present.
The air was thick with tension, as though everyone was afraid to breathe. Even Papa seemed to still, his back ramrod straight as he murmured, “You can do this, Lulu.”
Dipping my head in the slightest nod, I squeezed his hand and gathered all my courage. “I can.” Raising my head, I straightened and pushed back my shoulders. “I will.”
It was my duty.
Holding my head up high, I stared into the Great Hall. And then I saw them.
A trio stood at the far end of the hall, surrounded by an aura of power and strength. Positioned as far from the flickering candles as they could get, their very presence seemed to suck up any remnants of light that dared make its way toward them. Each of their three faces was as hard as the stone beneath their feet; as if they were incapable of feeling emotions. Perhaps they were.
Three sets of deadly black eyes stared straight ahead, their heavy gazes seeming to look right into my soul.
Even with the expanse of the Great Hall separating us, the trio’s collective beauty was so striking that it took my breath away. Their faces were so perfect, it almost hurt to look at them.
Almost.
Their beauty was unnatural and yet it was entirely captivating. I couldn’t pull my eyes away, even if I tried. I didn’t recognize two of the vampires, but the third…
I knew that face. Queen Marguerite’s representative had given me a portrait of my future husband, and over the past two weeks, I memorized every single line of his face.
My hand tightened around my father’s arm. “Is that… Why is he here?”
Papa seemed just as surprised to see him. “Maybe he wanted to see you before the wedding?”
My mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out. In the end, I settled for continuing to stare at them. They stood with little regard for the rest of the crowd, and their postures spoke of their desire to leave this place.
A male with skin as dark as the night sky stood on the right, and a pale female with long blonde, almost white hair, was on his left. Wearing a tight-fitting tunic and trousers just like the two males, she picked something from beneath her fingernails as she tapped her foot on the ground impatiently.
I barely paid them any attention.
My entire being was focused on the male in the middle. I thought that perhaps knowing what the Prince of Darkness looked like might have made doing my duty easier. Maybe by staring at his portrait long enough, I could have prepared myself for my fate.