There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that this was Sebastian’s room. Somehow, the lack of color seemed to fit him perfectly.
The door closed, the sound pulling me from my thoughts.
Moments later, I saw him.
The prince had changed since our wedding. Gone were the black crown and silken shirt, replaced with a more comfortable-looking tunic and form-fitting trousers. Like the expansive wings on his back and the rugged hair on his head, they were black. Perhaps it was his favorite color.
Sebastian leaned against the stone wall, his black, storm-filled eyes watching me carefully. When I could take the weight of his stare no longer, I shifted.
“Um… hi,” I said.
He chuckled, the sound tinged with echoes of darkness, and his wings rustled as he pushed himself off the wall. “Hi.”
The vampire prince took another step towards the bed, and the air grew inexplicably thick.
“Sebastian, was it?”
His voice was rough as he replied, “Yes, that’s my name.”
“I… good.” I cleared my throat as my cheeks heated. Usually, I was an eloquent conversationalist, but right now, being alone with this male was reducing me to mere scraps of my linguistic capabilities.
“Is there,”—I paused, searching for the least-embarrassing words I could find that would describe my current predicament—“a bathing room I could use?”
He stared at me for a moment before gesturing to a door on the wall opposite the bed. “Right through there.”
I probably could have deduced that on my own, but something about the vampire prince made all my thoughts scramble. Nodding, I slipped off the bed. My legs shook, and I wrapped the blanket around myself as I made my way into the next room.
Locking the door behind me, I hurried to the toilet. Once I had taken care of my personal needs and washed my hands, I looked around the space.
Illuminated by soft purple lights, this was easily the most luxurious bathing room I had ever seen in my entire life. A study in shades of black, it boasted of a massive tub that looked like it could easily fit four winged beings, a toilet, a large shower, a sink, and a large window.
Forgetting the male in the other room, I hurried to the window and braced my hands on the sill. The glass was frosty, and I raised an arm, rubbing the edge of the blanket over it.
Vast stretches of snowy forests and mountains filled the horizon, and snow fell from the sky, dusting the landscape in white. Stone figures perched on the rooftops, and I could have sworn I saw something—or someone—flying by the window.
This view was nothing like the flat plains of Ipotha that used to greet me every morning. I was alone. Away from my family. From my sick brother. From everyone I knew.
A knock came on the door. “Are you all right, Luna?”
“Yes, I’m… fine.”
Re-wrapping the blanket around myself, I shuffled back into the other room. My legs were still shaky, and my head swam. Sebastian was exactly where I had left him, and I climbed back into the bed. Rarely could I remember feeling this ill.
“How are you feeling?” His brows furrowed as he looked me over.
Groaning, I leaned against the headboard as if that would help the pounding in my skull.
“Not great,” I admitted. “Everything hurts.”
“Still?”
There was something about his tone of voice that made me sit up.
I narrowed my eyes, wincing slightly as the throbbing intensified. “What do you mean, ‘still’? It’s been quite the day… or night? Our wedding, and then the Binding Ceremony… anyone would feel off the day after something like that.”
His eyes widened. “Luna, that wasn’t last night.”
My mouth fell open, and I blinked. “Excuse me?”