He did as I asked, and I stumbled backwards. The room was tidied, and someone had placed a black shawl on the side table. I grabbed it, wrapping it around my shoulders as I moved to the other side of the room. I needed as much space between the vampire prince and myself as possible.
“Now listen here,” I said. “We have to talk.”
“Is that so?” he said, sounding surprised as his dark eyes met mine.
Drawing the shawl tightly around me, I nodded firmly. “We do.”
The prince smirked and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. “You don’t want to eat something first, Princess?”
“No.” I was hungry, but that was not the point. He wasn’t going to distract me now. Glaring at the prince, I wagged a finger in his direction. “I don’t know who you think you are, saying that I’m yours, but you’re wrong. I don’t belong to you.”
Of all the things that were said in the queen’s study, this felt like it was the most important.
“Thatwas your takeaway from this entire conversation?” Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck, and I pointedly ignored the way his tunic bunched at his arms, accentuating his muscles. “Mother’s threats of biting you are less important than contesting the fact that I claimed you as mine?”
When he put it like that, I could see his point. There were several questionable things that were said in the study.
Still, I needed to clarify this matter.
I was my own person. I needed him to remember that. Right now, it felt more important than anything else.
“Yes,” I seethed. “I don’t belong to you!”
The vampire prince stared at me for a very long moment, his black eyes sweeping over me before he snorted.
I glared at him in indignation, and his snort turned into outright laughter. Feeling like the butt of some joke I didn’t understand, I glowered at the prince as he fell into mirth. Clenching my fists at my side, I waited patiently as his humor ran its course.
“Isvana have mercy on me.” He placed his hand on his heart, moving backward until his head rested against the stone wall. When his laughter subsided, he drew in deep breaths.
I raised a brow, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “I don’t know who this ‘Isvana’ is, but I would appreciate it if you could tell me what is so funny, Sebastian?”
He chuckled once more, wiping his brow. “Of course, Luna.”
Sebastian pushed off the wall, his long legs taking him across the room in a matter of moments.
My breath caught in my throat and my heart hammered against my ribs as he came to a stop a foot away from me. Sebastian’s hand darted out far faster than should have been possible, and he took my marked hand in his.
Pulling up my sleeve with a gentleness that seemed at odds with the way his sharp fangs gleamed in the moonlight, he ran a finger over the markings on my wrist. “Do you know what these mean,wife?”
I raised a brow. “They mean that we are Bound and Tethered,husband. I believe the events of the past few hours have made that perfectly clear.”
Nodding slowly, Sebastian’s fingernail scraped my skin. My heart sped up and my skin tingled at his touch.
When the queen touched me, it made me feel horrible. But there was nothing unpleasant about the way Sebastian’s fingers felt on my skin. I liked it.
A lot.
Far more than I should have.
Bolts of pleasure ran through me at his light touch, and I clamped my knees together. This wasnotthe way I wanted to be feeling about this male. I did not want to know that his touch sent warmth through me.
I had been forced into this marriage. Taken away from my home. My family. My brother.
Marius’s smiling face flashed before my eyes, a memory from last year when I took him for a picnic. It had been a good day, and he had played in the sun for an hour before the wasting illness forced us inside.
I focused on the mental image of my little brother’s curly hair and pointed ears. That was why I couldn’t have feelings for Sebastian. Marius was sick, and he needed all the help he could get. Maybe the witches who had kept me alive while I slept would know what was wrong with him. I made a mental note to find them and ask.
Sebastian smirked, drawing my attention back to him as his fingers continued their dangerous exploration of my skin. He tapped the black band on my wrist. “These markings mean you’re mine.”