I deserved better than that.
Finally, I caught a glimpse of a grand staircase. Made of stone like the rest of this castle, a red carpet ran down its length. Grabbing the railing, I was halfway down the stairs when a hand landed on my arm.
“Luna,” Sebastian growled, “stop.”
I tried to get away, but his grip tightened around my arm. Glaring over my shoulder at the Prince of Darkness, I snapped, “Let me go!”
He shook his head. Somewhere along the way, his wings had snapped out. Now, he loomed above me as we stood on the stone stairs, his wings casting large shadows over us both. “No. You can’t just go stomping around this castle alone. It’s not safe.”
“I’m not alone, am I?” Lowering my voice, I moved up a step and leaned in close until our chests were nearly touching. “Unless we somehow break this stupid curse, it looks like I’ll never be alone again.”
“Neither will I!” he yelled. Shadows gathered around him, swirling on the stairs and sucking the light out of the space. “Do you think this is just bothering you, Luna? That you’re the only one suffering here? Do you think Iaskedfor this?”
I glared at Sebastian. My face was warm, and I knew it was red, betraying the way my blood boiled in my veins. The shuffling of feet came from below, but I couldn’t look. Not right now.
Clenching my fists, I seethed, “Suffering? How are you suffering?”
His grip tightened around my wrist, and I moved onto his stair. The heat of his breath warmed my cheek and his nostrils flared, but he did not speak.
I hissed, “Let me guess. The big, bad Prince of Darkness is upset because he was forced to marry a human. And now, whether he likes it or not, he’s stuck with her.”
The prince’s black eyes locked on mine, a vein in his jaw pulsing as he stared at me. “You know it’s more complicated than that.”
Obviously. Neither of us could have guessed we would be Tethered together.
“What was wrong earlier?” I raised a brow. “If you want to talk, let’s have a discussion about that.”
He shook his head. “No. I won’t talk about that. Suffice it to say, wife of mine, you aren’t the only one suffering in this relationship.”
There was that word again.
“You think you’resuffering?”
He simply stared at me.
All the anger, all the frustration that had been gathering up inside of me since I was thrust into this arranged marriage was pushing its way out of me. “You know what, Sebastian? I don’t think you know what it means to suffer. Whatever you’re feeling, I’m feeling it ten times worse. This is your home. Your country. Your mother is the queen. What do I have? Nothing.”
Now that I was going, I couldn’t stop. The words flooded out of me. “I was plucked from Ipotha. I lost my friends. My family. My home. I was brought here, and then this was done to me.” Waving my marked hand in front of his face, I whisper-shouted, “I used to be the best at everything, and now I’museless. All I can do is read, which is proving fruitless. I can’t even go to see my friend without being followed by a grumpy old vampire.”
“Luna—”
“No,” I gasped. Of course,now, silver lined my eyes. I couldn’t cry when I was being taken away from my family, but in the midst of an angry spurt, my body decided this was the time for tears. Blinking furiously, I forced them to remain at bay as I shook my head. “I had everything taken from me.”
His grip slackened, and I yanked my arm out of his grasp, turning around. A dozen vampires and servants stared up at us, their expressions ranging from curiosity to downright horror.
I supposed we had put on quite the show. “What do you want?” I snapped.
As a group, they blanched, scattering like snowflakes blowing in the wind.
Stomping down the carpeted stairs, I made it halfway down the nearest hallway before dark shadows gathered around me. Moments later, an arm wrapped around my waist.
Sudden and complete darkness blinded me, and I gasped.
“Let me go!” I cried, pulling at Sebastian’s arm, trying to force him to release me.
“No,” he snarled.
I pounded on his flesh, scratching. “Stop!”