Page 12 of Fated to the Vampire Prince
“It’s not goodbye. It’s see you soon,” she whispered.
I looked at her one last time, at the stubborn upturn of her nose, and nodded. With her head held high, my sister followed Natalia out of the room, turning to wave one last time before disappearing down the hall. I pressed my lips together, trying to keep the sob buried in my throat. The vampire didn’t make a move to comfort me. He simply waltzed to the door, picked up his cane, and waited for me with an expectant look.
When I didn’t move, he expelled an annoyed breath. “Miss Donadieu, are you coming?”
Chapter 6
Devoir
BASTIEN
The sound of hooves beating on paving stones and the creak of wheels came. Moments later, my coach appeared. Its black carriage and riders a welcome sight.Unlike the woman beside me.
The one whose heartbeat was pulsing inside my bloodstone. The one who was marked by my bite. I’d never been more conflicted in my life. Somehow, I’d taken the blood of my mate and hadn’t lost my head. However, I’d lost something much more precious. My free will. I realized I no longer belonged to myself. But to her.
The blind panic I’d experienced when she’d fainted in my arms was something I never wanted to experience again. And yet, with her phobia of blood, it seemed an inevitability. In the short term, I’d avoid feeding from her. I’d gone hungry before. Then, when we arrived at Château Rose, I’d ask Imogen for answers.
My fingers grazed the throbbing stone hiding under my shirt, the one that had named her my mate. As I did, I caught myself studying the way the moon shone on herhair, turning the loose lavender strands into a rainbow of color as they whipped around her heart-shaped face. She was an infinitely beautiful problem. I hated the thought, despised myself for thinking it, but couldn’t look away.
I knew I made her uneasy. I could tell by the way she held herself and the way she kept shooting sidelong glances in my direction. If she hated me, all the better. It would make resisting her easier.
The coach came to a grinding halt and a footman hopped down, making a fuss over opening the door and preparing the steps. Claire hugged her arms against a sudden gust of wind, and I struggled to hold back a smirk. If she thought this was cold, she was in for an awakening. My castle was tucked away in the northwestern foothills of the mountains. Snow decorated the pines nearly year-round and the wind was unforgiving.
I suppose it would be my responsibility to keep her warm. Marius’s voice lanced through my unhelpful thoughts. “Why is my general leaving so soon?”
So much for stealing away while the party raged on. I’d done my due diligence by attending the ball, as Marius demanded, and now it was time to go. Two members of my family accompanied him—my brother Claude and his son, the little wretch, Tyson.
Myheir.
Marius stopped short of where we stood. A glass of red wine in one hand, the other resting on the hilt of his sword. Subtlety had never been his strong suit.
Claude and Tyson stood beside him, looking as much alike as father and son could. Dark brown hair and bronze skin. They both had the air of vampires that lived far too comfortably. Their strength earned by practicing in the training yard, not real battle.
Taking a sip of wine and eyeing Claire in a way that made my fists clench, Marius continued. “I thought you’d stick around for a dance or two. Make small talk with the courtiers. You know, reassure the people that they’re in good hands.”
Make small talk with courtiers? Perhaps the wine had washed out his good sense. I wasn’t someone who offered reassurances. I was good at two things: building alliances and ending lives.
Dried leaves swirled around our feet. Even this far south, the usually warm air had turned crisp. “The seasons are changing. I have little time to send troops through the mountain passes before they’re iced over. I cannot linger.”
Marius and Claude exchanged looks, and I wondered what they’d really come to say, especially with Tyson in tow. He had his eighteenth name day this past year, and appeared a man grown. In Tyson’s case, I suspected the spoiled boy would take a millennium to actually mature.
I introduced Miss Donadieu, who curtsied and smiled. I wasn’t sure if the money I’d given her sister had muzzled her, or, if in the aftermath of our first bite, she realized she was in over her head.
Little did she know, Natalia was arranging for her sister to be followed by a scout. I didn’t like loose ends any more than I liked small talk.
“The Viscount is eager to ride with his uncle and learn more about the lands he’s to inherit. Whenever you see fit to find your mate and return to the capital.”
I stilled, barely daring to breathe, not wanting to give anything away.“I’ve explained that won’t be happening. I don’t think the mated life would suit me the way it suits Claude.” My lip curled in the suggestion of a grin.
“Same old Bastien, I see,” Claude deadpanned. “Content to die alone in that frozen wasteland you call home.”
“If my life is so unappealing to you, then withdraw your petition to have your second son appointed asmyheir.”
He eyed me sharply. “We may be immortal, but none of us will live forever. The treaty must be upheld and you are heirless.”
“I have trained Lady Natalia.”
Claude ran a frustrated hand through his coal-black hair, a color he hadn’t been born with, butrebornwith. A physical manifestation of the family allegiances we sacrificed to become what we are. As if the change in our deadened hearts hadn’t been enough.
