Page 3 of Fated to the Vampire Prince
He broke eye contact first, but his gaze trailed down to my neck, lingering on my lace choker. I wondered if he could hear the blood in my veins or the sound of my heart beating faster, but I didn’t dare to ask.
Another beat of unnerving silence passed. A muscle in his jaw feathered, and then a flicker of confusion passed across his face.
“I see.” The words came from somewhere deeper in his chest. More growl than anything.
Had I said something wrong?
I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, silently praying tothe Moon Goddess for help because I couldn’t mess this up. Hehadto choose me. I just didn’t know how to convince him. This was the first time I’d even spoken to a man who wasn’t family.
“If I make you so uneasy, how will you endure a year at my side? If I disturb you so thoroughly, just standing on a balcony, how will you follow me into battle?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came. It was a fair question. Many others found him captivating and were willing to leave their families for a chance to be in his service. Plenty who didn’t have an aversion to the very thing he wanted. Blood.
My desperation rose, and I touched the rough lace around my neck. Mama’s choker reminded me of what was at stake.
Bastien smirked at my discomfort, like the arrogant vampire he was. But I couldn’t give up that easily.
“Anyone who meets you is uneasy, Your Grace,” I rushed to say. “You command the largest army. You live in the biggest castle besides this one. If I wasn’t uneasy, you would have reason to be suspicious.”
He considered me for a long moment. As he did, he shifted slightly, allowing a thick shaft of moonlight to illuminate his chest. My gaze snagged on a glow of pulsing red light, barely visible from behind the strap of his leather holster. Once I’d seen it, I couldn’t look away.
It drew something deeper than attention.
Collecting my courage, I stepped forward and lifted my hand to the pulsing light. Before I could touch it, he grabbed my wrist, twisting it until I yelped. His grip rough against my skin. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He held me in place, eyes searing into me with murder.
I realized he assumed I was reaching for his dagger. “No, Your Grace. It’s?—”
The red light flashed brighter,staining our hands with its crimson glow. He released me and quickly removed a gold chain with a pulsating stone from under his shirt.
Each throb of light was like a heartbeat.
The vampire tucked the gem back inside his shirt and repositioned his dagger over it. Hiding the glow. When he looked back at me, his eyes were stone cold. “I will not be taking you into my service, if that’s what you came here for.” He tapped his cane against the stone as if to accentuate his point.
My throat was thick with desperation. What was I going to do? I couldn’t lose this job. I had to convince him I was a worthy partner. “Please, Your Grace. Prince Bastien. I beg you to reconsider.”
I tried to reach out to him, like the soft, dutiful girl I was pretending to be, but he backed away.
“Do not seek an audience with me again,” he growled.
“No!” I cried. But the sound only echoed in the cold night air.
I was alone. The Duke of Roselyn was gone. I stared blankly at the open door, trying to order my thoughts.
I’d promised my family I’d get this job or die trying. And…I’d failed. He’d rejected me. Something about it stung worse than being ignored. If he’d never invited me for an interview, I could’ve died quietly outside the castle with Sera beside me.
But that wasn’t my fate. The tingle of magick burned against my lips, and a whole new kind of terror took hold of my heart. The choker tightened as the conditions of the vow I’d made to my coven were fulfilled, the lace turning to piercing barbs.
The pain was all-consuming. A thousand tiny blades. I reached for the stone railing to steady myself, even though nothing inside me felt steady. Especially when something warm and wet rolled down my neck and landed in a splatter beside my hand. I sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of red.
Blood.
The spell was ready to claim my life.
Chapter 2
Mourir
