Lady Bianca bowed slightly, her movements graceful, elegant. Her hair was a rich chocolate brown, secured in a casual updo, and her eyes were the color of espresso. “Your highness,” she greeted, and I smiled at her.
“Thank you for introducing us,” I said. “I’m sure we’ll be fast friends.” I wasn’t actually sure of that at all. How could I build trust with these people when our foundations rested on blood and lies and betrayal?
“I’ll let Samuel know of your arrival,” James said as he hopped back into the golf cart. Bianca followed him and drove him back to the estate.
“Haughty bastard,” Ajax grumbled.
“Samuel should’ve been here on his knees to greet you,” Hawke snapped.
“This is going to be a fun week,” Dagon breathed the words into the air, staring up at those stars like he was searching for patience.
“Well defused, sister,” Alek said, turning to face me. He gently squeezed my shoulders, and a knot formed in my throat.
I’d already said goodbye to Olivia, which had involved too many tears to count. And Lyric, Annika, Jocelyn, Valor, and Daphne. The sting of those goodbyes still seared my heart, but this…this one would hurt.
“You think I’d be used to saying goodbye to you by now,” I said, my voice strained. We’d been through so many over the decades—from school visits and on.
Alek visibly swallowed. “When you came back a year ago, I never thought I would be saying goodbye so soon.”
“It’s for the best,” I said, thankful Benedict wasn’t here to feel the lie. It was for the best. My brain knew that with absolute certainty. But my heart? She didn’t believe that anymore. She wanted me to go to war to keep Hawke. He was worth it. I knew that. Worth the blood that would spill just to end this contract and start a war we may not win. He was worth everything.
But he’d never let me battle for him.
Never let me put our family and kingdom at risk for him. So, breaking this contract would all be in vain, anyway.
“You are one of the most amazing vampires I’ve ever known,” Alek said, swiping his thumb over my cheek to catch a traitorous tear. Hopefully, he thought it was about missing him, which I would, but my heart was breaking for Hawke.
At least that goodbye wouldn’t happen for a week’s time. But when it did? I clenched my eyes shut and fell into my brother’s arms, hugging him hard enough to punch the thought from my mind. I couldn’t think about that, not now. Not when I had a role to play and a mask to keep firmly in check.
“I love you, Alek,” I said against his chest. “Please be careful. Take care of Lyric and everyone.”
Alek shifted me in his embrace so he could look down at me. “You know I will. You need to take care of yourself.” He gazed at the estate far behind us, wariness in his eyes, before he glanced back down at me. “You know I’ll come for you, right? If you needed me. Damn James’s demands that I don’t set foot on the property. If you change your mind, I’m here. If you need me, I’m here.”
I nodded, but forced a smile to my lips. “I’ll be fine,” I said. “And hopefully once all this business is settled, I’ll be allowed to visit.”
“You will be,” Alek said. “There won’t be a question about that.”
I pressed my lips together, not wanting to remind him that Samuel and Saint had held me captive for a month. Of course, it was my choice to stay. I could’ve blinked out of sight and returned home the minute they left me alone, but I didn’t. Because I’d needed information, and I’d got it. If I hadn’t stayed and agreed to this marriage? Where would we be?
Likely with a throne overturned and at least some blood shed on my family’s side. No. I wouldn’t trade my suffering for theirs, not ever.
So, I straightened my spine, kissed Alek on the cheek, and turned to Hawke, Ajax, and Dagon, who were waiting patiently. “You ready?”
Hawke’s jaw clenched, but he nodded, heading back to the sedan.
I followed him, waving to Alek as he got into his own vehicle. My heart flinched as our cars went in opposite directions, my brother back to his throne, his mate, and a kingdom in turmoil, and me to my soon-to-be betrothed and my once captor. It didn’t matter that Samuel had done everything to help me, to be kind to me, it showed one truth about him I’d never be able to deny. Saint would always come first.
As long as his brother was alive, no one else would be able to sway Samuel like Saint, and that sent fear creeping along my skin. Because if he bent to Saint, what wouldn’t he sacrifice to keep him alive? And when my entire family was actively hunting Saint, I couldn’t help but wonder what that would mean for me when they found him and killed him.