Chapter 2

The reply from my family’s Grand Elder was shockingly fast:

“Your Highness, you have finally come to your senses. That half-blood mongrel isn’t worthy of breathing your name. The entire clan awaits your return.”

A bitter, self-mocking smile touched my lips.

For a man they called a “half-blood mongrel,” I’d hidden my identity as the firstborn of the Progenitor, Princess Devereux, playing the part of a nobody in this second-rate city for a century.

My reward? A thirty-third public humiliation.

When I returned to the gothic mansion, Heidi rushed to meet me, her face etched with worry. “My lady, you look so pale…”

“It’s nothing.” I walked straight to the study. “Go sort through my papers. I’m resigning from all my council duties.”

In the study, the Coven’s scrying pool pulsed with a blinding light.

It was Evangeline again.

She seemed determined to make sure I saw her victory.

In the reflection, she was preening, running her fingers through her messy hair. Glistening beads of sweat clung to her neck, and her face was flushed with triumph.

“Tonight was just perfect,” she purred at the mirror, her eyes flirty. “Caius ditched that old woman for me again. Did you see the look on that hag’s face? A clown left at the altar.”

The scene shifted to a moonlit hunting ground.

Caius and Evangeline flew side-by-side, her arms wrapped tightly around his.

“Caius says I’m a once-in-a-century talent,” she cooed. “He said he’s going to teach me everything himself, until I can stand on my own.”

Then, the private blood bank.

Caius was selecting a vial of priceless “Artist’s Blood” for her—a delicacy even the council elders rarely indulged in.

“Here, drink this,” he said, his voice so gentle it made me sick. “It will help stabilize your power.”

I cut the magical feed with a thought.

Enough.

I was tired of this show.

The next night, at the Chicago Vampire Council.

The moment I pushed the doors open, the noisy hall fell silent. Several elders exchanged knowing glances.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Larissa,” Elder Eldred said, swirling his glass with a smirk. “I hear last night… you failed again? It’s been a century, and you still can’t hold onto that man’s heart.”

“Maybe the problem is her,” another female elder added sharply. “Her bloodline is nothing special, after all. How can she compare to the girl Caius sired? I hear Evangeline is a true prodigy. They say she has a rare blood-harmony with Caius.”

“Yes, and that kind of harmony is much stronger than some silly blood-bond ritual.”

I stood silently in the center of the hall, listening to their taunts.

Bloodline too plain?

If I released even a sliver of my true power, these chattering fools would be on their knees, shaking and begging for my forgiveness.

But I just tossed my sigil onto the table.

“I’m resigning my seat on the council.”

“Leaving so soon?” Elder Eldred raised an eyebrow. “Not going to wait around? Maybe Caius will change his mind.”

“I won’t.”

I didn’t give them another glance and turned for the door.

But fate, it seemed, wanted more drama.

The doors swung open and Caius strode in, looking rushed.

Our eyes met. The air crackled.

“Larissa?” He frowned, his gaze falling to the resignation papers in my hand. His voice sharpened. “What is this? You’re resigning? Are you insane?”

Behind me, Elder Eldred snickered. “I suppose she’s too ashamed to stay.”

Caius’s face darkened. He marched over and grabbed my wrist.

“Is this about last night? Can you stop being so childish? I already explained, Evangeline is a fledgling, she needed help—”

“Help?”

I cut him off, my eyes locked on his neck.

There, just above his collar, was a fresh, red bite mark.

The most intimate mark between two vampires.

“That wound on your neck, was that to ‘help’ her, too?”

Caius instinctively covered his neck. Panic flashed in his eyes, but it quickly hardened into righteous anger.

“That was an accident! I was teaching her to control her fangs, she was nervous and bit too hard. Why is your mind always so filthy?”

“Was she nervous?” I shot back. “Or just couldn't help herself?”

“You’re being irrational!” Caius sighed, as if he’d found an angle to win. “I knew you’d overthink this. Evangeline is just a child, she needs my guidance—”

“Caius!”

A syrupy voice cut through his excuse.

“I’m not feeling well again…” Evangeline ran up from the end of the hall, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. “My power… I think I’m losing control. Only your presence calms me.”

She buried her face in his chest, but her eyes met mine over his shoulder.

In that instant, the weakness in her eyes vanished, replaced by raw, triumphant defiance.

She deliberately pulled down the collar of her dress, revealing a bite mark on her neck identical to Caius’s.

They had exchanged blood.

The highest act of intimacy, reserved only for soulmates.

Even though I already knew, the sight still burned.

“It’s okay, I’m here.” Caius’s voice instantly softened. He stroked her hair gently. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll take you to the vault to ground your power.”

He didn’t even look at me again. He just turned and walked away, his arm around Evangeline.

Just before the vault door closed, Evangeline looked back at me and smiled. A victor’s smile.

As the door clicked shut, I felt a cold sensation on my neck.

I looked down. The blood-crystal necklace Caius had given me for our centennial—a symbol of “Eternal Binding”—was sliding from my neck.

It shattered in mid-air, dissolving into a fine, glittering dust that drifted to the floor.

I knelt, letting the dust settle in my palm.

It was as cold as the void where my heart used to be.

Back at the mansion, I walked straight to the fireplace in the living room. Without a hint of sentiment, I tossed the crystal dust into the flames.

They were ash, just like us.