Chapter 1

My blood-bonded mate used a battle with hunters as his excuse. He lied, claiming our bond was fading, all so he could be with his lover, Josie.

He mocked me, saying I couldn’t live without him. That even if I knew the truth, I’d meekly give up my title as Princess and fade into the background of the clan.

But they didn’t know I’d already prepared a grand finale for them. I was just waiting for them to take the stage.

“There’s a problem with the blood-bond between Lydia and me.” Milton’s announcement echoed through the council chamber, under the watchful eyes of stone gargoyles. He had summoned the entire inner circle.

Regent Marcus frowned. “Prince, what do you mean?”

“I’ve lost my connection to Lydia,” Milton said, his voice cold and deliberate. “Instead, I feel a true soul-bond with Josie.”

I kept my face a mask of ice, as if listening to a story about someone else.

Josie’s hand slid up Milton’s arm, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “We didn’t want this to happen, but a soul-bond is destiny. We can’t fight it.”

“So,” Milton took a deep breath, “starting tonight, Josie will be the new Princess of the Crimson Thorn Clan. Lydia, please give the Eternal Chalice to her.”

The hall fell into a dead silence, broken only by the flicker of candlelight.

I rose slowly and walked toward the Eternal Chalice, which rested in a ceremonial niche. The obsidian cup gleamed in the dim light, its surface carved with our clan’s ancient sigil: a bloody thorn.

“Lydia…” Elder Amelia began, but I raised a hand to stop her.

I took the Chalice from its stand, walked to the long table, and set it before Josie.

“This is the symbol of the Princess. It’s yours now.”

Josie eagerly reached for it, but my next words made her freeze.

“But first, there are a few formalities.”

Josie sat up straighter. “As the former princess, you need to give me all the clan’s bloodline archives. And your centuries of ‘Dreamweaving’ records.”

I looked at Milton. He nodded in agreement. “It’s only right. Josie needs them to fulfill her duties as Princess.”

I laughed silently.

This was always Milton’s way.

Whenever his desires clashed with mine, I was the one forced to yield.

A hundred years ago, I gave up my chance to acquire a sample of the First-born’s blood in Vienna to protect the clan’s reserves. Milton praised me for my ‘great sacrifice.’

Fifty years ago, I collapsed after seven straight nights of Dreamweaving for elders lost to blood-madness. Milton called it the ‘sacred duty’ of a princess.

Ten years ago, I wanted to commission a ring engraved with our bond-mark as an anniversary gift. Milton dismissed it. “A pointless extravagance.”

But now, he could buy Josie a limited-edition Bugatti.

He could trample on our three-hundred-year bond without a second thought, just to grant Josie’s every wish.

“Lydia?” Milton’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “What are you thinking about?”

I looked at him—the man I once loved so deeply. Now, his eyes held nothing but caution and scheming.

“I was thinking,” I said, my voice dangerously calm, “that since our bond is already broken, we should shatter it for good.”

Milton stared. “What?”

“I said, let’s go to the Elder’s Coven and perform the Bond-breaking Ritual,” I repeated. “That way, you and Josie will be free to form a new bond.”

A flicker of panic crossed Josie’s face before being replaced by pure excitement. “Is… is that really possible?”

“Of course,” I smiled. “Since destiny has granted you a new connection, we should honor its will.”

Milton opened his mouth to object, but under Josie’s expectant gaze, he could only force a nod. “If… if you insist.”

“I insist,” I said, my voice firm.

I glanced at the other council members. Their expressions were a mixture of guilt and discomfort. Marcus avoided my eyes. Elder Amelia gripped her staff tighter. The others wouldn’t even look at me.

They all knew. They knew the ‘fading bond’ was a charade, and not one of them said a word.

Because they needed my Dreamweaving, but they didn't care about me.

“This meeting is over,” I said, turning toward the door. “I’m going to pack. I’ll be out of the Prince’s castle as soon as possible.”

“Wait, Lydia,” Milton said, rushing after me. “You don’t have to move out. We’re still clan…”

I stopped and turned back to him.

“Milton, your new princess needs time to adjust to her role. My staying here would only be a distraction for her.”

“But the clan still needs your Dreamweaving…”

“Isn’t that the Princess’s job now?” I gestured to Josie, who was now sitting in the main chair, toying with the Chalice. “Or can your soulmate not do that?”

Milton’s face tightened, but Josie just laughed, full of herself. “Don’t worry, I’ll learn. How hard can Dreamweaving be?”

I nodded. “Then there’s no problem.”

I pushed open the heavy doors, leaving a room of silent, guilty faces behind me.

Walking down the cold corridor, one thought brought a smile to my lips.

He didn't know the Blood Moon Awakening was only ten days away. And that the elders would only accept me, with my First-born blood, to lead it.