Chapter 1

"You're really giving me the chance to marry Lucian?"

Rosalie covered her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Our mother, Evelyn Ashford, slammed her palm on the table and jabbed a finger in my face.

"Iris, what kind of trick are you pulling now?"

"Offering to step aside, are you? Trying to play the victim in front of Lucian so he'll feel sorry for you?"

I stared coldly at my mother and sister and said nothing.

I pulled the marriage contract bearing the Vampire Court's gold seal from my bag and slammed it onto the table.

"The Elder Council has already replaced Iris Ashford with Rosalie Ashford on the contract."

"Tomorrow, she marries Lucian."

"I'll take her place in the diplomatic marriage and wed the Lord Commander of the Hunters' Order."

The moment Rosalie saw her name on the contract, a squeal of pure delight escaped her.

She snatched the contract and clutched it to her chest.

"You really went and changed the name?"

Rosalie stared at the contract, her voice trembling with excitement.

I leaned back and watched her clutch it like a starving dog guarding a bone.

"It's right there in black and white. The Elder Council's seal can't be forged."

The fury on Mother's face melted instantly into delight. She pulled Rosalie into her arms.

"Thank heavens! My Rosalie has finally caught a break. She won't have to go off to the Order to die!"

She turned and looked me up and down with contempt.

"At least you have some self-awareness."

"Your worthless life can buy peace for this family. That's about all you're good for."

I had heard those same vicious words countless times in my first life. Now they couldn't touch me.

"Don't regret this later, Iris."

Rosalie tucked the contract into her bag and fixed me with a taunting look.

"You think I don't see through your little scheme?"

"You're handing over the contract so Lucian will feel guilty about you, aren't you?"

"Keep dreaming. Once you're shipped off to that hellhole, you won't even live to see another sunrise."

I was about to answer when the front door crashed open.

"Rosalie!"

Lucian strode in.

He never even looked at me. He went straight to Rosalie, naked anguish in his eyes.

"Lucian!"

Rosalie instantly slipped into her wounded-innocent act and threw herself into his arms.

"I'm sorry you're being put through this, Rosalie."

Lucian stroked her hair, his voice thick with guilt.

"Tomorrow you're heading to that dreadful place. I wish I could take your place."

I watched his lovesick performance and nearly laughed.

Rosalie and Mother had no intention of telling him the truth.

They were afraid that speaking up now would invite complications.

They planned to wait until the wedding made the swap irreversible and trapped Lucian for good.

"It's all right, Lucian. I don't mind."

Rosalie nestled deeper into his arms, her voice coated in practiced sweetness.

"As long as my sister gets to be happily married to you, what does it matter if I die in her place?"

Lucian heard this and whipped around, glaring at me.

"Iris, look at how selfless Rosalie is!"

"She's about to go die for you, and you're just sitting here without a care in the world?"

I met his gaze, my expression ice-cold.

"What would you prefer? Should I kneel at her feet and thank her for going?"

Lucian flinched at my indifference, his brow furrowing.

"What kind of attitude is that?"

"I didn't come here today to listen to your sarcasm."

He marched up to me and towered over me, thrusting out his hand.

"Hand over your Heartstone."

My eyes sharpened, and I instinctively pressed a hand to my chest.

The Heartstone was the only keepsake my birth mother had left me. Its magic nourished my bloodline and kept me strong.

"Why do you want it?" I asked, my voice hard.

"Rosalie is going to the Order tomorrow. It's crawling with danger."

Lucian spoke as if he were asking for something trivial.

"Her bloodline isn't pure enough. Those demon hunters could tear her apart."

"Give her your Heartstone for protection. You owe her that much!"

A laugh broke out of me, sharp with disbelief.

"I don't owe her anything. The Heartstone is mine, and without it, I'll be critically weakened."

"You'd sacrifice my life to protect hers?"

Impatience flashed across Lucian's eyes.

"Iris, do you have to be so selfish?"

"You'll be my wife tomorrow. The entire Vampire Court will protect you, so what could you possibly need the Heartstone for?"

"Rosalie is being sent to her death! And you can't even give up one little trinket?"

I looked at Lucian, standing there so self-righteous it was sickening.

"No." I bit out the word.

"That's not up to you!"

Lucian's expression darkened. He lunged forward and seized me by the throat.

"Lucian, what are you doing?" I clawed at his hand.

Rosalie let out a perfectly rehearsed cry of alarm.

"Lucian, please don't hurt her! I don't need it. If the hunters kill me tomorrow, so be it..."

Lucian scoffed. With his other hand, he wrenched open my collar.

He ripped the Heartstone from my neck by brute force, still warm from my skin.

Agony tore through me. Power drained from my body as though someone had pulled a plug, and my knees gave way beneath me.

Lucian draped the Heartstone carefully around Rosalie's neck.

"There. Now I can stop worrying about you, Rosalie."

He turned and cast me a glance.

"Iris, we're getting married tomorrow. You'd better behave."

The door slammed shut with a bang.

I dragged myself upright, bit through the skin of my finger, and used the blood seeping from the wound to trace a spell circle on the floor.

It was a ritual I had discovered in my first life, one that opened a direct channel to the Lord Commander of the Hunters' Order.

The moment the circle was complete, a faint silver light flickered across the floor.

A faint, holy presence drifted through the air.

"How unusual."

A cold, deep voice laced with danger emanated from the circle.

"The bride of that useless vampire prince is calling me the night before her wedding. Are you that eager to die?"

I took a deep breath and fought down the weakness coursing through me.

"Nathaniel Cross, I want to make a deal."

"Oh?" A note of amusement crept into his voice. "I'm listening."

"The one going to the Order tomorrow isn't Rosalie. It's me."

I fixed my eyes on the faint silver glow and made every word count.

"I'm offering myself to you."

Silence from the other side of the circle. Then a low, soft laugh.

"What do you want?"

"Two things."

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and stared into the silver light.

"First, send the most magnificent carriage to pick me up tomorrow. Don't blow my cover."

"Second, prepare a Silver Mirror for me."

"I want to see, crystal clear, the look on Lucian's face when he lifts that veil."

Nathaniel chuckled, the sound rich with unconcealed delight.

"As you wish, my future bride."