Chapter 2

Severing the blood oath wasn't easy.

When the ancient runes on the long table went dark, it felt as if a piece of my heart had been torn away. It was the bond that had tied me to Alaric for ten whole years, long since woven into my blood. Now I'd cut it out with my own hands.

The hall was silent.

Alaric stood motionless, his expression dark. He stared at the Progenitor's Ward ring glowing on the table, then looked up at me.

"Selena, stop this nonsense." His low voice carried the displeasure of a man used to being obeyed. "Tonight is our anniversary. Making a scene like this in front of all these people is undignified."

Undignified?

I looked at Orla, so fragile at his side, and at Elias, barely breathing in her arms, and the whole scene felt absurd.

"This isn't nonsense." I raised my hand. My palm was still dripping blood from where I'd cut it to break the bond. "I've given up the ring, and I've begun severing the blood oath. Alaric, I meant what I said."

Orla edged forward with the baby, tears in her eyes, speaking softly. "Selena... I'm so sorry. It's all because of me. I shouldn't have come. I just wanted to save my baby... Alaric, please talk her out of it. Don't let me and the baby come between you two."

She'd been doing this for years. Ever since the day she'd walked into the castle with that child, her tears had turned on and off like a faucet whenever she needed them.

Whenever she cried, Alaric rushed to her side. And I always had to be the gracious one. I always had to step back.

But this time, I didn't even bother looking at her.

I touched my still-flat belly. There was a tiny new life growing there, Alaric's child and mine, but its father no longer wanted it.

In that moment, the last warmth I felt for him died.

"You can stop acting." I cut Orla off. "The ring is yours now. Take it and save the child you had with Alaric."

Alaric frowned and stepped forward to take my hand. "Selena, come back to our room with me. Severing a blood oath is no joke. If you change your mind within 30 days, I can pretend none of this happened."

I took half a step back, out of his reach.

His hand hung in midair. Panic flashed in his eyes, but arrogance quickly took its place. As far as he was concerned, I couldn't live without him. I'd given up my inheritance and everything else for him. I had nowhere to go. He thought that by mistreating me, he could keep me loyal and dependent on him.

"Thirty days is enough." I looked at him calmly.

With that, I turned my back on the stunned stares of every vampire in the hall and slowly climbed the spiral stone stairs.

Behind me, Orla sobbed softly while Alaric comforted her.

Every sound seemed to mock how foolish I'd been for ten years.

Back in my bedroom, I shut the door on all the noise.

The backlash from severing the blood oath hit fast. My body began to go cold, a natural reaction to losing the Progenitor bloodline's protection. Years ago, to save Alaric, I'd lost my ability to heal myself, and only that ring and his blood oath had kept me alive.

Now, without the ring, the backlash hit far harder.

I braced myself against the wall and made my way to the vanity, my face pale. I sat down, opened the bottom drawer, and took out a dusty lacquered box.

Inside lay a black crest with an intricate pattern. It stood for the Roland family, the oldest pureblood clan on the Night Continent.

Ten years ago, to marry Alaric, I'd put away this crest in front of my whole clan and cut ties with my family, choosing to stay in this castle as his dutiful wife. I'd thought that if I gave enough, I'd be rewarded with real love.

But reality had slapped me hard across the face.

Ten years. He didn't remember a single thing I'd done for him.

In the first year, I covered every expense, from our dealings with the 13 Clans to the blood supply and even the servants' monthly wages. All he said was, "That's what the lady of the house is supposed to do anyway."

In the third year, Orla was brought back to the castle. She said she was afraid of the dark, so Alaric gave her my quarters. He didn't ask me. He just sent a servant to tell me, "Pick another room."

In the sixth year, Orla, red-eyed, said she wanted my blood-crystal comb. My mother had slipped it to me in secret on my wedding day. When I refused, Alaric frowned at me for the first time. "It's just a comb. Be generous."

Less than two weeks later, the comb had snapped in two. Orla cried and apologized, and Alaric pulled her into his arms and turned to me. "She didn't do it on purpose."

In the eighth year, werewolves attacked. I took the blow meant for him, lost my power to regenerate, and lay in bed for 40 days.

He came to see me once and stayed for 15 minutes. That night, he slept in Orla's room because she'd had a nightmare and was afraid to sleep alone.

Every time they asked me to back down, I did. I kept thinking that if I gave in enough, one day he'd finally see me.

I picked up the crest, and its cold touch cleared my head.

"Don't be afraid, baby," I whispered to my belly. "Mommy's going to take you away from here. We don't need anyone's charity."

Heavy footsteps sounded outside the door.

Alaric didn't knock. He pushed the door open and walked in. He still smelled faintly of Orla's perfume.

He came up behind me and met my eyes in the mirror. He looked tired and impatient. "Orla's child is stable now. Selena, I won't hold today against you, but you're being childish."

I put the crest away without turning around. "Childish?"

"The Ward ring is only on loan to her for a while. Once the child is out of danger, I'll get it back for you." He said it as if it were obvious and bent down to try to hug me from behind. "As for the blood oath, I'll have a blood physician stop the severing tomorrow. Stop making trouble, all right?"

On loan?

At the cost of my life? Once the Ward ring has bonded to its owner, it can never be restored if another pureblood absorbs its power. He knew that perfectly well, and he still chose to lie to me.

I stood up and pulled away from him again.

"Alaric, the moment the Progenitor's Ward ring was given away, it was gone for good." I turned and looked straight into his eyes. "You don't have to comfort me, and you don't have to lie to yourself. In your heart, Orla and her child will always come first."

Alaric's face darkened. "Selena, I've been holding back! Orla only has that child. She has no one to rely on! And you're my wife. You have every honor I could ever give you. Why can't you be a little more generous?"

A little more generous.

I'd heard those words countless times over the past ten years.

"So I'll step aside and let you two have each other." I put some distance between us, my eyes flat and empty. "From now on, don't come looking for me."

Alaric stared at me, as if searching my face for the slightest sign of sulking or hurt, but he found nothing.

"Fine. Just fine." He let out a furious laugh and turned on his heel. "Selena, let's see how many days you last on the Night Continent without the Progenitor bloodline's protection, without the title of duchess, without me!"

The door slammed so hard the windows rattled.

The room went quiet again.

I went to the window and looked out at the pitch-black night sky. Numbness spread through my chest. Once the grief of betrayal passed, all that was left was the relief of finally setting down a heavy burden.

Alaric, you think I'm some hanger-on you picked up out of the mud.

You've long since forgotten one thing. Before I became your wife, I was the heir to the oldest, noblest pureblood line on this continent.