LOGINWinter came early to the Night Continent.Without the protection of the Roland family's ancient blood wards, Alaric's once-glorious Progenitor's Castle had long since fallen into chaos. The nobles who used to flock there now avoided it. The servants had run off, leaving the whole castle in a deathly gloom.Alaric drank all day, huddled in the bedroom that had once been ours.Stripped of his ducal privileges and the mines on his lands, he couldn't even keep the castle's most basic vampire wards running. He'd become the biggest joke on the Night Continent.That afternoon, the castle's battered doors were pushed open again.Alaric rushed downstairs full of hope, thinking I'd softened and sent for him. But standing outside was only Orla, in rags, her face deathly pale.Elias was barely clinging to life in Orla's arms, no longer nourished by the Progenitor's Ward ring."Alaric... save the baby..." Orla wept pitifully, crawling over to clutch his pant leg. "Please, go beg Selena again... If
It was my seventh day back in the Roland family's ancient lands.With the help of my family's finest sacred springs and my own progenitor blood, my body recovered quickly. The color came back to my face, and I looked even more radiant than I had ten years ago.And in those seven days, the whole Night Continent had been turned upside down.The news that Alaric, the Progenitor Duke, had lost his Roland pureblood wife spread far and wide. Only now did the 13 Clans realize, to their shock, that the quiet duchess was the sole heir of the oldest house, dating back to the first progenitors!Without the Roland family's hidden protection and the power of its bloodline, the Progenitor's Castle fell from grace overnight. The small and midsized clans that had once owed it allegiance broke away one after another.Elias had been forced to absorb the power of the Progenitor's Ward ring. It clashed with his bloodline, and he cried day and night in pain. Alaric was frantic, but nothing he tried could h
Edmund and Vivienne went ashen with fear and nearly lost their footing.The Roland clan was the legendary ancient house said to control the source of every bloodline on the Night Continent. It had existed long before the 13 Clans were founded.And now those two legendary figures were looking at me with nothing but heartache."You dare bully the heir of the Roland family? Who do you upstarts think you are?"My father, Duke Roland, swept his icy gaze over Alaric, Orla, Edmund, and Vivienne.In that moment, everyone who'd been attacking me moments earlier went deathly pale and couldn't say a word in their own defense.I looked at my parents standing in the light of the doorway, and everything that had bound my heart for ten years simply fell away.I picked up my bag and walked toward them, one step at a time, without looking back at Alaric even once.My mother reached out and took my hand. Her palm was warm and strong, and its touch chased the last of the chill from my body."Come. Let's
Late on the 30th day.The bell at the top of the castle tolled 12 times. The heavy chimes spread through the silent night like the close of an ancient ritual.I stood at the window when my blood suddenly surged.I felt the last thread of the blood oath binding me to Alaric snap. Perhaps the severing had hurt for so long that I felt no pain this time. There was only a hollow feeling, followed by a lightness I hadn't felt in ten years.There was finally nothing between us.The door burst open.Alaric rushed in, pale. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was disheveled from running through the night. His usual arrogance and composure were gone.He could feel it now. The bond between us was gone."Selena!" He hurried up to me, his voice shaking badly. "The blood oath is broken... You really broke it?"I turned to look at him, calm. "The 30 days are up, Alaric."Alaric stared at me, panic flashing in his eyes. He'd probably expected me to come crying to him at the last moment, to give in when my
The next day, I returned the clan seal to the council clerk, along with a letter of resignation.For ten years, all of the castle's business had gone through that seal, from the 13 Clans' invitations to the blood merchants' deliveries and the servants' monthly wages. The clerk held the seal and stared at it for a long time. "Your Grace, are you sure?""I'm sure. As of today, I'm no longer the lady of this castle."On the fifth day, I canceled my private contract with the blood bank.The castle's best blood supply was a deal I'd negotiated in my own name years ago. The contract named me alone and had nothing to do with the Vane family. That night, Orla's maid went to collect nourishing blood for Elias and came back empty-handed.On the sixth day, I called in movers.Ten years ago, I'd furnished the east wing myself. It was meant for the future heir. I'd chosen every tapestry and carved every blessing mark into the window lattices by hand. I took all of it, every last piece, and didn't t
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 bab







