Minutes later, I stood before a tall mirror in one of the royal chambers Alina had led me to.
She'd clearly put great effort into finding the perfect gown for the bride of a Vampire Prince, because the one she handed me shimmered like moonlight. It was made of soft silver silk, with black lace delicately woven at the waist.
Alina adjusted the corset with careful fingers, tightening it until I could barely breathe. Her eyes flicked to the mirror where I stood, uncertain, pale, and stiff.
"This is too much," I murmured, brushing the fine fabric with my fingertips. "And I'm... nervous."
"You should be," Alina replied, stepping back to admire her work. "But whatever you do, don't show it. Especially not to them."
The reflection staring back at me felt like a stranger.
My dark curls were pinned into place with pearl-encrusted clips. My neck was bare, shoulders exposed. The fabric was thin enough to feel almost scandalous. I looked like one of them, a vampire bride carved from starlight and silence.
A sudden knock echoed through the chamber, stopping me from voicing my concern. The doors opened, and two guards dressed in black armour walked in, their faces as unreadable as stone.
One of them spoke in a clipped tone, "We are here to escort the new bride to the Temple of Nocturne."
Of course. I was about to become a wife. A pawn. A symbol.
Alina gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Remember: hide your fear. Do not let the council see you crack." Her voice dropped lower. "And no matter what, don't drink any wine at the wedding banquet."
I blinked. "Why?"
But she was already gone.
The guards led me through long, dim hallways lit only by flickering torches. Shadows danced along stone walls. Servants passed by, sparing me glances filled with pity.
I didn't care.
I'd had enough warnings for one day.
And yet... none of them warmed me. The castle was colder than ever not just in temperature, but in soul. These walls offered no comfort. Only the biting chill of something ancient and waiting.
When I stepped into the Temple of Nocturne, the cold wind hit me harder than ever. With my shoulders bare, I almost shivered but the stares from the vampire elders kept me rooted in place.
Their eyes bore into me, watching, waiting for me to break.
Torches burned with black flames, casting long shadows over the ancient marble floor. Every flame seemed to whisper warnings. The air was thick with magic.
And at the centre of it all... he stood.
Caspian.
My soon-to-be husband.
My fate.
My nightmare.
I hadn't seen him since he left the throne room.
Dressed in ceremonial black robes lined with silver thread, he stood with that same unearthly stillness. His dark hair fell loosely over his shoulder. His expression was unreadable.
Our eyes met and my heart thundered in my ears.
The High Priest stood between us, his voice low but commanding as he began chanting in an ancient tongue. The words sent chills racing down my spine.
"Tonight, under moon and shadow, a bond is forged.
Not of love. Not of desire.
But of fate.
Blood must answer to blood,
Even across races."
I swallowed hard.
Caspian didn't look at me. His eyes stared just above my head, as if I were something he needed to endure. Something beneath him. The vulnerability I thought I saw in his eyes had disappeared without a trace.
A black dagger with a silver hilt was presented. My blood froze instantly.
Caspian leaned in and whispered something to the High Priest. The priest gave a brief nod, then continued.
"Palm to palm," he said.
Caspian extended his hand first.
The dagger sliced his palm cleanly. He didn't flinch. A thin line of glowing crimson blood welled up not dull like human blood, but bright, almost luminous.
I hesitated for only a heartbeat. Alina's warning rang in my head: Don't let them see you crack.
I extended my palm. The blade stung like ice and fire, but I made no sound.
When our palms met, blood to blood, skin to skin. Something ancient stirred in the air.
A pulse.
A rush of warmth surged up my arm, flooding my chest, my throat, my mind. The wind stopped. The torches flickered from black to brilliant gold. The very temple seemed to hold its breath.
Caspian's jaw clenched. His storm-grey eyes snapped to mine. Wild, dark, and unreadable. His nostrils flared. His body tensed.
For one terrifying moment, I thought he might lose control, that he would bite me. That the real monster inside him would tear through the ritual.
But he didn't.
He held himself back, violently. Veins bulged along his neck. He looked like he was at war with himself.
He didn't want my blood. And yet... here we were, binding ourselves in it.
A blood-binding without consumption.
It felt... wrong
My head spun with questions. What had he whispered to the priest? Why was he shaking like this wasn't just pain but restraint? He looked like a part of him was breaking.
Whatever magic was in this ritual, it was ancient. And dangerous.
"By blood offered, but not taken," the High Priest continued,
"By choice made, but not shared.
You are now bound beyond the ordinary.
As man and wife.
As predator and prey.
As one."
That line: predator and prey, sent my stomach twisting.
But I didn't show it.
Thunder cracked across the sky.
Caspian dropped my hand like it burned. His lips thinned, and his body stiffened. He looked like he was fighting off something violent. Something... monstrous but he forced himself to stay upright.
The vampire elders began chanting in that low, ancient tongue.
I scanned the room quickly.
The King wasn't present. Neither were Caspian's brothers.
Why?
But I had bigger things to worry about.
Because I had no idea what I had just agreed to.
Yet the bond pulsed in my veins, real, binding, final.
And somewhere inside Caspian, something dark and venomous…
had stirred awake.