Mark of Blood

by Jody Morse

  “What a shame. You seem to be handling it very well,” he noted.

  I shrugged. “It’s all a part of life, right? We take humans captive, they die, we move on. End of story.”

  “I guess. You just seemed to be overly attached to that one. Did you ever get to taste her blood?” Kade asked.

  I shook my head. “No, but I suppose that’s probably for the best. You can’t miss something you never had, right?”

  “I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

  At that moment, I heard the sound of heels clacking against the marble floor. I glanced over my shoulder and found Alessandra approaching me. “Sebastian, I have great news.”

  “Yeah?” I raised my eyebrows at her.

  “I’ve found a way for you to maintain control over the coven—a way for you to become more qualified to be King than your aunt.” Her voice was full of excitement.

  “What is it?”

  “We must get married. The Stark Coven states that heirs to the throne who are married are considered a better fit for the throne than those who are unmarried. And, the last time I checked, Caroline Dezerea is a widow.” Alessandra grinned proudly.

  I frowned. “That alone is basis enough to disqualify her as ruler?”

  The princess nodded. “Pretty much. Also, in the event that this should go to election, who do you think the coven will vote for? The old widow who may as well be a cat lady who completely abandoned ship because she was so bitter that her brother got the chance got to take the throne? Or the prince and his wife who will provide the coven with more children or, in other words, more future heirs to the throne?”

  “Wait, what?” My eyebrows knotted together at the center of my forehead. “Are you saying you want us to have children?”

  “Of course not. I’m just telling you how the rest of the Stark Coven will perceive it,” Alessandra explained.

  I breathed a slight sigh of relief. I’d never really given a lot of thought to the idea of children. I supposed that, with the right person—or vampire—I wouldn’t have minded having them. It was impossible to imagine myself having them with Alessandra.

  “So, when will this wedding take place?” Kade asked.

  “Actually, I’ve just finished making all of the arrangements. We will get married tomorrow at sunset.” Alessandra smiled up at me. “In less than twenty-four hours, we will be husband and wife.”

  “Isn’t this wedding a little... sudden?” Kade asked. It was the same thought that was on my mind but that I knew I couldn’t ask—not without upsetting Alessandra, at least. And as much as I may have loathed her, I didn’t want to upset her, not when I knew that I really did need her.

  “Oh, Kade. What are you? Jealous?” She glanced over at him with a sly smile.

  “Of course I’m not jealous,” he insisted.

  “Mmhmm.” Her red lips curved into a smile. “Just because you seem to be choosing the bachelor lifestyle until the end of time doesn’t mean that your brother wants the same things. It doesn’t matter if we get married tomorrow or next month. The fact is that we plan to spend the rest of our lives together. Don’t we?” Her dark brown eyes flitted over to meet mine.

  Just the idea of spending the rest of my life with Alessandra made me feel sick. And yet, I found myself nodding my agreement.

  “Very well, then. The wedding will be tomorrow night.”

  “It’s not that I think the timing is bad,” I began in my best attempt of trying to postpone this whole thing. “But I thought you wanted an elaborate wedding. You deserve the wedding of your dreams.”

  “Oh, it will be,” she assured me. “Martina has been working on my dress for weeks now, ever since I realized that I would need to get married to ensure the safety of my coven. It’s absolutely perfect, which is important. I will be the centerpiece, after all. I’ve already made arrangements for everything else.”

  I frowned. “But what about guests? Don’t you want there to be a lot of witnesses to this whole event?”

  “Of course I want guests. That’s why I’ve already notified the entire coven, as well as the Royal families from the other covens. Quite a few have RSVP'd. If anyone has to miss out on it, it will be their loss.” She moved in closer to me and wrapped her arms around me. Embracing me, she added, “Just let me take care of everything, and you worry about what’s really important right now.”

  “Finding out if my father is alive?” I asked into her hair.

  As she pulled away from me, Alessandra laughed. “No, silly. Finding me a ring! Do you really think I’m going to marry you without a rock on this finger?” She held up her left hand pointedly.

  “Of course. My mistake,” I muttered under my breath. It was crazy to think that choosing a ring for a woman who I didn’t even love was on the top of my priority list.

  “I’m a six and a half,” she informed me.

  “A six and a half?” I questioned.

  “My ring size,” she replied with an eye roll.

  “He was joking, Princess. Sebastian already knew your ring size,” Kade said.

  I stared back at him, shocked. Why was my brother trying to cover for me? It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate it. It was just so random, coming from him.

  She glanced over at him and then turned back to me with a smile. “Is that true, Sebastian?”

  “Of course it is. You told me that many years ago. I never forgot.” Before she could ask me any more questions, I brought my lips down on hers.

  There was only one thought that I could seem to think of, a thought that was rolling around in the back of my mind.

  How was I going to break the news to Lila that I was going to marry someone else without breaking not just her heart but my own, too?

  Chapter 26

  Alessandra

  ONCE SEBASTIAN WAS gone, I turned to Kade. Glancing around, I felt uncomfortable by the fact that we were just in the open. Grabbing his arm, I pulled him into a sitting room with me.

  “Well, that was easy enough,” I told him as I locked the door behind us.

  “So it would seem. I’m glad your little plan worked out so perfectly.” His eyes looked somewhere past me. It was obvious he was completely avoiding my gaze.

  “You sound bitter,” I noted.

  “I am not bitter.”

  “You are bitter,” I insisted. “If you think you can keep your feelings hidden from me, you’re wrong, Kade. Need I remind you that you and I are one in the same? You’re my male counterpart. And I can tell from the way you’re acting that you’re bitter.”

  His ocean blue eyes met mine then. “Fine. I find it a little peculiar, to say the least, that you didn’t even discuss the timing of this wedding with me before breaking the news to Sebastian. It just begs the question: whose side are you really on?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You and I both know that I’m on your side,” I replied quietly. “It’s just all a part of the plan—the plan that we came up with together. Remember?”

  Kade shoved his hands in his pockets. “Hey, I’ve held up my end of the bargain. It’s you that I’m concerned about.”

  “I’ll have you know that I tried to inform you before Sebastian. I looked all over the palace for you, and I couldn’t find you anywhere. One of the maids said she saw you go outside. Not that I believed her. I figured you weren’t dumb enough to go outside when it was light out.” My eyes locked on his. “Where were you, Kade?”

  “I just went for a walk,” he replied with a shrug. “It was raining out. The sun was hidden. It was hot out still, but it didn’t burn my skin from behind the clouds.”

  “Where did you walk to?” I asked accusingly. I didn’t know what I was trying to accuse him of, but I just wanted to turn the whole situation around on him.

  “I just wanted to go outside. I didn’t realize that was a crime.”

  “It’s not.” I moved closer to him and pressed my palms against his torso. “Tell me, Kade. Are you jealous that I’m about to marry your brother? Bec
ause it’s okay if you are. I’d expect you to be jealous, even. If I had a sister that you were going to marry... Well, let’s just say it’s a good thing I don’t have a sister who you’re planning to marry, for her sake.”

  “I’m not jealous, Alessandra,” Kade said quietly. He brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. “I’ve exercised a great deal of patience throughout this entire process, haven’t I?”

  “Well... yeah, I guess,” I replied, mildly disappointed by his response. Then I found myself confessing to something I never thought I would actually admit to him. “The truth is that I wantyou to be jealous of me and your brother. It would make me see how much you want this... how much you want us.”

  “Do you think I would have gone along with the plan thus far if this isn’t what I wanted?” There was an almost defensive tone in his voice as he ran a hand over his dark hair, still avoiding my gaze. “Do you think I would plan to take on the entire vampire world with you—and kill my own brother—if I didn’t want this?”

  “I wish I was able to believe that what you’re saying is true,” I replied quietly. “But I just get this feeling that you don’t love me nearly as much as I love you.”

  I knew that for a fact. I knew he didn’t love me the way I loved him, but for a long time, I’d been willing to overlook all of that. I had figured that as long as I had him by my side, it didn’t even matter how much he loved me.

  But now I wasn’t so sure. What was the point in settling for someone who wasn’t all in? An eternity was a long time. How could I expect him to love me in a hundred years from now if he barely even loved me now?

  I needed someone who was ready and willing to devote every part of himself to me, someone who would love me unconditionally. And just the look in Kade’s eyes as he stared back at me told me that person was not him.

  “You don’t love me,” I whispered out loud as the realization hit me.

  “Alessandra, please stop this,” Kade replied quietly. “This is me and you we’re talking about. Both of us are just too self-centered to love another person. We only know how to love ourselves.”

  I shook my head. “You’re wrong. That may be true about you, but it certainly isn’t true about me. I do know how to love more than just myself. I have been in love before—multiple times, in fact. I even loved you. Now I realize just how completely foolish that was of me.” I turned for the door, but Kade grabbed my wrist.

  “Forget about this whole notion of love, Alessandra. You and I fulfill a need for each other that we’re unlikely to find in anyone else. Combined, we serve a purpose. Forget about marrying, Sebastian. Together, we can overthrow Sebastian and we can kill Caroline. It comes down to one simple question. Which is more important to you: love or conquering the world?” There was a hopeful look in his eyes, which remained locked on mine.

  In the past, his words would have been enough for me. But not anymore. It just wasn’t enough. It had never been enough; I had just been too blind to see it at the time.

  “Love, Kade! Love is more important! You know why? I don’t need you to conquer the world. Do I need to remind you that I’m the world’s most powerful vampire? I am perfectly capable of conquering the world on my own. But I do need love, and it’s clear that you’re unable to give me that.”

  “So, what are you saying, exactly?” Kade asked, a look of pain behind his eyes. It was a surprising amount of pain for someone who claimed he didn’t love me.

  “That it’s over between us,” I whispered. “Goodbye, Kade.”

  Then, I turned away from him and slipped into the hallway.

  I stormed up the stairs, taking two at a time. I didn’t want to risk anyone bumping into me when I had tears streaming down my face.

  I was Princess Alessandra. I didn’t cry. No man had that type of power over me. At least, that was what I wanted to let everyone to believe. But I knew better.

  I supposed I had Sebastian to thank for my breakup with Kade. He was the one who had made me realize how important love was.

  I wanted someone who was willing to risk everything for me, someone who would go to great lengths to keep me protected.

  I wanted the type of love that Sebastian had with his slave.

  I had never had that type of love with anyone before.

  As I reached the top of the stairs, an idea dawned on me. There was one way I could have the type of love Sebastian and his slave had.

  I continued the walk down to my Slave Chambers.

  Wiping away my tears, I grabbed the key from above the doorway. I unlocked it and stepped into the room. My eyes scanned the living area. I spotted my newly acquired slave playing video games on the sofa, but he wasn’t who I was looking for.

  I slipped past them and continued down the hallway, peeking into each of the bedrooms. I spotted him standing in the room, changing out of a t-shirt.

  “Vernelle,” I said as I closed the door behind me.

  He glanced over at me, his bare chest completely bare. “Princess.”

  I took a few steps closer to him. “How’s my favorite slave doing?”

  “I’ll be doing better in a few minutes. I assume you’ve come to drink from me again.” He shot me that flirty, irresistible smile of his—the one that always made me want more. “Feeling thirsty today, huh?”

  “Actually, that’s not what I’ve come for,” I replied. “What would you say if I told you that you don’t have to be my slave anymore if you don’t want to be?”

  A suspicious look filled his eyes. “Are you saying you’re planning to kill me?”

  “Well, sort of, darling—but only if you want me to.” I took a few steps closer to him, so close that I could feel his warm breath against my neck. “What would you say if I told you I want to make you a vampire?”

  Chapter 27

  Sebastian

  “I NEED YOU TO WORK your magic on this.” I placed a red velvet drawstring bag down on the kitchen table in front of where I was sitting at Zoe’s cottage.

  She opened the bag and then glanced up at me suspiciously. “Sebastian, this is your mother’s ring.”

  I nodded.

  “You’re giving it to Princess Alessandra?” Her gold eyes were filled with disbelief.

  “Here’s the thing. Alessandra says that the rest of the coven won’t believe this marriage is authentic if I don’t give her my mother’s ring.”

  “But this ring is one of the few things you have left of your mother,” Zoe insisted.

  “And that’s exactly why I’m not going to give her this ring,” I replied, my lips twisting into a smile. “This is where you come in.”

  The witch’s eyebrows rose questioningly. “Are you saying you want me to create a replica of this ring?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” I agreed.

  “Smart. I like it.” She nodded her approval. “I’ll need to know her size.”

  “Six and a half.” I hesitated. “When do you think you can have it done by?”

  “I’ll have it finished within a few hours.”

  “Okay, good. The wedding is tomorrow,” I informed her.

  “So I hear. Was that a mutual decision?” Zoe asked, tucking her dark hair behind her ear.

  I shrugged. “Yeah, sort of.”

  “I’ll bet.” She didn’t look convinced. Sighing, she went on. “As much as I wish I could talk you out of this wedding... I can’t.”

  “Why?”

  Her eyes locked on mine. “Because I had a dream last night.”

  “What was it?” I asked, my stomach clenching. Zoe’s dreams never seemed to be good lately.

  “I saw you alone in the castle. It was snowing outside. You weren’t married. I know that part for a fact. You were talking on the phone with someone, and you told them that you decided, last minute, not to go through with the wedding.” She closed her eyes as she allowed the dream to replay in her mind. “A few vampires barged through your office door. They attacked you. They forced poison down your throat. They left yo
u there, entirely unconscious. And then they lit the castle on fire while you were still in it.”

  I swallowed hard. “So, what you’re saying is that if I don’t marry Alessandra... if I choose to call off the wedding... there’s a good chance I could die.”

  Zoe nodded.

  I clenched my fists angrily. “These vampires who tried to kill me... What coven were they from?”

  “Actually, they weren’t from another coven, Sebastian.” Zoe shot me a sympathetic look, probably feeling bad about being the bearer of bad news. “They were from your coven. They were Starks.”

  “Vampires from my own coven tried to kill me?” Anger built up within me. Why would anyone from my own coven have wanted me dead? “Who was it?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t see their faces.”

  “Then how can you be sure that they were Starks?” I questioned. “Maybe you’re wrong.”

  “I wasn’t wrong. Trust me. I just knew, Sebastian. I knew that vampires from your own coven killed you. And I knew that was the result of you not marrying Alessandra, so... as much as I hate to say this, I think you need to marry her as soon as possible.”

  “I have some time to prepare,” I insisted. “It won’t start snowing until December, at least.”

  “That may be true, but I’ll feel a lot safer knowing that at least part of my premonition isn’t true. If that part isn’t true, then maybe the rest won’t come true, either.” She eyed me curiously. “Are you actually thinking about backing out of this wedding now? You do realize it’s tomorrow, right? And the invitations have already gone out. I got mine earlier today. You can let your wife-to-be know that I’ll be there, by the way.”

  “I don’t know what I’m thinking, Zo. Part of me knows that I need to do this in order to be able to fight the wars that we’re about to enter, but you know as well as I do that I don’t want to marry her.”

  She sighed. “You need to do what’s right for you coven. And as far as I’m concerned, your coven would be lost without you. You can’t leave them without a ruler.”