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Sebastian
I HAD JUST HEADED DOWNSTAIRS to announce that I was going to leave for Ernesto’s island as soon as the sun went down when I heard the sound of the front door swing open. An anxious-looking Kade entered the room.
I turned to him. “What’s wrong, Kade?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he replied, not even bothering to look up at me.
“You sure about that?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Everything’s fine.” He continued to avoid my gaze.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You can say that all you want, but I know you’re lying. You won’t even look at me.”
“Why don’t you mind your own business for once, brother?” Kade glanced up at me sharply then. His sea-blue eyes could’ve burned fiery holes through mine. “Just because you’re next in line to rule our coven doesn’t make you God.”
“What has gotten into you?” I stared back at him, confused. My brother and I had never seen eye to eye on much. In fact, we rarely saw eye to eye on anything, if I was being completely honest. But, usually, something sparked our disagreements. As of right now, I didn’t even know what the disagreement was.
“Nothing.” He shook his head and then sighed. “Look. I’m sorry. I keep meaning to ask you... whatever happened to your slave? You know, the one who went running off into the woods during the engagement announcement.”
I had half a mind to admit the truth to my brother. I felt like I needed to spill my guts to someone besides Zoe. But I knew I couldn’t.
No one, besides Zoe, could know that Lila was still alive.
“Oh, Julia. She ran off into the woods. By the time I got there, the only thing that remained of her was her corpse,” I replied with the wave of a hand, trying to play it off nonchalantly—the same way I would have acted if any of my other slaves had died.
“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?