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Alessandra
“WELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK?” Ruby, the Allegro Coven’s witch, asked.
I studied my face in the mirror. She had given me a dramatic charcoal smoky eye shadow look; my lashes were coated in black mascara, and my dark eyes were framed by heavy liner. My skin looked blemish-free as usual (one of the wonderful perks of being a vampire), and I’d ditched my red lipstick in favor of nude.
My long dark hair fell over my shoulders in tight curls. It was a slightly more understated hairstyle than I would have ever envisioned for myself on my wedding day, but it didn’t matter.
All that mattered was the crown I’d be wearing after we took our vows, the crown that signified my future as Queen.
Turning to face Ruby, I smiled. “I look gorgeous.”
She smiled at me, even though I could tell it was forced. In reality, she was holding back an eye roll. “I’m sure Sebastian will think so.”
“Oh. I don’t really care what Sebastian thinks,” I replied with the wave of my hand as I rose to my feet and headed for the bed to change into my wedding gown.
“But he’s going to be your husband. Don’t you want him to think you look pretty?” Ruby asked from behind me.
As I pulled my clothes off, I laughed over my shoulder at her. “If you think this is a marriage that’s happening out of love, you’d be mistaken. This is a marriage of necessity. Quite frankly, it doesn’t really matter what Sebastian thinks about how I look or anything about me at all. He needs me to be his wife.”
“Are you saying that you and Sebastian don’t love each other?”
“That’s precisely what I’m saying,” I replied as I stepped into the gown. I turned to face her. “You didn’t hear it from me, however. Speak a word of this conversation to anyone, and I’ll rip your heart out of your chest. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” Ruby replied quietly, avoiding my gaze.
I tried to hide my smile. I couldn’t help but feel amused by the fearful look in her eyes. It was a look that told me she wasn’t sure if I was being serious or not.
Ruby didn’t know me that well. She hadn’t even been with my coven for a year yet. She had been a replacement for Rosalind, another witch who had decided to leave my coven suddenly and without explanation after spending nearly 80 years with us. Her loss had been significant, as I’d merely settled for Ruby.
The truth was that I wouldn’t have even thought twice before killing her, since I didn’t even like her, anyway.
“Very good. Now, please come zip the back of my gown for me,” I ordered.
As Ruby moved to stand behind me and began to drag the zipper up the back of the dress, I glanced up to find Kade’s cool blue eyes staring back at me.
“You’re wearing a black wedding dress,” he commented.
“You’re observant.”
He smirked. “Aren’t I, though?”
“What’s the point that you’re trying to make?” I asked exasperatedly.
“Oh, nothing. Just that you look like you’re either about to audition for a remake of Black Swan or going to a funeral,” Kade replied with a shrug.
I rolled my eyes at him. “You know the rule about vampire weddings. The color of the bride’s wedding dress is supposed to represent what she will bring to the coven.”
“So, you’re planning to bring... mourning?” The amusement swirled around in his eyes.
“No, Kade,” I replied, forcing myself to hold in a groan. “Black represents strength—power. When other covens try to attack us, I want them to know that they aren’t going to get past me without a fight.”
“You do realize that you’ve just built this whole thing up inside your own head, right?” Kade eyed me curiously. “Emilio Craven isn’t actually planning to take over the Stark Coven or the Allegro Coven.”
I glanced over at Ruby, who had just finished zipping my dress. “Ruby, would you mind giving me and Kade a moment to speak alone?”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” the witch replied. Running a hand through her strawberry blonde hair, she nervously moved past Kade and stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.
“She’s cute. Have I ever met her?” Kade asked.
“No, you haven’t met her. She’s my new witch.” I glanced over at him. “Why did you even come here?”
He shrugged. “To talk.”
“About what? There’s nothing left to say. You and I are done. Over. Finished. Finito.”
“Have I ever told you how hot it is when you speak Italian?” Kade asked. “Say some more.”
“No, I will not say some more.” I rolled my eyes. “Our relationship is a closed book. What would bring you to my room less than an hour before I’m about to wed your brother? I highly doubt you’ve come to beg for my forgiveness.”
“Forgiveness?” He snorted. “As far as I’m concerned, you should be the one apologizing to me. You’re the one who backed out of our little arrangement.”
I glared at him. “What do you want, Kade?”
“To remind you that you don’t actually need to go through with this,” he replied, his eyes locking on mine. “I know you’re dead set on marrying Sebastian, because you believe, for some crazy reason, that this is the only path that will lead to you being the most powerful vampire in the world. But you’re wrong about that, Alessandra.”
“How am I wrong about it?” I folded my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at him. I was annoyed at both him and myself; I hadn’t actually asked for his input, but I was curious about what he had to say.
“Because if you were really as powerful as you think you are, you wouldn’t need to marry my brother to prove it.” Kade tilted his head. Then he added with a smirk, “Who is it that you’re trying to prove it to, Alessandra? Yourself? Or everyone else?”
“I’m not trying to prove it to anyone,” I insisted.
“Are you sure about that?” He moved closer to me. Standing behind me, he placed his chin on my neck and wrapped his arms around my waist. “We look good together, don’t we? We can still do what we had planned... together.”
Our eyes met in the mirror. He was right. We did look good together. We looked powerful, perfect even.
We looked so perfect together that I had to remind myself this wasn’t real.
There was nothing left for us. Not only was he too selfish, but he was too manipulative, too. And that was exactly what he was trying to do—manipulate me into doing what he wanted.
“You will never love me,” I said simply. I could see the sadness in my own eyes. He must have seen it, too.
But his facial expression remained unaffected. “You’re right about that. But are you so pathetic that you truly need to feel loved by someone else?”
“Get out,” I whispered, pulling away from him. “Now.”
His eyes lingered on mine for a moment longer. “Fine. Just remember that I gave you the option to not be enemies. You’re the one who chose not to take it.”
As he walked out of the room, I found myself hunched over the dresser, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes.
I refused to allow myself to cry over him. I refused to give him that type of control over me.
Once I had my emotions under control, I stared at myself in the floor-length mirror. The black, off-the-shoulder mermaid dress dipped low in the front and the lacy material accentuated my figure. It contrasted perfectly against my olive skin tone.
There was no doubt that the dress was beautiful, but as much as I hated to admit it, the truth was that Kade was right about one thing.
The black did make it seem like I was mourning the loss of something. It even made me wonder if, subconsciously, I was mourning.
But if I was in mourning, what was it over: the loss of my coven, the loss of Kade, the loss of control I had over the situation... or the loss of myself?