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Sebastian
DONNING MY BLACK TUXEDO, I entered my Slave Chambers.
All of the girls were sitting in the living room area. They glanced up at me as I entered the room.
“This may seem like a funny question, but do any of you know how to tie a Windsor knot?” I held up the black tie Alessandra had chosen for me to wear.
Hannah cocked an eyebrow at me. “You’ve had three-hundred years to learn how to tie your own tie, and you still don’t know how?”
I chuckled. “I’m afraid it’s one skill I have not yet acquired.”
“I do.” Lexi jumped to her feet. “Come to my bedroom.”
I hesitated. I was sure she probably wanted to get me alone, since that’s what Lexi had a tendency to do any opportunity she could get. And yet, I still found myself following after her.
Once we were inside her room, she closed the door behind us and turned to me.
“Lexi, I’m afraid I can’t drink from you right now. I’m about to get married in less than an hour.”
“So I’ve heard,” she replied quietly as she began to work on my tie.
I raised my eyebrows. “How did you hear?”
“Alessandra stopped by to let us know we would be moving to her castle soon.” Darting her eyes from mine, she added, “I don’t want to leave. This is our home.”
“Don’t be silly, Lexi. This place is not your home,” I told her.
Her eyes flicked up to meet mine. “It’s the next best thing. Going to an all new castle... I just don’t know how I’d feel about that.”
“Well, don’t worry. Alessandra and I haven’t even discussed those details yet.” Well, maybe we had, but it wasn’t like we’d come to a resolution on them—and it made me mad that she’d decided to announce the decision that we hadn’t made to my slaves.
In all of my 300 years of life, I never would have thought I’d be pissed off at whoever I would marry. Yet, there I was, trying to contain my anger.
“I’m sorry, Prince Sebastian,” Lexi said as she finished looping my tie into a knot. “I’m sorry for all of the things I said about Julia. I didn’t mean them. It’s just that I was so...” She trailed off.
“Jealous?” I asked.
Her eyes flicked up to meet mine. “How did you know?”
“Just a wild guess.” I shrugged. “This doesn’t really matter now, since I’m about to get married, anyway. But you might be interested to know that I don’t get involved with humans.”
“Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen.” There was a hopeful tone in her voice. It almost made me feel sorry for her.
“The history is usually a pretty good indicator of the past,” I insisted. “Vampires are too selfish to ever love humans. Do you think I could truly put your well-being before my own if I were hungry?” I grabbed her chin and stared into her eyes. “I could kill you, or any other human, in two seconds flat without even thinking twice about it if I were famished enough.”
Lexi held my gaze as she said, “Tell me something, Sebastian. Would you say the same thing to Julia if you were having this conversation with her instead of me?”
I opened my mouth to respond to her, but no words came out. Deep down, I knew I wouldn’t have said the same thing to Lila. I would have told Lila that I would do anything within my power to keep her safe, protected.
If I ever did anything to hurt her, I would have never been able to forgive myself. The guilt alone would have driven me to shove a stake through my own heart.
Of course, there was no way I could tell any of that to Lexi. Admitting that to her also would have meant admitting that I was in love with Lila and possibly even that Lila was still alive. There was no way I could let her know any of that.
When I glanced into her eyes, though, I knew I didn’t need to admit it to her. My answer must have been written all over my face, because the look in her eyes told me she already knew.
“That’s what I thought,” she replied quietly.
“It’s nothing against you personally,” I replied. “It’s just that Lila is so—”
“Lila?” Lexi narrowed her eyes at me. “Wait a second, Sebastian. Is Julia actually Lila DeHaven?”
Shit.
What was wrong with me? How had I allowed myself to let that slip?
The problem was that Lexi was quick. She was probably the smartest slave I’d ever had, which was likely why she’d stuck around so long when I had let so many of my slaves go.
Now that she had caught on, I knew there was no getting this past her.
“Lexi, you have to promise me that you won’t repeat a word of this to anyone—not to the other slaves, not to the guards, not to any of Alessandra’s slaves, and especially not to Alessandra.”
“Are you telling me that you’re keeping this a secret from your fiancée?” Lexi asked, her hazel eyes full of amusement. “It sounds like this marriage is going to be a really successful one.”
“Lexi.” I shot her a look. “Please don’t make me lose my patience with you.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
“Do you promise to keep this just between you and me? The last thing I would want to do is kill my favorite slave,” I threatened.
She pretended to run an invisible zipper over her mouth. “My lips are sealed.”
“Thank you,” I told her, breathing a sigh of relief.
“No problem.” She paused for a moment. “But can I give you a piece of advice?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Sure.”
“If Lila is still alive—and I suspect she is now—then you need to be the first vampire to drink from her. If you don’t do it first, then Alessandra will. And the world would be a very scary place if Alessandra were the most powerful vampire in the world.”
“I know.” And I meant it.
Alessandra’s urge to kill Lila was only part of the reason I was keeping her hidden.
I was equally afraid of the monster my fiancée would become if she were to take even the smallest slip of Lila’s blood.