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Sebastian
AS SOON AS I COULD get away from Alessandra, who was charming our guests in the reception area, I made a beeline for Zoe.
I leaned in close to her. “Is she with you right now?”
Zoe nodded. “Yeah, she’s with me.”
“Good.” I smiled at the space to the left to her, and Zoe chuckled. “She’s on that side.” She motioned to her right.
“Hi, Lila,” I whispered. Then I turned back to Zoe. “I need you to do me a favor.”
“What type of favor?” she questioned.
“I need you to take her back home with you. Keep her at your cottage for the next few days. I’ll be leaving in a few hours in search of my father.”
“Oh? That’s so sudden. You’re not even planning to consummate your marriage?”
I rolled my eyes at her. “I need you to keep Lila safe while I’m gone. Can you do that for me?”
“Yeah, sure.” Zoe shrugged. Even though she was being agreeable to this, I could tell from the look in her gold eyes that she wasn’t happy about the idea.
It wasn’t like I was happy about it, either. I wished I could just take Lila with me, but I wasn’t sure how long I would be gone. I wasn’t sure what types of vampires I would encounter on my journey or where I would end up.
All I knew was that I needed Lila to stay safe, and Zoe was really the only one who I trusted to keep her safe.
I would have trusted Celia, too, but there was no way I could tell her the truth about who Lila was. It wasn’t even because I didn’t trust her not to drink Lila’s blood or even not to tell anyone about it. It was just that I didn’t want to put her in a rough spot.
“Yeah, sure. No problem. Mind if I enjoy the reception first, though?” Zoe asked. “I mean, it would be a little rude to tell your guest to leave.”
I thought about it for a few long moments. As much as I wanted to tell her she had to leave now so we could make sure Lila was protected, I also had to remember how much Zoe had done for me over the past few days. She deserved to be here, to celebrate this monstrosity of a wedding, just as much—if not more—as the other guests did.
“You may stay. Just be careful,” I told her.
“Yes, Your Highness.” Then with what looked like a flicker of annoyance in her eyes, she moved past me.
I felt a warmth on my skin, and I realized that, even though I couldn’t see her, Lila was touching me. I reached out and placed my hand over the spot where I was pretty sure hers was and held it there for a few moments.
Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to find a young girl standing next to me. She was short and looked as though she couldn’t have been any older than fourteen or fifteen.
“Prince Sebastian?” she asked in a questioning tone, as though she wasn’t sure I was who she was looking for.
“Yeah, I’m Prince Sebastian.”
“Oh, good. I have a wedding gift for you,” she replied, handing me a small box.
“Who’s it from?” I asked.
“The sender doesn’t matter. The gift is what’s important.” She glanced around nervously to make sure no one was listening in on our conversation and then leaned in close to me. “Please make sure you open it when the princess isn’t around.”
And, without saying another word, the girl disappeared into thin air.
Well, that was strange, to say the least. Apparently, it was important enough that whoever had sent it had thought it necessary to have a witch deliver it. The gift seemed so mysterious that I couldn’t help but be curious about who had sent it or what was inside.
As anxious as I was to get away from the wedding reception, I knew that wasn’t a possibility right now. So, instead, I left the gift beneath a bush, which I promised myself I would remember to return to later on.