Chapter 4 Signed in Blood
Seri
“My office, Serafina. Now.”
Arabesque’s voice echoing down the hall immediately made my heart thunder in my chest, a frantic bird trapped in a cage of bone and fear.
I hurried along as fast as I could, knowing I couldn’t take another punishment if I displeased her, but each step felt like I was wading through molasses, my body on the edge of collapse.
Four days ago, I’d stumbled across her meeting with a rogue werewolf, and she’d been furious. Even though I only caught a few moments of their conversation, she had disciplined me for ‘cultivating curiosity’ by siphoning me down to a mere drop of magic.
Then, as I lay there in a helpless stupor, she’d turned the rogue loose to teach me ‘the meaning of pain.’
Except for my split bottom lip, my clothes hid my injuries, but they still throbbed mercilessly, especially the long gash on my upper arm from the rogue’s claw.
I was almost sure it was infected, and I didn’t know how to treat it.
I also thought it might be responsible for the fever I had that lingered no matter how much ginger tea I drank.
All of that I could manage, but it was the threat to Josslyn that made me cower to Arabesque’s every demand.
“I’ll have him teach you how easily your baby sister bruises.”
“Cribs make good coffins, little dove.”
Between her and her rogue sidekick, they’d terrified me into complete compliance.
As I stood before her office door now, I raised my trembling hand and knocked lightly.
“Enter,” came the silky voice from within, dripping with false sweetness that made my skin crawl.
The heavy oak door creaked open, and I stepped into Arabesque’s office, the sound echoing like a death knell in my ears. The air was thick with the scent of something noxious and vile, something I’d grown far too acquainted with lately.
Dark magic.
I kept my gaze downcast, my eyes fixed on the carpet. The flickering light from the fireplace danced across the room, casting shadows that seemed to twist and writhe on the walls. Arabesque sat behind her mahogany desk, her presence as imposing as the furniture.
“Come closer, Serafina,” her voice was honey-smooth, drawing me closer despite my every instinct screaming to flee.
I obeyed, my feet moving as if pulled by an unseen force. Each step felt heavier, anxiety curling in my stomach like a living thing. Once I stood before her desk, I flicked my eyes up. Leaning back in her chair, she steepled her fingers as she studied me.
“You look fragile, child,” she murmured, her tone dripping with false concern. “Not been sleeping well? Or is that little cut on your arm hurting?”
I swallowed hard, the action painful in my dry throat. My hands trembled at my sides, and I clenched them into fists, trying to hold back my anger, my outrage, and my fear.
“I’m fine,” I lied in a whisper.
“Good, because I have some news that requires your full attention.” She paused, letting the silence stretch between us like a taut string. “You’re to be married.”
The words hit me harder than any of Amabel’s slaps.
“Married?” I parroted like a dummy.
“To a groom from King Lucian’s court,” she continued, her tone devoid of emotion, but her pale green eyes gleaming with triumph and amusement. “As part of a truce between us. For one year, you will be a bride, and in return, we will have peace.”
Dread seeped into my bones. A year was a long time, but I knew Arabesque’s games. She needed the vampires misdirected or out of her way for whatever she was scheming with the rogues, and I was the pawn she was willing to sacrifice to make it happen.
Still, I recognized this for what it was: an opportunity to escape. Maybe my only one. It was a chance to protect those I cared about, even if it meant sacrificing myself to a husband who may be as bad as Arabesque. Or worse.
Still, I’d begged for a miracle the other night, and now one was waving in front of my face. All I needed was the courage to grab it.
Carefully, though.
And my brain wasn’t up to being as careful as I knew it needed to be. Not after so much siphoning, starvation, and sleeplessness. Not with the fever and dizziness that accompanied this awful wound on my arm.
Still, I was going to do my best.
And may the Moon Goddess take pity on me for once.
“What are the terms of the marriage contract?” I asked quietly, needing to know every detail if I was going to turn it to my advantage. “The full terms.”
“I send a bride from my household, and King Lucian reciprocates with a groom. Both parties must cohabit as a married couple for one year. Should either of you perish during that period, the contract dissolves with your demise.”
“And at the end of one year?”
“You will be free, of course.” She shrugged, the gesture elegant and dismissive.
Free, I scoffed silently.
I knew the lie for what it was. She had no intention of letting me go. She would find a way to bring me back, to continue draining me of my magic and my will.
“Is there anything about what ‘cohabit as a married couple’ looks like?” I asked, squinting with suspicion.
As much as I wanted out of here and to save Josslyn and Brumous, the last thing I could endure was being a vampire’s breeder or bleeder.
“No. This is the contract you would sign.” She slid a piece of rich linen paper across the desk. “Read it for yourself.”
So I did. The writing was very angular, the ink rusty, and I could smell that it was blood. My eyes went right to the bottom, where King Lucian Ro?u’s elegant signature rested on the line labeled groom with the word proxy neatly printed next to it.
Flicking my eyes to the top of the document, I read it thoroughly, but quickly since there were only a couple of paragraphs. They said in lawyer-speak exactly what Arabesque had outlined, even mentioning that both parties needed to be of legal age and willing participants.
And not one mention of consummation, I thought with relief as I laid the contract back on her desk.
“Why did the king sign as the groom’s proxy?” I asked at last.
“I imagine he’s still deciding which of his sons he can trust with your precious self.” She waved a hand languidly, as if it didn’t matter.
And I suppose it doesn’t in the long run, I thought. Whoever it is will be a pawn as much as myself.
If I did this…
If I did this, I would have to live with a stranger, a male vampire, for a year, and I had no idea what that would look like.
My knowledge of the supernatural world was limited to the stories Mama told me from her life in the Royal pack and the single grimoire Papa had, which featured growing and harvesting spells more than species profiles.
Still, it could be months or even years before I found another escape route. I couldn’t wait that long. Not for myself or Josslyn or Brumous. We needed out of here now, before Eluned and Amabel’s taunts about giving me to the rogue wolves became fact.
Be brave. You can survive anything for a year if it means freedom in the end.
“I have conditions before I agree.”
“What are you talking about?” Arabesque’s eyes narrowed slightly, the only sign of her surprise. “Conditions? You are in no position to request conditions.”
“I demand them, not request them.” I swallowed my fear and tilted my chin up. “Josslyn will be handed over to the werewolf king. He can find her a good home, with parents who can love and protect her.”
“You would dare to take my child from me?”
“She deserves to be safe, to have a chance at a life free from this.” I gestured vaguely to the room, the estate, the entire oppressive world Arabesque had built around us. “From you.”
Her expression didn’t change, but I could see the wheels turning in her mind. She was calculating, weighing the benefits and drawbacks, and how she could renege on any agreement we made.
“Very well. I will allow that.”
I felt a surge of relief, but I wasn’t done yet.
“And Brumous comes with me.”
“Who?”
“Brumous. The dire wolf pup you tortured until he was stunted,” I reminded her with a frown.
“Oh. That. Why would you want it?” Her upper lip curled in disgust.
“Why does it matter? Just know that I won’t leave him behind.”
“Fine.” She fluttered her fingers at me. “That is no great loss. He was doomed to die regardless.”
“There’s more.” I took a deep breath, my hands trembling as I clenched and unclenched them, trying to keep my nerve to see this through.
“Go on.”
“You will provide a reliable and comfortable vehicle and a driver who will obey me from the moment I leave this house until I step foot onto my new husband’s property.
That will include a stop at the wolf king’s palace.
You will arrange an audience for me to meet him and hand Josslyn over to his care. ”
“You’re quite bold today, child. I didn’t know you had it in you anymore.” Anger glinted in her eyes. “I thought I’d snuffed out every ember of your fire.”
“I’m not asking for much. Just the chance to protect those I care about. Finally, my last demand. You yourself will not initiate contact with either me or Josslyn ever again.”
“And why would I agree to that?”
“Because I won’t go through with this unless my terms are met. All of my terms.”
“You are lucky King Lucian specified that my choice of bride must be willing, and he’d know if you weren’t.” Her eyes bore into me now, hard and sharp as flint. “Very well. I agree to your terms. All of them.”
“I want it in writing.” I straightened my shoulders as I held her gaze. “A contract, signed in blood and sworn by the Moon.”
“You dare to ask for such a thing?” she spat, the thin veneer of civility finally falling away as her face twisted with rage.
“I do. Because I know you. You’ll try to find a way to break your word. This way, you’ll have no choice but to keep it unless you want to face the consequences.”
For a moment, I thought she would refuse, that she would lash out at me for my audacity, but then, slowly, she nodded.