Chapter 4
Aurelia
There were a few places that I avoided in the palace since coming back. They brought back memories I'd rather keep dead and buried for more reasons than one.
But on the day before the eve of my wedding announcement, I found myself wandering the garden that my mother loved so much.
I thought my brother would have destroyed all of it, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the flora and trees coming to life here once again.
The sweet smell of the roses hit my senses, even if they were dying, and I was called to the fountain in the middle. The only thing that seemed to remain stuck in time.
I kneeled down, running my fingers across the cracked stone, and memories of the Vesper I knew back then flashed through my mind.
“Should we have a bachelorette party?” she had asked.
Of course, only she would have had the balls to show up drunk while I was sulking about being married off to an abusive prince. Just like now.
It wasn’t uncommon for vampires to live long enough to see history repeat itself, but even this felt a little too soon.
I missed Vesper. There was a constant ache in my chest, and not just from the bond that was trying to force us back to each other. Everyone said it would only last a few months, but it was nestled so deep in my heart that it would take more than Vesper's dagger to claw it out of me.
And Cedar…
I wanted to run to her when I heard she had come to see me. I had to stop myself, locking myself in my room so much like my father used to do to me. I knew what they were trying to do, but it was no use.
The prophecy was bigger than the three of us. It didn't matter what we wanted. It didn't matter that it was forcing me into a life of torture. To be married off. To have my royalty and bloodline stripped from me just so I could integrate a new one.
I hated it.
This was my kingdom. My crown. My people.
But more than that, I wanted to save Vesper and Cedar. I had taken the seer’s words to heart.
We wouldn't be happy. We couldn't survive if the prophecy wasn't fulfilled. And I was going to make sure that it was, no matter how painful it might be for us.
“Oh, how the mighty have fallen! What would the people think if they could see you now?”
I tried not to let out a sigh as the voice broke through my sulking.
Turning, I saw my brother standing there in his new uniform, which consisted of a fur cape and a tightly tailored all-black suit. All he was missing was a crown, but that was tucked away in the throne room for when he needed it.
He took his new role as king of the Castle family very seriously.
Anger boiled me alive from the inside. Everything was a joke to him. I was a joke. The vampires we murdered were a joke. All he cared about was coming into power because he was so goddamn strong, no one could stand up to him.
“Can’t a girl have some privacy around here?” I stood, brushing the dirt off my skirt.
The sun had fallen, and the sky had started to darken around us. Wisps of blue, purple, and pink were brushed across the sky, like a beautiful painting.
But there was nothing beautiful left in the palace anymore. It was all a cover to hide the ugliness inside.
Just like him. The only thing giving away his horrid nature were the scars running down his face.
“You and I both know you're not entitled to privacy here.”
I crossed my arms and raised a brow at him.
“How can I help you, my dear brother?”
His lips pulled into a dangerous smirk.
“If I didn't like you so much, I would punish you for your snark,” he said and walked closer to me, reaching out to grab a lock of my hair.
A deceivingly soft gesture that sent a burst of fear through me.
His nostrils flared, letting me know he could smell it, and the flash in his eyes told me he enjoyed it.
“Two more days and you'll make me the most powerful vampire king in existence.”
“You don't even know who I'm marrying yet. You left the choice up to me, remember?”
His smile dropped at the reminder.
“I have final say, remember? If you choose someone unsatisfactory, I will step in for you.”
Which is exactly why Atlas is not on the list. It would have been easy to sign myself away to her, and I wasn’t ignorant of her feelings on the matter. But the risk of him stepping in at the last moment and ripping away any hope that I had at freedom was too high.
I needed to be smart about this. Cunning. Just like my father raised me to be.
“I remember,” I all but spat at him and jerked my head to pull my hair from his grip, but he held on tight, sending a searing pain across my skull.
“You never did thank me for that,” he commented as he leaned close.
I didn't want to thank that bastard for anything. I gritted my teeth. The urge to attack him ravaged through me. If I were the old Aurelia, I would have snapped at him and tried to pull his head from his neck with my bare hands.
But I’m not.
That Aurelia wasn't here anymore. Inside, there was still that vampire that would rage at anyone who tried to harm her regardless of what the consequences were.
But this time it wasn't just about me. Because right then, as I was looking at my brother's eyes, something flashed in them.
He thinks this is a game.
The playfulness told me he knew exactly what was going through my mind, and he was just waiting for me to lose it.
But he also knew about them.
“Thank me, princess, or I’ll send word to the vampires watching your lovers that you’re uncooperative.”
Ice-cold fear struck me right through the heart.
I had been na?ve to think that he wouldn't ensure that I was being a good little vampire.
I thought offering myself up on a silver platter would be enough for him.
That showing that I was willing to kneel in front of him and expose my neck—degrade myself—would prove my loyalty.
He was smarter than that. And crueler.
I guess it runs in the family.
“Thank you,” I spat at him.
He held my gaze for a long moment before pushing me away, and I only barely caught myself before I stumbled into the dry fountain.
"Remember your place, Aurelia,” he warned, all the joking gone from his tone for the first time.
With that, he turned away, his cape swishing behind him as he disappeared back into the castle.
My anger was boiling up. Violent thoughts raged inside me. Images of me pulling back his cape and sinking my fangs into his neck, tearing it out violently, and painting the dying flowers red flashed through my mind.
But so did the memory of how easily he had taken out the witches. And on how he had set his eyes on Cedar next.
My vision blurred. My breathing quickened. His shape was nothing more than a black blob now.
Not really caring what anyone else would think if they heard, I let out a shriek that came from the deepest, most anguished parts of my soul.
I turned around and started pulling out the weeds at the bottom of the fountain, throwing them across the garden at the wall that separated me from my freedom.
When that wasn't enough, I started pulling my hair, gripping at the roots until I crumbled into a screaming mess. Anything to let out the anger that was eating me alive inside.
I'd been able to hold it in front of him, but as soon as I was alone, it all came rushing out. All the fury. All the fear. All the hopelessness.
I did this to myself. I did it for them. For us. I couldn’t let them die. Couldn’t let them get taken away from me. This was the only way.
But that didn't make it any more enjoyable.
I was Aurelia Castle to my core, for better or for worse. Soon to be the broodmare everyone thought me to be.
I took a deep breath and turned up to look at the now dark sky.
I had one last thing to do before my marriage. One final chance to make it all worth it.
Pull yourself together, Aurelia.
My mother had once told me to hold onto my fierceness, but now was the time to push it back. The time to act like the perfect submissive princess and let the rest fester until it was time to unleash it all.
“Princess?” another voice spoke.
I looked to see my driver for the night waiting for me at the edge of the garden, who had obviously been standing there longer than necessary, based on his pitying look.
“Coming!” I said with a sigh and stood.
One last night. One last party. One last chance.
It was a strange feeling to be back at the club. It had once been the only outlet from the chains of my father’s rule.
I had almost expected my brother to shut it down, but since it was on the outside of the boundaries of our family’s rule, it was supposed to stand on its own. A place for all the powerful vampires in the area to gather.
I pushed open the door, the loud music swirled around me, and for a second I wondered… If I closed my eyes, maybe I could pretend to be the Aurelia I had been back then. The one who would use these parties as an escape.
But then came the stares. The whispers. We all knew there wasn't much you could hide from vampire ears unless you were behind one of the reinforced walls of the upstairs bedrooms, so they whispered things under their breaths, knowing I could hear all of it.
I walked in and slipped my coat off, giving it to a random person off to the side. I didn't even care if they were the actual hostess.
Slowly, the party started to try to go back to normal, but most of the stares lingered.
Still, I held my head high and walked through the middle of the foyer.
The small stage at the end of it had four vampires, one of them sliding down a pole with hardly any clothes on, and the other three covered in blood, teasing the vampires around them.
“Want to play?” one of them asked as I got close.
“So sweet,” I replied, reaching into the pocket of my dress to hold out four jewels for them. “But no, thanks.”
The woman took them faster than I could blink and divided them between her fellow colleagues.