Chapter 50
CHAPTER 50
VALARIC
G uilt sears my conscience as I track Juliet’s retreating figure as she walks back to the manor, side by side with Alayna. Raine’s guards and Eben trail behind them. She believes in me with a ferocity that tears at my heart. I am so unworthy of her trust and devotion.
A crunch of gravel behind me announces Raine’s approach. “Such trust she has in you,” he says, voiced tinged with awe. “But I wonder if perhaps it is misplaced.”
I clench my fists. Taking a deep breath to calm my anger, I force my expression into a mask of icy indifference and turn to face him. “You wanted to speak to me. Now, tell me what you want.”
“Is that any way to speak to your crown prince, Lord Greyvale?” Raine taunts.
I ignore his baiting and remain still, studying him warily. The echoes of remembered pain ripple through my body as I recall how he tried to dig through my mind, searching my memories.
I managed to resist, but not before he found the memory of when I was turned. Even now I can feel the searing agony of the change as if it just happened—the rending of my flesh and bone as wings formed on a body that was never meant to have them.
“I always wondered what the change was like for those who are made.” He cocks his head to one side. “Your transformation was quite painful. And somehow it is linked to a curse.” He pauses. “Tell me why. Explain to me how you became cursed, Lord Greyvale.”
“You’ve been in my mind,” I grind out. “Shouldn’t you already know the answers to these questions?”
His smile is all sharp edges. “A truth for a truth. How about that?”
I bite back a snarl as he asks this as if I have a choice.
“Contrary to what you may think, my vocari powers are rather limited. Your mind is unusually strong.” He studies me as if I were some sort of puzzle for him to work out. “It takes great concentration to read someone’s thoughts. You’ve witnessed the physical effects my ability has upon me.”
I’m surprised he’s being so candid. Then again, this could all be a ruse. All I know is that I don’t trust him.
“I’ve shared a truth,” he says smoothly. “And now it is your turn. Tell me: how did you become cursed?”
“I wanted to walk in the sun again. So, I made a deal with a blood witch and became ensnared in her curse when I could not keep my end of the bargain.”
It’s not the whole truth. I don’t tell him that the reason I needed immunity to daylight was so I could exact revenge upon the ones who killed my family and my village.
“And what are the terms of your curse?” he asks. “How can it be broken?”
“Why do you care?”
“Because I do. Now, tell me.”
I glare at him, refusing to answer.
“You refuse to share?” He growls in frustration. “Fine. Here is what I know: your bride does not know of your curse. And yet, I sense that her fate is somehow tied to it. Am I correct?”
My jaw tightens. The truth is a dangerous tool in Raine’s hands—a weapon I’m not willing to hand over.
His eyes gleam with triumph. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
Instead of answering, I change the subject. “You still haven’t told me why you wished to speak with me.”
“When I heard you had taken a human for your true wife, I thought it was nothing more than mere rumor. I came here to find out the truth.” His gaze locks with mine. “Now that I’ve seen you together, I know it is real. But I want to know why.”
I could tell him she’s my ashaya, but then I’d be giving away more information for him to use against me. And that, I will not do.
I jerk my chin toward the manor. “What of you?” I challenge, turning his scrutiny back upon him. “Tell me about Alayna.”
“I’m not sure what you are insinuating,” Raine says rather tersely. “Alayna is my blood wife—bloodsworn to me for the past—”
“I’ve seen how you look at her.”
A mixture of anger and worry breaks through his carefully controlled expression before he masks it with a casual shrug. “She is attractive for a human. You mistake desire and hunger for devotion. She is my blood wife. Nothing more.”
I narrow my eyes. “Lord Stryker is your uncle. Your own flesh and blood. And yet, you only trust your guards to watch her. Why?”
Irritation reflects in his eyes. “Observant, aren’t we?” he asks, voice tight.
Tension thickens the air as the roar of the ocean fills the silence between us. I’ve struck a nerve, but I cannot take back what I’ve said. Inwardly, I curse myself. I shouldn’t provoke him. The prince is a dangerous man. One I did not want for an enemy.
A sly grin tugs at the corner of his mouth. “And here I thought you didn’t like to play games.”
“I’m not,” I state firmly. “Enough with this intrigue. Now, tell me why we’re here.” I gesture to the space around us. “Why does the Prince of Morrowynd seek an audience with me? A Vampire who was made, not born.”
Raine’s expression turns serious. “For the only thing that cannot be bought.”
I frown. “What is that?”
“I want your loyalty, Lord Greyvale.”
I consider him a moment, unsure if this is some sort of game—an elaborate trap. “House Greyvale has already pledged itself to the crown,” I remind him.
“I’m asking for your loyalty to me —not the crown.” His red eyes pierce mine. “I will have your answer now.”
I snap my head toward the manor as all the pieces begin to fall in place. He separated me from Juliet so he could use her as leverage to gain the support of my House for what? Some ridiculous political ambitions?
Anger sparks in my chest, and I bare my fangs. “If you dare to harm my mate, I don’t care who you are, I will not hesitate to end you.”
His face is an impassive mask, but worry is easily visible behind his eyes for he knows I speak the truth. I’ve killed others of our kind before.
“There is no line I will not cross to protect she who is mine,” I growl.
I would burn the world for Juliet and lay the scattered ashes at her feet if she asked me to. Nothing else matters but her.
“You misunderstand.” He meets my gaze evenly. “I am not your enemy. I would never hurt your wife.”
“And why should I trust you?”
“My father sent me here to take your wife from you. To return her to the King of Aralon and his nephew.” He shakes his head. “I can do nothing about your curse, but I can ensure that the King of Morrowynd allows you to keep your bride. But I must have your loyalty in return.”
“Why me?” I ask again. “Why is my loyalty so important?”
“Because you are Lord Valaric of Greyvale, and before you were turned, you were a Shadow Blade of Aralon.”
I go still at the use of my former title. “I didn’t realize being a Shadow Blade was something our kind would hold in high regard.”
“The Elite Knights of Aralon were honorable,” he says. “They were known for their deep loyalty to their king. Will you not now give that same loyalty to your prince?”
Whatever his reasons for wanting me on his side, I’m not sure I want to hear them. But I will not be led into a trap. “Tell me what it is that you want,” I demand. “I cannot blindly give you what you ask without knowing what it entails.”
“You can and you will,” he replies darkly. “Because if you do not, my father will take your bride and return her to her people.”
Anger burns deep within. “Prince or not, if you dare try to take what is mine, I will end you.”
“That will not solve your problem. My father will only send someone else.” He shrugs. “It has always been my experience that when you get rid of one evil, another one always springs up in its place.”
A deep rumbling growl rises in my throat.
“Make this bargain with me, and I will see that you keep her, Lord Valaric.”
Aerlyx could whisk her away in one of his portals and hide her somewhere safe. Juliet and I could live a life in secluded exile. But we would forever be looking over our shoulder. Even if I managed to break my curse, we would be hunted for the rest of our days.
Raine looks at me. “I will have your answer now.”
One of the first things I learned, when I trained as a Shadow Blade of the king, was to never allow myself to be backed into a corner. But as I study the prince, I remember another lesson that Damar once taught me.
Sometimes there are no good options. But still, you must choose.
“Fine. You have my loyalty.”