Heir of Darkness (Heirs #1)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

SEVEN YEARS EARLIER

The white gown Luna wore was too similar to a wedding dress, but that was the intention behind it. Her father wanted potential suitors to see what his sixteen-year-old daughter would look like walking down the aisle to them. It made her sick to her stomach.

She attempted to drown herself in the champagne the bar offered considering they wouldn’t give her anything else, but it wasn’t enough. When she saw an opening at one of the patio doors, she made a run for it, nearly twisting her ankle in the obnoxious heels her mother forced onto her feet earlier in the night. She couldn’t escape the party completely considering every inch of the grounds were guarded, but she could slip out for some air. At least that was what she would tell anyone who asked why she wandered off.

Preparing for an arranged marriage at sixteen was the last thing Luna wanted to do. The contracts would be signed, the parties would happen, and at eighteen she would be married. Her life would be over.

She walked between the statues lining up the fake grass. The marble on the naked men and warriors with swords on their backs still in pristine condition as if they had never been exposed to the harsh New York weather before.

She didn’t care about those. No, her attention caught the only one with chips and a yellowing tint on it. It was a statue of a woman clutching her dress in fear. Luna studied it closely for a moment, noticing one single tear that had been carved out on the woman’s cheek. There was no mention of who the woman was or who had carved her.

Such a horrible moment to have frozen in time.

Wasn’t that Luna’s predicament? That this moment, in all its awfulness, would be a moment she would remember forever. She would become another nameless woman whose identity was stripped away, left to serve a husband that would never truly love her.

“I think everyone is expecting you inside.”

She turned around. It was Valerio Vitali. The heir of the family her own family despised. She didn’t know why he was invited tonight, but she assumed it was so her father could make a point of showing off the various connections people were trying to make with him just to have his daughter.

Luna hadn’t even realized she was crying. Quickly, she wiped the tears, sniffling in an attempt to cover up her vulnerability.

They had never talked before, but she had seen him at events here and there considering he was Gianna’s cousin. He was older than her by a year. Mysterious, handsome, and terrifying. Another way to say he was out of her league. Not that it mattered anymore anyway.

“Tell them you don’t know where I am,” she told him. Her eyes took in every inch of his face, memorizing the blue in his eyes that looked like the frigid Norwegian water she’d stayed next to only a couple of months ago for spring break with her best friends. He always looked like he was thinking about something terrible, the way his lips held a permanent frown.

“Why are you crying?” He sat down at the base of the statue, staring at her intently. She sat down beside him, laughing bitterly.

“Why do you think?”

“I’m guessing getting married isn’t your idea then?” Valerio asked.

“Is that what you would want when you have your whole life ahead of you? When you know that every dream you’ve ever wanted is never going to come true now?” She wished she didn’t sound so bitter, but there was no use.

“When you put it like that, no.”

“He’s going to pick the highest bidder—doesn’t matter if they treat me right or not,” Luna said. She threw her head in her hands. “I wish I could run away. Make this nightmare disappear.”

“Running never solves anything.”

“A bullet to the head does.”

She lifted her head, her eyes wide. She couldn’t believe that she told him something so dark, something she had considered but hadn’t even told her best friends about.

Valerio’s face morphed into something between anguish and desperation. It stunned her for a second, but no more than when he grabbed hold of her chin with a solid grip. “Don’t ever consider taking your life over something like this ever again. Do you understand me?”

She nodded her head, too shocked to answer.

That wasn’t good enough for him. “Use your words.”

His growl had her muttering, “Yes.”

He stared at her for a long moment before finally letting go. She took a deep breath, keeping her eyes locked on him in case he reached out for her again.

His voice broke the silence once more. “You want out of that contract?”

She could only nod her head. “More than anything.”

A pair of footsteps walked up to them. It was Dante Vitali, his suit wrinkled and shirt unbuttoned. Luna didn’t bother to fix her appearance or move away from Valerio. She didn’t care anymore if their position looked improper.

“Father wants you for the meeting,” he told Valerio.

Valerio stood up, turning back to Luna one last time. “Drink some water and go inside.”

“Drink some water and go inside,” she mocked in a quiet tone, currently annoyed with all men.

Even if he heard her, he pretended he didn’t, but still kept the slightest hint of a smirk on his face. When she was alone once again, she looked up at the statue behind her, running gentle fingers over the unnamed woman’s hand. Luna stood up, walking back into the party that continued on without her.

By the time she found her father, he was already shaking hands with Valerio and his father, Cesare Vitali.

A contract had been signed just like they wanted. One more influential and groundbreaking.

Luna Kingsley was set to marry Valerio Vitali.