Chapter 10
It was surreal to think that just days ago, I was promised to a man I didn’t love, trapped in a future my mother picked for me. And now, I was about to step into a grand hall filled with vampires… with the most breathtaking man I’d ever laid eyes on at my side. And he was one of them.
Xavier gently slid his arm around my waist, leading us out of his bedroom toward the great hall of his castle.
“Don’t drift away from me tonight, I want you to be safe. Do what I say and don’t pay attention to anyone else but me,” he whispered against my ear.
How could his voice evoke so many emotions inside me? My entire body was tingling.
As soon as we entered the hall, all I could do was stare at all the vampires surrounding us. Some were dancing in their finest attire, others were sitting at a table drinking wine—or blood, whatever the red liquid in their glass was supposed to be.
I glanced around, noticing the further we moved into the room, the more the other vampires took a step back. It was almost as if they feared Xavier. His eyes were solely focused on me until we halted at a long table made of ebony wood.
Silence persisted for a long moment, only making me even more nervous.
Eventually, Xavier finally spoke, his strong voice breaking the tension in the hall, “Good evening, my friends and elders.” He closed his eyes for a moment, drawing in a breath before slowly reopening his eyes.
It was almost as if he was as nervous as me.
Out of instinct, I gripped his hand to reassure him that he wasn’t alone.
Xavier’s gaze lowered to my hand as his fingers slid between mine.
He scanned the people in the crowd and spoke again, “Welcome to the annual council meeting. Now, please everyone, feel free to eat and drink your fill, and then we’ll discuss matters.
And of course, my friends, you’ll all need to behave.
We’re in the presence of beautiful women, not only our kind.
” Some people laughed, amused at his comment as they were all taking their seats.
Xavier and I sat at a long golden table reserved for us and some of his guests.
I guess mother would have called them the select circle, the privileged few.
Men that were blessed with enough power and money to influence terrible decisions.
“Oh, Xavier,” a female voice said. She was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, dressed in a dark green gown matching the color of her eyes. Her hair was black and cascaded in long curls down her shoulders.
“Don’t you want to introduce me to your beautiful company?”
“No,” Xavier coldly said, seeming annoyed by her presence. The woman rolled his eyes at him.
“It looks like my brother still has no manners, if he didn’t even tell you about me,” she said to me.
“Brother?” I asked, perplexed.
I’ve only met Sparrow. He didn’t mention having a sister when he’d told me about his family.
But the longer I looked at both of them, the more similarities I recognized.
Of course, they both had those mesmerizing beautiful green eyes and black hair, but their gestures and expressions were also similar.
Especially in the way they talked with confidence and a little hint of arrogance.
“Oh, did my brother not even mention me? So nice of him. I’m Lydia, his twin sister.”
Twin sister.
“It’s not my intention to be nice to you, Lydia,” Xavier said coldly. “If it weren’t for a shred of decency, you wouldn’t even be here.”
Lydia’s lips curled into a knowing smile. “Oh, Xavier… I thought being away from our father’s shadow might have softened you. Seems I was wrong.”
Before Xavier could respond, a tall man emerged from the surrounding crowd like a shadow stepping into light.
Sparrow.
“Why can’t my brother and sister spend five minutes together without snapping at each other?” Sparrow asked, sighing with amused dismay.
He slid an arm around Lydia’s waist, with the intention to relax her. She leaned slightly into him, though her glare at Xavier remained unsoftened.
Then Sparrow’s attention shifted to me and his gaze warmed. He took my hand with surprising gentleness, pressing a slow kiss to my skin as his eyes gleamed with some unreadable amusement—like he enjoyed the little fight between his siblings as a private show meant just for him.
“Sparrow,” Xavier snapped. A warning. But Sparrow didn’t flinch. His smile only widened.
That was the moment Xavier moved. Without another word, he wrapped his hand around mine. His grip was warm, strangely protective before he pulled me away from them. Did he fear his siblings?
When we were far enough from the table, I gently tugged at Xavier’s hand.
“Xavier… are you okay?” He didn’t answer right away. His jaw was tense, eyes set ahead, but they were red.
“I won’t let my sister pull you into her little games,” he muttered finally. “Not you.” The way he said it was indeed fearful, and it made me wonder why.
I gazed around the room and saw Xavier’s sister now sitting at a table very far away.
Sparrow kept her company, even though a seat was reserved for him at our table.
I couldn’t help but notice that Lydia’s eyes were solely focused on me, a possessive dark gleam in their depths that I didn’t notice before, too occupied with Xavier’s behavior.
“Gwendolyn,” Xavier murmured softly after a while, pinching my thigh slightly under the table.
My gaze wandered back to him.
“What?”
“You aren’t angry with me, are you?”
His question took me by surprise.
“No, but why didn’t you mention your sister?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I… didn’t think to mention it. When you came into my life, all that mattered was you.” Xavier was silent for a moment, his gaze flickering nervously back to me. “…I didn’t mean to keep it from you, if that’s what you think…”
Before I could respond, I felt a shift in the air. A breeze of sweet perfume surrounded me. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the unmistakable silhouette of his sister approaching, her gaze fixed on us like she already knew too much.
“Can I steal your girlfriend for a little while?” Her voice was honeyed but tight, although the sweetness did not quite reach her tone. “Or are you both still fighting over the fact that Xavier didn’t tell you about his so beloved twin sister…”
“No,” Xavier said, grabbing my waist to pull me closer to him.
“Oh, I didn’t realize her voice had an echo.” Lydia teased, her gaze flicking to me with a spark of amusement. There was a slight provocation in her voice, the kind used by children who’d learned long ago which buttons to push just for fun.
I’d never had siblings, but I’d seen enough of the neighborhood kids to recognize the game.
“Xavier, wouldn’t you want me to get to know your new treasure?” she asked with exaggerated innocence, cocking her head to the side.
He said nothing, though his gaze lingered on me for a moment too long. Then Lydia slipped her hand through the crook of my arm before he could stop her.
“It won’t be long, brother. Don’t worry,” she said softly as she led me away down the hall, weaving through the crowd until we found two empty seats at a low table, right beside Sparrow.
I glanced back over my shoulder. Xavier was already speaking to someone else, but I still felt his eyes on me like a weight I couldn’t shake.
“Ah, silence,” Lydia sighed as we sat. She reached for a decanter and poured a rich crimson liquid into two crystal glasses, handing me one. I sniffed it cautiously, trying to place the scent before taking a sip. I hated the taste of alcohol.
“It’s a very sweet juice with berries and grapes, not blood or poison,” Lydia said, laughing lightly at my hesitation.
She tossed back her drink like it was water, while I only dared a tentative sip.
The taste was sweet at first, but a bitter edge followed, lingering on my tongue with a soft burn. There was definitely alcohol in it.
“So,” She leaned in, grinning. “How did Xavier land you?”
I nearly choked on my wine at Lydia’s bluntness.
“Lydia,” came Sparrow’s amused voice behind her. “You really need to learn how to behave in public. Otherwise, Seth will hear about it…”
Seth? The name hit me unexpectedly, a note of curiosity tightening in my chest. But Lydia didn’t address him. She only rolled her eyes and took another long sip from her glass, ignoring her brother entirely.
Trying to steer the conversation away from myself and from the growing heat Xavier’s nearness stirred in me, I asked, “So, you live in the Vampire Kingdom?”
“I do,” she replied, lifting her chin slightly, her tone giving nothing away.
“What’s it like?”
She exhaled slowly, tilting her glass to swirl the wine before answering. “Luxurious, I guess. I live in the castle with our father, so I don’t really lack anything. But the city itself? It’s dull. Cold, even.”
“Why haven’t you left?” I asked softly, not only out of curiosity but because I understood that feeling of being caught somewhere between obligation and escape.
“If my mate wasn’t my father’s most important commander, I probably would’ve left already. I miss my siblings,” she confessed, her voice quieter now, less sharp. “And Seth… well, all of his family is in Marabour. He misses them too, even if he won’t say it aloud.”
Seth was her mate.
I nodded, watching the liquid in my glass. Something about the way she said it hit a little too close to home. My father had one brother who passed away, I never met him, but he talked about him often. How he missed his laughter and his presence, even their little arguments.
“But Sparrow? His arrogance is definitely not something I miss. He’s childish and cocky and gets on my nerves constantly,” Lydia continued, amused.
“And Sparrow seems to think he’s the most beautiful man to ever walk the Vampire Kingdom.
Sometimes I just want to slap his smug face and knock some sense back into him. ”
Sparrow let out a low, amused snort, clearly not offended in the slightest. He raised his glass in a mock toast, as if to say, guilty as charged.
“But it’s not my fault,” he said smoothly, a slow smile playing on his lips. “That my mother is a siren queen. You know the effect sirens have.”
“No, Sparrow. I think you’ve only told me a thousand times,” Lydia countered, rolling her eyes again but with a hint of fondness now, like she was used to this exact banter. “And don’t forget it is your aunt Lilith who wears the crown now, since your mother was involved with a vampire.”
Sparrow rolled his eyes, and Lydia laughed at his reaction. I felt a warm, firm grip on my shoulder. My breath caught. I looked up and there he was.
Xavier.
He stood behind me, his presence unyielding, as if he had been watching me the whole time.
His hand slid from my shoulder, trailing down in a slow, familiar path.
I felt the soft press of his fingers along my thigh, a touch so firm, as if he tried to possess me.
My body began to betray me, welcoming the contact of his skin on mine.
As he led us back to our table, Xavier’s touch lingered on me, his hand absentmindedly stroking my thigh in a tender yet possessive movement. I could not ignore the calming feelings these touches ignited in my body, especially a place where I never had any kind of fires and butterflies before.
As the night went by, the conversation of the dinner might have changed, but the heat down there stayed. It didn’t help that Xavier’s hand kept sliding down my back, his fingers gently brushing over my skin in a way that made my entire spine shudder.
I looked at Xavier, his focus on one of the men he talked with. Then, slowly, he leaned in. His breath brushed my neck, warm and deliberate, sending a shiver through me.
“Are you okay, my love?” he whispered. “Because I can smell your arousal… and I’m certain my vampire friends can too.”
My entire body went rigid. Embarrassment burned beneath my skin. Xavier grinned at my blushing.
“I didn’t say it to embarrass you,” he murmured, fingers gliding down my arm, slow and circling my wrist, “but the thought of other men smelling what’s mine… unsettling doesn’t begin to cover it.”
I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself. “Why are you staring at me like that, then?”
He tilted his head, the ghost of a smirk appearing. “Can’t I stare at you?”
“It’s inappropriate,” I murmured, looking away from these penetrating emerald eyes. “It makes people wonder if...” I couldn’t even end the sentence, because if I said it myself, it would mean I’d accept the bond we have.
“My staring,” he said, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear, “is far more appropriate than the thoughts going through my head right now, just looking at you, my little demon.”
My heart thundered. But still, I had questions that needed answers.
“Why are you so tense around your sister?” I asked, searching his face for an answer. That caught him off guard. For a moment, the tension in his jaw betrayed something deeper. Still, he brought his hand to my chin and tilted it gently, bringing our eyes level.
“Because not everyone in my family is close to me,” he said slowly, voice lower now. “If you want to ask something about me, about my siblings, then ask. I won’t keep things from you.”
“Then... if you and Lydia don’t really talk, why was she even invited?”
Xavier’s gaze flickered, thoughtful. “I never banned her from coming to Carnivalland. Sparrow still lives here most of the time. But Lydia… she trusts people I don’t. And until I can guarantee your safety, I’m not risking anything. Even if that means keeping my distance from her.”
“But… why?”
He exhaled, the weight behind his words finally surfacing. It felt like he didn’t want to give me an answer.
“Lydia has a habit of speaking of things that don’t concern her.
And her mate, Seth, is one of my father’s most loyal commanders.
Everything I tell her? He hears too. Not because she’s careless, but because this is how the bond between mates works.
What’s hers is his. No secrets. Nothing.
I don’t even blame her for it. But some things—” he paused, “—they are mine to keep.”
And when he said mine, I felt it in my chest like a second heartbeat. Xavier wasn’t talking about secrets or politics. He was talking about me.
“I’ll show you something,” he suddenly said, his voice gentle but commanding.
Before I could question what it was, Xavier had already taken my hand, guiding me swiftly away from the table, away from Lydia’s watchful eyes and Sparrow’s teasing remarks.
And as the laughter and the lights faded behind us, I realized I didn’t know if I trusted him completely, not yet.
But in that moment, with his hand wrapped around mine like a promise, I wanted to.