Chapter 10
Esiree
Everything moved too quickly following the nuptials.
In the brief time before my family departed, we discussed the ways in which we would try to communicate updates to one another without drawing any suspicion.
While we had each been granted my personal seal, we had no way of being certain if our correspondences would truly be kept private.
For the first time since this whole ruse had unfurled, my father’s confidence gave way to uncontrollable worry.
It was one thing to make a plan; it was another to execute it.
That morning, he took every opportunity to make small connections with me.
Hugs and sidelong embraces that became excessive, mingled with heartfelt squeezes of my shoulder as we went about our daily routine.
There was no more protecting me now. No human escort to send with me, no Preet to keep an eye on me.
My journey would be a lonely one, and my only connection to my family would be our private letters.
Unexpectedly, Vastion did not accompany me in the carriage.
Instead, he travelled at the front, leading his caravan toward my new home.
Only during brief stops, seemingly just for me to relieve myself, did he check on me.
Always asking if the ride was comfortable enough and if I required anything.
He made mention of leaving a few books in the carriage to help me pass the time.
His attentiveness irked me because I needed to hate him, but his actions portrayed genuine care for my well-being.
Part of me felt it was a blessing that I wouldn’t be forced to sit in a carriage for hours with just the two of us.
My act was far easier to keep up in the presence of others.
Time alone as man and wife had not yet come to pass, but it inched closer with each turn of the wheels.
As we neared the coast, gray clouds spanned the sky, accentuating the lack of light and warmth in these lands, characterized by damp mosses and inhospitable stone.
While the carriage moved along hilly countryside, I peered through the window, trying to avoid thoughts of what the castle would be like.
I had no knowledge of how the Vampyr lived, but could easily imagine its icy, rigid confines given their demeanor.
Humans were not welcome in the Vampyr city, not that they had cause to travel to it.
Sentries stationed throughout the territories carried correspondence, authorized trades for goods, and so on.
Therefore, everything about what lay ahead was unknown.
My surroundings, the people, their culture and traditions—all of it would be foreign to me.
Somehow, in the vastness of uncertainty, Vastion seemed like an anchor.
But how would he treat me when no longer under the watchful eyes of his human subjects?
We travelled onward, through the rolling, fertile-green pastures of the moorlands.
Some of them were rampant with wildflowers that somehow thrived in the umbra that blanketed most of our world.
Days like these were the ones where I often questioned if the Gods were looking out for us humans at all.
Devana had always been a land shrouded in mist and haze, but the blessed days of sunlight seemed to grow even fewer.
As dusk was nearing, I could hear the escorts chatter excitedly at the prospect of our arrival.
I shoved open the squeaky carriage window and stuck my head outside.
The cool breeze fanned my face and carried with it the distinct scent of the sea.
I marveled at a long line of horses moving leisurely across the lush landscape.
The sound of distant rolling waves called out to me.
Ari had regaled me with stories of the grand Brightheart Castle that once stood at the cliffside, long abandoned since the age of the Blood Reign. Now, only ruins remained.
But his tales could not have prepared me for the remnants of a once regal castle, which now stood idle and abandoned.
The curtain wall was a deep gray stone, consistent with the rocky outcroppings I’d seen while travelling.
Its bastions, crumbling or caved in altogether, offered a glimpse of the aftermath of an assault.
A fixed bridge lay in ruin where it had once connected the outer wall to the keep, which was such a deep black it seemed to be wet, glistening even in the mottled remnants of daylight.
It must have been a wonder to behold in its time, marvelous ebony spires soaring to the heavens, now only an echo of the past.
In man’s absence, nature had begun its persistent reclamation, applying blankets of thick moss and creeping ivy.
So many human legacies had reigned from this now long-forgotten monolith.
Eras defined by the rise and fall of mortals, and then the birth of something strange and wicked—the Blood Reign.
When we reached the cliffside, I was certain I’d be continuing on foot.
But the formation narrowed, and we moved forward down a thin, winding path that weaved its way along the craggy precipice.
The window on my left revealed only a jagged rock wall, and the one to my right…
I hadn’t known I had a fear of heights, but there was something dizzying about the steep drop below that made me feel like I was trapped in a tiny box.
Panic set in. A sheen of sweat formed on my arms as I braced myself against the carriage walls, gripping tightly to alleviate the fear of falling with each wobble. When we mercifully reached the bottom, I sighed with relief and downed what was left of my water pouch.
One of Vastion’s guards opened my door when we came to a stop and held out his hand to help me down; I ignored the offer as I stepped outside onto the soft sand.
Looking up, I acknowledged the great heights from which we had come and thanked the Gods I somehow arrived safely.
The sound of the sea was much louder now, as waves rolled onto the shoreline and drowned out the conversations around me.
Anchored at sea a small distance away was the largest ship I had ever seen.
It featured a beautiful wooden hull with three masts and a complex network of ropes splayed to and from every visible surface like spider’s silk.
The figurehead jutting from the bow beautifully captured the likeness of a siren, her intricately carved hair flowing behind her, one arm holding a lyre and the other outstretched as if to welcome those possessed by her enchanting melodies. A vessel fit for a king.
On the sandy beach were a number of wooden rowboats that Vastion’s men were beginning to load with our belongings.
Already, Vampyr stable hands were untying saddled horses to escort them back to the uplands.
Vastion strode toward me and, Gods-damned, did the sea breeze in his hair amplify his ruggedly handsome features.
Stop it, Es! He’s a blood-sucking tyrant, get your head straight.
At least he wasn’t hideous like the Rabids with their disfigured faces that sometimes haunted my dreams.
“Just a bit longer, my dear,” he said, reaching for my hand.
If I hadn’t been made to wear a dress and these uncomfortable shoes, I wouldn’t need any help traversing the landscape—but alas, I was sent away from the Harvest looking like a formidable queen.
Vastion helped me into one of the rowboats and took a seat beside me.
Not long after, his men navigated us out of the tide and rowed us past the swirling waters that threatened to pull us back ashore.
When we reached the ship, I had no idea how I was going to get onboard in this unsuitable frock.
The others used the rope ladder to make their way onto the vessel.
The men above lowered another rope, and Vastion approached me. I eyed him warily.
“And what do you think you’re doing with that?”
“You’re going to let me tie this around your rear so that you may sit while they pull you up and aboard.”
He began to kneel and wrap his arms around my thighs to tie the rope.
“Excuse me!” I said incredulously, pulling away and causing the boat to rock.
Vastion stood up straight and hovered over me. “I apologize; you must have misheard me. I am going to tie this around your stunning rear, and you will sit quietly while they pull you aboard—unless you desire to take a swim before our arrival. Understood?”
Not a single other person looked remotely stunned by his words except for me.
How dare he speak to me like that? I am the queen!
I thought to myself. But I did not protest further as Vastion leaned down again and secured me against the thick rope.
All I could think was that I had been right after all.
His charm and charisma were all a show for the humans, and now that none of them were around to witness his mistreatment of me, he no longer needed to pretend.
I refused to look down and give him any attention as they slowly hoisted me up, but I could feel his eyes.
I didn’t need to look to know there was a grin of satisfaction beaming from his smug, chiseled face.
Once safely aboard, I shoved away the deckhand who had the audacity to reach for the rope beneath my bottom. “I’ll do it myself!” I sneered, just as Vastion climbed casually over the ledge.
The anchor lifted and deckhands scurried to their places as the sails were hoisted.
The large ship picked up speed, and I gazed somberly at the retreating shoreline as we slipped toward the fjords.
Away from everything I’d ever known. A persistent tremor took hold of my hands.
I flexed my fingers, digging my nails into my palms to force the muscle memory of stillness, uncertain if the agitation was born from the rising frost of the sea spray or the profound terror of an unwritten future.