After being betrayed by the ones who she cared for most, Cleo must make a decision as a war breaks out between vampires and humans-- which side she'll take in it.
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You will marry Claude and become a member of the royal family.
I stared at Kaz, unable to process his words. Who would marry Claude? I would? "What are you saying right now?"
"It's exactly how it sounds," Kaz answered. "You will marry Claude and force a treaty between the royal and Levant family."
My mind reeled. How did it get to this? What was even happening? First, they killed my father, then they imprisoned me, and now they were saying I was to be married to Claude? For a type of peace treaty? Like how I'd supposedly gone to the academy as part of a peace treaty, but in reality, I was just a pawn for not only my father but apparently my so-called friends, too?
I didn't even know what to say. "We can't get married. Claude and I are only seventeen," I eventually said numbly, as if that was the most important thing to point out at the moment.
"Claude turned eighteen on the day of the ball," Kaz informed me. "And you'll be eighteen tomorrow."
Tomorrow? I hadn't even realized my birthday was so close. My father had never let Kieran or I celebrate our birthdays, so I never paid much attention to mine. But if it was tomorrow, then only four days had passed since I'd been locked up. It felt like much longer.
"...How do you know that my birthday is tomorrow?" I asked, again, knowing that I was focusing on the wrong thing here, but too stunned to think properly.
"Adora told us."
My heart sunk with the realization that Adora had been in on everything, too. I should have expected that, but it still hurt. I swallowed. "How would me marrying Claude create an alliance between our families? My family would never agree to one.
Kaz shook his head. "They don't have to agree to it. Only you do."
"And you're expecting me to agree to marry Claude? Just like that? After everything that's happened between us?" I responded, my voice rising in disbelief. "That's insane!"
Kaz's indifferent expression didn't change. "Let me rephrase that, then. You don't have to agree. The marriage is happening whether you agree to it or not."
My mouth fell open. "You can't force me to get married—"
"You don't have a choice."
I took a step toward him, clenching my teeth, my leg aching from where the bullet Kaz shot clipped me. "How do I not have a choice? This is my future you're talking about!"
"It's not just yours!" Kaz shouted back at me. "It's Claude's! It's mine! It's everyone's, Cleo! Your father was not the only Levant who is a threat. It's your entire family. You know that. And you know that the years of pain and war won't ever end until the Levant family name is erased from existence."
I faltered for a moment, so unused to the harsh way Kaz was speaking, especially when directed toward me. This wasn't Kaz. He would never speak like this to me...
