Twenty-year-old Claire must deceive a vampire prince to infiltrate the monarchy and discover their secrets while resisting her desire for him.
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Nothing in my life has ever been easy. Including the mission my family has sent me on.
My sister and...
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Attendre (verb) to wait, to expect
I couldn't believe the nerve of this self-righteous vampire.
It must be nice to have had such a long, full life that he could throw his away over something this trivial. But my life was still on the line, and I very much wanted to live.
But how could I do that if Bastien was intent on dying?
This whole situation was as frustrating as it was terrifying.
I worried my bottom lip, contemplating my options.
I couldn't appeal to Bastien's better nature. The vampire clearly wanted nothing to do with me except maybe interrogate me about Mama's choker and why I'd dabbled in magick.
A truly grim prospect.
That only left Prince Marius. He seemed less self-righteous than his brother and more concerned with the opinion of his courtiers. He had a kingdom to run after all, and he wanted to appear to be in control of his family.
Which meant he would do whatever it took to save face and seem like he was upholding the law.
Yes. Of course. This was my in.
The High Prince had already announced that I was Bastien's next sanguine partner, which was a protected and cherished position amongst the vampire nobility. It was also a position that came with certain rights. Rights that couldn't be taken away from me, even if Bastien was dead.
Whether my vampire employer lived for five more minutes or five hundred years, the monarchy had a responsibility to me.
The realization had me scrambling to my feet, trying not to step on the lacy hem of my dress as the wind blew through my hair. I knew exactly how I could fulfill my mission, even if Bastien died.
Slowly, I padded across the balcony with my hands clasped behind my back, making my way toward the two brothers, who had begun conversing in Sanguisi, the language of vampires. I couldn't understand what they were saying but could infer neither one of them were happy.
I could only guess how they were going to take my demand. Likely not well. But the law was on my side.
A fine sheen if sweat coated my back and my heart was frantically beating in my chest, like it wanted to leap off this balcony and fly into the night. Away from whatever fate awaited me. But I couldn't fly and neither could my heart.
I paused when I was mere feet away from the two arguing brothers.
They were a portrait in opposites. Marius, with his short black curls and deeply tanned skin, and Bastien, with his chin length blonde hair and blue eyes. One built for parties and courtly appearances, the other for war.
And despite their disgusting vampiric nature, they were captivating creatures. Especially Bastien.
Against all sense, there was something about him that held my attention. Something I couldn't quite understand but that I felt stirring in my belly.
