The Consort's Will 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 1

A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of book two in 'The Consort' series! I'm excited for this novel, and cannot thank you enough for the support you've all given through reads, comments and votes! I appreciate it. And now, without further ado, here is chapter one to continuation of the series....The Consort's Will.

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Chapter 1

As dawn approaches, a wisp of promise dances across the horizon. Tendrils of sunlight spill across the newly fallen snow and welcome in the new day. Hues of orange and pink press against the silky sky of night. It's a silent tug of war, the opposing colors grappling with another until Time intervenes with a steady hand.

I stare at the view in awed silence. So much in this world has changed. So much beauty, hope and love has been destroyed. Yet here – in the stillest moments of the breaking dawn – Nature manages to take my breath away.

A wool blanket is placed around my shoulders, and I glance up in time to see Bogdan taking a seat beside me. The sun gently falls across his face, caressing it with delicate finesse. Everything about him is beautiful.

I study his features – high cheek bones beneath haunting eyes. Each one is chiseled perfection, the flawless molding of an immortal man carved of marble flesh. His muddy, red eyes meet my gaze. The color reminds me of our night together, and the healing bite marks prickle with heat on the side of my neck.

"You should still be sleeping," Bogdan murmurs, breaking our gaze to stare out at Nature's canvas.

"I'm not tired. Besides," I say, clutching the blanket to my chest and nodding to the view. "When's the last time we got to just sit and watch the sunrise?"

As the question leaves my lips, the answer falls into place without my mental permission. It deals with an area I'm choosing to ignore - a topic I'm trying to forget. My shoulders sag. The familiar ache of longing blooms in my chest as the memory resurfaces.

It was a chilly morning, and I remember stuffing my disheveled hair under the hood of my sweater before meeting Bogdan beneath the weeping willow at our spot of refuge in the north. Bright, prickling sunlight splayed across the broken town. It was a beautiful sight, quickly marred by the news that my human friend, Fiona, was working for the enemy. It was also the morning I had to leave my best friend behind without saying goodbye.

"Where are we traveling next?" I ask, pushing the sadness and painful memories to the back of my mind.

Bogdan reaches behind us to retrieve the map and pen from one of our travel bags. Every time I take a breath, the cold air pushes past my lips in puffs of crystalized vapor. I thought it was cold in the north; little did I know that 'north' was only a direction rather than a place.

Now the two of us are about as far north as north can get. We haven't seen any sight of humans or vampires in weeks. It feels like we're in a place of our own, completely alone and forgotten. I huddle into my wool blanket and rest my chin on the middle of my knee.

"We're going to have to travel south again," his deep voice responds. "But rather than heading due south, we'll head southwest and see if we can pick up anything."

His rich voice sends a shiver down my spine. It's a voice I hear every day, yet it still manages to send my pulse into overdrive. He always told me it's because he's a vampire, and vampires are created as predators to their prey – humans. I don't believe it, though. Even if this man reverted back to being human, I'm fully convinced my reaction would be the same.

"I'd rather keep off the radar as much as possible," Bogdan adds, his probing gaze dancing across the map's surface.

I nod in agreement. The two of us have been traveling for weeks, always choosing the path less traveled. Granted, we've covered the same amount of ground it would take most humans to cover by foot in months...but the fact that we're still coming up empty-handed is discouraging.