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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Devoir (verb) to have to, to need to
The sound of hooves beating on the paverstones and the creak of wheels came, and moments later, my coach appeared. It's black carriage and riders a welcome sight.
Unlike the woman beside me.
The one whose heartbeat was pulsing inside my bloodstone.
The one who was marked by my bite.
I'd never been more torn or more conflicted in my entire life.
Somehow, I'd done the impossible and found a way around the inability to cause her pain by tricking myself into believing I'd...excited her. That perhaps she'd wanted the pain that came with my bite.
Desired it, even.
Being close to her felt right, but it was foolish for so many reasons.
My impromptu plan had worked, but I knew I wouldn't be able to convince myself I excited her twice. Not after discovering her phobia of blood. And certainly not after the blind panic I'd experienced when she'd fainted in my arms, and I had to carry her off the dais.
I'd have to find some other way to satisfy my craving for blood. What that was, I wasn't sure. Hopefully, Imogen would have answers for me when we arrived at the castle.
My fingers grazed the throbbing stone hiding under my shirt, the one that had named her my mate, and I caught myself studying the way the moon shone on her hair, turning the loose lavender strands into a rainbow of color as they whipped around her heart-shaped face.
She was a infinitely beautiful problem.
As soon as I had the thought, I cursed myself for thinking it, but couldn't tear my gaze away from her.
I still made her uneasy. I could tell by the way she held herself and the way she kept shooting sidelong glances in my direction.
The coach came to a grinding halt and a footman hopped down, making a fuss over opening the door and preparing the steps.
Claire hugged her arms against a sudden gust of wind, and I struggled to hold back a smirk. If she thought this was cold, just wait until we arrived at Chateau Rose. Tucked away in the northwestern foothills of the mountains, snow decorated the pines nearly year round and the wind was unforgiving.
It would be my responsibility to keep her warm.
An all too familiar voice broke into my thoughts of Claire and how she would fare during the winters of Roselyn.
"Why is my general leaving so soon?"
Both she and I turned to find three members of my family sauntering toward the coach.
I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw at the sight of Marius, who was flanked by my brother Claude and his son, the little wretch, Tyson.
So much for stealing away while the party raged on. I'd done my due diligence by attending the ball, as Marius demanded, and now I was leaving.
