LUCIEN’S POV

There she was.

Bathed in candlelight and draped in power.

Vera stood beside the Vampire King like she’d always belonged there, head high, posture regal, eyes steady. Her dark hair had been braided back, woven with silver threads and royal crests, and the dress… Gods. That dress clung to her beautifully.

High collar, crimson lining. House Sanguinara stitched across her shoulder in gold.

Not a trace of the woman I’d once dragged through humiliation remained. She wasn’t the outsider anymore.

She was the center.

And I couldn’t breathe.

My fingers twitched at my sides as I stared at her from across the great hall. All around us, nobles whispered. Eyes flicked from her to me and back again. Some widened in disbelief. Some smirked. But none of them mattered.

All I could think about was the nights before.

I remembered the ceremony. The way Celene smiled beside me, triumphant and polished.

I couldn’t stop myself as I stepped forward.

“Vera,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

She didn’t even glance at me.

I swallowed hard and took another step. “Vera, please. Just—just one word.”

Her gaze slid past me like I didn’t exist.

She turned to the King instead, and my chest caved in. So I shifted toward him.

“Your Majesty,” I said quietly, “is it true? Is she… is she your daughter?”

The Vampire King didn’t blink. “Yes.”

“But how is that possible? She was human. I could smell it on her—”

“Could you?” King Aldric’s voice cut through me like a blade. “Or could you only smell what she allowed you to smell?”

Before I could respond, Vera finally looked at me. Her golden eyes held no warmth, no recognition of what we’d once shared.

“Lord Shadowmere,” she said formally, “I believe you have a new bride to attend to.”

Celene moved to my side, her hand possessive on my arm. “Indeed. We should be going.”

But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Vera.

“You let me believe you were nothing,” I said, my voice cracking. “You let me think you were just a village girl.”

“I was protecting myself,” Vera replied, her voice steady. “Something I clearly needed to do.”

“From me?” The words came out strangled.

“From everyone,” she said simply. “Including you.”

Celene’s grip tightened on my arm. “Lucien, we’re leaving. Now.”

I let her pull me away, but I looked back at Vera one more time. She was already turning away, dismissing me as easily as she had dismissed our entire marriage.

Celene said nothing until we were outside the throne room.

“Well. That was dramatic.”

I didn’t respond.

“Oh, come on,” she snapped, letting go of my arm. “Are we seriously going to pretend that this isn’t ridiculous?”

My silence only seemed to provoke her more.

She threw her hands up. “You’re going to fall apart because she showed up in a fancy dress with a title someone handed her?”

“She didn’t ask for that title,” I muttered.

“She rejected you, remember?”

“I rejected her first.”

“And now what?” Celene laughed coldly. “You want her back because she’s the Vampire King’s heir? Because you think groveling at her feet will restore your pride?”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to,” she snapped. “Look at you. You can barely stand upright.”

I looked away, unable to deny it.

She stepped in front of me, her voice rising. “Say something! Deny it! Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t still want her.”

I stared at the ground.

“You can’t,” she whispered.

I didn’t.

She let out a sound of disgust. “Fine. If you want to compare us, let’s compare us.”

Before I could ask what she meant, she had pulled out a silver blade and drawn it across her wrist.

“Drink,” she commanded, thrusting her bleeding wrist toward me. “Taste what you chose over her.”

“Celene, this isn’t the time—”

“Drink!” she screamed, her eyes blazing with fury and desperation.

I took her wrist reluctantly, my fangs extending. The taste of her blood was familiar now, powerful, intoxicating, but somehow… hollow. Like drinking fire without warmth.

“Do you feel that?” she asked, her voice breathless. “That’s what real vampire blood tastes like. Not the weak human blood you’ve been surviving on.”

I pulled away, wiping my mouth. “Celene—”

“No,” she cut me off. “I want to know. When you drank from her, did it feel like this? Did her blood make you stronger?”

I hesitated, and that hesitation was answer enough.

“It did, didn’t it?” she whispered. “Even though you thought she was human, her blood was better than mine.”

I couldn’t lie to her. Not about this. “Yes.”

The admission hung between us like a death sentence.

Celene’s face crumpled. “Then why did you choose me? If her blood was better, if she made you stronger, why did you cast her aside?”

“Because I thought she was human,” I said desperately. “Because I thought she couldn’t give me heirs. Because I thought—”

“Because you thought you could have both,” she finished. “You thought you could keep her as your secret source of power while elevating me as your public mate.”

“That’s not—”

“That’s exactly what it was,” she said, her voice breaking. “And now you’ve lost her. Lost the most powerful blood in existence. For what? For me?”

She laughed bitterly. “Do you know what this means, Lucien? Do you understand what you’ve thrown away?”

“I understand that I made a mistake,” I said quietly.

“A mistake?” she shrieked. “You cast aside vampire royalty! You humiliated the King’s daughter! You’ve probably started a war!”

Before I could respond, she stormed ahead, disappearing into the shadows of the walkway.

When I finally stepped through the front doors of the estate, my body felt like it was made of lead.

I didn’t make it five paces before my mother appeared from the side corridor, all polished grace and poisoned sweetness.

“Lucien,” Lady Vela greeted, tilting her head. “How was your meeting with the Vampire King?”

I blinked, still trying to adjust. “I was… dismissed.”

Her eyes widened. “Dismissed?”

She gasped. “What? You? How dare they degrade my son like that.”

I didn’t respond.

She stepped closer. “What happened?”

Before I could answer, Neressa strolled in, sipping blood wine like nothing in the world mattered.

“Why does Celene look like she just murdered someone with her bare hands?” she asked, then glanced at me. “And why do you look like a ghost?”

I still said nothing.

They exchanged a look.

My mother raised an eyebrow. “Lucien. Speak.”

I took a deep breath.

And then I said it.

“Vera is not who we thought she was.”

“Exactly,” Neressa said. “Which is why it’s good you’re done with her. She was barely worthy of being your mate—”

“She’s the Vampire King’s daughter,” I said.

Both women froze.

Neressa lowered her glass. “What?”

Lady Vela blinked. “You’re kidding.”

“I’m not,” I said, my voice hollow. “Princess Vera Sanguinara. The King’s heir. The most powerful bloodline in existence.”

“That’s impossible,” my mother whispered. “She was human. We could smell it on her.”

“She was hiding,” I explained. “Protecting herself. And I…” I swallowed hard. “I’ve been drinking royal blood for three years without knowing it.”

The implications hit them like a physical blow.