Page 25 of Born of Blood and Thorns

"And yours were saints?" I shot back. "I know the stories—your dragons razed villages to the ground!"

"Only after the vampires drew first blood." Lore towered over me. "Face it, your beloved queen was a monster."

"We are all monsters," I whispered, and Lore shot forward, crushing my body to his as he took those very teeth and trailed them along my neck in a way that should have frightened me. Only, it had the opposite effect. A shiver of pleasure arched my back into him, and a noise that sounded like a moan escaped my lips.

His breath cascaded across my neck until he reached my ears, and then he whispered low and sensual, which was so at odds with his words, "You are the monster—a vampire, and a wanton one at that."

I trembled with barely contained fury, blinking back tears I refused to shed. The air between us became charged with heat, our faces inches apart. A reckless desire to grab and shake him clashed with an equally intense longing to crush my lips to his. I dug my nails into my palms, overwhelmed and confused. Why did I feel this way? One moment, I had intense emotions to murder him, then the next, it was as if they made me a mad woman bound on a path of destruction.

With a growled curse, Lore spun away, separating us. "This conversation is pointless," he hissed. "We are enemies, and we always will be."

I watched the rigid set of his shoulders as he strode away, willing my heart to harden against this complicating attraction. "Good riddance," I muttered. Despite my bravado, a small, traitorous part of me mourned the loss of what we could have shared. I pushed it down ruthlessly, clinging to old hatreds...and trying in vain to ignore new desires. With a last scorching glance, I whirled away.

This was my first real dance with a man who would always be my enemy. It was my dumb luck to be trapped in a cursed castle with him, and I feared it would be an eternity before I could escape. That just wouldn't do.

After Lore stormed off, I stood, deep breaths heaving from my chest, my mind spinning. I needed answers about my grandmother's actions, but I also couldn't shake my conviction that Lore must die to break this curse.

CHAPTER 12

Bella

Determined to uncover the truth, I wandered the dusty halls of Lore's castle, searching for clues about his family and their downfall. If I could find his sister Lara's diary, it might shed light on the curse that now imprisoned Lore.

I wandered into the east end, where the forgotten room had been the day I'd first arrived. Alysha had warned me not to go there because only ghosts and monsters lurked there. I sighed, finding nothing in the room. I left, the feeling of eyes watching me prickling across my skin, and sought my answers elsewhere.

I followed my instinct further down the hall to what I suspected was Lara's room. Something forbidden awaited me in the shadows, where the daylight seemed to melt away to the dreary oppression of things hidden.

After searching, I found a hidden door leading to a small room lined with books. This must have been Lara's secret sanctuary. I quickly located her diary and scanned the pages until I found her description of the curse being enacted.

I scanned the fraying spines until I found a journal titled Lara's Memoirs. With trembling fingers, I opened it. Lara spoke of love and hope in her early entries, admitting she had fallen in love but not naming the person who had captured her heart. Later, her entries turned to the sting of betrayal and heartbreak. She described her terror when the vampire queen invaded, stealing dragon children. Her words were heavy and dark, as if she refused to believe it was happening. Each entry became darker as the hopeful girl who blossomed with newfound love disappeared. Someone distant, sad, and broken wrote detached words that soon turned into words of pain and anguish that squeezed my heart to read them.

Later entries turned angry, detailing plans of vengeance. The final page was stained with tears—Lara had scratched out a curse directed at the vampires, aiming to give Queen Isabella the same heartbreak and betrayal she felt. There was a confession on the last page.

I loved her. I loved her with everything that I had, and I was. She took that love until I was empty, and she rewarded it with betrayal. She gave me my heart back, and all that was left were broken little pieces of what it once was. It will never be beaten again. Because it was only ever meant to win for her. Though she confessed her own love and tore her heart out to show it beat for me, in the same breath, she told me a queen could not love another. Love was a weakness. As she handed me her heart, she admitted she would never love another. She betrayed me. Here I am without her, and I am nothing. So I will become nothing. If anyone ever finds this letter, know I never meant for any of it to happen.

Darkness is coming. It rides on the wind like a raven in the night, but I won't be here to see it. Because my sacrifice comes here and now, but there is more I fear coming.

I sank to the floor, mind reeling—thinking of how my grandmother confessed her love to Lore's sister.

My eyes roamed over the dusty furnishings, lingering on a small wooden chest tucked away on a shelf. Intricate carvings of vines and flowers adorned the sides, framing a heart etched lovingly into the center. I stepped closer, fingers brushing years of cobwebs as they curled around the lid. With a gentle tug, the chest creaked open, revealing a shriveled lump nestled inside. It was small enough to fit in my palm, dried and withered from the passage of centuries. The leathery surface was cracked with age; its former vibrant red faded to a lifeless brown. I pictured my grandmother, young and heartbroken, placing this organ to rest with shaking hands. How many lonely nights had she cried herself to sleep, separated from her love by cruel circumstances? I stroked the fossilized heart with pity, this relic of centuries-old lost romance.

I only hoped they had found peace together. It was clear the actions after Lara's capture by Queen Isabella prompted the events that led to the curse. Lore and his people had retaliated, and the moon goddess had sided with the vampires, interfering where goddesses should not. As a result, Lore had attacked a witch's village, killing the moon goddess's half-mortal daughter. How the moon goddess had retaliated was not mentioned in the journal, as I suspected the aftermath was yet to be enacted when the end of Lara's tale came to fruition. The curse had likely been created by Lore's actions against the moon goddess since we all knew she could be a cruel, vindictive deity.

For the first time, an idea came to me. What if this curse was a way to restore my father to the vampire throne. To make up for whatever slight Nyx decided against my family. Perhaps because of my family's intertwined past was why I was here. Breaking the curse would release Lore and me from this centuries-long curse that, in its own way, was hanging over both of our heads. When my father reclaimed his throne, he'd no longer need me. I could live a life free of him.

I left the hidden room, leaving the journal and the shriveled heart to the dust and the past. My mind was a whirling mess of thoughts and emotions. I needed to find something that spoke of the curse after Lara's involvement. At least now I understood why Lore's hatred of me went so deep.

The haunting chill of the east wing faded as I wandered into a warmer, well-lit hall. Rich tapestries and polished wood paneling replaced the cobwebs and dust. My numb fingers tingled as I drew nearer to the crackling fireplace, its flames dancing brightly against the cold stone. Through the towering, mullioned windows, the sun sank below the distant hills in a blaze of color. Fiery orange and fuchsia melted together, deepening to vivid purples as twilight crept in. Wispy clouds floated overhead, stained crimson by the sunset.

I watched, mesmerized, as the inflamed sun dipped lower, bathing the land in its intense golden light. Shadows lengthened as the final loving rays reached out to embrace the earth one last time before reluctantly releasing it to the fast-approaching night. The fading light filled the land with diffused warmth, the grass turning bronze. Shadows stretched and yawned as day yielded to night. Slowly, radiant azure deepened into a seductive navy before darkness descended utterly, taking the last lingering notes of color until morning.

I turned and took in the room, my awe from the setting sun gone as the chill crept in from the night. It was a library—but not just any library—the most glorious one I'd ever seen. Wall-to-wall books seemed to go on forever, several levels high, and I stood glued to the spot in amazement. I pinched myself, stifling a cry, confirming I was not dreaming.

Towering bookshelves made of a cherry wood color stacked with books of every shape and size could be seen in every available area. Occasionally, a few windows broke up the stacks, leaving perfectly cushioned seats as if beckoning the readers to simultaneously stop and enjoy the beauty of two worlds. Both in reality and between the pages.

I moved toward an enormous fireplace that made me nervous, burning so close to so many beautiful books. The fire looked like it needed stoking. The night I'd rushed into the forbidden woods came back to me. I'd been clutching the book in my hands. I'd managed to hold onto it as I ran through the woods, and then I'd lost it.

As I glided into the room on a comfy chair near the fire, the book sat, still stained with blood. The title's red embossing glowed in the firelight. I picked it up, running my hand over its surface. This book had been the catalyst for all my troubles. My eyes flicked to the fire, and, for a moment, I considered chucking the book into it. I couldn't bring myself to do it. So I sat it back down. I had a task. Gather intel on the curse, escape this place, and finally be able to live without fear. With a sigh, I assessed the room again, and dread sank in my stomach this time.

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