Page 184 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

“Don’t,” she said, her jaw clenched. “You can never let him have that power.”

“Still bitter?” He snorted.

“Me?” She raised a brow. “I got away from you.”

“Is that what you think?” He shook his head. “I had no interest in raising our daughter—not when I knew I could find her when she was ready. Why waste my time?”

My mother’s eyes blinked rapidly as she processed this. “But I hid her from you.”

“A waste of time,” he crooned, “and a costly one. I hear you made yourself quite ill using all that Fae magic.”

“Fae?” I blurted out.

She didn’t look at me. She didn’t speak. Not because he had her pinned. No, his grip was too loose for that. She could easily slip out of his hold.

“Only powerful magic could have shielded you for that long,” he explained to me, his eyes pointed at her. “A Fae glamour could be bargained for, but their magic is different than our own. It was eating you alive. Was it worth it?”

“To protect her from you? Yes.”

“You’re a fool,” he said in a low voice.

“You’re a monster.”

He didn’t deny it. “Although, I’m curious about the terms of your bargain. What did you agree to? Will they come for both of you someday?”

“They will never touch her. As for the rest, it’s none of your business,” she snapped, and I choked back a sob. Bain had said the same—that the Fae could not touch me. I’d thought it was a bargain with the Queens. But it was my mother’s agreement—her sacrifice.

“What did you promise them?” I begged her.

“Myself,” she said simply. “I bargained my life to protect yours. I agreed that when you reached twenty-five or married I would return to his court and serve him.”

My mouth went dry, all thoughts eddying from my head. I wouldn’t be twenty-five for several more years, but now I was married. If I had known, I could have used the next couple of years to find a way out of the agreement. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You can’t break a Fae bargain,” she said softly, knowing what I’d just realized. That my wedding to Julian today meant the Fae would call in their bargain soon. “You’ve sacrificed enough for me. I won’t take any more of your happiness. This day was always going to come.”

“How touching. I’m glad you two have made amends.”

“Shut up,” I snarled.

“You would do well to remember I hold her life in my hands—bargain or no. The Fae won’t care if she’s dead.”

“But I will never give up the throne,” I warned him. I couldn’t. I knew what he was capable of, and I had to keep him from tapping into the world’s most powerful well of magic.

“Do not delude yourself, Thea. I will kill you both.” He leveled a gaze so cold at me that it turned my blood to ice. “So, you will do exactly as I say—or everyone you have ever loved, including your unborn child, will be dead within the hour.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

LYSANDER

It felt like I’d been looking for Lia for hours. I assumed she would stick close to the celebration, but something had been off since my return to court. She was acting strangely, and I couldn’t decide if she was avoiding me. We’d come close to crossing a line the last time we were alone. I had barely seen her since. I finally found her on a balcony on the far side of the Queens’ private quarters—one of the few that offered a glimpse beyond the court into the city that existed outside the Rio Oscuro’s magical veil. Despite the winter chill in the air, she wore nothing over her silk gown. Nothing to cover her bare shoulders. I considered slipping off my jacket, but I suspected she would refuse it.

Maybe even think of it as an insult.

It had taken effort not to stare at her during the wedding when she’d entered in that pale cream dress, its silk fabric flowing over her curves in a way that told me what lay under was even better than what I’d imagined in my dreams. I allowed myself a moment to appreciate her now. Out of her usual leather, there was a softness to her that took me aback. Maybe because I suspected very little about Lia was soft. Or maybe because I knew a few parts of her were—parts I couldn’t stop thinking about.

“There you are.” I stepped onto the balcony. “I’ve been looking for you.”

She didn’t turn toward me, even as her shoulders tightened. Instead, she stared across the Grand Canal in the direction of the bustling Rialto Bridge. “Why?”

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