Page 106 of The Vampire's Bride

They start to leave, but I grip Eben’s arm, stopping him. “Is Damar dangerous?”

“He’s powerful,” Eben replies, not really answering my question. “And that is enough to make me wary of him.”

“He’s not like Valaric,” Lysander adds, although judging by the look on his face I’m sure he probably has a few choice words he’s holding back. “He doesn’t trust humans; he thinks they are dangerous. I’ve no doubt he is livid that his former protégé has taken one as his true wife.”

Worry fills me, not for myself but for my husband. “Do you think he’ll try to hurt Valaric because of me?”

Reyla shakes her head. “Nothing as drastic as that, but he may decide to strip him of his title.”

Worry twists deep in my gut. If he did that, Valaric would be vulnerable to his enemies. To those who want retribution for him killing the Vampires that slaughtered his village. Not only that, but Eben, Elsie, Lysander, Reyla… all of them would be at risk; they depend upon Valaric’s position for their protection as well.

“I don’t understand. It’s not as if I’m the first human bride Valaric has had.”

“You are different, Juliet,” Reyla says pointedly. “The others… the arrangement was similar to that of a bloodsworn—a bargain made and kept.Thatwas considered tolerable by Damar. But Valaric has taken you as his true wife, and that is something their kind do not do with humans.”

I frown. “Are you saying there are no Vampire/human pairings?”

“Vampires don’t take humans as their true mates,” she reaffirms. “At least, not that I’ve ever heard.”

Lysander steps forward. “Vampires respect strength above all else. When a member of one of the Great Houses chooses a mate, it is to gain or consolidate power and influence. To choose a human will be viewed as—”

“Weakness,” the word falls from my mouth with ice cold clarity. Curling my hands into fists at my sides, I steel my courage. I know what I must do.

I walk toward the door and pull it open. The cool ocean breeze drifts up from the shoreline, winding through my hair and swaying my skirt around my ankles. Dawn is coming soon and I need to resolve this before then.

“Where are you going?” Eben asks, his voice laced with concern. “You are safer in here.”

I care for my husband. I cannot allow him to lose his position because of me, and I certainly will not be responsible for making House Greyvale appear weak before its enemies. “I have to fix this, Eben. I need to speak with ValaricandDamar.”

“You should stay here,” he insists. “Valaric wanted you to remain inside.”

I don’t have time to argue with him and I do not bother to try. I take a deep breath to steady my nerves and step back out into the darkness.

CHAPTER 43

VALARIC

“Have you gone mad?” Damar asks accusingly. “How could you take that human as your true wife?”

“She is my ashaya.”

His jaw drops but he quickly snaps it shut. “She cannot be.”

Before I met her, I would have thought the same. Humans do not have fated mates.

“No Vampire has ever found their ashaya outside of our kind,” he says evenly, and I’m not sure if he’s trying to convince me or reassure himself. “You must be mistaken.”

“I am not,” I state firmly. “I felt the bond snap into place the first time she looked at me.”

He turns his attention to the sea, his brow furrowed deeply. “Does she know about the others?”

“Yes.”

“Everything?” He arches a brow. “Including their fate?”

“No. I could not bring myself to tell her. I… don’t want her to be afraid.”

He runs a hand roughly through his shoulder-length hair. “I suppose that is the least of our problems right now,” he murmurs more to himself than to me.

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