Page 29 of Vows Forged in Blood

Elias gives me a knowing look.

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with you avoiding a certain Consort, would it?” I growl low in my chest.

“I’m not avoiding her,” I snap.

“Uh huh. Sure. Whatever you say, your highness.”

“Pick up your sword or you’re losing a limb, Elias. Either way, we’re going again.”

“Seven fucking hells,” he grumbles, grabbing his sword and shaking his head at me as we meet again in the middle of the ring.

Chapter 16

DAHLIA

Alaric is definitely avoiding me. I thought maybe I’d been imagining it at first, that he’d just been busy with training and the never-ending duties of the High General, but when a squire came to take my blood a few days after the night when I’d almost kissed him, I knew without a doubt. He wasn’t gone from the camp or busy, he simply didn’t want to see me. And so it’s been for weeks now. I never see him within the cabin, we never pass in the hallway or run into each other outside. He sends a squire for my blood, and even when I catch a glimpse of him across the camp, I swear he makes a point to disappear into the crowd so quickly it’s as if I’ve imagined him there at all.

I know it should mean nothing to me. I know I shouldn’t care whether I see him or whether he’s avoiding me because I did something stupid. I know that I’m reading too much into a drunken night. I know that I can’t have these fuckingfeelingsfor him—it’s ridiculous. And the fact that I know how ridiculous it is and yet can’t stop the feelings, is making me want to pull my hair out! What the fuck is it about this vampire? It has to be the binding. It was supposed to have disappeared but maybesomething went wrong. Maybe I was given too much, or maybe his blood is special or different than the other princes. Maybe I’m just cursed.

“Fuck,” I grate, kicking out at a rock on the hill behind the cabin and sending it sailing through the air before hitting a tree.

“That was quite impressive, my Lady,” Kane calls from behind us, and I shoot him a quelling look—which only makes him smile in return.

I walk to one of the boulders strewn around the hill and climb up, lying back and staring up at the overcast sky. The wind blows around me, bringing the scent of dahlias of all things. They grow here in the Northlands. Mum had been born here and had always loved the flowers. They wouldn’t grow in the south, so she’d settled for naming a daughter after her beloved blooms instead. I miss her suddenly, a sharp stab of pain through my heart. We didn’t always get along—she didn’t love my stubborn or reckless streaks by any stretch of the imagination—but she was a good mother and always made sure that at the end of the day, I knew how much she loved me. I wonder what she would think of all of this. Me, a Consort to a prince and living in a war camp in her beloved Northlands. That part she might like, I think. She’d always dreamed of taking us here, of moving us all to the mountains and trying to instill in us her love of snow and ice. The thought makes me actually long for true winter to come, so I can see what she loved, to maybe feel a little closer to her.

“A letter came for you, my Lady,” Takara says from just beside me.

I scream and bolt upright, nearly toppling off of the boulder. Kane is there so quickly it's as if he’d appeared out of thin air, catching me easily and settling me back atop the rock.

“Thank you,” I say, breathless, my heart racing.

“Of course, my Lady.” He steps away and I turn to glare at Takara.

“You scared the piss out of me!”

Takara arches a black brow. “I made sure to make noise as I approached to avoid startling you. I cannot help if you weren’t paying attention.”

I roll my eyes but hold out my hand out for the letter and gesture for Takara to join me. The vampire leaps on top of the rock as easily as if she were stepping up on a stair, graceful and elegant. She settles in beside me and leans back on her hands as I open the envelope.

Lia,

You must come home at once. Leland Dunlevee will not leave me alone. I made the mistake of kissing him—don’t judge me. I’m blaming the ale you sent!—and now he follows me around everywhere I go like a little lovesick puppy. Da thinks it's hilarious and does nothing at all to help my cause or deter the boy. In fact, he invites him over to dinner! The entire house is overflowing with flowers because Leland brings by at least one bouquet a day, sometimes two! We’re running out of space and the flower merchants are running out of stock! I can barely breathe past the cloying scent of roses and lilies and orchids. He doesn’t even get the flowers that I like for fuck’s sake. Trust me when I say that kiss was not worth all of this follow-up torture.

I laugh lightly, and Takara arches a brow.

“My sister has an unwanted suitor, apparently. One who is very enthusiastic.” The vampire smiles, revealing her fangs, and laughs.

“My husband was much the same,” she says. “I played hard to get, as they say, but he didn’t give up. He came by every single day, even when I refused to open the door for him.” Her smile turns a little bittersweet, and I can’t stop myself from reaching over and placing a hand on Takara’s arm, squeezing gently. The vampire shakes herself. “He was a damned fool, really,” she adds, the sadness lifting. I huff out a laugh and continue reading.

I suspect I’ll be suffocated by them all before you write again. Mourn me, dear sister. And perhaps send one of your vampire guard to scare Leland off? I would consider it a great favor…

Moving on to less flower-related topics, I wish I could offer help when it comes to your feelings for the High General.

I cut my eyes quickly to Takara, hoping that the vampire isn’t reading the letter, but she’s staring off into the distance, maybe lost in memories of her husband, the family that was taken from her.

But…would it really be so bad if something did happen? I know it isn’t how these things usually go, but, well, nothing about your situation is usual, is it? Just be careful, no matter what you decide.

Give Wesley my love. Ask him if he remembers the time I hid from Sally Crenshaw in his father’sshop for a whole afternoon while he snuck me candies beneath the counter. He was truly an angel that day. I think I even loved him for at least a week afterward.

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