Page 71 of Midnight Crown (Marked by Blood 2)

She was toying with me. This was a year ago all over again. Purposely, I pulled my focus to Seraphina, but even with her I felt the longing to turn my head back, so I could watch Gwen’s hips sway as she walked.

Penelope’s guttural tone cut through the music. “I’ve always despised her. We at least have that in common.”

“Yes.” I swung Penelope around again, wondering how many dances it would take to appease the kings. I was already hungry, and now I was fucking horny, too.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Olivia

My mom pulled her long nails through her raven-hair which fell like silk down her chest. She pressed her burgundy painted lips tight, leaning over the armchair in her and my father’s bedroom.

I stared at the flames licking the logs in the fireplace, watching as the wood turned into ash, transfixed by the sparks of color in each ember. The fire sent a hiss through the logs, and I tore my gaze away, angling my head at her. I rested back in the armchair and drummed my fingers against my knee. “You wanted to see me,” I said, breaking the icy silence.

We’d barely spoken since I came back from the dead, and not since Draven died.

Sebastian’s scent lingered on my body, bringing me back to the events of last night. My chest tightened as I carried the heavy guilt with me. I’d felt happy yesterday, even if it was brief. All the while, Draven was gone, and I shouldn’t even be able to smile right now. Yet, there was something so captivating in our soulmate bond, that it suffocated everything else. Being with my husband pulled me further away from every other emotion.

Last night and this morning, as I lay in his arms, lost in our little bubble of kisses and snuggling, I’d felt love more profound than I thought possible. It was as if I was tumbling into oblivion, unaware of anything but him. I wondered if I could lose myself so much to it, that I wouldn’t be able to find my way back?

My mom’s dark eyes evaluated me, and I tried my best to remain as stoic as possible. “I’m tired,” she admitted, and my eyebrows raised. “I’m sick of pretending everything is fine when it’s not.” She moved her eyes down to the fire. “This is not how I imagined you turning twenty.”

She remembered it was my birthday. Not that she’d ever forgotten before, but since becoming a vampire, I barely recognized the woman who’d brought me up and was uncertain of what she would remember at this point.

“What’s done is done,” I replied, running a hand over my black lace sleeve.

She put a finger in the air to stop me. The pain cracking through her inched over to me, drowning the surrounding energy until the heartache was too much. I inhaled sharply, but she stopped me from speaking again.

“I have stayed here with your father to stop him from doing anything…. impulsive.” Her heart picked up speed, hammering against her chest like something trying to get out. “I have obeyed him, been as loving as I can so his focus would not be on you as much. Do you know how taxing it is to be the wife of the paranoid king?” Her jaw clenched, the muscle in the corner of her eye twitching. “My comrades from the guild came to rescue us time and time again, despite my warnings. Every time I’ve had to watch Sargon rip out their hearts. Now Draven, a boy I watched grow into a young man, is dead. You’re married to a heartless vampire and forced to be a princess to this awful kingdom.” She clamped her hand over her mouth, pinching her tear-welled eyes shut, and drops slid out onto her lashes. “I didn’t want any of this for you.”

My chest tightened as she hunched over, inhaling deeply to regain some composure over her emotions, like she always did. “Mom.” I leaned forward, extending my arm, but she shook her head.

“Don’t take my emotions from me,” she chided. “You know how I feel about it, Oli—sorry,Seraphina.”

I rolled my eyes up, feeling bad for making her call me that before. “Olivia is fine.”

“Good.” She puffed out her cheeks, bringing her hands down to her knees, squeezing gently. “We need to get out of here, before anyone else is killed. The guild won’t stop looking for me. Draven is already gone, and you’ve already threatened Sargon. What were you thinking?” She shot me a glare. “I’ve never seen him so hurt.”

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t,” she snapped, “but when he’s hurt, he’s dangerous. I wouldn’t put it past him to kill you if it came to it. I don’t judge you for choosing to stay when I made a good plan that would have gotten you and Draven out of here. But I hope you learned from that mistake and heed my warnings this time.”

Anger bubbled, singeing my veins with heated loathing. “Are you insinuating I’m to blame for Draven’s death?”

“No, honey. Don’t blame yourself. You didn’t know this would happen when you refused to run.”

“Seriously?” I stood, flexing my fingers, glaring her down with pure, unadulterated hatred. “I would have left my friends to their deaths had I run, besides it was unlikely we would have gotten out alive. Sargon would have sent half the kingdom after us, and we were just two mortals then.” I pointed a finger, and her eyes widened. “Your plan wasn’t as foolproof asyouthink. You always thought you knew what was best for me, so much that you never let me make a choice for myself. Like now, you’re forcing me to go without even asking if it’s what I want.”

“Honey…”

“Do not honey me! Draven is dead because of Kalon. He is the one who sent his followers after us in Baldoria.Heis the reason you are here, why Draven was kidnapped, too. He tried to have me killed, and when he couldn’t, he stole Draven from us just to hurt me.” An unstoppable rage built inside me, blazing deep. Every breath was clipped as I tried—and failed—to contain it. Magic sizzled at my fingertips, buzzing against my skin.

My mom’s eyes widened, her stare fixated on my flexing palms. “Honey, control yourself. I’m not saying it’s your fault. This is also down to Sebastian. He should have never brought you here.”

The anger bubbled up my throat, setting every nerve ending hot. “If my so-called heartless husband hadn’t kidnapped me, I’d have died at the hands of the Nightshade. Sebastian kept me safe, along with Erianna, Zach and Anna.” I took a deep breath, calming my thoughts as they flitted around my head like restless flies. Slowly, my chest rose then fell, until my powers slipped deeper back into myself. “If I escaped with Draven,” I continued, guiding my tone, “then I would have left them behind to be executed. I owe them my life.” I spun back to the memories of them protecting me.

At first, Sebastian had ulterior motives, but that changed. Erianna never did, she just wanted to help Sebastian, and then quickly, me. He hadn’t sold me out in the dungeons like I thought. He’d saved my life, and I understood why now. Even then, when I was mortal, there was no denying what was between us. Although we both were masters at hiding from it.

She shook her head. “You owe them nothing.”

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