Damien did not return to Zina’s mansion that night.
He had spent the entire evening surrounded by things that required his attention, and by midnight, there was only one place he wanted to be.
Home.
Not the polished apartment where he occasionally stayed in the human world.
His real home.
The estate had stood for nearly two centuries behind iron gates no human had ever managed to find twice.
Hidden beyond a stretch of forest that appeared ordinary during the day, the property belonged to an older world one built before humans understood that vampires had kingdoms of their own.
Damien’s car passed through the gates without slowing.
The guards straightened.
Every one of them bowed.
“Your Majesty.”
Damien barely acknowledged them.
He stepped through the enormous entrance doors, removing his gloves as he walked.
The servants immediately moved out of his path.
Nobody needed to tell them to.
They knew better.
Damien crossed the marble corridor and entered the council chamber.
Twenty-three vampires were already waiting.
Conversation died the moment he appeared.
He took the seat at the head of the table.
“Begin.”
The eldest member of the council opened a folder.
“There has been movement among the witches.”
Damien leaned back.
“How exciting.”
The vampire across from him frowned.
“Three covens have reported the same disturbance.”
“Then perhaps they should stop reporting and start investigating.”
A few members exchanged glances.
Nobody laughed.
They knew Damien well enough to understand that his humor was rarely an invitation.
The council elder continued.
“They are looking into the Eze bloodline.”
That got Damien’s attention.
Only slightly.
“What about it?”
“They believe something has awakened.”
Damien’s fingers rested against the arm of his chair.
“Something has.”
The admission sent a quiet unease through the chamber.
The elder studied him.
“And you know what it is?”
“I know enough.”
“Does it concern the girl?”
Damien’s gaze lifted.
The question had been asked carefully.
It was still the wrong question.
“My affairs are not council business.”
The vampire swallowed.
“Of course.”
Damien’s expression remained pleasant.
That somehow made him more frightening.
For two hundred and twelve years, vampires had learned the difference between Damien being angry and Damien being patient.
Anger could be survived.
His patience was another matter.
The council moved on to territory disputes, old treaties and a disagreement between two houses over feeding grounds.
Damien listened, occasionally asking a question, occasionally dismantling an argument with such precision that the vampire who had made it wished he had kept his mouth shut.
Then the doors opened.
A young human servant entered.
She was carrying a small silver tray, though there was nothing on it.
She approached Damien without hesitation.
The vampires around the table watched.
She stopped beside his chair and lowered her head.
“Your Majesty.”
Damien glanced at her.
“Come here.”
She stepped closer.
He caught her wrist gently.
There was no ceremony.
No glass.
No blood bank.
Damien pulled her toward him and sank his fangs into the side of her neck.
The room remained perfectly still. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
He fed casually, as though the council meeting had not paused at all.
The girl gripped the back of his chair.
Blood ran from the corner of Damien’s mouth and disappeared beneath his jaw.
His eyes darkened.
For a moment, the creature beneath the centuries of manners showed itself.
It was not pretty.
It was not human.
And it was not something that could be mistaken for one.
Damien drank until he was satisfied.
Then he released her.
The girl swayed.
One of the servants immediately moved forward to steady her.
Damien wiped the blood from his mouth with his thumb.
“Take care of her.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Give her a proper meal. Something nourishing. Keep her under observation.”
He looked at the girl.
“You’ll be fine.”
She nodded weakly.
Damien returned his attention to the council as though nothing unusual had happened.
“Continue.”
The elder cleared his throat.
“There is another matter.”
“There always is.”
A younger vampire at the far end of the table spoke.
“The court has been talking.”
Damien raised an eyebrow.
“That sounds like a personal failure of theirs.”
The vampire hesitated.
“About you.”
“How unfortunate.”
“They say you’re marrying a human.”
That finally earned a reaction.
Not anger.
A slow, almost amused smile.
“Do they?”
“Yes.”
“And who is she?”
No one answered immediately.
Damien’s smile widened.
“I asked a question.”
“The daughter of Chike Eze.”
The room became noticeably more attentive.
Damien leaned back.
“Ah.”
The name carried history.
Chike Eze had been human, but he had never behaved like a man who understood the limitations of his species.
Stubborn.
Reckless.
Brilliant when he needed to be and infuriating almost every other time.
Damien had respected him.
More than he had respected most humans.
“He left her something,” the elder said.
“He left her more than something.”
Nobody interrupted.
Damien looked down at the table.
“Chike was one hell of a man.”
The words came quietly.
“He knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote those instructions.”
The council elder watched him.
“So the rumors are true?”
Damien looked up.
“Which part?”
“That you are going to marry her.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether she survives knowing me.”
A few vampires looked uncomfortable.
Damien found that amusing.
He had known Zina for only a short time, yet she had already managed something very few people accomplished.
She irritated him.
Not because she was weak.
Because she wasn’t.
She questioned everything.
She looked at him as though she couldn’t decide whether to trust him or stab him.
He respected that.
Perhaps more than he should.
“The girl is under my protection,” Damien said.
“That is all anyone here needs to know.”
The vampire who had first mentioned the rumor lowered his gaze.
“Of course.”
Damien’s eyes moved around the table.
“And if I hear that anyone has approached her because of those rumors…”
He didn’t need to finish.
Nobody asked what would happen.
They already knew.
The meeting continued.
But Damien’s attention had shifted.
He could feel it.
Something was changing.
Not just around Zina.
Around the entire supernatural world.
The witches were searching.
Old bloodlines were stirring.
And whatever had been sleeping beneath the surface of the Eze inheritance was beginning to make itself known.
Damien hated surprises.
Especially supernatural ones.
When the meeting finally ended, the council rose.
Every vampire bowed as Damien left.
He walked through the corridors alone.
His footsteps echoed against the ancient stone.
He entered his private chambers and closed the door.
For several seconds, he stood motionless.
Then he loosened his collar.
The civilized version of Damien disappeared.
His pupils swallowed the color of his eyes.
Dark veins surfaced beneath his skin.
His fangs extended.
His hands changed, claws pressing through his fingertips as something ancient moved beneath his flesh.
The transformation was effortless.
This was not a vampire pretending to be human.
This was a predator choosing manners.
Damien walked toward the enormous windows.
Outside, the moon hung over the estate.
His reflection stared back at him.
For a moment, he thought of Chike.
Then of Zina.
“Marriage,” he muttered.
A humorless laugh escaped him.
“Your idea of a final favor was truly spectacular, Chike.”
He turned away from the window.
There was something about Zina’s blood.
Something he had noticed from the first night.
Something the witches were now beginning to notice too.
And Damien knew better than most that ancient things did not awaken without consequence.
He poured himself a drink and stood beside the fireplace.
The rumors could spread.
The court could speculate.
They could whisper about the royal vampire marrying a human girl until the entire supernatural world believed it.
Damien didn’t care.
What concerned him was the reason Chike had trusted him with his daughter.
Because Chike had known something.
Something Damien had not yet discovered.
And if Chike had gone to the trouble of binding Damien to Zina’s protection after his death, then whatever was coming for her was far more dangerous than a few witches with questions.
Damien’s gaze hardened.
“Let’s see what you were protecting her from.”
He looked toward the dark window.
And for the first time that night, Damien stopped thinking about the girl as an obligation.
He began thinking about her as a mystery.
That was considerably more dangerous.