Page 1

Chapter 1

NEVE

The question hung in the cold night air, freezing time.

“Neve, will you marry me?”

My heart skipped a beat before taking up an unnatural staccato rhythm. Was he serious?

I stared down into Prince Vale’s deep brown eyes, pools of warmth that were locked on me. He waited for my answer, one knee bent, snow falling languidly around us—a stoic picture of a prince trying to do the right thing. Trying to help one of his own. Helpme.

I took a step back and blew out a long stream of white breath that the wind sweeping down the alley quickly whisked away. “There has to be another way.”

The famed Warrior Bear of Winter’s Realm didn’t look crestfallen. He didn’t even appear surprised. The wrongness of the moment made my stomach churn.

But Prince Vale Aaberg hadn’t proposed to me forlove. We didn’t have that. Just a fragile trust and simmering attraction stretched between us.

It was not enough to marry for.

The prince wished to marry his soulmate. Not for politics or wealth or status, as was usual in the royal courts. No, this male I’d underestimated in so many ways wanted only the singular fae who could match him. He wanted a love that could rip open the sky and tear the stars from the night. His mate.

As someone robbed of her dreams for so long, how could I rob him of his? Even if denying him meant my death?

From behind Vale, Lord Riis, the king’s spymaster, cleared his throat. “There are no other options.” Unlike Clemencia, Anna, and Sir Caelo, all of whom had also witnessed the proposal and waited for my answer, the spymaster appeared self-assured, not astonished.

“I can run.” I gestured to the horses waiting at the far end of the dark, narrow alley.

Above us, murmurs clouded the air. My throat tightened, and I swallowed to clear it. How long had they been there? How many were up there, watching us? Despite my questions, I didn’t look up for answers. I took heart in knowing they were at least two floors up and likely could not hear this conversation. Though they surely couldn’t miss the prince down on one knee . . .

“I’ll ride like the wind from Avaldenn,” I added. “The king won’t learn that I’m gone. Not for hours.”

Though I sounded confident, a little more doubt crept in with each word. Minutes prior, I’d staked a vampireprince. My gaze strayed to where Prince Gervais’s head had rolled after Prince Vale decapitated him. The skull was disintegrating, turning to ash. His body too, leaving behind his clothing and the cloak he’d worn over his finery. Only an ancient, powerful vampire would turn to ash that fast.

Burning moon. I’d killed a royal of the Blood Court.

And that wasafterI’d escaped Frostveil Castle, where the King of Winter had publicly claimed me. So I’d killed a royal of one court and defied another, all in one night. Worst of all, I’d allowed the king’s son to help me.

My confidence crumbled, and I began to tremble.

Lord Riis came to stand next to Prince Vale. His long, red mane blew in the wind, reminding me of yet another redhead who had turned my life upside down. Warden of the West, Roar Lisika. My hand slid down to my pant pocket, and I exhaled as I felt what I sought.

Against all odds, the vials containing Roar’s and my blood were still there. Whole and unshattered.

Roar had betrayed me. And in a move of sheer stupidity—or perhaps terror, I wasn’t sure which—he’d fled Frostveil Castle without the vial of blood that sealed our magically binding deal. The blood was his insurance,and mine, against betrayal from the other.

I was not about to let either vial out of my sight.

“Lady Neve, you might make it a respectable distance, but in the end, running is futile,” Lord Riis spoke softly as he came to a stop beside Vale and me. “The news of the vampire’s death is spreading.” He looked up at the apartments, where people whispered about the happenings in the alley. “Take it from one who knows how fast gossip can percolate. This will move faster than you can flee.”

A lump rose in my throat, and vaguely, I heard the others shuffle. I’d brought Anna, Clemencia, and Sir Caelo here tonight. My foolish plea to run and my insistence that Clemencia and Anna escape Avaldenn with me had put us all in danger. Somehow, I had to protect them.

“The king won’t kill me anyway?” The words tried to freeze on my tongue, but I forced them out. Maybe if I did this, my friends could flee. But I wouldn’t do so if it spelled certain death. At the very least, I wanted a chance at life. “Even if we wed?”

Lord Riis shook his head, and snowflakes drifted down from his long, red hair. “Once you and Vale are bound, you become family. King Magnus is many things, but a kinslayer is not one of them. He didn’t even kill his birth father, Prince Calder Falk, and he despised that fae more than any other. Nor did he kill King Harald, Queen Revna, or any of their children during the rebellion. I believe he’d have to be desperate to be labeled as a kinslayer.” The spymaster’s dark brown eyes traveled between me and Vale. “Take the Aaberg name. Use Vale’s reputation. His sword. That is your best chance. I promise you.”

The Lord of Tongues’s tone was soft but firm. And as much as I wanted to deny the idea once more, I could see he believed what he said. Him, a male who had likely spun plots for the crown, seen many betrayals, and watched plans hatch. He believed what he said. How could someone like me dare to think I knew better?

“Neve.” Prince Vale found his words.