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There was no answer.Fine.

I ran to my vanity, taking the whole fucking thing with me as I ran to the windows, letting out a guttural scream as I threw it at them.

The shattering of the glass was satisfying enough to cause me to let out a small victory noise.

I turned and ran to it, ready to jump out and secure my freedom, but just as my hands wrapped around the sharp edges, I paused.

Because below were three more guards, all looking up at me.

Vampires.

“Don’t try it, princess,” one of them called from below. “Go back to your room, and we’ll come get you shortly.”

One of them even had the audacity to chuckle under his breath.

The realization of just how stuck I was felt akin to ice-cold water being poured on me.There is no escape.Not then, not ever.

Growing up in the family, I always thought that I was used to the attention of thousands on me at any given moment.

Until my wedding.

It was nothing I had ever seen before. The grounds werepackedwith humans and vampires alike, all of them looking at me. The air was buzzing with excitement. Excited murmurs filled the crowd. I was more of a spectacle than anything else. A circus animal put in front of them to perform.

But all I could do was stand there at the end of the aisle, frozen, feeling their eyes wandering over my entire body. It felt dirty. It felt mortifying.

Father wouldn’t degrade himself to walk with me, so I was accompanied by my guards, who stood close behind me at all times. No doubt for fear that I might run after my littletantrumin my room. They let me sit with the consequences of my own actions until they hauled me out of the room, kicking and screaming, to repair the window and get me dressed.

They weren’t gentle then either, and there were even more of them at my side than ever before. Their presence behind me was stifling, maybe even more so than the guests.

At that moment, I realized just how boxed in I was. Guards at my back. Guests to my right and left. The prince, Father, and the stepbastards waiting for me at the end.

I could run, but then they would catch me. Maybe I could even dive into the crowd. But then what would the people think? What would Father do once the wedding was over and I had caused such a scene?

The setting sun had cooled the air, but the pressure of it all caused my skin to heat unbearably. My clothes were too tight. My hair too in my face. The tiara on my head too heavy.

But worst of all, Vesper was nowhere to be found. Her absence was glaringly obvious and more painful than I’d like to admit.

Music filtered down the aisle, signaling my time to start walking. It was dramatic. The strike of the organ keys mixed with the high-pitched sound of a string instrument sounded more like I was walking into war than into the arms of my prince.

The dress they had given me was made mostly of black lace that was intricately fitted to my body, underneath a light bloodred slip that showed through the fabric. A heavy ruby sat on my chest, with a few more pinned into my hair and about one on every finger.

My deep red shoes peeked out as I compelled my feet to move.

One after the other.

That was all I could chant to myself. I tried not to look into the eyes of the people standing on either side of the aisle. Tried not to remember their names or what they thought of my mother. Tried not to think of what my father had given them.

It worked until I got to poor Henry.

He was forced to sit behind some human politician known for taking blood money donations, not even allowed in the front.Corruptgovernment officials were more important than our ownfamily.

I wasn’t surprised. Nothing about Father could surprise me…but I wasangry.

Angry that our family had turned into this. Angry that there was nothing I could do about it. Angry that right beside him was a vampire the prince had somehow convinced to leave the family.

How did it come to this?How had the family become so twisted that the people who were loyal to me and my mother were forced to the back? Forced to stand next to people who would rather throw me under the bus for a measly house or some pocket change? Even when I begged them not to.

This wasn’t the family I saw as a little girl. This wasn’t what my mother had wanted.