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Which is fine by me, since I don’t see her anymore, either.

ZOEY

“Aerix,”I breathe, running my fingers over the dress’s soft fabric. “It’s beautiful.”

“The real masterpiece stands right before me.” He brushes his thumb along my cheek, his gaze darkening. “Because nothing—no gown, no diamond, and no star in the sky—can touch the beauty I claim as mine. Now… turn around so I can help you into it.”

I stand, every heartbeat throbbing in my ears, and slowly remove my nightgown, so I’m bare before him.

He looks me over, then moves forward, placing a soft kiss on my hip—on the place where his name is scarred onto my skin. His lips linger there for a few seconds, and in those seconds, I suspect it’s going to be a while until clothes are putonme again.

I lean into him, threading my fingers through hissilky hair, needing more pressure between his lips and my body.

He breathes a soft sigh against my skin, then reluctantly pulls away.

“You’re distracting me,” he tells me, his voice low with reluctance. “And as much as I’d love to indulge in every inch of you right now, we have plans that can’t wait.”

I open my mouth to ask him what plans, but he stops me before I can.

“You’ll find out soon,” he promises. “But not if you don’t put on this dress.”

He reaches into the box and removes something delicate—a chemise of sheer silk that looks like it was spun from moonlight.

“Arms up,” he instructs, and I comply, allowing him to slip the whisper-soft fabric over my head.

It settles like cool water, pooling around my hips.

I’ve never had someone dress me before. It feels strangely intimate, almost more so than when he feeds from me. Because this isn’t seduction—it’s ceremony.

“You are magnificent,” he says without even a hint of predatory edge to his voice. Just pure, raw admiration as he lifts the magnificent gown from its box. “Now, the dress.”

I step into it, and Aerix moves behind me, his fingers working the laces of the corset with practiced precision.Each pull cinches me tighter, molding the dress to my body.

I’ve never worn anything so exquisite—or so restrictive.

“Breathe,” he reminds me as he pulls the final lace. “But not too deeply.”

“If I’d known I was signing up for breath control,” I say, glancing at him slyly, “I’d have asked you to carve a safe word on me along with your name.”

“Don’t tempt me,” he growls, standing up, turning me to face him, and sliding his hands against the fabric at my hips. “Come with me. I want you to see yourself.”

He takes my hand—gently this time, not tight like while he was feeding—and leads me over to the full-length mirror in the corner of his chambers.

The woman staring back at me is a stranger. Regal, imposing, and dangerous. The dark fabric makes my skin look like polished ivory, and the diamonds—because I’m sure now that’s what they are—catch the light, creating a constellation across my bodice.

This is the girl who killed without remorse. The one who’s been in love with a vampire prince since longer than she cares to admit. The one who wouldn’t trade that prince for anything in the world.

“This isn’t just for me,” I realize, and his eyes meet mine in the mirror, his lips curling into that knowing smile I’ve grown to love and fear.

“No,” he confirms. “It isn’t.”

And suddenly, everything clicks into place.

The framing of my blood drawing. Sophia’s banishment for disrespecting me. The dress that’s clearly meant for public display.

This is his answer to my plea from last night. I told him I couldn’t live trapped within four walls forever, and he listened—in his own twisted, possessive way.

“You’re taking me outside these rooms,” I say, not quite a question, but an observation.