Page 7 of Bride of Death

My bewilderment grows as I realize everyone is staring at me with obvious curiosity.

“You really shouldn’t flirt with your bar patrons, little mystery,” Ghost tells me as he sets his empty glass on the counter. “Unless, of course, you want to watch your fiancé kill them all on your wedding day.”

I gape at him. “What?” It’s the same word I already uttered, but I… I don’t even know where else to start. “Fiancé?” That word seems appropriate. As does the title he mentioned. “Bride of Death?” I shake my head. “I think you’ve confused me with someone else.”

That’s the only explanation.

Yet everyone is watching me now because of Ghost’s commentary.

Thorns, I think with a mental sigh.This is the last thing I need right now.

I told Alina I would be fine on my own, that I could survive here without her supervision. If word of any of this gets back to her, she’ll send her mates to the village to retrieve me. And won’t that be fun?

I nearly growl at the prospect.

Or maybe the sound released from my chest.

Because Ghost arches a brow like he heard it. “I know exactly who you are, Persephone,” he says, his blade disappearing as he leans forward and folds his arms along the counter. “Though, I hear you prefer to go by Sera now?”

He phrases it as a question, like he’s trying to have a polite conversation with me.

The brutality he exuded seconds ago is entirely gone now. Instead, he appears harmless again. Normal. Studying me with those alluring irises. Smiling.

But he just called mePersephone, a name I hear every night in my dreams.

With him, I think, shivering.

My fated dreams with the mysterious Godlike Alpha started after a woman who claimed to be my mother saved me from Monsters Night.

Or did she kidnap me?I wonder, not for the first time.

My memories of everything that happened are murky at best. I vividly remember the Day of the Choosing and the Nightingale Village Viscount calling my name. The next clear memory is of Alina waking me up in the palace.

I recall bits and pieces between the two events as well, like Alina finding me in the garden, and my dreams ofhim.

Persephone,he calls me, his cultured tone a caress that makes me tremble even now as I think about his deep voice in my head.

“How do you know that name?” I ask Ghost in a whisper, wondering where he’s heard it.

“I’ve heard you refer to yourself asSerato countless fae in this bar,” he replies with a shrug. “Usually after they call you some sort of pet name likelittle human.” He waggles his brows. “Not very true, is it?”

I swallow. “That’s not the name I meant.” I’m still whispering, my voice barely carrying to my own ears.

He smiles. “I know.” He picks up his empty glass and studies it. “Your fiancé has tasked me with escorting you to your new accommodations. Shall we go now?”

“I…” I frown, his words slowly registering through the fog of my mind. “No. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Not after seeing that lethal side of him peek out and terrify Jack.

Not after he called mePersephonelike the man in my dreams…

I shake my head and take a step back.

I should call…The thought trails off in my mind, my lips tightening.No. I’m not calling Alina.

I need to handle this on my own, not rely on my sister for help. This ismylife, and I’m done living in my sister’s shadow. I love her. I do. But I need to take care of myself.

And that starts with surviving in this kingdom full of deadly creatures.