Chapter 1
"I want to break the blood bond," Isabella Chambers said.
She stood in the center of the study, her silver hair damp from the rain, her voice as cold as a blade.
I didn't look up.
My quill swept smoothly across the parchment, marking the last family crest with a flourish.
My name was Cedric Wayne.
I was the head of the Thirteen Clans Council of Norpothia and the reigning Prince of the Wayne family.
And Isabella had been my fiancée for seven years.
"Reason," I said.
"I am in love with someone else," Isabella answered.
The air went dead silent.
Outside, the rain lashed against the stained glass, and the distant toll of the clock tower echoed through the night.
At last, I lifted my gaze. "Who?"
"Lucian," Isabella replied.
The candlelight seemed to shudder at the mention of his name.
Lucian was the new Earl of the Blackthorne family.
He was the most dangerous madman in Norpothia.
If Isabella said she wasn't happy, he'd wipe out half an underground blood nest without blinking.
As for me, I never lost control.
Isabella hated how composed I was.
She hated how I was always as cold as an iceberg.
So she chose Lucian Blackthorne.
Isabella gave a cold, mocking laugh. "Cedric, you never love me, did you?"
I set down my quill and looked at her.
I said, "I held back your bloodlust the night you lost control at your coming-of-age ceremony.
"I wiped out the hunter bounties when the Chambers family went bankrupt three times.
"You were terrified of sacred silver, so I tore apart the silver vaults of thirty-seven churches across Norpothia."
Her face lost all color because she suddenly realized I never once told her I loved her.
But almost everything she had these years was because of me.
*****
The rain battered the castle's stained glass, like countless ghostly hands pressing against the windows from outside.
Only a single blood-crystal candle lit the study.
The deep red flame washed over the ebony table and over Isabella's strikingly pale and beautiful face.
"I want to sever the blood bond," Isabella said.
She stood in the center of the study, wrapped in a deep red gown, her silver hair still damp, her voice as cold as the frozen plains of Norpothia.
I didn't lift my gaze immediately.
My quill skimmed across the parchment, coming to a halt at the final family crest.
The Wayne family ruled Norpothia's Thirteen Clans.
And I was Cedric Wayne, the reigning Prince.
After tonight, the Council of Elders would officially begin.
I had planned to finalize the marriage alliance with the Chambers family once the meeting was over.
But of all times, Isabella had to pick this moment.
I closed the scroll with deliberate care.
"Reason," I said.
She stared at me, her lips tightening for a moment.
"I'm in love with someone else," Isabella said.
The room fell silent.
The dull chimes of the clock tower rang out in the distance.
At last, I lifted my gaze.
My crimson pupils contracted slowly in the candlelight.
"Who?" I asked.
"Lucian," Isabella replied.
The moment Isabella spoke his name, the blood-scent in the study seemed to turn icy.
Lucian was the new earl of the Blackthorne family.
He was the vampire who'd climbed the ranks in Norpothia faster than anyone in recent years.
He was dangerous, brazen, and fiercely ambitious.
He was also the biggest troublemaker in the entire Council.
Isabella always hated how cold I was.
She'd purposely accepted another earl's invitation to dance during a banquet.
She even vanished from the castle in the middle of the night and didn't come back for three days straight.
Once, in front of me, she snuggled up to some viscount to see if I'd react.
But I never lost control.
She hated this feeling.
It was like punching through solid ice. No matter what she did, all she got was frozen silence.
But Lucian was nothing like me.
He'd strangle a hunter in the middle of a banquet and hang him from the clock tower to show everyone he could.
If Isabella said she wasn't happy, he'd wipe out half an underground blood nest without blinking.
He was reckless, dangerous, like a fire burning out of control.
She was addicted to that thrill.
Isabella gave a small, mocking laugh. "Are you not the least bit surprised?"
I stared at her, saying nothing.
That silence hit her hard, and her tone went icy. "Cedric, you never loved me, did you?"
My fingertips tapped lightly against the table once, and then again.
Only then did I speak, my tone cool and detached.
"When the Chambers family faced three consecutive financial crises, who wiped out the hunter bounties for you?" I asked.
Her breath caught.
"You were terrified of sacred silver, so I cleaned out the silver vaults of thirty-seven churches across Norpothia," I said, my voice cool and steady.
Her face went pale.
"When you lost control at your coming-of-age ceremony and nearly tore half the castle apart, who held back your bloodlust?" I pressed.
The study went silent.
Isabella stared at me, her gaze slowly fracturing, emotion breaking apart in her eyes.
At that moment, she finally realized that I never once said I loved her.
But all these years, every chance she had, every escape, every lifeline, was thanks to me.
Her fingers slowly tightened, knuckles turning white.
"But you never cared for me as Lucian did," Isabella said, her voice barely steady.
I leaned back into the chair with quiet ease.
My black robe draped onto the floor.
"So, you chose him," I said.
"Yes," she replied quickly.
It was like she was trying to convince herself.
I gave a low murmur.
Then I reached for the Wayne family seal on the table.
"The blood bond is severed," I said.
Isabella froze, caught off guard.
She probably hadn't expected me to agree so quickly.
"Is that all you have to say?" Isabella asked, her voice sharp with disbelief.
"You've made your choice," I said, my voice as calm as ever.
"Tomorrow, you'll go and explain it to the elders of both families yourself," I said.
She locked her eyes on me, refusing to look away.
It was like she was searching my face for any crack in my composure, any trace of feeling.
She wished she could see anger, rage, or even the slightest loss of control.
But she found nothing.
All that was left was the emotionless outline of my face, caught in the flicker of candlelight.
Annoyance flashed across her face.
"Cedric, do you not care? Not even a little?" Isabella asked.
I stared at her, offering no response, because it meant nothing.
For noble vampires, marriage was never about love.
The Chambers family dominated a third of Norpothia's blood supply.