Chapter 1

After marrying the vampire count Victor Ashcroft, I gained the power to foresee the future.

I foresaw that he would fall for a human girl and go against his whole family for her.

I'd try to persuade him, but he'd accuse me of being jealous, saying I wouldn't even spare a human girl.

In the end, he would nail me to a pillory with silver nails.

I was shaking all over with fear and immediately pushed away Victor, who was kneeling before me, busy pleasing me.

His brows furrowed slightly. "Did I make you uncomfortable?"

"I don't want it anymore," I said.

He stared at me, and the enthusiasm in his golden eyes was fading. "Alright."

I got up and headed for the shower to help me calm down.

But no matter how hard I tried to focus, I couldn't see any more glimpses of the future.

After taking a shower, I wrapped myself in a bath towel and stepped out.

Victor, standing by the window in his suit, turned to look at me. His golden eyes glinted with icy indifference. "Tonight is Prince Lucien's coronation. Don't be late."

I almost forgot that the old prince would step down tonight. Rumor had it that the new prince, Lucien Washington, was ruthless and decisive.

So, we couldn't be late tonight. Otherwise, if he blew up, he would kill us right there. No one would dare get in his way.

The skeleton carriage sped through the darkness, and the twisted tree shadows raced backward outside the window.

Suddenly, there was a dull thud accompanied by a shrill neigh, and the carriage rocked violently.

"What's going on?" Victor asked in a guarded and icy tone.

Bob Doyle, the butler, called out in a panic, "Count Ashcroft, I think we hit a human girl."

A human girl? My heart tightened, and a premonition seized me.

Could it be such a coincidence? No way...

Victor's voice was emotionless. "Check if she's dead. If not, buy her off and move on. Don't hold things up."

Bob complied and got out of the carriage.

I couldn't help but lift a corner of the heavy velvet curtain to glance outside.

Under the dim moonlight, a young girl in a faded old dress slumped by the roadside.

A shock went through me.

It was really her. Her face was delicate and aloof, yet so endearing that one couldn't help but want to protect her.

With a few tuberoses in her hand, she hobbled over and forced a sweet smile. "Dear Sir or Madam, could you please buy some flowers? Fresh tuberoses. Really cheap."

Victor kept his eyes closed, not even bothering to look. "Give her a few gold coins and send her on her way. Don't waste time."

Bob handed her some gold coins. "Keep the change. Use it for your wounds." Then he cracked the whip, and the carriage sped off.

But soon, a sweet tang of blood drifted into the carriage with the night breeze.

Victor suddenly opened his eyes.

This was not ordinary human blood but Sweetblood. It could make any vampire lose their minds.

If a fledgling drank it, they would break through their bloodline rank. If a noble tasted it, their abilities would be greatly enhanced.

His golden eyes tightened in the darkness. "Turn around."

Bob was stunned for a moment, then quickly turned the carriage and raced back the way we came.

The fledglings, lured by the sweet scent of blood, quickly swarmed around the injured girl.

Their eyes shone with greed in the darkness, and saliva was dripping from their fangs.

The girl, trembling with fear, had no way out and curled up under the tree.

"Stay in," Victor said to me, and his figure vanished from the carriage like a phantom.

What happened next was a nearly silent bloodbath.

He moved so fast he was nothing but a blur. The fledglings soon turned into several pools of black blood.

He walked over to the girl, took off his suit jacket, and draped it over her shivering body. It also covered up the tempting scent emitted from her wounds.

He lifted her effortlessly into his arms, carrying her swiftly back to the carriage.

"You can't take her with us," I said.

"So, we should let her die?" he retorted. His eyes were filled with coldness.

I knew once fate started, there was no turning back.

*****

The carriage came to a halt in front of the castle at the top of the cliff.

Victor shot a look at Ellie James, the human girl, and said, "Bob, escort her back to the estate. And remember, don't remove my jacket from her."

Bob nodded and cracked the whip. The carriage disappeared into the night.

But it turned out that we were late.

When we showed up at the entrance of the grand, solemn hall, nearly every eye in the coven was drawn to us.

Up on the dais, the newly crowned Prince Lucien, dressed in a black royal robe, turned around slowly.

He looked very young. His face was so amazingly handsome, and his dark purple eyes narrowed a little, gleaming with coldness and interest.