I swallowed a gasp as a heady flush unraveled within my body, and I wanted to crawl out of my skin as my eyes connected with a familiar, gorgeous face. The vampire who had found me in the clearing, the one who had licked blood from my skin and sent me into a spiral of desire, was Adrian, the Blood King.
He had changed since our encounter, wearing bloodred instead of black. Gold rings gleamed upon his middle finger and pinkie, and upon his head sat a spiked black crown. His status was evident in the way he carried himself—regal and confident—and yet he walked like a predator, his black boots clicking as he took lethal step after lethal step toward my father.
I should have known it was him, I thought, staring at him now, but it had not occurred to me to expect the king of vampires to have gone in search of a strzyga. Were they not monsters born of their kind?
As he approached, his gaze slid from my father to Killian and then to me. Our eyes met, and I let out a slow, quivering breath as he assessed the length of my body. Something about him opened a chasm in my stomach, and I was again overwhelmed by the same keen hunger as before. I wanted to be devoured by this creature.
My legs began to shake, and I shifted my gaze to my father as he spoke.
“King Adrian. It is a grim welcome I extend to you,” he said, his voice resonating within the great hall.
“A welcome all the same,” Adrian said. His voice drew and held my attention, and I watched his lips as he spoke, not with the voice of a monster but the voice of a lover. “I accept.”
“You and your army have quite the reputation,” my father said.
“A reputation that has you contemplating surrender before bloodshed,” Adrian said and inclined his head slightly. “Smart.”
“Some have called me a coward,” Father said. “For considering your proposal.”
The tension in the great hall grew.
“Do you care what others think, King Henri?”
“I care about my people,” he said. “I want them safe. Is that your offer, King Adrian? That you will keep my people safe?”
The vampire stared at my father for a long moment, studying him with a different intensity, as if he were trying to decide if he was being truthful.
“How much freedom do you wish for your people to have?”
My father did not answer immediately. Finally, I shifted my gaze and saw him lean forward.
“Are we bargaining, King Adrian?”
The vampire offered a small shrug. “I have an offer.”
Father waited, and when Adrian did not continue, he prompted, “What is this offer?”
“I want your daughter. To wed, of course,” he added, as if it were an afterthought.
“No,” Commander Killian said instantly.
Adrian glared and so did I, even though I was still trying to process the enemy king’s words. Had he just asked for my hand in marriage? My legs began to shake for a very different reason now, and for a moment, I feared my knees would buckle. Instead, I curled my fingers into my palm, letting my nails pierce the skin. I would not show weakness before this creature, though I’d already managed to do that in the clearing.
“You wish to wed my—no,” my father said definitively.
I did not want to be married, least of all to this man.
Adrian stared at him. “You would choose war so quickly? I thought you cared for your people.”
“He does care,” I said and took a step forward, angered by his accusation.
“Issi.” My father made to reach for me, but it was Commander Killian who intervened and stepped between me and the Blood King.
“King Adrian has asked for my hand,” I said. “Am I not allowed to speak?”
“These are matters for kings,” Commander Killian said. His voice was low and grated against my ear.
I wanted to push him away, but I reined myself in, offering a command instead. “Back to your post, Commander.”
He was reluctant to obey, and if we had been alone, he wouldn’t have. Still, he fell back and returned to my father’s side. When my gaze turned back to Adrian, he looked amused.
“If you wanted a wife, why did you wait until now to ask for my hand?”
“I did not know I wanted one until today,” he replied.
My frustration spiked. Had he decided when we’d met earlier in the wood? Had I had the same effect on him as he did on me?
“Attraction hardly makes a marriage, King Adrian,” I said.
“It makes a bearable one,” he said. “Wouldn’t you say, Princess?”
So you want to fuck me, I thought, narrowing my eyes. We did not even need vows for that, but somehow, offering myself to the Blood King without a marriage contract felt worse than losing my freedom.