Bound By Blood: The Pureblood Prince

Chapter Eighteen

We had met with all eleven royal families that day, and I was exhausted. Physically, emotionally. Eleven times I was caught by the dark, lustful, wizened stares of a royal vampire. Their skin was smooth, but their throats spoke dusty with age. Every time Gabriel used the word; Blood Bond, their expression would twist with skepticism, then soften. For a moment, it was if their cheeks came to life. Every vampire, but one.

Count Lichton was younger than the rest, but not by much. His skin reminded me most of the gray, rigid sheen of marble. The others were standoffish at first when I bowed, but still shook my hand as a gesture of understanding. Count Lichton just stood before me with confused hostility, then nodded stiffly in my direction. I noticed the tense line between Gabriel's furrowed brows.

"I find this difficult to process, Gabriel. I'm not sure I can trust that what you are experiencing with a human holds the same sort of power that a Blood Bond can with two of our own. It simply has never happened. You know that my family would go to great lengths for yours, which is why choosing between you and your father is so difficult. What if this isn't really the bond as we know it? I've betrayed The King because of it. I could lose trust in my people."

Gabriel struggled to remain decorous and collected with the Count, especially when he realized he couldn't sway him. But he stood and bowed his head still, bidding Count Lichton a safe trip home.

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"I knew this would happen. The only reason Lichton wouldn't take my offer is because I refuse to align with Ulric." 

Gabriel was hunched over his desk chair. I eyed his fingers, wrapped tightly over the wood.

"I don't understand, why would he want your cousin to join you? I thought that he wanted to replace you. Ulric would never take your side."

Gabriel gritted his teeth, fixing his gaze out the window. "Ulric sent a messenger to inform me that he wanted to be my allegiant. Said he was breaking away from his father. But I told him I'd rather die by his sword"

"You said that to him?"

"I said much worse, but I'd rather not repeat it in front of you."

"Gabriel, you said yourself you need as many fighters as you can get. Why wouldn't you take him if he offered you? What does he even have the power to do to you?"

"He has the power of my father, The King, if he decides to share every one of our secrets with him."

I paused for a beat. "Okay, well you have a thousand other families we have yet to meet. Besides Count Lichton, every family took our side today."

"Count Lichton has one of the largest armies in the Vempire. My father has the largest of them all. If they joined forces, it could destroy us."

I sighed, slumping over. Gabriel watched me curiously, seeming to forget that humans fatigue easily. We didn't return to his room until very late, and my body was ready to collapse. My feet were worn raw from new shoes, my ribs tender from the tight hold of my dress. It was such a relief when I was finally able to change.

I seated myself on the bed, my eyes fixing themselves at place on the wall. I felt Gabriel's hands smooth my hair. The dim light cast heavy shadows on his face. He watched me, his face smooth with fondness. He looked like something pulled right out of a Romantic painting. The kind of face that would stop you in a museum, transfix you. And then he smiled, laughed softly, and he was human again.

"You were remarkable today." he said softly, his accent seeming to thicken. "Stunning, regal, poised. You held your own like a true queen," I smiled, giggling softly with embarrassment, and pressed my face against his chest. "I think you may have even frightened a few of them."