26. Bella

Roderick Val” Draco stood stark against the crimson moon, his figure outlined in the crimson light as he stared down at me from the wall. An odd mixture of irritation and relief flashed across his features.

”Daughter, Isabella. It is time to go home.” He reached out his hand as if I would eagerly go to him. I swallowed hard and took a step back, shaking my head.

I stood shocked, rooted in place as I stared at him, my eyes wide and my mouth slightly ajar as time seemed to still. Shock surged through my veins, sending shivers down my spine. My heart skipped a beat, and my breath caught in my throat. It was as if the world around me faded into the background, leaving only this person in sharp focus.

My father.

”That is no home of mine,” I spat, my hands clenching. The sword”s pommel gripped in my right hand and bit into my skin. In my left hand, I felt my nails cutting crescent moons into my palms so deep I was sure I would bleed.

”Do you want everyone in the castle to die tonight?” he asked, and his demeanor became more threatening. ”I came here to save you, my dear. Come with me. They are coming, and this cursed place is about to meet its end.”

”I won”t. You don”t own me!” I screamed at my torturer. My father, the man who”d shown me just enough love as a child to keep me sane, only to twist it when he had lost everything and turned it all around on me. As if I should be grateful to him for my existence, I should be grateful I had half his blood. I should be thankful every time he hit and belittled me that I was still in this wretched world for him to do it. The past slammed into me, and I felt myself folding in on myself. I shook my head, taking another step back. ”No,” I repeated.

”You are the reason I lost everything,” Roderick snarled. ”My throne, my kingdom—all stolen from me because of your pathetic existence.” His eyes blazed with centuries of festering hatred and vengeance. ”The goddess wanted you. She wanted to destroy you for whatever reason and instead destroyed our kingdom! Now she and I have an understanding. I was given passage by Nyx herself to come here and take you home.”

Lore looked over at me, fear flashing in his gaze as his eyes flicked from me to my father and back again as if, once again, the knowledge of who I was lodged between us like a knife point.

”You”re Val” Draco? The son of Queen Isabella?” Lore stared at my father with loathing—the same loathing and hate he”d once looked upon me with. Now, as if he was again reminded that I was his enemy, he began to distance himself. I watched as his eyes closed off to me and then narrowed, his body turning a fraction away from me. Once again, we were enemies.

Roderick nodded. Though Lore had noted my similar appearance to Queen Isabella, he had not suspected how close of a familial relationship. I was only a small step from the throne, which seemed to change his demeanor.

His posture stiffened as he tore his gaze away, and his face hardened. His forearm muscles were tight, and they seemed to twitch as he gripped his sword tighter. I wondered if he was thinking of using it on me. He looked at me as if he didn”t even know me, and then a sadness passed over his eyes like a storm cloud.

”It”s not who I am!” I exclaimed, trying to draw his attention to me. All he did was tighten his jaw and refuse to look at me. ”I tried to tell you.”

His gaze snapped to mine. His nostrils flared as his lips twisted into a bitter smile. ”You didn”t, did you. You pretended this connection to the dead queen was nothing.” He shook his head, his head dipping down as a low, anguished chuckle escaped his lips. ”It”s best if you leave anyways,” he whispered so low I barely heard him. An average person without vampire blood wouldn”t have heard it, but I did. ”It”ll be safer.”

”No!” I yelled, turning toward him with my sword held high. ”You”ll have to fight me too. I”m not leaving you.” There was a plea in each word I spoke. For a moment, I believed my words had gotten to him. That he would change his mind as something soft, almost tender, crossed his expression. Before I could even decipher why, his face darkened and hardened. His features turned so cold a chill shivered down my back.

”Leave now. Or I”ll make you,” he commanded, a steel edge in his words.

”No. No, no, no,” I begged, dropping my sword and pleading with him. My voice softened, going lower. ”Please don”t make me leave you.”

My father jumped down and moved closer to me as I backed away, casting frantic looks at Lore and pleading for him to help. The moon goddess couldn”t just grant him permission to circumvent the curse, even if she was the one who acted on it. Could she? I was about to turn and run when Lore”s words stopped me as if the fight had instantly deflated from me.

”You already have,” he said right before his gaze flicked to behind me, and my world went dark as something hard slammed into my head.

I awoke with a gasp, my head throbbing. Blinking against the dim light, I realized I was back in the hovel I had once shared with my father. The chill of the dirt floor seeped into my bones as I shifted upright, my heart sinking.

He had sent me away after all. No, not just that he had sent me away. He had closed off to me, denying what was real. Denying us in the face of a truth that wasn”t important—my ancestors and a family I didn”t have a claim to. They didn”t make me who I was. No, he had thrown me away. Worst, from the throbbing of my head, someone had knocked me out, and he”d allowed it. Throwing me away like yesterday”s garbage.

Hurt cut me deep as I felt the betrayal in my heart, my soul, my very being. It made me take gulping breaths as I tried to steady my heart. The pain was too much to process. It felt as if someone had stabbed me directly in the heart and twisted the knife.

I was broken, shattered into little pieces that splattered and soaked into the ground like blood, only to be trampled on by the soles of those who were meant to protect me, to love me.

I forced my heart to calm, to push the pain away, and to focus. As I pressed against the thin door, I could make out two muffled voices—Roderick and Gideon. I shuddered at the alpha wolf”s deep guttural tones, fear creeping down my spine.

”It”s agreed then,” Roderick said. ”You help me reclaim my throne, and the girl is yours.”

Gideon gave a dark chuckle. ”Oh, I”ll enjoy taming that fiery spirit of hers and making her submit. She”ll birth me strong pups.”

Revulsion churned my stomach. I would die before letting that monster lay a hand on me again.

Slowly, their scheming voices faded as they moved away. I sagged back, bitterness welling up to mingle with heartache. Lore had rejected me so coldly in the end. I wanted to rage at him, to demand why he had done this to me, to us.

Sorrow drowned my anger. I knew that tortured look in his eyes as he commanded me to leave. He tried to protect and spare me from the curse”s dark fate. Lore had come to care for me, even if he refused to admit it aloud. I had seen the truth in our stolen moments of bliss.

I pressed my fists against my chest, aching with loss. It didn”t matter if Lore pushed me away out of misguided nobility or if he despised my vampire heritage. All that mattered was that I loved him despite our differences. I would return to his side, no matter the cost, because hope remained. I”d heard him say the words, you”ll be safer. He”d done it to save me. Pushing me away like he always did. Well, it wasn”t going to happen. Not this time.

With grim determination, I began to work the ties that bound me, planning my escape. Tonight, the wolves would be distracted by the blood moon”s spell. If I was quick and clever, I could evade them.

Soon, they were loosened enough I could slip my hands through. I rubbed the raw areas where the rope had chafed my skin, tearing the skin from my flesh. My finger skittered over the scar I had gotten from the vines, and my heart tore anew. How would I get in there if I couldn”t get past the vines? Fear lanced through me as I thought about the piercing screams we”d heard before Roderick showed up and his eerie words that the curse was coming to an end.

Lore needed me, whether he realized it or not. I refused to abandon him to the curse”s cruel conclusion. If my place was at his side, then so be it—I would stand with him until the bitter end.

My heart galloped with mingled fear and exhilaration as I slipped into the shadows. One way or another, I would find my way back to my dragon prince. Let the moon goddess rage—she could not keep us apart. Lore was my destiny, and I his. Nothing, not even a curse, could change that.

Tonight, we would break the curse, even if I died trying.