Page 69 (1/2)

PROLOGUE

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, OLD COUNTRY

“Long live the King”

At the sound of the deep, grave voice, Wrath, son of Wrath, had an instinct to look around for his father … a spark of hope that the death had not occurred and the great ruler was as yet still with them

But of course, his beloved sire reone unto the Fade

How long would this sad searching last? he wondered It was such useless folly, especially as the sacred vest were upon higers adorning his own body His ht for such proof of his recent coronation, however … or mayhap it was his heart that remained unswayed by all that now defined him

Dearest Virgin Scribe, without his father, he was so alone, even as he was surrounded by people who served him

“My lord?”

Co in the doorway of the royal receiving cha and thin, draped in dark robes

“My honor to greet you,” thelow “Are you ready to receive the female?”

No “Indeed”

“Shall we initiate the procession”

“Yes”

As his adviser bowed again and backed out, Wrath paced across the oak-paneled room Candles wafted in the drafts that so fire in the chest-high hearth seeht, not warmth

In truth, he had no desire for a shellan—or rather, ato be Love was required for the former, and he had none to offer a soul

Froht a flash of brilliance, and to pass the tiarded the sets of gems that had been displayed upon the carved desk Diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, pearls … nature’s beauty captured and anchored by haold

The most valuable were the rubies

Reaching out to touch the bloodred stones, he thought, It was too early for all of this His being King, this ement, the thousand different demands he now bore and yet understood too little of

He needed more time to learn from his father—

The first of three pounding knocks reverberated through the roorateful that no one was about to see him flinch

The second was just as loud

The third was going to require his response

Closing his eyes, he found it hard to breathe through the pain in his chest He wanted his father with hiuided by a courtier, but his own sire Fate, however, had robbed the great male of years that were his due, and in turn, subscribed the son to a sort of drowning even though there was air about him to breathe

I cannot do this, Wrath thought

And yet, as the third rap upon the panels faded, he squared his shoulders and mimicked the way his father’s voice had always sounded “Enter”

At his coreeted by the sight of a full co identical to that of the adviser who stood at the front of theroup of aristocrats, there were others, tremendous of stature, narrow of eye … and those were the ones who began to chant in a concerted growl

In honesty, he feared the Black Dagger Brotherhood

According to tradition, the adviser stated loudly and clearly, “My lord, I have an offering to bring before you May I proceed with its presentation?”

As if the noble daughter were an object Then again, tradition and social nor, and at court, she would be treated as any prized broodmare was

However was he going to do this? He knew naught of the sexual act, and yet if he approved of her, he would be engaged in the activity sohtfall on the morrow

“Yes,” he heard himself say

The courtiers filed in through the doorway in pairs, splitting and for a circle around the perirew louder

The nificent warriors of the Brotherhood entered in a march, their tremendous bodies clothed in black leather and strapped eapons, the cadence of their voices and movement of their forms so synchronized, it was as if they were one

Unlike the lymera, they did not part, but stayed shoulder-to-shoulder, chest-to-chest in a box-like for of as in their midst

But he could smell the scent

And the change within hile heartbeat, the plodding nature of life ashed away by a prickling awareness … one that, as the Brothers caression that he was unfanore

Breathing in again, s, his blood, his soul—and it was not the oils she had been rubbed doith or the perfumes that had been applied to whatever clothed her form It was the skin underneath all that, the delicate combination of feminine elements that he kneas unique to her and her alone

The Brotherhood stopped in front of him, and for the first tis elongated into hisin a snarl

He even took a step forward, prepared to rip thefrom him

The adviser cleared his throat as if seeking to remind the asse offered by her bloodline for your consideration for birthing purposes Should you desire to inspect—”

“Leave us,” Wrath snapped “At once”

The shocked silence that folloas easily ignored on his part

The adviser dropped his voice “My lord, if you shall permit me to finish the presentation—”

Wrath’s bodyitself around until he could match stares with the male “Get Out”

Behind him, a chuckle rose fro put in his place by their ruler The adviser, however, was not amused And Wrath did not care

There was also no more conversation to be had: the courtier had

The , and then he was left with the Brothers At once, they stepped aside and …

Revealed within their heft was a slender for from head to foot In coht of stature, narrower of bone, shorter of height—and yet hers was the presence that rocked him

“My lord,” one of the Brothers said with respect, “this is Anha”

With that sihters disappeared, shutting him in alone with the female

Wrath’s body took over again, prowling his chaotic senses around her, stalking her even as she did not in Scribe, he had meant for none of this, not his reaction to her presence nor the need coiling in his loins nor the aggression that had sprung to the fore

But ht—

Mine

’Twas as a lightning bolt out of the night sky, changing his landscape, carving a gashing vulnerability in his chest And yet even with that, he thought, Yes, this was right His father’s former adviser indeed had his best interests at heart This feh the loneliness: Even without seeing her face, she th within his sex, her se to protect giving hi

“Anha,” he breathed as he stopped in front of her “Speak unto me”

There was a long silence And then her voice, soft and sweet, but quavering, entered his ears Closing his eyes, he swayed on his feet, the sound echoing throughout his blood and bones, lovelier than anything he had e’er heard

Except then he frowned as he had no idea what she had spoken “Whate’er did you say?”

For a moment, the words that came from beneath the cover of the veil made no sense But then the definitions of the syllables were verified by his brain:

“Would you wish to see another?”

Wrath frowned in confusion Why would he—

“You have reht from my form,” he heard her answer as if he had voiced his inquiry

At once, he realized she was tre the movement—and indeed, there was a heavy undertow of fear in her scent

His arousal had clouded any further awareness of her, but that required rectification

Collecting the throne, he brought the vast, carved chair across the roo hith “Sit”

She all but fell into the oxblood leather seat—and as her draped hands clawed onto the ar white as she held on for dearest life

Wrath sank down onto his knees before her Staring up, his only thought, aside from that of his intention to possess her, was that he would never see her frightened

Ever

Beneath the layers of weighty robing, Anha was suffocating in the heat Or mayhap it was terror that choked her throat

She did not wish for this destiny of hers Had not sought it Would give it to any of the young females who had, over the years, envied her: From the moment of her birth, she had been pro as the first mate—and because of that supposed honor, she had been reared by others, cloistered away, hidden from all contact Raised in solitary confinement, she knew not the nurture of a mother or protection of a father—she had been adrift in a sea of supplicating strangers, handled as a precious object, not a living thing

And now, at the cul event, at the moment she had been bred and avowed for … all those years of preparation appeared to be for naught

The King was not happy: He had thrown all and sundry out of whatever roole drape from her, as was his due if he wished to accept her in soression charging the air

She had likely angered higestions to the King—

“Sit”

Anha followed the co her weak knees fall out from beneath her body She expected to meet the cold, hard floor, but there was a cushioned chair of soreat mass to catch her

Creaking floorboards inforain, his footfalls heavy, his presence so great she could sense the size of hi, sweat breaking out down her neck and between her brsts, she waited for his next move—and feared it would be violent By law, he could do anything he wanted with her He could slaughter her or toss her to the Brotherhood for their use He could undress her, take her virginity, and then reject her—leaving her ruined

Or he could si her virtue for after the cereined in her ard her briefly and re-cover her with gifts of special cloth, signaling his intent to rank her a his shellans—so that her life at court would be easier

She’d heard too much about courtiers to expect kindness froh she was to be , she was on her own If she had a small measure of power, however, ree, leaving the reater ambition and avarice—

The pacing stopped abruptly and there was protest from the floor directly before her, as if he had shifted position in some manner

Noas the moment, and her heart froze as if it did not want to attract attention from His Majesty’s blade …

In one quick reat drafts of cool air were free for her lungs’ taking

Anha gasped at as before her

The King, the ruler, the supreme representative of the vampire race … was on his knees in front of the chair he had provided her And that should have been shocking enough, but indeed, his apparent supplication was the least of what struck her

He was utterly beautiful—and of all the things she had sought to prepare herself for, this first, ht of him had never been contemplated

His eyes were the color of pale spring leaves, and they shone bright as ht upon a lake whilst he stared up at her And his face was the handsoh that was perhaps not coiven that she had not been allowed to look upon anythingdown a broad back

Except even that was not what penetrated her consciousness most

It was the concern in his expression

“Be not afraid,” he said in a voice that was velvet and gravel “None shall e’er harm you, for I am here”

Tears pricked in her eyes And then herout “My lord, you should not kneel”

“How ever else would I greet a female such as yourself?”

Anha tried to respond, but caught up in his gaze, her led—he seemed not real, this powerful male who bowed his honor afore her To be certain once and for all, her hand lifted and moved to close the distance between them …

Whate’er was she doing? “Forgive me, my lord—”

He captured her palasp Or was that both of them?

“Touch me,” he commanded “Anywhere”

As he released his hold, she placed her tre hand upon his cheek War GUE