Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 67437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
A rush of emotions—overwhelming and overpowering—washed over my body, leaving me in a state of breathless anticipation. For so long, I had yearned for this moment, a moment of reconciliation, of hope. A moment when blood and power wouldn’t divide us but unite us.
Would it really be that easy to stop the chaos of the next days? How could that ever be possible?
Nai answered for me. Love, Seraphine. That’s what would make it possible.
Nervous, I put my gaze on the odd swirling flowers.
In just a few days, you have taught me that love holds a power far greater than any sword or spear.
I felt his gaze heavy on me. It was a sensation akin to the softest caress. I could no longer look away. Slowly, I raised my view back to him.
A subtle shift occurred in his expression, a softening around his eyes that made my heart flutter. Seraphine, our time together has been fast, but I do love you.
My heart hammered in my chest.
He reached out and gently cradled my face.
Why do I love you? How? It does not matter. There is no logic to love. No. . .rules to it.
I trembled.
And the love that I have for you. . .the power of it. . .it is the sort of love that could stop a war. This war, and any other one.
He leaned forward.
His lips were barely an inch from mine.
But will you love me? And will you rule by my side?
Chapter 17
To Rule
Seraphine
Rule with him? Like. . .truly be his queen? Me?
I left his hold.
Nai frowned and dropped his hands. Seraphine?
“P-please.” I took several steps back and stumbled a little. “Just give me a minute to think.”
There was too much to wrap my mind around.
Before I had simply been his prisoner. That I understood. Had I not been caged and trapped for most of my life? Chains and terror would be nothing new to get used too.
But, Nai was offering me something entirely different. Something that scared me more than any physical restraints ever could.
He was offering me power, authority, and responsibility. He was offering me the chance to co-rule over his kingdom with him.
I looked up at Nai and saw the sincerity in his eyes. He was serious. He truly believed that I was capable of ruling alongside him.
What?
All my life, I had known sorrow, death, and pain.
Not love.
The possibility intrigued and terrified me in equal measure. To devote myself to another would mean shedding the protective armor I had so carefully crafted.
It meant exposing my heart to the very danger I had so painstakingly avoided.
Yet, the thought of helping end this war, not with bloodshed but with love.
Well. . .that was an enticing prospect.
It held promise, not just for my healing, but for the world that lay torn and ravaged by the ruthless hands of the Quiet King. . .who would now be Nai.
A new vampire.
A healed one.
A king in love.
I hugged myself. Disbelief swirled within my core. I still had my doubts.
And I was me—Seraphine.
I didn't help stop danger.
I ran.
I hid.
I got out of there before I could be hurt again.
To do otherwise and not just stop the war, but actually take place in helping the world become a better place, it would be too foreign for me to comprehend.
The transition was difficult to figure out. My head hurt. My heart twisted. It felt like unlearning a language I had been speaking all my life. This night with Nai made me feel like I was learning so many new words and sentences.
And as I stumbled and faltered through this new language of love and selflessness, I found myself spurred by a sense of purpose, a sense of hope that was both new and profoundly comforting.
No one would have to fight. Not Camille or her kings. And she talked about her daughters.
The line of Nai's jaw twitched. Surely, he was reading my thoughts.
Camille's daughters would be saved.
My head spun with this possible new reality.
Self-preservation had kept me alive, but love—it seemed—promised a life worth living. It proposed a purpose beyond mere survival.
A chance to heal.
To mend.
To end a war.
To save the world.
I found myself at a philosophical crossroads, torn between the instinct to protect myself and the rising desire to start protecting others.
Dear Ambi and Ressi. Now I get why I had such a hard life. It all makes sense in this moment.
How could I know how to save the suffering if I had not suffered?
Seraphine, I want an answer.
“I need you to promise me, Nai.” My voice shook. “Promise me that no more blood will be shed. Promise me that the world we rule will be one of peace, one of unity.”
Those intense copper eyes, bore into mine with a piercing gaze. When they return Phinova to me, all will be as you want.
I widened my eyes and pushed away my doubts. “Then. . .if you end this war and meet my demands for a peaceful world. . .I will. . .love you and. . .”