Chapter 4

Embarrassment followed Cosette like a constant, unwelcome companion.

She had run away! From her future mate! The anxiety of simply being near him had nearly crumbled her to pieces. How would she ever survive being his mate?

She couldn’t.

With her head in her arms, she began to cry into the mahogany desk in her room, upset with herself.

A sound outside her door caught her attention, and she attempted to hold her sniffles back.

“I’ve got this one,” her mother said quietly to someone she assumed to be her father. Only a few moments later, her mother entered and gently placed a hand on Cosette’s shoulder. “Did something happen?”

She nodded into the desk, and her tears began falling again. “I talked to Lord Covaci for the first time today. He didn’t know it was me. And…and I made a complete muddle of things. I ran away! I can’t be his mate. He will regret the ceremony. And I don’t want him to be miserable with me. You must tell Nicolae to cancel. I cannot go through with it.”

“Oh, darling,” her mother said as she leaned against the desk and stroked her hair. “Do you want to give up before you’ve even begun? Forming a union is never easy, no matter who your mate is. Either way, I was under the impression you actually liked Lord Covaci. Do you not anymore?”

“I do.” She sniffed. She found she especially liked how at ease he was with talking to her despite her being a timid mess.

“Then perhaps it’s worth a try to make it work.” Her mother squeezed her hand, and finally, she lifted her head to gaze back into her mother’s honey-brown eyes. The violet eyes came from her father’s side of the family. Her mother’s hair was dark just like Cosette’s. Long and dark. She was beautiful. And regal. And fit so well in society. If Cosette wasn’t so timid, perhaps she could be just like her mother.

Swallowing hard, she said, “I would be devastated for him to dislike me. I don’t want to give him the opportunity.”

“And you would deprive him of the opportunity to love you?” Her mother turned to her father, who stood in the doorway. “What was it Lord Covaci told you today, dear?”

Her father leaned against the doorframe. “That one is a good lad. I highly approve. He told me and Nicolae he would love and care for his future mate, no matter who she was.”

A burst of shock ran through her, a blush coloring her cheeks. “Then he knows it’s me?”

“He does not. He doesn’t even seem to suspect his future mate to be a Dragomir.” His amused expression fell into one of sadness. “I will tell Nicolae to call off the ceremony if you desire. But I think it would crush Lord Covaci’s heart. He wrote you a letter. But if you call off the ceremony, I don’t believe you need to read his words.”

Eagerness rose within her as she glanced at the folded letter in her father’s hand.

“I suppose I could at least read it,” she said quietly as she rose from her chair, curiosity drying her tears. When she reached for the letter, her father willingly handed it over. Her expression turned into a scowl. The seal was broken. “Papa! How could you?”

He shrugged, a mischievous glint in his eye. “You are not yet mated. I had to make sure his intentions were honorable. And to my satisfaction, Lord Covaci seems to be nothing but a gentleman.”

“Get out.” She frowned, swatting her father with the folded letter until he laughed loudly and exited the room, followed by her mother who smiled at her over her shoulder. She shut the door behind them, and her eager fingers fumbled at unfolding the parchment. Lord Covaci’s handwriting alone made her heart jump with happiness. She read his words again and again. He sounded so eager, so excited to meet her. Little did he know, he had already met her, and the meeting most definitely didn’t paint her in a favorable light.

She sighed as she brushed her thumb over his signature at the bottom of the page. He didn’t use his title to sign it as if he was already on familiar terms with her.

Taking a deep breath, she reached for a piece of parchment of her own. Her hand trembled as she picked up her quill and dipped it in ink. Until now, the arranged ceremony had seemed more like a distant dream, but now it felt all too real. She decided she must follow through, no matter how much it scared her.

Lord Oriel Covaci, The guest list meets my satisfaction. I will be inviting only two guests, as my family is also quite large and, in turn, quite nosy. They will not be made aware of the ceremony until after the fact. Otherwise, I am sure they will break down the cathedral doors and make a mess of things. I am unsure what we will receive more of—offense that they were not invited or mountains of gifts to congratulate. And as you requested to not see my face, I also have requested my guests to watch from the loft, as I am afraid you might recognize them and figure out who I am. I know it’s important I hide my face. I do not want to disappoint your wishes.

Until we meet at the altar, Mystery Maiden Cosette debated more than once whether she should send the letter or crumple it up and throw it out.

In a moment of bravery, she folded the letter and poured wax over it, but when she reached for the Dragomir seal, she paused. Lord Covaci wasn’t to know who the letter was from. So instead, she reached for the seashell he had given her so many years ago and pressed it into the wax, satisfied when the grooves in the red wax created a perfect shell shape.

As the wax began to harden, she opened her door to search for her father, only for horror to shoot through her to find her parents standing just outside.

“Papa!” she cried, giving him a disbelieving frown.

“What?” He chuckled. “I was simply saving myself the trouble of having to come back later to deliver your letter.”

Her frown deepened. “How did you know I would reply?”

Both her parents shared a look and laughed before her mother fondly patted her cheek. Cosette didn’t understand the quip. Still, she handed her letter over to her father, glad that she didn’t have to look for Nicolae herself. Writing the letter had made her apprehensive enough.

“Don’t you dare read it,” she warned. “Or I will never speak to you again.”

Her parents laughed again and turned to walk away. She anxiously watched to make sure her father didn’t break the seal. Although there wasn’t anything particularly embarrassing in the letter, she disliked it when others put their noses where they didn’t belong.

“I’m enjoying this.” Her mother’s voice echoed down the hall. “Are you enjoying this?”

“Most definitely,” he answered. “I wish I could see the look on the lad’s face when Nicolae gives the letter to him. If it was anything like the look he gave me in Nicolae’s library this afternoon…”

Cosette’s heart beat faster and faster as she contemplated running after her parents and snatching the letter back.

“Breathe,” she whispered to herself, pressing her palm against her belly as her gut churned with apprehension.

His words from earlier came ringing back to her. Honestly, I believe I have rotten luck.

Would he consider it more rotten luck to have her cancel the ceremony or to be tied to her for the rest of his life? Tipping the scale too far could result in something disastrous. Unfortunately, she didn’t know which way to tip it.

****

The very next morning, she was practicing the pianoforte when her father found her in the drawing room to deliver a letter—the seal unbroken—from Lord Covaci. To prevent him from looking over her shoulder as she read, she retreated to the safety of the gardens. She prayed she wouldn’t run into anyone there, and if she did, that they wouldn’t talk to her, let alone look at her. She had a tendency lately to run away from such onlookers.

Her feet found a familiar path nestled between two rows of jewel trees with gems a deep burgundy color. Wind moved through the branches overhead, and the jewels created a soothing clicking noise as they brushed against one another.

Eagerness led her fingers as she broke the Covaci seal. Her heart beat fast, her head swimming with pleasant dizziness. Her smile grew as she read his words.

Mystery Maiden, There is nothing you can do to disappoint me. It’s all I can do to refrain from figuring out who you are this very instant. But I am a vampire of my word, even if the word was to myself. I shall wait. I shall be patient. And in the meantime, I would very much like to know… What is your favorite flower? A lot can be discovered of a person from knowing their favorite flower.

And I must say this so you don’t fret. The twins shall be on their best behavior during the ceremony. I have made them swear it. Only yesterday, they uprooted the entire Ichor Knell courtyard. You can imagine how thrilled Nicolae was about it. I count them lucky that Nicolae found them and not Dracula. The mess could have been a bigger one to sort out, kin or not.

I hope you have a wonderful day, Mystery Maiden. And I hope this letter receives you well.

Patiently awaiting your reply (or at least I keep telling myself), Oriel Covaci

Cosette tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled bashfully. He truly did seem eager to meet her. What would he think upon seeing her after the ceremony?

Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when she heard voices approach from behind. Her body acted on its own accord as she transformed into a butterfly with purple wings, flitting up to the nearest branch to still her pounding heart. But it did no good, as one of the voices belonged to Lord Covaci himself.

Had he seen me? Panic fluttered through her wings.

However, the conversation didn’t lull.

“It took us ages to fix.” Andrei Covaci groaned with a roll of his eyes. “But I dare say it looks better now than it did before.”

“We should be hired as master gardeners.” Livia Covaci chuckled. “And they should pay us double.”

“I will leave the job to you two,” Lord Covaci said, and the sound of his voice caused flutters in her stomach, which in turn, caused her wings to flutter. To her horror, he paused after he passed right beneath the tree she hid in. His eyebrows furrowed together as he broke away from the other two and moved closer, scanning the gardens around them as he approached.

She held perfectly still on her branch, not even daring to flap her purple wings again in fear he would notice her.

Her heart beat astoundingly fast. He was much more handsome up close than from far away. He looked like he could be a god with his large blond curls, his light, intelligent blue eyes, and his gentle face. It was a mystery he had decided upon an arranged union, as he likely could have any female he desired.

“What are you doing, Oriel?” Livia asked.

“I’m not sure,” he said slowly, his mouth quirking to the side as if deep in thought. “I thought I caught a familiar scent.”

Even more frightening, he didn’t move away as if his mind was working hard to put puzzle pieces together. To her horror, he spotted the letter she had dropped only moments earlier when she transformed, the tip of the parchment poking out in the deep amber grass at the base of the tree. He bent to pick it up, but immediate recognition found its way to his eyes as he turned the letter over and noticed the broken seal.

“Oh, daggers…” He sucked in a breath. A flush crept to his ears, but he kept his eyes down. He didn’t continue searching for her. Instead, he stuffed the letter into his pocket and hurried back to his cousins, his hunched shoulders and tensed muscles indicating he knew she was there.

No, no, no! Had she ruined everything?

As soon as he disappeared from sight, she flitted down from the tree and returned to her vampire form, running as quickly toward the castle as her too-delicate slippers would allow. Their encounter had been too close. She hoped to rectify what she had just done.