Chapter 55 The Bond's Price
ARIA'S POV
I jolted awake, my father's name still on my lips.
"Easy." A cool hand pressed against my shoulder. "You're safe."
My eyes flew open. Sebastian sat in a chair beside the bed, watching me with those ice-blue eyes that seemed to see straight through to my soul.
"That's not creepy at all," I said, my voice hoarse.
His lips twitched. Almost a smile. "I wanted to make sure you survived the night. The bond is new. Unstable. I wasn't certain what effect it would have on your human body."
The bond. Memory crashed back—Morgana's revelation, the contract my father had signed, Sebastian grabbing me and fleeing through the window as the court's warriors attacked. We'd barely escaped.
I sat up quickly. Too quickly. The room should have spun, but it didn't. In fact, I felt—
"Different," I breathed.
Everything was sharper. The candle flames across the room flickered with colors I'd never noticed before—blues and greens hidden in the orange. I could hear Sebastian's heartbeat, slow and steady. Could smell the faint scent of night-blooming flowers from somewhere far away.
"What did you do to me?" I demanded.
"Nothing you didn't agree to." Sebastian leaned forward. "When Morgana attacked, our bond activated fully to protect you. It's pulling you closer to my nature. Making you stronger."
"Stronger how?" I looked at my hands. They looked normal, but when I flexed them, golden light flickered beneath my skin.
"You'll heal faster. Age slower. Your senses are enhanced." He paused. "And your power—both healing and killing—will be magnified."
I met his eyes. "My father really sold me?"
Pain flickered across Sebastian's face. "According to the contract, yes. Twenty-five years ago, he made a deal with the vampire court. They would eliminate your mother—who was apparently trying to flee with you to protect your bloodline—and in exchange, he'd surrender you on your twenty-fifth birthday."
My chest tightened. "But he died three years ago. He seemed—he loved me. I thought—"
"Maybe he regretted it," Sebastian said quietly. "Maybe that's why he died so suddenly. Guilt has a way of destroying people from the inside."
Tears burned my eyes, but I blinked them back. "So legally, I belong to the vampire court. Which means—"
"Which means Morgana can execute both of us for unauthorized bonding." Sebastian stood, pacing. "Unless we can prove the contract is invalid."
"How?"
"Kieran is investigating. There are rules even the court must follow. If your father was coerced, or if the contract violates certain ancient laws—"
A soft knock interrupted him. Sebastian's hand went to the dagger at his belt, but he relaxed when Kieran's voice called, "It's me."
The door opened. Kieran slipped inside, his expression grave. Behind him came someone I didn't expect—Elena, my friend from the Sanctuary, looking terrified but determined.
"Elena!" I rushed to her. "What are you doing here? If they catch you—"
"They're executing the other brides," Elena blurted out, grabbing my hands. "Morgana said since the ritual was broken, the court needs blood to maintain the realm. All of us. Dawn tomorrow."
Horror flooded through me. "No. They can't—"
"They're using it as leverage," Kieran said grimly. "If you and Sebastian surrender for trial, they'll spare the brides. If you run—"
"Innocent people die because of me." I looked at Sebastian. "We have to turn ourselves in."
"Absolutely not." His voice was steel. "It's a trap. They'll execute you and the brides anyway."
"You don't know that!"
"I know Morgana." Sebastian's jaw clenched. "She wants me destroyed. This is how she'll do it—by making you choose between your life and theirs."
Elena's voice shook. "There's more. Morgana announced that if Aria doesn't surrender by midnight tonight, she'll start with me. She'll make the other brides watch."
My blood turned to ice. "Why you?"
"Because everyone knows we're friends." Elena's eyes filled with tears. "She said you have until the clock strikes twelve. After that, one bride dies every hour until you give yourself up."
The room tilted. This was my fault. All of it. If I'd just died quietly in the ritual like I was supposed to—
"No." Sebastian gripped my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "I know what you're thinking. This is not your fault. This is the court's cruelty, Morgana's jealousy, and a system that's been broken for centuries."
"But those women—"
"Will be saved," he said fiercely. "I promise you, Aria. We will find a way."
"How?" I demanded. "We have less than twelve hours, we're trapped in hiding, and the entire vampire court wants us dead!"
Kieran cleared his throat. "Actually, not the entire court."
We all turned to stare at him.
"I've been making inquiries," he continued carefully. "There are nobles who've grown tired of Morgana's control. Who remember when this realm was ruled by law, not fear. If we could gather enough supporters—"
"It would take weeks," Sebastian cut him off. "We don't have weeks."
"No," Kieran agreed. "But we have something Morgana doesn't expect."
He pulled out a small vial from his coat. Inside, a silver liquid swirled like liquid moonlight.
"What is that?" I breathed.
"A truth serum," Kieran said. "Brewed from the rarest ingredients in the realm. One drop forces complete honesty for one hour." His eyes met Sebastian's. "If we could get Morgana to drink this during the trial—"
"She'd confess everything," Sebastian finished, understanding dawning. "Every manipulation, every lie, every law she's broken."
"Exactly."
Hope sparked in my chest. "So we go to trial. We get her to drink it somehow. We expose her."
"It's dangerous," Kieran warned. "If she discovers the serum before drinking it, or if we can't get it to her—"
"Then we're no worse off than we are now," I said firmly. I looked at Sebastian. "It's our only chance to save everyone."
Sebastian studied me for a long moment. Then he nodded. "We do this together. No matter what happens."
"Together," I echoed.
Elena hugged me tightly. "You're braver than anyone I've ever known."
As she pulled back, I noticed something strange. A mark on her wrist. Dark red, like a brand.
"Elena, what is that?"
She glanced down and her face went pale. "I—I don't know. It wasn't there before—"
The mark began to glow.
Then Elena screamed.
Her body convulsed, and she collapsed. I caught her, lowering her to the floor as her skin turned ice-cold.
"What's happening?" I cried.
Kieran knelt beside us, his face ashen. "It's a tracking spell. Morgana marked her." He looked at Sebastian. "She knows we're here."
As if summoned by his words, the windows exploded inward.
Vampire warriors poured through—dozens of them, surrounding us in seconds.
And through the shattered glass walked Morgana, her smile vicious and triumphant.
"Did you really think," she purred, "that I'd let you plot against me?" She gestured, and the warriors seized Elena, dragging her away from me. "The girl was bait. And you swallowed it whole."
"Let her go!" I lunged forward, but Sebastian caught me.
Morgana laughed. "Oh, I'll let her go. Right into the executioner's chamber. Unless—" Her eyes gleamed with malice. "Unless you'd like to trade places, Aria Thornwell?"
My heart stopped.
"Come with me now, face your trial, and I'll spare your friend." Morgana extended one elegant hand. "Refuse, and she dies screaming. You have ten seconds to decide."