I think the strangest part is that no one asked me if I was nervous.
They just assumed I was.
Which, okay, fair. I probably should have been. Most people would be.
Getting married tends to do that to you, especially when the groom isn't
human and you've spent most of your life hearing stories about his kind.
But as I stood there, letting someone adjust the sleeves of my dress for the third time, all I really felt was… weirdly calm. Not peaceful. Just blank. Like my emotions were taking their time catching up.
"Are you feeling alright, Your Highness?" someone asked softly.
I nodded. "Yeah. I think so."
That was true enough.
The dress was heavier than anything I'd ever worn before, layers of fabric resting on my shoulders like a physical reminder that this wasn't something I could walk away from.
I stared at my reflection while they fussed around me, half-expecting the girl in the mirror to look different. Braver. More composed. More… ready.
She looked the same.
Just slightly tired.
A few weeks ago, my biggest concern had been whether I could convince my father to let me postpone another formal dinner. Now I was about to marry a vampire prince, and somehow the world hadn't ended yet.
Funny how fast life rearranges itself.
When they finally told me it was time, I took a deep breath and followed them out, my thoughts drifting despite myself.
I hadn't screamed when my father told me. I hadn't cried either. I'd just sat there, listening, trying to understand how something so big could be decided so quietly.
He'd explained it carefully, like he always did when he knew I wouldn't like the answer.
Politics. Stability. Protection.
I understood the reasoning. I really did. That didn't mean I loved being the solution.
By the time the doors opened and the hall came into view, there wasn't much left to do but walk forward and hope I didn't trip.
The hall was enormous, but it wasn't unfamiliar. I'd been here before, just never like this.
The dark stone walls, high ceilings, and Alvaric's banners lining the sides, all of it meant to impress.
Still, something felt off today. Not colder exactly, just… heavier. Like every sound carried a little too far, like the space itself was waiting to see what would happen.
And then I saw him.
The Seventh Prince.
I slowed for half a second, caught off guard.
This was… not what I'd expected.
I'd grown up on stories about vampires. Most of them involved blood, claws, and very creative interpretations of anatomy. Horns. Red eyes. Fangs so long they could barely speak around them. Monsters in the truest sense of the word.
The man standing at the front of the hall looked nothing like that.
He was tall, yes, and unmistakably not human, but in a subtler way. Pale skin, sharp features, silver eyes that caught the light when he turned his head. His hair was dark, falling just past his shoulders, and there was something effortlessly composed about the way he stood, like he was used to being observed.
Annoyingly, he was handsome.
Not in a dramatic, over-the-top way. Just… attractive. The kind of attractive that sneaks up on you once you stop expecting the worst.
That realization threw me off more than it should have.
So that's a vampire, I thought. Huh.
When our eyes met, he didn't glare or smile or do anything particularly theatrical. He just looked at me. Calm. Assessing. Like he was as curious about me as I was about him.
That helped. A little.
The ceremony itself passed in a blur. I listened when I needed to, repeated the words when prompted, and tried not to overthink what I was agreeing to. I'd had years of training in saying the right thing at the right time. This wasn't so different.
Except it was.
When it was over, the weight of it hit me all at once.
I was married.
To a vampire.
I glanced at him, half-expecting something to change now that it was official. It didn't. He looked the same as before, composed but not cold, his expression giving very little away.
"You did well," he said quietly, once the applause faded enough for conversation to be possible.
I looked at him, surprised. "Is that meant to be comforting?"
"Some people find it is."
I huffed out a breath. "Good to know. I think I was mostly trying not to faint."
That earned me a small smile. Real. Brief, but real.
"They warned me humans tend to overthink these things," he said.
"Oh, we definitely do," I replied. "It's kind of our specialty."
As we were led away together, the reality of it all settled in more firmly. This wasn't just a ceremony. This was my life now. Shared hallways. Shared responsibilities. Shared everything, whether we liked it or not.
"So," I said after a moment, because silence made me uncomfortable.
"You're the seventh prince."
"Yes."
"Does that come with… expectations?"
He considered the question. "Less than you'd think."
"That doesn't sound reassuring."
"It depends on your perspective."
I glanced at him again, really looking this time. There was a faint scar near his jaw, barely noticeable unless you were close. His expression was controlled, but not unreadable. More guarded than distant.
"You don't seem thrilled about this either," I said.
"No," he admitted. "But I don't dislike it."
That was… unexpected.
"I'm still deciding how I feel," I said honestly.
He nodded. "That seems reasonable."
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Caelan."
I tested it silently. It suited him.
"Iris," I said.
He glanced at me. "Hmm?"
"My name," I clarified.
He nodded once, like he was filing it away somewhere important.
"Iris," he repeated. "I'll remember that."
"I'm glad you don't have horns," I said.
He blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"Stories," I explained. "The ones we hear about vampires aren't very flattering."
A corner of his mouth lifted. "And humans are always portrayed kindly?"
"Absolutely not," I said. "But at least now I know you won't try to eat me on the spot."
"Only if provoked."
I stopped walking and stared at him.
He sighed. "That was a joke."
"…Good," I said after a second. "Let's maybe keep the jokes coming. This would be a lot harder without them."
"I agree."
As we continued down the corridor, I realized something strange.
I still didn't know what the future held. I didn't know what this alliance would cost me, or what secrets the vampire court was hiding, or why I had been chosen out of everyone else.
But for the first time since all of this began, I didn't feel completely out of my depth.
Married to the vampire prince.
Political alliance.
Very familiar trope.
Yeah.
But as I walked beside Caelan, listening to the steady sound of his footsteps matching mine, I found myself thinking that maybe—just maybe—this version of the story wouldn't be as terrible as everyone expected.