Seraphina's POV
"She wants me executed?" I stared at Elena, my blood turning to ice. "For what?"
"For being human. For being Viktor's target. For—" Elena's eyes flicked to Lucien, then away. "For bewitching the prince."
Lucien's expression went deadly cold. "Where is Morgana now?"
"The throne room. She's called an emergency council meeting. Half the court is already there." Elena's voice dropped to a whisper. "Your Majesty, she has support. Many vampires believe the human bride is more trouble than she's worth."
My stomach twisted. I'd been here less than a week and already I was causing chaos. An assassination attempt. Political upheaval. And now this.
"I'll go," I said, starting to get out of bed. Then I realized I was wearing only Lucien's shirt—nothing else. Heat flooded my face.
"You're not going anywhere." Lucien's voice was absolute. "I'll handle Morgana."
"She's calling for my execution. I should—"
"You should stay here where it's safe." He crossed to the wardrobe, pulling out clothes. "Elena, help her dress. I want guards posted outside this door. No one enters without my permission."
"Lucien, please—" I tried to argue.
He was in front of me in a flash, his hands cupping my face. "Do you trust me?"
"Yes, but—"
"Then trust me to protect you. I won't let Morgana or anyone else hurt you." His silver eyes burned into mine. "You're mine now. Mine to protect. Mine to defend. And anyone who tries to take you from me will face exactly what that assassin faced."
The words should have scared me. Instead, they made something warm bloom in my chest.
Through the blood bond, I felt his determination. His fury. And underneath it—absolute terror that he'd lose me.
"Be careful," I whispered.
He kissed me—hard and fast and possessive. "Always."
Then he was gone, leaving Elena and me alone in his chambers.
Elena helped me into a dress—deep blue this time, with silver embroidery that caught the light. She worked in silence, her hands shaking slightly.
"You're scared," I said.
"I'm terrified." Elena's voice was barely audible. "Morgana has been in love with Lucien for three centuries. She's waited patiently, certain he'd eventually choose her. And now you appear, looking like Arianne, and in four days you've done what Morgana couldn't do in three hundred years."
"What's that?"
"Made him feel again." Elena met my eyes in the mirror. "Morgana can sense it through the court bonds all vampires share. She knows Lucien opened his heart to you. And she's going to destroy you for it."
My hands clenched in my lap. "I didn't mean to—"
"It doesn't matter what you meant. You exist. That's enough." Elena finished with my hair. "The moment Lucien brought you to his chambers, the moment you wore his shirt, the moment the entire palace could smell his scent all over you—everyone knew. The prince who hasn't touched a woman in two hundred years spent the night with his human bride."
I thought about last night. About Lucien's hands on my skin, his lips on mine, the way he'd whispered my name like a prayer. About falling asleep in his arms, feeling safer than I'd felt in months.
"I don't regret it," I said quietly.
"You should." Elena's voice was harsh. "Because Morgana will use this. She'll twist it, make you look like a seductress who bewitched him. She'll turn the court against you."
"Let her try."
Elena stared at me. "You really don't understand the danger you're in."
"I have three weeks left to live," I said, standing up. "A tumor is going to kill me long before any vampire does. So if Morgana wants to hate me, fine. If the court wants to call me a seductress, fine. I'm not going to waste my last days being afraid."
Something like admiration flickered across Elena's face. "You really are nothing like Arianne. She was gentle, afraid of conflict. You..." She smiled slightly. "You're fierce."
"Is that a compliment?"
"From me? Yes. From the vampire court?" She shook her head. "They're going to eat you alive."
A knock at the door made us both jump. A guard's voice called through: "Dr. Theron requests entry. He says it's urgent."
Elena opened the door. Dr. Theron rushed in, his ancient face troubled. He carried several vials of dark red liquid—my blood samples.
"I need to speak with Lady Seraphina," he said. "Privately."
Elena hesitated, then nodded. "I'll be right outside if you need me."
She left, closing the door behind her.
Dr. Theron set the vials on the table, his hands shaking slightly. "I've been studying your blood since the seizure. What I've discovered is... unprecedented."
My heart sank. "The tumor is spreading faster?"
"No. I mean, yes, but that's not—" He took a breath. "Seraphina, your blood isn't normal human blood anymore. The tumor is transforming it into something I've never seen. Something powerful."
"What do you mean?"
He held up one of the vials. "If a vampire drinks your blood now, the effects would be unpredictable. It could kill them. Or it could give them abilities beyond imagination."
Horror crawled up my spine. "That's why Viktor wanted me dead. He knows."
"Worse than that." Dr. Theron's ancient eyes met mine. "Your blood could be weaponized. Used to create an army of super-vampires. Or used to poison entire bloodlines. You're not just the prince's bride anymore. You're a walking weapon."
The room spun. I grabbed the edge of the table to steady myself.
"Does Lucien know?"
"Not yet. I wanted to tell you first." Dr. Theron's face was grave. "But he needs to know. Because if Viktor knows, if Morgana knows—"
"They'll use me." The words tasted bitter. "They'll either try to kill me or capture me to harvest my blood."
"Yes."
I thought about the assassin last night. Viktor Shadowmere had sent him. But was it to kill me or capture me?
And Morgana, calling for my execution right now—was it jealousy or something more calculated?
"I'm a liability," I said quietly. "To Lucien. To the kingdom. Everyone would be safer if I just... left."
"You can't leave. The blood bond—"
"Can be broken if I return to the mortal realm before the year is up." I'd learned that from Elena. "Maybe that's what I should do. Go home. Die in Ashenhaven instead of bringing war to Valthoria."
"And leave Prince Lucien to shatter?" Dr. Theron's voice was sharp. "Child, I've known that vampire for six hundred years. I watched him fall in love with Arianne. Watched him destroy himself when she died. And I've watched him these past four days with you."
"What about it?"
"He's alive again. Truly alive. For the first time in two centuries." Dr. Theron gripped my shoulders. "If you leave now, if you die without him, you won't just be killing yourself. You'll be killing whatever's left of his humanity."
Tears burned my eyes. "What do I do?"
"You fight. You stay. You let him protect you." Dr. Theron's voice softened. "And you trust that love is worth fighting for, even when death is certain."
Before I could respond, shouting erupted from somewhere in the palace. Loud enough to hear even in the tower.
Dr. Theron and I rushed to the window.
Below, in the palace courtyard, I could see a crowd of vampires gathered. At the center stood Lucien, his white-blond hair catching the moonlight.
And facing him was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.
She had long black hair that fell to her waist, porcelain skin, and eyes that glowed violet. She wore a dress that looked like it cost more than my entire village, and she stood with the confidence of someone who'd never been told no.
Lady Morgana.
Even from this distance, I could see the way she looked at Lucien—with possessive hunger and centuries of patient waiting.
"You promised me," Morgana's voice carried up to the tower. "Two hundred years ago, after Arianne died, you promised you'd never love a human again. You swore it on your brother's grave!"
"I made no such promise," Lucien's voice was cold.
"You did! You said humans only brought death and destruction. You said you'd never risk your heart again." Morgana stepped closer to him. "And now this—this dying girl shows up wearing Arianne's face, and you throw away two centuries of grief for what? A few weeks of pleasure before she dies too?"
The crowd murmured. I could see heads nodding.
"My relationship with Seraphina is none of your concern," Lucien said.
"It is when it threatens the kingdom!" Morgana's voice rose. "Viktor attacked because of her. The human bride is a target. A weakness. And you bringing her to your chambers, bonding with her, falling for her—you're painting a target on all of us!"
More murmurs of agreement.
My chest tightened. She was right. I was a liability. A weakness Viktor could exploit.
"The council has voted," Morgana announced, pulling out a scroll. "By majority decision, the human bride is to be returned to the mortal realm immediately. For the safety of the kingdom."
"No." Lucien's voice cracked like a whip.
"Your Majesty, you cannot override the council on this—"
"Watch me." Lucien's eyes blazed silver-white. "Seraphina Novak is my bonded bride. Mine by treaty law. Mine by blood bond. Mine by choice. And I will burn this entire kingdom to ash before I let anyone take her from me."
The courtyard went silent.
Morgana's face twisted with rage and pain. "You'd destroy everything for a girl who'll be dead in three weeks?"
"Yes."
The single word echoed across the courtyard.
Morgana laughed, but it sounded broken. "Then you're a fool. Just like you were with Arianne. And when this human dies, when her death tears you apart again, don't come crying to me. I'm done waiting for you to see sense."
She turned and stormed away, half the court following her.
Lucien stood alone in the courtyard, his shoulders tight with tension.
Through the blood bond, I felt everything he was feeling. Fury at Morgana. Terror for me. And underneath it all—grim determination to protect me no matter the cost.
Even if it meant war.
I pressed my hand against the window, my reflection pale and ghostly in the glass.
Three weeks. That's all I had.
But in three weeks, I might destroy an entire kingdom.
Dr. Theron touched my shoulder gently. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking," I said quietly, "that maybe loving me is the most dangerous thing Lucien's ever done."
Behind us, the door burst open.
Lucien stood there, his eyes wild, his chest heaving. "Pack your things. We're leaving."
"What? Where—"
"The summer palace. Away from the court, away from Morgana and Viktor. Somewhere I can keep you safe." He crossed to me, gripping my shoulders. "I won't let them take you. I won't let anyone hurt you. Even if I have to start a war to protect you."
"Lucien, maybe Morgana is right. Maybe I should—"
"No." He kissed me hard. "You're mine. And I'm keeping you."
Through the bond, I felt his desperation. His absolute refusal to lose me.
And I realized something terrifying.
Lucien Nightshade would watch his entire kingdom burn if it meant keeping me alive for three more weeks.
The question was—could I let him?