Blood and Lace: 4. Blood Oath

Elena woke to the sound of voices.

Not the murmured servants’ whispers she’d half-heard on previous mornings, but sharp, clipped tones in a language she didn’t know. The Prince’s voice cut through them — low, measured, but with a razor edge that made the fine hairs along her arms rise.

She pulled the crimson silk sheet tighter around herself and slid off the bed, padding barefoot to the slightly ajar door.

Through the narrow gap, she saw him. He stood in the hall, his white shirt open at the throat, dark hair mussed in a way that only made him more dangerous. Across from him were two men dressed in black, their skin pale as moonlight, their eyes the same crimson glow as his.

“They know,” one of them said in accented English. “About her. About the bond.”

His jaw tightened. “Let them know. It changes nothing.”

“It changes everything,” the other hissed. “She is mortal. She is vulnerable. They will come for her, to weaken you. To unmake the claim befo