Page 8 of Clash of Kingdoms

I didn’t. “Her family…they’re good people.” They’re different from the humans in our world. They aren’t weak and submissive. They are strong and brave. “They serve their people…rather than expect to be served. I’ve grown to respect them, especially her father.”

Kingsnake had nothing to say.

Cobra didn’t either, surprisingly.

“They don’t deserve this,” I whispered. “They don’t deserve to be wiped from existence just because the Teeth betrayed them.”

“You can’t betray someone who was never your ally,” Kingsnake said. “The Teeth were conquered then subjugated. It was foolish for the king to assume there would be no repercussions for that, even twenty years later. You may respect him, but he sounds arrogant to me.”

“He’s just,” I said coldly. “He doesn’t order an execution unless he intends to fulfill it himself. He doesn’t order his general and soldiers into battle while he sits on his throne in the safety of his castle. He’s on the front lines. He went to save his brother himself rather than leaving him to his fate. He’s a brave man, which is more than I can say about our own father…”

“Why don’t you just turn her?” Cobra said. “She’s far more likely to survive as a vampire.”

I shook my head. “No.”

“If you want to be with her, it’s going to happen anyway?—”

“I said no.” Just the thought made me sick to my stomach.

Kingsnake’s stare hardened, like he understood perfectly. “One of us can do it, Aurelias?—”

“No.” If I chose to spend my life with one woman, I wouldn’t let another man turn her, regardless of the circumstances. “I promised her father I would never do that.”

“Then what’s your plan?” Cobra snapped. “How is this going to work?—”

“It’s not.” I took a drink of my scotch, the heat numbing the pain.

“What are you saying?” Kingsnake asked. “That you love this woman, but you aren’t going to commit to her?”

“Commitment isn’t the issue.” If she were already a vampire, everything would be different.

Kingsnake seemed to understand. “Aurelias, I know this is a touchy subject?—”

“Then don’t touch it,” I said coldly. “Even if I were willing to do that, which I never will be, she said that’s not the life she wants. She wants to join the afterlife with her family. She wants to have children of her own. She’s not willing to give that up for me—and I respect her for it. There’s only one other option, and I told her I’m unwilling to do it.”

They were all quiet, the revelation soaking into their bones.

“Even if this is a brief moment in my very long life, and probably not worth the heartache, I will fight for her. I want her to live a long, happy life, even if it’s with someone else, even if it’s over in the blink of an eye.”

They remained quiet, staring at me across the table.

I looked into my glass to dodge their gazes.

“Aurelias.” Larisa was the one to speak. “You’re putting your life and, therefore, your immortality, on the line for her. She’s worth it to you?”

My eyes lifted to look at hers. “Yes.”

“Then why are you unwilling to give up your immortality to be with her?”

I remained quiet as I held her gaze, confronted with a question I couldn’t answer. I felt the stares of my brothers, both thinking the same thing. But I kept my silence, not having a single word to say.

TWO

HARLOW

“Stay.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him back toward me when I felt his body move. It was early, so early there was barely any light outside, but I woke up because I didn’t want to wake up later and not see his face.

“Baby, I have work to do.”