Page 151 of The Vampire's Bride

“Yes.”

“Why did you keep this from me? Why did you lie?” she asks accusingly. “All this time, you could have said something, but you—”

“It was better for you not to know,” Damar interjects. “It would have only made things worse.”

“How?” She gestures angrily at Lyra’s sleeping form. “What could possibly be worse?”

“It could be you in one of those coffins,” he replies grimly. “Much sooner than anticipated.”

“What do you—” Her voice catches and her eyes widen. “Are you saying that this will happen to me?”

“No,” I state firmly at the same time Damar says, “yes.”

She claps a hand over her mouth, shaking her head in disbelief. A tear slips down her cheek as she backs toward the door, her eyes locked on Lyra’s still form.

“Juliet?” Eben walks into the room, his shocked gaze darting to mine. “What—”

“You knew.” She turns to him. “Didn’t you?”

Eben lowers his eyes in shame. “I’m sorry, Juliet.”

Elsie and Cole stand behind him in the doorway, their faces lined with guilt.

Juliet’s gaze travels over each of us accusingly. “All of you knew.” Another tear slips down her cheek. “You knew and you said nothing.”

Despair and agony crash against the shore of my mind as her green eyes search my own. My heart squeezes painfully in my chest because I know these feelings are hers, flooding across our bond. She looks at me a moment more and the silence between us becomes an ocean that I cannot cross… and she turns and walks away.

I open my mouth to call out to her, but the words will not come. She trusted me, and I lied to her. I withheld the truth.

I follow after her in silence as she makes her way to the gardens, praying she will forgive me. Even if I do not deserve it.

She doesn’t bother to look back at me, and I’m not sure if she is unaware that I trail her, or if she knows and simply does not care.

The cold wind billows her cloak as snow flurries dance on the breeze, catching in her hair as she walks to the wooden bench near the fountain. Many times I have found her here, basking in the last rays of the sun, reminding me of all that has been taken from her.

A creature of the light should never be chained to one of the dark.I was a fool to ever think that I could keep her.

Despair washes through me as the salted scent of her tears fills the air.Ihave caused her this pain. It ismyfault that she cries. AndIam the reason she is tied to this terrible curse. It should beme, nother, who now faces the possibility of an eternity under an enchanted sleep.

“I know you are here,” she murmurs, searching the darkness.

Only now do I realize that I’m hidden in the shadows. The familiar domain of monsters like me. Hesitantly, I step out into the moonlight.

Her eyes are full of pain as they meet mine. I have lied to her and betrayed her trust. And I would give anything to take away the hurt I have caused she who is more precious to me than my own life.

CHAPTER 64

JULIET

Valaric walks toward me on silent footsteps. Shadows and moonlight carve the lines of his powerful form—the fierce and dangerous beauty that is both captivating and terrifying. His gaze locks upon mine, his crimson eyes seeming to glow with an inner fire.

Hurt and anger simmer in my veins at his betrayal. I want to run away from this devastating pain. But as I gaze up at him, I cannot seem to make myself move.

“Please, Juliet. Let me explain.”

“How long?” I demand, my voice cracking. “How long do I have until I end up in a glass coffin like the others?”

He swallows hard. “I don’t know.” Sadness mars his handsome features, but it does little to soothe the betrayal coursing through me.