Chapter 74: Hozier - Like Real People Do
Magnus grunted. "Isn’t it always?"
"What is the price?" Ravena asked. She stepped forward now, bracing herself for impact.
Damien inhaled deeply. "I cannot share the intricacies of Blood City. Our laws are ancient and binding. But to save Luna, I require three things: her bond with Kyllian must be severed, she must marry me, and..." He hesitated. "She must bear me an heir."
"Yes!" Ravena exclaimed before the words had even fully left Damien’s mouth.
"Hold on one fucking minute!" King Magnus bellowed, rising from the throne. "There is no yes! Not yet!"
Ravena turned to him, mouth half-open in protest, but he raised a commanding hand.
"If Luna marries him and has his heir," Magnus said, "what becomes of our kingdom? Who rules when we are gone? What do the people say when their princess—our only heir—is claimed by a vampire prince from a land we barely trust?"
"Would you rather your daughter be dead, or have her marry him?" Ravena demanded.
King Magnus swallowed sharply, the sound loud in the stunned silence of the throne room. His hand reached for the arm of his throne but because he genuinely needed the support. His legs, powerful though they once were, now felt carved from brittle stone. He looked at Ravena then. The woman he had ruled beside for decades. His partner, his storm, his solace. And now, a mother on the edge of desperation, begging with a fire in her eyes he hadn’t seen since the day Luna was born. The day Ravena nearly died delivering her and still smiled through tears, whispering, "She’s magic."
She had been right.