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Chapter Four
Silas
Grace’s ruby blood was the most delicious drink I had ever tasted in over a hundred years of my life.
I frowned at the paper in front of me. I was at my desk in my office now, even though it was only 4 pm and not yet the time to start my workday as my father’s assistant in bureaucratic matters. I had been here for four hours already, and so far they were the least productive four hours I’d had in a long time.
My thoughts constantly wandered to my new wife and my recent wedding.
We had held the ceremony in the early hours of the previous evening. I normally worked at night, but instead I had spent that time lying in bed next to Grace. She had fallen asleep after only one round of sex and – even though it would have been a lie to sayI hadn’t wanted more – I hadn’t had the heart to wake her up.
I focused again on the document in front of me – a paper asking to increase the tax on books, of all things. Denied. I put the paper on the stack that was going to be trashed once my assistant woke up and joined me at work.
I at least had to keep my head clear enough to avoid signing off on anything I would regret later.
However, as soon as I grabbed the next document, my thoughts wandered again.
Grace had looked so nervous during the wedding, like a fish out of water. She was, after all, a human who had entered vampire society. Some of the guests had brought their humanwives and husbands to the wedding. However, the majority of our guests had still been vampire nobles.
I was aware of how vicious the Estone nobility would be should they find any fault in my wife. I knew she had no knowledge of etiquette or dancing, having grown up a commoner. If the nobles deemed her inadequate for the position of the country’s future queen, she would suffer the brunt of painful gossip and media attention.
That was why, under the pretense of unquenchable lust for my new wife’s body and blood, I had escorted her out of that hall full of vultures last night. No doubt the news of how much I adored my bride would be all over tabloids by the end of the day. I had not left Grace’s apartment until noon, and I was sure a nosy maid had already reported that fact to anybody interested.
Let them think I was enamored by my bride.
My heart clenched, and I tapped my pen on the desk.
No, perhaps I shouldn’t be expressing attachment to my new wife so openly. Being a devoted husband didn’t fit my image of a cold, loner prince.. Maybe if I stopped myself from being so passionate with her in the future, people would write it off as a passing fancy?
My image wasn’t the only reason why I needed to reign in how much I showed my affection for her. If my enemies figured out how much I really cared about Grace, they would treat her as my weakness, and soon I would be fighting off assassin after assassin sent to get rid of the one person who mattered to me.
I barely knew Grace, but I didn’t want her to die – not because of me or for any other reason. She had unwillingly entered a battlefield of politics and would now have to learn to navigate its complexities. She shouldn’t need to fear for her life and wellbeing on top of everything else.
Though maybe I was just being paranoid? We weren’t currently at war with anybody, after all. Yet my mind so easilyreturned to my years as a general. I couldn’t help but see enemies behind every corner.
No, Grace had to be kept safe at all costs, whether there was a present threat or not. I would have to put extra security on her and her rooms at all times. I wrote myself a note to prepare a document with the order later.
I returned to studying the paper in front of me. This request was for opening a new school and included a thick stack of documents with plans for the new building and a list of personnel that would have to be hired.
Hopefully I would be able to focus on this task enough to be done with it in an hour. With my thoughts all over the place, I was working awfully slowly.
Grace returned to my mind though… She had been so beautiful last night when we’d had sex. I wanted to hold her again, make her come, drink that delicious blood of hers.
There was a small tap on my door that took me out of my thoughts. The sound was barely audible – characteristic of the arrival of my best friend, Luke. It was like a secret code we had decided he would use whenever he came by my office.
“Come in,” I called out.
Luke entered, dressed in a black shirt and black pants, casually, as if he hadn’t just returned from fieldwork. Luke Carter was Estone’s spymaster. He oversaw a network of spies, but he liked being right in the action too.
Luke was the polar opposite of me with his halo of light-brown curls and a smile that could charm the pants off any woman – he was the light to my darkness. Our complimentary differences were why we had grown close as friends. We worked great together. Where I was cold and calculating, Luke provided a more human insight, helping me make better decisions. I could always ask him for advice.
“What are you doing in the office so early, you workaholic? I didn’t think I would catch you here at all today, what with you finally having a wife and all that.” My friend strolled over to my desk with a bright smile on his face.
I huffed. “I didn’t get to work last night because of the wedding,” I tried to defend myself.
“It’s not like everyone didn’t expect you to take a day off because you were getting married.” Luke plopped down in the chair in front of my desk.
He put his arm on his knee and his chin on his hand, never losing his smile, though his seemingly casual expression reflected the cunning edge of a skilled mastermind. He always got that look whenever he encountered a mystery he wanted to solve.
