“Now give me a secret back, and it better be a good one,” she says.
A petulant part of me wants to give her nothing. But I can’t crack her open if I don’t find some way to disarm her. I saw a hint of it last night, but I’m not in yet.
“The first time I saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on, even in black and white.”
She rolls her eyes, not in the least bit charmed by my honesty. “Ugh, Henry. That’s a pathetic secret. I gave you a real one. Tell me why youreally showed up with a marriage offer after ten years of silence—or tell me why you changed your vows.”
I run my thumb over her jaw, and she frowns. I don’t want to give her anything, but I will never admit why I changed the vows. If I show her any weakness now, she will use it, and I’ll lose all of my advantages.
But this is part of the ritual. I can’t opt out. The mini hourglass on the table is close to running out of sand. I could stall for a few more minutes and then lie to her once the ritual timer has run out, but as much as I’ve felt abandoned by the Divine, I don’t want to risk upsetting them by violating our customs.
“We need men to guard the wall,” I say after a long pause. “The Drained are getting worse.”
She tilts her head and narrows her eyes at me. She knows I’m stalling.
“Fine,” I huff, lowering my voice. “We need an heir with holy fire or some kind of protection magic. You know how rare that blessing is, Harlow. Like you said, the best chance I have is joining my bloodline with a bloodline that has that magic in their line as well. The families here in the fort who have that blessing only have sons. You were our last resort. If we don’t get supplemental guards soon, we might not last the winter.”
She purses her lips, considering my words. They tell the truth, but not all of it.
I’ve made sure she hasn’t seen the extent of our staffing issues, only bringing her to places that are fully appointed with hunters, but at some point, she will notice. Maxime’s injury on the wall last night made that much clear.
She clicks her tongue. “Oh, my feral wolf, you are a very good liar. You shared a truth, but not all of it. Pray the Divine don’t notice.”
I grit my teeth in irritation. I don’t know how she knows I lie, but it’s making everything so much harder.
The room erupts in clapping, startling both of us. A quick glance at the timer and I know why. We’ve completed part two of the ritual.
One more step and Harlow will be bound to me. Finally, after years of waiting, after all of the planning, after all of the heartache and grief, I will finally have taken the first step to make it right.
Harlow practically leaps from my lap and gracefully sits back in herseat. Soft laughter breaks out in the crowd as she gulps down the rest of her wine.
The musicians begin to play as the servers bring in the main course. Even as the feast is served, revelers crowd the dance floor, swirling around the floor in bright flashes of color and black masks. It’s a relief that everyone seems appeased for now, despite the fact that Harlow is a Carrenwell. Maybe her speech had the desired effect.
As a server places a steaming bowl of pasta in front of me and Harlow, I slip away from the table and cross the room to the bar.
The server there has my favorite whiskey waiting for me, but I barely get to take a sip before my father steps up beside me.
“You changed the vows.”
I knew this conversation was coming. “I did.”
“Why? Blessing chafing already, son?”
The blessing is something I can master in time. It doesn’t matter if it compelled me to slip up already. I can use the moment of weakness to my advantage. That one moment of surprise was enough to throw her off, especially since she had already said her vows.
I shake my head and glance across the room at Harlow. She’s sipping her wine and glaring daggers at Stefan. She’s a pain in the ass, but at least she knows how to close ranks when it’s appropriate.
I just have to make sure she doesn’t get too enthusiastic and actually murder him. That wouldn’t look good for the family.
“She is very untrusting,” I say. “I needed her to think that I changed my mind last minute. If I had led with those vows, it would have seemed like I was trying to lull her into a false sense of security. An impulse decision is more believable.”
My father’s frown morphs into a smile. “Thank the Divine. I was worried she’s already got her claws in you.”
I smile sardonically. “Only in the most literal sense.”
He chuckles. “Seems like you have this in hand. Are you ready for the final part of the ceremony?”
I nod.
