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 Are you certain? my mother asked
Arrick.
 Yes, I heard it myself. She said the dark
was coming.
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The room broke out in frantic whispers. I
didn t know what that meant, but it obvi-
ously couldn t be good.  What s the dark? I
placed my hand on my mother s as I asked,
but she waved me off.
 Please, stay calm. My father raised his
hands to silence the room and everyone
quickly obeyed.  We cannot allow fear to
consume us before we know the truth behind
everything. The words were spoken by a
young vampire. Either someone is using her
as a pawn or she knows not of what she
speaks.
My father s voice remained steady and
strong, yet somehow I knew this was not a
good sign. I swallowed hard, pushing the
lump further down my throat.
I said as confidently as I could,  I don t
think she is the type of vampire to say such a
thing like that, and not know what it meant.
Every eye in the room was on me.
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 She tried to kill you, this Ana, said one
of the elderly vampires. Her voice wavered
with age.  Attempting to murder a princess
is reason enough, but if her darkness runs
deeper then we must defend ourselves.
 Leona is right. One of the Blood Guard
spoke up.  I know it is against our beliefs to
take action. But we cannot allow such atro-
cities to go on any longer. They will take us
back into the dark ages if we do nothing.
His voice started to boom with aggression,
but a hand on his shoulder from a nearby
guard placated him.
My father nodded, scratching his beard
deep in thought.  You speak the truth, Jar-
van, he said. The man nodded, appreciative
for the recognition.  I do not believe that in-
action will prevent a war this time and the
stakes are too great. I will not allow them to
take my daughter again. His eyes flashed to
me and my heart surged with happiness. My
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father wasn t going to let anyone take me
ever again.
 No matter what decision we make, I be-
lieve Nicolae will start a war to get her back.
Arrick pointed to me.  There is no way to
avoid war as soon as he knows where she is.
 Then why did you bring her back? Jar-
van, the Blood Guard with stark white hair
and a thick mustache asked.  The King and
Queen made the greatest sacrifice to prevent
war when she was taken, yet here you spit on
their decision by bringing her back. Now we
must worry about the consequences of your
actions and prepare for the possibility of an-
other dark age.
I could sense Arrick s frustration with Jar-
van s words.  They tried to murder her! Ar-
rick shouted. He stood, slamming his hands
on the table.  I ve watched over her for eight-
een years. Silently seeing her live a life that
was never meant to be hers. I saw a child
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who cried herself to sleep at night because
she longed for a family. She carried a hole
within herself for her entire life that could
not be filled.
Sadness filled me as I listened to Arrick s
words. He knew the depth of my turmoil.
I had been wrong. Our feelings, our bond,
were not just a result of the Blood Mate cere-
mony; Arrick knew me. He really, truly knew
me and the pain I masked from everyone.
Knowing now that he understood that pain,
made me feel less alone. It hurt to admit it,
but my heart and mind were slowly releasing
Dmitry and embracing Arrick. And I didn t
want to fight it anymore.
My mother rose from her seat and lifted
her hands to stop the heated discussion.
 Everyone has made sacrifices to maintain
the peace we have had for the past many
years. There is no way to compare whose was
greater. And our daughter belongs in Naos,
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she said, her eyes flashing to Jarvan with
sweltering anger.  If there are vampires in
Nicolae s region that are following the dark,
then whether or not Arrick brought Claire
home would make no difference. If he had
left her there, she may have never made it
home to us. He did a great service to our
region.
Arrick nodded but I felt the anger still
bubbling within him. I hated seeing everyone
arguing over what to do. There were so many
things that had gone wrong, and so many
ways that things could continue to go wrong.
I didn t want to be what tore this beautiful
city apart. I shot up from my seat and ampli-
fied my voice as I did during my coronation
ball. I didn t want there to be any doubt in
the sincerity of my words.  I will go back if I
have to. If that means it will keep your way of
life safe then I will do it.
Jarvan nodded in agreement, and anger
flared inside me. I knew this region was all
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about peace and avoiding war, but to me, he
seemed like a coward.
 No, you won t, Arrick retorted.
 Yes, I will. They want me. Nicolae will do
anything to get me back. He is losing hold of
his position and if he doesn t have a pure
blood to maintain his position of power then
he is the next target. Think about it. He took
me not because he wanted a daughter but be-
cause he needed to keep the throne. He knew
that someone was after him and he used me
to deflect that.
 You are very wise for such a young vam-
pire, Leona spoke up.  If you were to return,
you would be a target. Nicolae would contin-
ue to use you to help maintain his authority
of the throne. Especially if he knows that
there are traitors among his family that are
following a dark path. The risk will be much
greater than before. Sending you back will
only buy us time. It will not prevent a war.
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I felt my resolve faltering. Leona was
right. I would probably be in greater danger
going back, but what choice did I have? If it
meant protecting my family it felt worth it to
me.
 War cannot always be prevented and I
will not have my daughter used as a pawn,
My father s voice was deep and menacing.
My body cowered at the sound of it. Even the
air seemed to vibrate under its power.  It is
time.
He turned his back to the room and paced
silently. I wasn t sure exactly what had been
decided and when I turned to my mother she
was already headed to my father s side. Were
we going to war against Nicolae? This wasn t
what I wanted at all.
I got up and walked to the empty seat next
to Arrick.  What s going to happen?
 He s deciding if we are going to war or
not, he said, picking at a niche in the table.
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 There has to be something else we can
do. Can t we send someone to talk to Nic-
olae? Maybe we can negotiate? I know it
probably sounded crazy, but I just got home.
I didn t want anything or anyone to take that
away from me.
 Cathair is incredibly wise. He knows very
well that Nicolae will come for you. You are
his last and only way of maintaining his
throne. Your pure blood is bound to him,
Claire. If we do not bring war to him, he will
bring it to us. He will claim that you were
stolen from his palace in the night and all the
vampires in his region will rally to take back
their princess from us.
 What if his throne was no longer
threatened? Then he wouldn t need me any-
more, right?
I hesitated as my father approached, a
look of interest on his face. He had been
listening.  Go on.
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 Well& Nicolae isn t the only vampire
who is going to be after me. I m pretty sure
Ana is somewhere out there, lurking in the
dark, waiting for the time to strike. I
clenched my fist at the thought.
 I m not going to let her hurt you, Claire.
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