My stomach feels tight as I follow my parents up the walkway toward Castle Graystone.
The place looks more like a fortress than a home.
Lightning flickers across the sky. It isn't raining yet, but the air feels like it wants to.
My boots hit the old wooden boards of the drawbridge. The wood is worn in a way that makes me think of how long this place has stood here: a thousand years, maybe more.
Thunder rolls a moment later. Lola's hand squeezes mine, and she lets out a small, scared sound.
"It's okay," I tell her. I try to smile. "Everything is fine."
She looks up, eyes wide, and shakes her head.
I understand. I don't believe my own words either.
Edrin walks on my other side, confident in a way that feels almost careless.
He's seventeen. He hasn't met his wolf yet. If something happened here, he would die first.
I can feel vampires watching us as we cross the bridge. Their pale eyes track our steps. They don't speak.
The doors are open when we reach them. The castle seems to be inviting us in. The way a predator opens its mouth.
This visit is supposed to bring peace, but the fact that we were only allowed to bring five warriors feels like something else. It feels like surrender.
Vampires do not leave you alive once they decide to feed.
A small shiver goes through me.
My father had told us last night that too many wolves had died. Over a hundred thousand. He said the fighting had to stop.
Edrin and Kalen had argued, but the outcome was already decided. We are losing. Everyone knows.
Lately, our resources have been leaving our territory by the cartload. Coal. Timber. Gemstones. Gas. I do not know what agreement is already in place. But something has been traded away.
As I step inside, Lola's hand still in mine, I realize we have not been losing.
We have already lost.
Our footsteps echo in the entrance hall.
My mother is crying again. I can't remember the last time she wasn't.
The word mate drifts through my mind.
I glance back at Kalen. He is twenty-one. Old enough to have found his mate. He hasn't. If my mate is him, we will know when I turn twenty-one. It would make sense. I will be Alpha. He will be Beta.
Lola tugs my hand. "Ina. Look at the paintings."
I look. I regret it.
The walls are covered in scenes of vampires feeding. Humans mostly. But some are wolves.
Those are the worst. The fangs. The limp bodies.
One painting draws my eye more than the others. A red-haired woman who looks too much like me. A man behind her, mouth near her throat, calm, familiar, almost gentle. A feeder, maybe. Someone who has learned to live with being consumed.
I look away.
We reach the throne room doors. My father glances at me. I nod.
If something goes wrong, I will fight. I don't have my wolf yet, but I can fight.
The guards open the doors in perfect unison. Their faces do not change. They might as well be statues.
Inside, the room is gilded and crowded with portraits. Most of the figures look the same. Pale, beautiful, cold. Their styles centuries old. Time does not move for them the way it does for us.
Wolves are strong and fast when we shift. But vampires are faster. Stronger. They do not tire. They do not hesitate.
Which is ultimately what has led us to be standing here now.
The throne is empty. I don't know why. He should be here. My father told us this meeting was arranged.
Lola shifts beside me. I tighten my grip. I want to promise her safety, but I do not have that promise to give. I have been the only mother she has ever known. I would protect her with everything I have. But I am just one person. There are dozens of guards.
The curtains behind the throne move. A man steps out.
He looks exactly like the one in the painting. His dark hair is tied back. His blue eyes are the same colour as the gaps of sky between rain clouds.
He is wearing a white shirt with loose sleeves, black pants, and a gold-checkered vest. His expression is unreadable. Maybe bored.
"Well?" he says. His voice is smooth. "Silvan, I'm glad you've come, and we can be done with this. You have it then. The final payment. The five million drakes?"
My chest tightens. Five million. My father does not have that money. He didn't bring anything at all.
"King Solan," my father says. He bows. We follow. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I do not have the money."
King Kane does not react. "Then why have you come?"
My father swallows. "Because I am hoping you will settle for something else. Something better."
King Solan's mouth lifts slightly. "Something better than five million drakes. And what could that be, Alpha Silvan?" A bit of amusement seems to play around his perfect pink lips, and one blue eye narrows almost into a wink.
My father's voice shakes once before it steadies.
"M-my daughter."
The words feel unreal when they reach me.
King Solan's eyes lift just slightly. "Your daughter?" King Kane repeats, just as taken aback as I am. Whatever do you mean?"
"My daughter," my father repeats, stronger now. "I want to sell her to you for the remaining debt. I want you to take my daughter to be a feeder."
The room falls quiet. Even the air goes still.
Lola's fingers are still locked around mine.
And I can feel my heartbeat in my throat.