Chapter 3

The dark silver carriage shatters the quiet of the small town.

Four nightmare beasts with phantom fire in their eyes huff heavily, their hooves striking sparks against the gravel road.

People scream and scatter to the sides of the street. They stare in terror at the high-tier night carriage, something they thought only existed in legends.

The carriage door swings open.

I step down onto the muddy street.

My dark red cloak, the mark of a pureblood lord, snaps in the wind. The blood-diamond family crest pinned to my chest, the ultimate symbol of power in my territory, stings their eyes.

The crowd falls dead silent.

They always thought I was just some lowly vampire who followed Carly around like a dog.

I ignore their terrified, awestruck stares and walk straight to the spiritual training ground at the corner of the street.

The wooden doors of the training ground burst open.

Carly storms out. He immediately shoves Lime behind him, shielding her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he glares at me.

His eyes sweep over my heavy cloak and the lord's crest. A flash of pure jealousy crosses his face.

"What, the big bad lord had to come all the way down to our little town just to show off?" Carly sneers. He makes sure his voice is loud enough for the whole street to hear.

"Interrupting our training. Is that how you highborn vampires act?"

This is the man I drained my magic and hid my identity to protect for five years.

I grind my teeth together, forcing down the metallic taste of blood rising in my throat.

I pull the original memory stone from my pocket.

Smack.

I slam it down onto a nearby wooden table. Magic flares to life, projecting the real memories into the air.

In the projection, there are no glowing red eyes. No fangs. No forced submission.

It just shows our normal training sessions back in the apartment. The truth, before Lime doctored it.

"Take a good look." I take a step forward, my eyes cutting into Carly's face.

"These are the original memories. Unedited."

I shift my gaze, looking right past Carly's shoulder to lock onto Lime cowering behind him.

"Take down the fake posts. By sunrise tomorrow, I want a joint public apology from both of you printed in every major paper."

Carly does not even glance at the projection.

He swats his hand through the air, violently scattering the light from the stone.

"Enough! You think bringing some forged garbage here to put on a show is going to work?" he yells.

He wraps his arm tightly around Lime's shoulders and glares right back at me.

"You really think throwing together some fake evidence is going to cover up what you did? We are never bowing down to a monster like you."

Lime leans deeper into Carly's chest.

Her eyes immediately go red, heavy tears dropping onto his shirt.

"Carly, don't be too hard on her..."

"I just love you so much. I couldn't stand watching her use her immortal powers to control you. I only wanted to save you..."

Lime lifts her head from his chest and looks at me with teary eyes.

"Eve, maybe I went a little too far, but you practically held him hostage. That's the truth, isn't it?"

She takes a deep breath, raising her voice to sound brave.

"Shouldn't you be on your knees apologizing for trying to tear us apart?"

Apologizing?

I am so furious I actually laugh.

I stare hard at Carly's face. The face I kissed a thousand times. The man I gave everything for.

Now, all I see is blind hatred for me and a pathetic desperation to protect that woman.

He does not care about the truth. He does not even care about the evidence.

He just needs me to be the villain so they can play out their little tragic love story.

The last shred of feeling I had for him shatters completely.

My smile drops. I look at them with dead eyes.

"True love." I let the words roll off my tongue as I release my raw, pureblood aura, letting it crash over the entire street.

"Great. Since you two are so deeply in love."

I snap my fingers.

"My Lord." Silas steps up beside me, dipping his head perfectly.

"Read it." I say.

Silas unrolls a piece of parchment. His cold voice echoes across the town square.

"Under Article Seven, Chapter Three of the Vampire Accords."

The crowd starts shifting. Panic ripples through the air.

"The mortal human Lime is charged with the malicious theft and doctoring of a highborn vampire's private memories."

"Fabricating evidence, slandering a pureblood lord, and inciting racial hostility."

Silas looks up, staring at Lime like she is already a corpse.

"On behalf of Lord Eve, I am officially pressing the highest level of charges against you under vampire law."

The crowd erupts.

"Vampire law? That means getting her soul sealed!" someone screams in terror.

Lime stops crying instantly.

The color drains from her face. Her legs give out, slipping right through Carly's grip as she drops hard into the mud.

The arrogance on Carly's face finally shatters.

He clearly knows exactly what kind of hellish trial comes with slandering a highborn.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Carly shoves past the people in front of him and charges at me.

"Eve! Tell him to stop! You can't do this to her!"

Raw panic fills his eyes.

"You're going to ruin her life! How can you be so cruel?!"

"Let go of me." My voice is dead flat.