Chapter 1 Vampires are here

The worst part about trying to protect everyone I cared about was that it would probably destroy me in the process.

The second worst part was that I was going to have to marry the vampire king to do it.

“Absolutely not.”

Lydia Marlowe paced the length of my room like a storm that refused to settle, her dark curls bouncing with every sharp turn she made. “No. There has to be another option, Aria. There is always another option.”

“There isn’t,” I said.

She stopped abruptly, staring at me like I’d just told her I planned to walk straight into my own grave. “They’re vampires. Actual vampires. Do you even hear yourself right now?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“They drink blood,” she continued, as if I might have missed that crucial detail. “Fresh blood. Daily. Are you just going to stand there and let him—what—bite you?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

“Not happening,” she snapped instantly. “No biting. No touching. No anything. He can stay on his side of the room and you can stay on yours.”

A quiet snort came from the corner.

“Right,” Julian added dryly, not even bothering to look up from where he sat sprawled across the armchair. A faint shimmer of silver magic flickered lazily between his fingers. “Because political marriages are famously known for their boundaries.”

Lydia shot him a glare sharp enough to cut. “You’re not helping.”

“I’m being realistic.”

“You’re being annoying.”

“I can be both.”

I pressed my fingers to my temple, exhaling slowly. Normally, their back-and-forth would’ve made me laugh. Today, it just made everything feel worse.

“I don’t have a choice,” I said, quieter this time.

That got their attention.

Julian’s magic flickered out. Lydia stopped pacing again.

Silence settled over the room, thick and uncomfortable.

“You’re basing all of this,” Lydia said carefully, “on a mirror that hasn’t worked in centuries.”

“That mirror has never been wrong,” I replied.

A month ago, I hadn’t even known it still functioned.

It had been sitting in my mother’s study for as long as I could remember—small, circular, made of black glass that reflected nothing clearly. Most people thought it was decorative. Something old and ceremonial.

Until the day it spoke.

I’d been alone. Cleaning. Not expecting anything.

And then suddenly it had shown me everything.

not clearly but I saw fire. blood. Bodies left in the open where anyone could find them. Witches. Vampires. Both sides tearing each other apart until there was nothing left to save.

I had tried to ignore it.

Tried to convince myself it wasn’t real.

But every question I asked after that… every possible way I tried to change what I saw…ended the same way.

With loss, With ruin. With everyone I loved dead.

“The mirror doesn’t explain why you specifically,” Lydia pressed. “Out of everyone in the coven, why you?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t know.

Magic had never favored me.

If anything, it avoided me.

Spells faltered around me. Enchantments slipped, twisted, or failed entirely if I touched them. While everyone else in the coven had found their strengths, their specialties—

I had nothing.

Less than nothing.

And yet the mirror had chosen me.

Julian leaned forward slightly, his expression more serious now. “Let’s say we believe the vision. Let’s say everything you saw actually happens. You really think marrying him is the only way to stop it?”

“I don’t think,” I said. “I know.”

I had tested every possibility the mirror would give me.

Different questions. Different paths.

They all led back to the same moment –Me, standing in front of the vampire king.

Asking him to marry me, And him saying yes.

Lydia let out a frustrated breath and dragged a hand through her hair. “This is insane.”

“I’m aware.”

“You’re basically putting a target on your back.”

“I’m counting on it.”

That made both of them go still.

I met their eyes, one after the other.

“Whoever is behind the killings wants a war,” I continued. “If I become visible—if I tie myself to him publicly then they’ll come after me next.”

“And you’re just okay with that?” Julian asked.

“No,” I said honestly. “But it gives us a chance.”

A dangerous one.

A thin one.

But still a chance.

Lydia sank down onto the edge of the bed beside me, her earlier anger fading into something different, more sad. “You could die.”

“I know.”

“You might not even make it long enough to figure out who’s responsible.”

“I know that too.”

She looked at me for a long moment, then pulled me into a tight hug. “I hate this.”

I let out a small, shaky laugh. “You’re not alone.”

Julian stood, crossing the room to lean against the wall. “And what if he refuses?” he asked. “You’re betting everything on someone you’ve never even met.”

“He won’t refuse.”

They both looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

I almost wished I had.

But the mirror had been very clear about that part.

No matter how uncertain everything else felt… that moment never changed.

“He’ll agree,” I said.

I just didn’t know why.

A faint glow suddenly lit up the room.

We all turned at the same time.

The crystal hanging at Lydia’s neck had begun to shine, soft but unmistakable.

Her breath caught.

“That’s not possible,” Julian muttered, already moving toward the window.

“It is,” Lydia whispered.

My chest tightened.

We all knew what it meant.

Vampires.

Lydia looked at me, her earlier arguments gone, replaced with something far more serious. “They’re early.”

I stood slowly, my pulse steadying into something cold and focused.

“Then I guess,” I said, reaching for the door, “I shouldn’t keep them waiting.”