The crowd parted as the couple moved.

  “Sectum!” The red-eyed woman pulled away from my brother, her long black hair falling behind her pointed ears like silken threads. “And his alchemist…” She sniffed the air, then glared at me. “Promised?” Her frown intensified as she grabbed my hand. “You let her take the vow alone?”

  I pulled back my hand. She was making a scene, yet was still acting like it was just the two of us that were standing in front of a crowd.

  “We were going to find a mage tomorrow-”

  “Scandalous!” The matriarch licked her blood red lips. “I knew I liked you, but you’re a prince now.” The pale woman turned to my companion. “May I see your hand?”

  Starna swallowed and stepped out of the carriage. As soon as she was clear, the driver hurried the horses. He might have been interested in what was happening, but even the Elves feared what the Vampires were capable of.

  That didn’t stop the crowd of well dressed Elves, Goblins, Sively, and Dragonborn from forming around us. There were even a couple Minotaurs and Mebope mixed in with the crowd.

  Mebope looked like Elves until you noticed the gills on their necks. The aquatic race could transform their legs into a tail to help them swim underwater. Once underwater, they resemble Merfolk, just with pointed ears like an Elf instead of the wide, fin-looking ears of their water-restricted cousins.

  The nail of Pera’s right index finger scratched the mark on Starna’s finger, drawing a thin line of blue blood over the golden mark. She turned towards me. “Hand.”

  I hesitated for a fraction of a second, then gave her my left hand. There were plenty of things that she could do to me with magic and her knowledge of herbs and poisons was even more dangerous, but there was a crowd watching and I didn’t want to give Starna a reason to doubt that I was serious.

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  The old woman bounced her eyebrows. “It’s been decades since I’ve done one of these.” She cut a circle around my ring finger with her nail. The blue blood kept my red blood from leaking out as a gold tattoo formed on either side of the blue ring that she’d made out of blood.

  Pera lifted up my hand to inspect her work and smiled at me. “When you’re ready to make it permanent, come see me. I’d be honored to officiate for a prince.”

  I nodded and took back my hand. “Thank you…” I fished in my pocket. “How much do I owe you?”

  The older woman put her hand on my arm, stopping me from pulling out any of the gold coins I’d brought with me. “Please, what friend of the crown wouldn’t be honored to protect their friends?” She nodded at my brother. “Blood magic is also a lot harder for him to cancel out with a handshake.”

  I swallowed as I realized just how many people had been able to hear her. She was using me to publicize her alliance with the Malus Kingdom. “Madam Glynot, I thank you so much for your charity, but what type of prince would I be if I took advantage of my friends?” I pulled out a gold coin, which was worth ten times what a master mage would charge for what she just did.

  She smiled and took the coin, sliding it into the top of her strapless black dress. The older woman clapped her hands as she turned to face the crowd. “I’m sure you want to congratulate the couple, but we don’t want to be late for the show!”

  People backed away, but they didn’t start really moving until Vin cleared his throat. The rumble reminded everyone that there was a hungry Camadt and none of them wanted to be in between him and his dinner.

  I waited for the older woman to go first. Most of my life had been spent walking behind older people and it was an ingrained habit of how I should show her respect.

  Pera must have picked up on that because she motioned at me. “It is rude to enter in front of royalty.”

  “Aren’t you a queen?” Starna countered.

  “Too long ago for it to matter.” The older woman chuckled. “Matriarch has muddled that title into history, where it should stay.” She pressed herself up against my brother. “And freedom has its perks.”

  I took Starna’s left arm in my right and led us into the theater.

  Rating, Review, Follow, Favorite, or Comment does wonders to boost my morale. If you want to help support my writing or check out advanced chapters, head over to my .

  Immersive Ink

  RR Writer's Guild