Chapter 12

They say that if you dream something more than once it's bound to come true. I deeply hope that this is not true. For once again I found myself in the hall of black stone bricks, with portraits of my long dead kin, lining it. In my ears rang the distant, mighty roar. What was this sound? I was compelled to seek out it's maker.

I followed the sound to a pair of enormous wooden doors. I grabbed hold of an iron ring and pulled one of them open. The door revealed a cozy master bedroom, with an big canopy bed at it's center. The bed was a rich dark brown, mahogany polished to a glorious shine. The posts of the beds were twisted like vines or the roots of a great tree. I reached out and stroked the wood's smooth finish. I swear I could feel the texture beneath my fingertips. This world seemed so real, yet I knew this was only a dream. I had been here so many times before in my nightmares. I knew what was coming, yet I still moved on blindly.

I passed a mirror that hung over a small vanity. Like I had so many times before, I admired my reflection. It was not my face that I saw, but my grandmother's. Beautiful Diana. It was so strange. She and I were nearly identical, yet she seemed far more worthwhile than I ever have. Her blood red lips were full and luscious, as soft as rose petals. Her eyelashes were thick and they framed her dark red eyes in such an alluring way, that even I was transfixed by this other woman staring back at me. She wore her wild black hair, coiled onto the top of her head, but strands of it had escaped tonight. They danced around her cheeks and fell over her right shoulder. She wore a dark green dress of soft velvet. A corset synched her waist, giving her an hourglass shape. At her throat, she wore a black ribbon, encrusted with a ruby just as red as her lips. Her beauty was undeniable. Yet, she found no pleasure in her looks. She frowned deeply at her reflection. She brushed a loose strand of hair away from her eyes and briskly turned away from the mirror.

Our gaze found it's way to a pair of doors on the opposite side of the room. I went over to them and opened them up. A blast of salty wind, rushed into my face. I walked out onto the balcony and looked out at the vast ocean that lay hundreds of feet beneath the cliff that the castle stood upon. I watched as the enormous waves crashed against the rocks below. My body tingled at the show of shier power. It was even better than a thunderstorm.

"Watching the waves again I see?" Said a smooth, masculine voice, that instantly set my cheeks on fire. I turned my head to see the man behind me. Grandfather. Augustus. His golden eyes glinted with amusement, as his lips curved into a kind smile. He wrapped his strong arms around my waist. "I wonder what fascinates you so? Is it the beauty of the ocean? Or the chaotic violence that it possesses." He chuckled, knowing full well that it was the later of the two choices that was true. The sound of his laugh made butterflies flutter in my stomach.

His arms slipped away from my waist and I turned around to face him. "Augustus." Diana said his name softly. She said it as though it were the most beautiful name in the world. She smiled brightly at her mate. "I thought you were to be gone on your hunting trip for another day?"

Augustus' grin got bigger. "I was, but I felt a bit homesick, surrounded by all those men." He laughed at his joke, sending my heart into a flurry. "I have a gift for you." He said. He reached into his black cape and brought out a pristine white rose. I had never seen one so perfect. There was not a single defect, not one blemish. It's petals were spread out in a full bloom. "The rose is a symbol of love. The color red stands for passion. White is for purity. Yet, is not pure love the most passionate?" The words rolled off his tongue poetically. He smirked at me as he handed me the white rose.

"Glorious." Diana gasped. She took the rose from him and buried her nose into it's soft petals. She breathed in it's sweet scent, reveling in the fact that Augustus' scent was there as well.

"I know that the red rose is your favorite, but…" Augustus began.

"It's beautiful, Augustus." She interrupted, throwing her arms around his neck. She reached up on her toes and kissed his lips passionately. It was odd. It was like I were watching a film through the eyes of one of the characters. I felt out of place in my grandmother's body and when she kissed Augustus, I desperately wished that I could step away somehow to give them privacy, but that proved to be impossible. Awkward didn't even begin to describe my position.

As they embraced, I contemplated the troubling detail I had noticed. Augustus' voice was like the voice of a warrior angel, deep, strong, melodic almost hypnotic. There was an accent to it, one that was similar to the one many ancient Strigoi carried in their voices from years of using the old dialect of the spirits. I now realized that this was the accent I had detected in that foreign voice that had burst from Stefan's lips. It held the same lovely tone as well. My breath stilled in shock. The two voices, if I did not know better, were one in the same. But how could this be? Why had Stefan spoken to me in Grandfather Augustus' voice?

Diana pulled away from Augustus' lips, breathlessly. "From now until the end of time, whenever I see a white rose, I'll think of you, My Love." She vowed, sweetly. She sounded so young to my ears, like a teenager in love for the first time. Then I remembered that this was in fact the case. According to history, Diana was not yet an adult when she married Augustus. She was a juvenile, barely old enough to bare children. Thank goodness the times had changed. I was much older than her now and I still didn't feel ready for marriage. Come to think of it, she was only two or three years older than me when she died.

He kissed her again and I tried to think of other things.

When she pulled away from his embrace again and looked into his eyes, she let out a shriek.

Augustus' face had shifted, becoming someone else entirely. His golden eyes had turned dark red, his long hair had shortened and a short beard now grew across his jaw and upper lip. He sneered at her as he ripped the white rose away and crushed it in his fist. The shredded petals blew away in the strong sea breeze. This face! Where had I seen this face before?

"Your love is dead, Diana!" The man snarled. He grabbed her by the throat and threw her against the railing. "It was I who sent the hunters! I who had your beloved general killed! Now it is your turn, My Queen!" He laughed, mockingly. He pressed her further over the railing, until it was his arm alone that kept her from falling into the thrashing waves. Her nails clawed deep into his flesh, tore at his black velvet sleeve, and scraped red lines of blood across his skin. If it hurt him, it did not show. He continued laughing sinisterly, delighting in her torment.

"V-Vlad." She gasped. "Why?" Her face crumpled with agonizing heart break.

Vlad Constinesque! I shouted the name within Diana's head. This was Dragomir's ancestor! My grandmother's lover!

Vlad grinned wolfishly as he pulled her back from the brink. Still gripping her throat, he pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "I have always hated you." With one final thrust of his arm, he sent her flying backwards. Due to his force, Diana toppled over the railing and was sent screaming into the crashing waves and jagged rocks below.

I jolted up in bed, letting out my own shrill scream.

"Carmen?" Stefan's arm tightened around my shoulders. He held me comfortingly.

I looked up at him in wonder. He had stayed? Through the whole day, he hadn't moved from my side? "Y-you're still here?" I stuttered, hardly believing my eyes. I wouldn't have been surprised if he turned out to be a mirage.

He nodded slowly, his cheeks reddening slightly. "I didn't want to wake you up. You were sleeping so well up until a moment ago." He explained. He cleared his throat and unwound his arm from around me. "What was the nightmare about this time?" He asked as he rose from the bed and tied his hair back again with a piece of string.

I pressed my cold hands to my burning face. I felt all drained, like I had a fever. I chalked it up to having such restless sleep. That was the last time I'd try to sleep without Stefan's spells. "Same thing as usual. Death. Loss…Heartbreak. What is wrong with me? Why do I dream such awful things?"

Stefan touched his lips thoughtfully. "You dream about death? Who's death?" He asked.

"My family mostly. People who are related to me, father usually, but lately I've been having these oddly vivid dreams in which I'm watching these events through Diana's eyes. Once, I watched my grandfather Augustus die in my arms . Then just a moment ago, I was in her body again and Vlad threw me over the railing of a balcony into the waves below the castle. It was horrible." I shook my head, desperately trying to forget it all.

Stefan's eyes widened and he stared at me in absolute astonishment. "Waves? This castle you were in was by the ocean?" He asked.

"It's on a cliff." I answered. "But there is a path near by that will take you down a slope to the beach. I've been there many times in my dreams."

His jaw went slack. It hung agape, but no words came out.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I know that castle." He said. "My father took me there when I was a little boy. It once belonged to the Truth family. Augustus' family. The Truths are all gone now. The castle's been abandoned for years, but the royal family used to retreat there in the summer months. Your father was born there, if I'm not mistaken."

"It actually exists?" I gasped, awe struck. "But…I don't understand…how could I be dreaming about a place I've never been to?"

"Maybe…maybe these are not dreams at all." His eyes sharpened, making his whole face fiercer.

"Visions? You think I'm having visions? I'm not an Allseer, Stefan. Visions are your family's gift, not mine." I laughed lightly at how absurd it sounded.

He shook his head. "No. Not a vision. If it were a vision of the past, everything would have happened exactly as it actually did. Diana didn't drown. She was beheaded. So that is all wrong. Maybe, your dreams aren't visions, but warnings. Perhaps someone on the other side is trying to warn you."

I leaned forward intently. I felt my spine shiver at the thought of being contacted by spirits. "Warn me about what?"

"I don-" He abruptly stopped and let out a pain filled grunt. Grasping his head, he fell to his knees and curled into an upright fetal position.

"Stefan!" I shrieked, floundering ungracefully to climb out of the big bed. I rushed to his side and fell to my own knees. I yelped at the pain that shot up my legs from the sudden drop. "What's wrong?" I asked, desperately, as I watched the muscles of his back and shoulders ripple beneath his shirt as they seized with pain.

Stefan:

The throbbing pain hit me first. It caught me off guard and the sharp ache was enough to bring me to my knees. I hadn't been expecting a vision.

I could hear Carmen's feminine voice crying out to me in the distance, but slowly her words faded into the harsh curses and screams of a huge crowd of Strigoi. I looked around me at the sea of faces, some twisted in anger, others in delight at the show before them. I turned to look at the platform, where the guillotine stood in all it's foreboding glory. By the lever that would release the blade, stood three men in plain white Venetian masks. One mask had a long beak, one wore a beaming grin, and the last frowned deeply. Besides the masks, the men also wore black shrouds with hoods, that obscured every recognizable feature. Drums began to play as a figure in a rose red cloak and stained nightgown was escorted up to the platform by armed guards. Two of them held on firmly to either one of her arms. Her feet staggered and dragged across the platform. The woman was so weak, she could barely stand. The guards had to support most of her weight to keep her from falling. When they got to the guillotine, they released the woman and she swayed on her feet for a moment. The woman's hands, bloody and scarred with puncture wounds on each wrist, reached up to lower her hood. I gasped and staggered backwards when I saw her face.

"Carmen!" I screamed. She did not look my direction. She just kept staring at the guillotine, her eyes glassed over, her face sullenly blank. There wasn't any life in her anymore. Her face was dirty and battered. Her right cheek was swollen slightly and her bottom lip was cracked. Blood painted her lips a darker shade of red. She'd been struck! How could this happen? Where was I? Why hadn't I protected her? I didn't understand.

The man in the beaked mask came over to her and shoved her to her knees. She fell with a horrible thud that made my insides cringe. The sickening sound of bones snapping echoed in my ears. Carmen said not a word. Not even a grumble of pain. Complacently, she set her neck onto the chopping block. She stared out at me with her glassy eyes. The man with the grinning mask covered her head with a black sack. Then the frowning masked one reached for the lever and yanked it down hard. There was a whooshing sound as the blade fell, then a thunk, as it connected with the chopping block and her head fell away.

The scenery shifted suddenly and I found myself no longer at the execution site, but just outside the castle gate. I stared up at it, my eyes no longer able to blink. For on each spiked top of the iron gate, was skewered the head of a Pure Blood. Carmen, Julian, Octavian, Dayana, Stroganov, Bianca, my mother, and…me.

I screamed as I jolted back into reality. I was gasping and shuttering with fright. The rancid stench of burning and rotting flesh still lingered in my nostrils. I wretched and vomit covered the floor.

"What on earth happened, Stefan?" Asked Carmen, frantically. "Are you alright? Are you sick? I-I'll go call for the doctor." She went to get up but I snatched her wrist and held her there.

I turned my head slowly to meet her eyes. I looked into them quietly for a moment. They were so lovely, so vibrant. I never wanted to see them that way again, so filled with pain, so dead. "I foresaw our deaths." I said with a quivering voice.

"What?" She asked, springing backwards.

"I had a vision…of our intertwined futures. They're going to kill us…kill us all, Carmen." I spat out the words before I could wretch again. I had to swallow hard several times to keep the rising bile down.

"I don't understand." Carmen shook her head wildly. Her writhing hair flew through the air madly, like living snakes. "Who's going to kill us?"

I wiped the remnants of last night's dinner from the corner of my mouth. "The Weak Bloods. I saw them behead you, Carmen. I saw your head on the gate, along with your father's and several other members of the Pure Blood race…including me."

Carmen covered her mouth in shock. Her eyes shifted in their wide eyed stare. "That can't be. Why would they?"

"I don't know." I answered sadly, shaking my head. "I didn't see their reason, only the aftermath."

Carmen rubbed at her arms, as if she were trying to warm herself. I think the chill came more from fear, than the temperature of the air. "Is this future set in stone? Can it not be changed?"

I reached out and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Yes. The future is always shifting. Things can be changed. Don't worry. I will not allow this to happen. I will do everything that is within my power to be sure of that."

"I know you will." She said softly, her gaze instilling all of her faith in me.

I grabbed my cloak and uniform off of the top of a dresser. I went to the bathroom and changed into it quickly.

"I have to go to the Allseer Estate. This is much bigger than me. I will need help to prevent this holocaust." I walked out onto the balcony and leapt up onto the railing.

"What should I do?" She asked.

"Act normally. I don't want the Weak Bloods to know that we are aware of their treachery. I will be back shortly." I said and leapt from the balcony to the garden below.

Carmen:

I stood on the balcony for a few more moments, watching him bound away, leaping over the hedges, over the tall iron gate and over the rooftops of neighboring houses.

Could this awful future possibly be true? Are we all going to die such brutal deaths? How? How could this ever come to pass?

There was a timid knock at the door and I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Who is it?" I asked.

"Margaret, Miss. I'm one of the maids." She squeaked.

"Ah, yes. Of course. Come in." I replied, trying to keep the sound of my rattling nerves out of my voice.

The petite human woman shuffled in. She clasped her hands tightly at her waist. She kept her eyes on the floor, unwilling to meet my gaze. As she drew closer, I could see that her hands were trembling and her grip was so tight, her knuckles were lily white. My lips tweaked in one corner in bitter amusement. They were terrified of me. I hardly blamed them. They had seen me rip the head off of their young friend, after all. However, I didn't quite understand why they hadn't always been this afraid of me. They knew what I was, what I was capable of, but they had never been so obviously frightened of me. They had at least been able to be in the same room with me without being on the verge of wetting themselves. In fact, when I was very small, I'd sometimes play games with the maids and their children, like ring around the rosy and tag, but as I got older, the children slowly stopped coming and the maids stopped smiling at me. The older I got, the more Strigoi like I became and the harder it was for them to pretend I was not capable of killing them with a mere thought. It was a sad reality. I missed our games.

"Oh my." Margaret gasped, seeing the puddle of burgundy colored vomit. The irony smell of blood mixed with the putrid stench of half-digested food burned my nose and set my eyes ablaze at the same time. "Are you ill?" She asked, still staring at the puddle. She dare not meet my eyes while they were in predatory mode.

"No. Stefan was feeling a little sick to his stomach. He went out to get some fresh air. Could you please clean that up for me?" I asked, as kindly as possible, while the thirst's burning ache spread up from my belly, up my throat and into my mouth. Even my fangs hurt.

"Of course, Miss Dare." The human nodded and at once fell to her knees, drawing a towel from her apron's sash.

"Thank you." I muttered, covering my mouth and turning away, so that I wouldn't see the bloody pile. Hopefully that would calm me a little.

"I just came up to inform you that you've been invited to this evening's council hearing. Prince Constantin has asked that you accompany him to the meeting."

"What?" I asked, surprise gave an edge to my voice that made the woman cringe. "Why in the world does he want me to go? The only Pure Blood that is supposed to be at those meetings is my uncle and that's only because he's the Pure Blood ambassador. I don't have any business there."

"He said it was important, My Lady." Said Margaret softly, as she wiped up the last of the vomit. "If you are going, you should get ready now. The meeting will begin shortly."

"Yes." I sighed. "I will go, if it means so much to Con. He had better have a good reason for dragging me to places where I don't belong. I'm sure most of the council will not take kindly to my presence."

After dressing up in a ruby red dress with black ruffles around the knee length skirt and a finely tailored jacket and tying some of my hair back with a red ribbon, I had just enough time to grab a bite to eat before Con arrived. I poured a whine glass to it's brim with fresh human blood that some of our servants so nicely donated for us. I guzzled it down, hardly taking breaths between swallows. The pain in my mouth and throat had become agonizing and I was happy to find relief.

"Miss, Prince Constantin has arrived." A male servant announced. He bid lowly and hurried away.

I walked into the living room just in time to see Con enter the house. He looked handsome in his council attire. He wore a smoky grey suit with a black dress shirt underneath. He left his coat open and the top few buttons of the shirt undone casually.

"You look lovely, as usual." He smirked broadly. He bowed and, taking my hand, he kissed my knuckles. I curtsied as I admired the ring on his right hand. I didn't remember him ever wearing it before. It was beautifully crafted. It looked like woven silver vines with a ruby at it's center, the vines groped at it as if they were trying to corrupt it. "A council ring?" I gasped, pulling my hand away.

"Don't you like it? My uncle's finally stepping down from his council seat. He's chosen me as his replacement. My initiation is today." He grinned with pride.

"I-I do like it." I stuttered. "I just wasn't expecting it. Is that why you invited me to the meeting?" I asked.

He linked his arm with mine and we walked back out to his waiting limo. "Well, yes there is that, but there is something else too."

"What?" I asked as he opened my door for me.

"You'll just have to wait and see." He gave me a quick kiss. "It's a surprise."

After arriving at the council's meeting house, Constantin led me confidently towards it, while the council members eyed me with distaste. I could hear their sharp tongued whispers. "What is that Dare bitch doing here?" They said. "Isn't it bad enough that we have to put up with Julian? The Pure Bloods have no business dabbling in our affairs. They're such disgusting creatures. All they care about is blood and war." They hissed.

"Do I really have to be here?" I asked, tearing my eyes away from their hate filled looks. I wondered if they would feel so brazen if there were more Pure Bloods here.

"Why don't you want to come to the meeting?" Asked Con. He stroked my hand tenderly.

"Do you not hear them? I asked, brushing some of my hair over my shoulder so that more of my face was obscured. "I know that I am a Pure Blood and that their words should not bother me, but…they hurt."

"Don't listen to them." He whispered in my ear. He glared their way and everyone shut up. "You are here as my date. Hold your head up high. If they say something mean just smile at them. They'll give up eventually once they see they can't get a rise out of you."

I nodded and brushed my hair back out of my face. I held my head up a little higher and walked with my back a little straighter. Constantin was right. I couldn't let them win. Father would be rolling over in his grave if he saw me cringing like a beaten dog just because some Weak Bloods were speaking badly about me. They were nothing but cowardly weaklings anyway. If our places were reversed, none of them would have the guts to say anything.

At the front door, I saw uncle standing off to the side, speaking with his father-in-law, Councilman Nicolai Arcos.

"Carmen!" Uncle grinned when he saw me. He hugged me tightly. "What are you doing here, child?" He asked.

"Constantin invited me. This is his special day, after all. I should be here." I explained. Con gave me a peck on the cheek.

"I see." Julian chuckled, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Your highness, may I borrow my niece for a moment?" He asked, politely.

Con agreed to it and he took me by the hand and led me a few yards away, out of earshot of the rest of the council. "Are you sure that it is wise that you be here, around all these Weak Bloods with everything that is going on?" He asked, his face turning extremely serious.

"You already know about Stefan's vision?" I asked, astonished.

"Of course. His mother was once my bodyguard before her husband died and she had to take over running the family. Jasmine and I are still extremely close. She tells me everything. When Stefan arrived at the Allseer Estate, asking for back up, she felt it was important for me to know."

"Stefan told me to go on pretending like nothing was wrong. This is what I would do normally, so…" I shrugged. On second thought maybe this was something weird for me to do.

"Right….well….just be careful around Con and his kin. They cannot be trusted in the slightest." Julian whispered, concern radiating in his voice.

I sighed heavily. "You think that one of them is going to betray me too?"

"One, if not all. Only the royal family can order an execution, and a mass killing like the one Stefan foresaw would need the blessing of the council as well." His voice lowered in pitch and his fangs began to peak out beneath his lips, growing sharper with rage. "Watch your back, my dear, for there are many here who would like nothing more than to plunge a knife in it."

"I will be careful, uncle." I assured him. He kissed my forehead and took me back to my boyfriend.

We entered the building and took a seat by the podium where the rest of the royal family was seated. Dragomir gave me a small apologetic smile as I approached the platform. I smiled politely back but only kept eye contact for a brief moment. I strategically took the seat the furthest away from him. Despite the pain his words had caused me, every time I looked at him, those old familiar feelings of absolute adoration came flooding back into my heart. It was best to keep my eyes averted.

After commencement, King Dragos took the podium and spoke clearly into the mike. "Welcome everyone to this momentous occasion. I am very proud to announce that my second eldest son, Constantin has agreed to take my brother Edmund's seat on the royal council. Many of you are already familiar with my son and I trust that everyone here will support his decision and guide him as he transitions into his knew role as councilman." He looked back at his brown haired son, sitting side by side with the daughter of his old enemy, holding her hand even. His lips spread into a big smile that was a lot like Con's. I had never seen the family resemblance before, but Con did have some of his father's expressions, if not his looks. "Now, I believe Constantin has a few things he'd like to share with everyone." He walked back to his seat, leaving the podium to Con.

"Come on." Con said as he rose from his chair, still holding my hand.

"What?" I squeaked, giving him the same stunned look as a frightened deer.

"Come with me." He coaxed, pulling me with him to the podium. Reluctantly, I went with him.

"I'd just like to thank you all for being here today. I really appreciate your support and I'm looking forward to working with you in the future." He held up his ringed hand, showing everyone the silver woven band on his ring finger. " Wearing this ring is a huge honor and I will not take the responsibility lightly."

I stared out at the sea of eyes. The light from the candle chandelier that hung above us reflected off the council member's eyes like those of cats. I felt extremely uneasy under their condescending gazes. The entire time all I could think about was how these people were going to kill me. I was going to die just like my father. I felt my muscles cringe beneath my skin and my grip on Constantin's hand tightened.

He looked at me and grinned his father's smile. "Now that that's out of the way, there is something else I'd like to announce. As you know, Miss Carmen Dare and I have been courting for over a year now and I have decided to make her my wife."

I gasped and sprung away from him, over come with shock. My mouth fell open silently. I could think of nothing to say.

Constantin took my hand back and held it in his own. He smiled kindly at me, his expression gentile and his eyes warm with love. "Carmen, will you marry me?" He asked.

"I-I." I stuttered, fumbling for words. My eyes darted around the room. Uncle looked at me worriedly, his brow furrowed over his dark red eyes, his jaw clenched. Alexander nodded approvingly at me while his eyes reflected his challenge, daring me to say no. Finally, I looked at Dragomir. His eyes were pleading. His mouth was set in one of his scowls. I stared into his eyes. So dark and lovely. Please. Don't do it. They said. But what choice did I have? I had to marry Con. That was what I had been striving for this whole year. It was why I had to give Dragomir up in the first place. To marry the man I really loved would lead to our ruin, but to be with the man I did not love, meant only mine. I would choose the lesser of two evils. I said, "Yes."

Con reached into the pocket of his jacket and brought out a small box. He opened it up and took out a ring incrusted with a very large diamond. He slipped it easily onto my slender finger.

"Excuse me, your highness, but I object to this union." Barked one of the councilmen, jumping up from his seat. The brown haired, green eyed man in the tailored suit glared at me. "I do not think that it is wise to have the daughter of a traitor so close to the royal family. Need I remind you what happened to your mother, your highness?"

I felt the muscles in Con's hands tense. His eyes shifted to stab daggers into the councilman. "I figured there'd be those of you who would oppose. Pity." He sighed in an exasperated tone. "Guards." He called, and at once two guards in armor, wielding spears, entered the room we were in and came to stand by our sides. "Take him away." He ordered coldly.

"No!" The man screamed, as the guards dragged him away. "What are you going to do to me?" He asked Con, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Take him out to the execution yard and tie him to a stake. The coming dawn will do the rest." He told the guards, his voice as icy as winter wind. The guards took him away. The man screamed with every step that the men made. The sound of the door closing behind them echoed through the room like the final beat of a drum. After they were gone, Con's attention shifted back to the other council members. "Are there anymore objections?" He paused for a moment but no challenge came. "Good. Let this be a lesson to you." He began, his boyish smirk becoming threatening. "I may be a councilman, but I'm still your prince. I will not tolerate being made a fool." He linked his arm with mine and began leading me away from the podium. "Let's go, darling." He said, smiling widely at the other council members one final time.

What just happened! I screamed repeatedly in my head as we walked out of the building. My frightened eyes shifted to stare at his face, searching for any kind of lingering darkness. I had never seen that side of him.

After the meeting, everyone went to the castle for a celebration dinner. It was held not just for Con's initiation but for our engagement as well. I chatted with my mother and uncle Julian while Constantin entertained the council. None of them really wanted to speak to me for obvious reasons. Why risk angering the prince?

"I'm so happy for you darling!" Mother congratulated. "You are certainly marrying well." She said.

I discretely rolled my eyes.

"Let me see it!" She begged for the thousandth time. I let her ooh and ah over the engagement ring for a while, just to appease her.

It didn't take me long to get tired of the attention. After about an hour of the torture I excused myself and walked out of the castle's dining hall into a large hallway, lined with mosaic glassed windows. Moonlight poured through the rainbow colored glass, bathing the hall in dazzling patters and lighting the handsome face of the crown prince. He was leaning against the wall, staring out one of the windows. I wondered what he was doing. You couldn't really see out of the windows at all.

At the sound of my approaching footsteps, he looked up at me. "Lady Dare." He said lowly.

"Prince Dragomir." I retorted, trying to sound indifferent, even though my heart was beating so hard it was nearly in my throat. "You've escaped as well, I see."

His lips curved into a smirk and my bones began to liquefy. I inwardly scolded myself for being weak. What was it about this man that made me fall to pieces? "I hate parties. Too many people. Too much noise. Forgive me if I have offended you. Please do not take my absence as disapproval, I am happy for you…If this is what you want. It is isn't it?" His eyes narrowed at me, searching my expression for the truth.

I would not give him the satisfaction. "Of course it is. I'm quite happy with the engagement." I replied, spitefully. "Constantin will make me an excellent husband."

He rolled his head to the side, his eyes unchanging. "Really? That little display earlier didn't bother you at all?"

"Well…I…I have to admit…I was caught off my guard by his actions. It was a harsh punishment. I never expected that kind of thing from him." I flustered, unable to hide my true uneasiness over the matter. My stomach twisted every time I thought about the poor man. He was out there now, tied to a pole, just waiting for death.

Dragomir snickered at me. "You don't have any idea who you're marrying, love. No idea at all." He shook his head and began to turn away.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, my uneasiness growing.

"It means that you don't know the real Con. You know only one side of him, the nice guy, but behind closed doors he's quite different. He has a nasty temper, Carmen and he enjoys putting people in their places. You marry him and I can guarantee that you won't be happy." He said darkly.

"Why haven't you told me this before?" I asked.

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "You're a smart girl. I thought you'd wise up about him sooner or later. Clearly I was wrong." He sighed. "I love my brother. I really do, but I know he has a dark side and that makes him a threat to you. I want to protect you no matter what." He walked hesitantly over to me and touched my shoulder lightly. "Please, Carmen, for your own well being, call off this wedding."

I backed away from him as if repulsed. "What right do you have to ask me this?" I snarled. "You hurt me more than he ever could!" I hissed.

He visually flinched, like I'd struck him. He backed away, his face laden with grief. "I know. I really screwed up. But this is not about our relationship. I'm not doing this out of jealousy. I love you. I just want to make sure you're going to be okay. If you marry Con…I know you won't be for very long."

My eyes narrowed. Now it was my turn to search his features for the truth. "What makes you so sure of that?" I asked.

"Let's just say that Con saw things that he shouldn't have. Things that have left him deeply wounded. He hates your father even more than I do. I have never understood why he was so quick to warm up to you. It doesn't seem right to me." He whispered.

I drew closer, enticed with this startling information. "What kinds of things did he see?" I asked.

Dragomir paused for a moment, staring strait into my eyes. "He saw Octavian with our mother…before the night of the raid." He must have seen the confusion on my face, because he went on to explain. "She and your father were having an affair, Carmen."

I stumbled backwards, shaking my head wildly. "No. No. That can't be true. It can't. My father hated your family. He hated all Weak Bloods. He would never…"

"But he did. I saw it."

I whirled around to see Constantin standing nonchalantly behind me. He glared at his brother. "Thank you for letting my fiancé in on our little secret, Dragomir."

"She needed to know." Dragomir grumbled.

"It's true?" I asked in a weak voice. The world seem to be spinning. My legs were shaking under my weight.

"I'm afraid it is. Not that it had anything to do with love, mind you. One night, shortly before the raid, I awoke and went to find my mother. She was not alone in her bedroom. Your father was there with her. They were speaking in hushed whispers. But it was clear that they were having a lovers' quarrel. Octavian noticed me first. He told me to go back to bed." Constantin got a far away look in his eye. "I'll never forget the way he looked at me…like I was a minor annoyance…a bug that wasn't even worth the effort to squash. That's when my mother took me back to my room and made me promise not to say anything about it to father. A few nights later, she was dead." He ran his hand through his short hair as he squeezed his eyes shut to rid himself of the vivid memory. "The sad thing is that my mother actually thought that he loved her. What a joke. Love is a human emotion and I saw no humanity in that man's eyes."

"Then why? Why would you show any interest in me, his daughter?" I asked.

"I told you." He sighed. "Octavian may be your father, but you aren't him. I've never held his deeds against you. You are a beautiful and sweet girl and I love you. That's why I want to marry you." He bent down and kissed my lips lavishly. "Being with you has helped me a great deal. More so than you know." He cooed against my lips. He wrapped his arms around my waist and began to lead me away. "I want us to be married as soon as possible. How does this Sunday sound to you?"