Troubled (The Binding Chronicles #4)

14. A Broken Vow

A Broken Vow

V ivienne lifted her gaze from the floor and stared at the king’s shadows as he approached her.

She failed me .

This was it.

The king would kill her now.

Honestly, she wasn’t surprised. Death had been looking over her shoulder ever since she lost the prince on the night of the ball. At least she wouldn’t die at the hands of the villagers. They wouldn’t have killed her quickly or painlessly.

Not that dying at the king’s hands would be a walk in the park. Vivienne had witnessed his dark brand of death several times. The hunger devouring her hollow stomach from the inside out would soon be the least of her worries.

At least the prince was back with his family.

Vivienne would die knowing that Marius was safe, and he’d live. Castle Sanguis had healers for Marius’s cough. The royals would send someone else after the feral First. Eventually, the prince would go on an adventure that wouldn’t get him killed. Maybe he’d find a partner and settle down.

Everyone else would get their happily ever after.

There wouldn’t be a happy ending for Vivienne. No way for her to come out of this smiling. But she would be done, and that was…

Okay.

It had to be, because the king wouldn’t allow her to live.

Shadows streamed from the royal vampire, but Vivienne paid them no mind. She let her mind drift back a hundred years to memories she’d buried long ago. Skipping over the awful night of her Making, with those three men who’d thought they could take advantage of her just because she was a woman, she thought back to her parents.

Their faces flashed through her mind.

She pictured her mother, Aurora, with her kind brown eyes and white hair that she always kept in a bun at the nape of her neck.

Wrinkles had always decorated Aurora’s forehead, complementing the laugh lines that had been present for as long as Vivienne could remember. Even at the end, after Vivienne’s Making, Aurora hadn’t stopped smiling.

Vivienne’s father, Pierre, had been silent but strong. He’d barely spoken, at least compared to Aurora’s constant babble, but there hadn’t been a single day where he hadn’t gazed upon his wife and daughter with deep affection.

Her parents’ love for each other had been as deep as the Black Sea and as vast as the Four Kingdoms, and they had raised her in a happy, healthy home. They’d been older when Vivienne was born, and they called her their miracle.

Even after her Making, Vivienne had remained by her parents’ side as much as possible. She had spent her Fledgling years living part-time with Ian, her Maker, to learn the ways of vampires. The rest of the time, she stayed with her parents and took care of them. While living in the village, she hunted deer, subsiding off their blood.

Even after finding out that their daughter had become a creature of the night, Aurora and Pierre had never rebuked Vivienne. They just kept on loving her right until their final days.

Their deaths had come in quick succession.

A few years after Vivienne’s Making, her mother had slipped away peacefully in her sleep. Later that same day, Pierre had followed. It was as though he couldn’t bear to remain in this world one more night without his love.

And now, Vivienne would join them.

Boots appeared in her vision. Dark power flowed off the king, and the air vibrated in morose anticipation.

Vivienne’s heart, slow beating though it was, sped up. Knowing pain was coming didn’t ease the dread of anticipation. She would suffer for weeks, if not months, or even years before death’s cold arms finally wrapped around her.

She wouldn’t fight back, though.

She deserved this.

To her credit, she didn’t flinch as the king stopped in front of her, bent, and ripped off her gag. Dark wisps swarmed at the king’s feet, a promise of impending pain.

“Vivienne Beaumont.” The king snarled her name, and she shivered. Never had those two words sounded so dark. “Do you recall the vow you took when you knelt before these very thrones?”

How could she forget? It had barely been a month ago. Then, she’d assumed that her new position would be one of relative ease.

Isvana help her, but she’d never been so wrong.

Now, Marius kneeled somewhere to her right, and even though she could feel him looking at her, she didn’t dare glance over .

Unsure of whether she was allowed to speak, Vivienne jerked her chin.

The king’s wings flared. “Remind me of it.”

Vivienne cleared her throat, the prohiberis band feeling tighter with every passing moment. She wished she could draw on her wings and let their weight comfort her.

But they were gone, and she was alone.

Drawing in a deep breath, she shut her eyes and gathered her strength. If these were the last words she would ever say, she would speak them with dignity, even as her body failed her.

“I vowed to protect the prince, to keep him safe from harm, and to watch over him.” She swallowed. “I gave my word, swearing on my blood and my blade, promising to do anything for him.”

She’d spoken the vow of protection before spilling her blood on the stones before the thrones. Those same stones seemed to mock her now.

“And did you fulfill your vow?” The king circled her slowly, a lion assessing the lamb it was about to devour.

Another vampire might have chosen this moment to lie or beg for their life, but Vivienne didn’t bother. She was a soldier, and she would not quake in the face of her fate.

She hung her head, shame chilling the blood in her veins.

“I didn’t, Your Majesty. I failed you and your queen, and I broke my vow. I will take that dishonor with me to my grave. It was my duty to stop the prince and keep him safe, and I did neither of those things.” She exhaled, a tear sliding down her cheek. “The fault lies entirely with me.”

Endless seconds passed.

“You’re correct.” Ice coated the king’s voice, sending shivers down Vivienne’s spine. Shadows streamed from the royal’s hands like ribbons as he took another step towards her. “For your failure, Vivienne Beaumont, I sentence you to?— ”

“No!”

The outburst was so sudden that, for a moment, time seemed to freeze. Shadows stilled, Vivienne’s heart ceased beating, and everyone’s gaze swiveled to the prince.

“No,” Marius repeated.

Somehow, he’d moved. He stood between her and the king, his hand outstretched towards the royal vampire.

“Don’t,” Marius said beseechingly.

The king growled, and everything within Vivienne begged her to turn and run at the sound.

“She failed me.” The king’s voice boomed, and Vivienne’s stomach twisted at the sound. “There must be consequences for such behavior.”

“Not this,” Marius insisted. “I dragged her into this. You can’t kill her for that. It’s not?—”

He coughed, the sound rattling his lungs. It sounded worse than before.

Vivienne flinched as the king’s shadows darkened. The queen was at her brother’s side in a heartbeat. She clutched his arm, black eyes wide and crimson tears streaking her face as she stared at him.

“You’re sick,” she said accusingly. “How long have you been sick?”

“I’m fine,” the prince said, his voice breaking on the last syllable as he coughed again.

The queen frowned, placing the back of her hand on Marius’s forehead. A hiss slipped from her lips. “Isvana help us, you’re burning up.”

He protested, but coughs punctuated his words.

“You need a healer,” the queen said. “I won’t hear any arguments. Sebastian?”

The king dragged his gaze away from Vivienne. “Yes, darling?”

“Odette is here, right? ”

“Yes, love.” The king dipped his head. “I believe she’s in the east wing. I’ll send for her. But first?—”

“Don’t hurt Vivienne,” Marius repeated, clutching his sister’s hand. “She begged me to return to the castle. I ignored her, and my stubbornness got us into this mess. If you?—”

He broke into another coughing fit. This one was worse than the last, and it shook his entire body.

“ Now, Sebastian,” the queen said through gritted teeth, darkness streaming from her hands. “You can deal with the bodyguard later.”

Another growl ripped through the king before he shouted for help. The door behind Vivienne swung open, and the stomping of feet announced the arrival of several guards.

“Your Majesty?” a deep masculine voice asked.

“Take her to Ravenwood Dungeon.”

Hands roughly grabbed Vivienne’s arms, yanking her backwards. She didn’t fight them as they dragged her out of the throne room.

Lifting her head, she met the prince’s gaze and mouthed, “Thank you.”

Against all odds, she’d survived the night.