The Vampire's Luna
Chapter 109: Taylor Swift - Welcome To New York

Chapter 109: Taylor Swift - Welcome To New York

Even if he never loved her—at least she would never be forgotten.

"Are you heading somewhere?" Seliora asked, stepping into the room and finding Damien buttoning his shirt.

"Ah...yes. Today is the princess’s integration ritual. I need to be there."

"Oh...I didn’t know that. Shouldn’t I be too?"

"Sure, if you want to. I just thought you might not want to be there. But as member of the royal house, you should be there."

Seliora crossed her arms as Damien tucked the shirt into trousers. fr.eew eb novel..com

"I am not going to shelf my duties because we don’t get along." She finally said. "I’ll go to my building to get dressed."

Damien watched her depart without protest, but the sight of her tall silhouette in the corridor made him hold his breath. Why does every part of this hurt so much? he thought. A defeated sigh slipped past his lips. This isn’t going to end well.

He closed his eyes briefly. Today was supposed to be about Luna only—to formally tie her to the traditions of his world.

*****

Luna arrived at the High Temple. Her red cloak wrapped her figure. With each footfall she buried the ache in her heart. fre/ew.ebnovel.c om

Inside, the True Blood Lords were there as witnesses. Among them sat King Lucivar, his posture regal but his eyes haunted. When their gazes locked across the room, fear and sorrow trembled through him. He remembered his last conversation with Damien: the confession of mortality. And he remembered facilitating the heartbreak.

Luna was led down steps into the pentagram, highlighted by pools of rose water. She knelt, uncrossing her legs, weight evenly balanced. Her knees pressed into pentagon lines traced by silver ash.

She closed her eyes and exhaled low.

Moments later, the doors opened again and a hush passed through the crowd: Damien entered. Beside him walked Seliora.

Damien turned to step beside his father, stepping slowly, suit immaculate, head high.

Seliora followed behind the lords, eyes trained on Luna with a taut elegance. The lords shifted, arranging themselves in silent lines.

Luna’s breath panged but she straightened. She had done a good job making sure the robe kept her mark hidden.

Damien lowered himself into his chair. His face stilled into ceremonial poise.

Lucivar rose. He cleared his voice.

"I speak for all here," he began. "We gather to welcome Luna Sinclair. Not only as mate by bond to the prince, but as citizen of Blood City."

"But before you may swear your allegiance," he said and motioned to a pair of acolytes bringing twin cups of garnet liquid. "The Rite of Blood must bind you to our world."

Acolytes approached.

"This rite was forged by the First Truebloods," Lucivar intoned.

Lucivar gestured. The acolytes placed a glass in Luna’s hands.

Lucivar cast a sweeping gaze at her. "Drink, princess."

She raised the glass: bright substance which she suspected was definitely blood was in it. She sealed lips around it. Iron sang. fre ewe bnove l.com

Then she drank. She set the cup down. Knees trembled.

The ritual was silent for ten heartbeats.

Lucivar stepped forward.

He held a silver dagger.

"By the blood of vampire, we bind your vow:

To uphold the city’s laws,

To walk between night and day,

To guard ancient secrets,

To honor this house and all we stand for."

He raised the dagger.

Gently, he made a cut across Luna’s palm. Pentagram on the floor glowed.

Damien winced at the sight of the bleeding wound on her hand.

But in that instant, she was no longer an alien.

She belonged.

Lucivar closed his eyes, lowering the dagger.

"May your instincts hold your oath. May your choices serve your people. May you choose what’s always right for the throne."

When at last the ceremony concluded, Lucivar cleared his throat.

Lucivar gestured. "Our princess is now not only bonded but honored. Luna Sinclair, mate to the crown prince is now fully integrated.

She rose, straight-backed, cloak settling around her.

Damien rose too. Their gaze caught.

He still looked distant.

He looked at her hands. He wanted to move closer, to help her through her own pain.

"Esteemed Lords, My King," he bowed slowly in his father’s direction.

"My bond with Luna is now sealed by both the goddess and the law. She carries the same right of every citizen of Blood City.

He stepped forward into the pentagram. "She is still under the protection of the throne."

Damien’s hand drifted, brushing hers. He laced his fingers with hers and let the magic of the bond between them ignite for all to see. "Though not queen yet, an insult to her is an insult to the throne. Any harm done to her is equivalent to treason."

Luna’s eyes shone as she looked at him even as he avoided her gaze. Please, look at me, she thought.

He untangled their fingers, turning his back to her and bowing to his father once more before exiting the High temple.

*****

The ceremony had ended. One by one, the Trueblood Lords approached, each offering formal congratulations. Some offered polite nods, others bestowed smiles so thin she could see the calculation behind them, but Luna met each one with grace. She was a princess. She’d been trained for diplomacy since before she could pronounce it.

Still, beneath the regal posture, her thoughts tugged in other directions. Damien’s refusal to look at her for more than a moment.

Just as she thought the parade of compliments was over, a man stepped forward from the far side of the chamber. Tall. Handsome—he was carved in colder marble than Lucivar, yet the resemblance was undeniable. His eyes held the same ancient glint, but they were sharper. Hungrier. The way he looked at her made her instinctively straighten her shoulders.

"Do you know what it means to be integrated into Blood City?" the man asked.

Luna turned to him fully, refusing to shrink, though his presence tugged unease from her gut. She offered a diplomatic smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. "I have an idea," she replied. "I know what it means to swear allegiance to the throne. I am a princess, after all."