I woke up three days later.

My vampire healing had purged the silver poison, but the wound still ached. I was lying in my own bed. Through a crack in the curtains, I could see the deep night outside.

My handmaiden, Mira, was at my bedside. Seeing me awake, she shot to her feet. "My lady! You're finally awake! I'll go tell the Prince at once!"

"Don't," I stopped her, my voice hoarse. "Where is he?"

"The Prince has been with Lady Isabella these past three days," Mira said carefully. "She was badly frightened and has had a high fever ever since."

I closed my eyes, a bitter taste in my mouth.

Just as I expected.

Even when I was poisoned and my life was uncertain, Isabella was still all that mattered to him.

"I'd like to rest," I said softly.

Mira nodded. As she was about to leave, there was a knock on the door.

"Grace?" It was Mortlock. "I heard you were awake. Are you all right?"

Mira moved to open the door, but I stopped her.

When I didn't answer, Mortlock didn't get angry. His voice, when he spoke again, was heavy with exhaustion. "I'm sorry. I should have protected you better that day. I'll make it up to you. Anything you want."

I listened in silence, a scornful feeling rising inside me.

Make it up to you.

It was always about making it up to me.

"How is Isabella?" I asked.

"She… she was terrified. She's still running a fever. The physician says she needs someone with her to feel safe." His voice was filled with worry. "So I…"

"Go back and take care of her," I finished the sentence for him.

Mortlock paused. "Grace, I promise, as soon as she's better, I'll spend all my time with you."

I said nothing more.

After a long silence, I heard his footsteps walking away.

When the sound was completely gone, I sat up.

"My lady, you need to rest…" Mira said, concerned.

"Bring me some blood," I told her. "I need to get my strength back."

That night, while Mortlock was busy with Isabella, I slipped into his chambers. Moonlight streamed through the windows, bathing everything in a silver glow.

One by one, I began to gather the gifts I had once given him.

A pair of silver cufflinks engraved with our names.

A gemstone I had found for him.

And the love letters I’d written, which he kept neatly in a wooden box.

I placed them all in a bag I’d prepared, my heart surprisingly calm. All these things that held so much of my love now seemed like a joke. I had been so naive, thinking that if I just gave him enough, loved him enough, I could win his heart.

I know better now. You can't earn what was never meant for you.

Finally, I took out my copy of the blood bond. Isabella’s name was sharp and damning in the moonlight. I placed it in the very center of his desk, where he couldn't miss it.

Then, on a clean sheet of paper, I wrote a single sentence:

You have your wish.

With those words written, I felt lighter than I had in two lifetimes. The shackles that had bound me were finally broken.

I returned to my room and picked up the bag I’d packed long ago. It held everything I needed for the Aethel Ruins, along with all the savings I'd taken from my family's vaults.

I walked down the long corridor, out the gates of the keep, and into the night.

I never looked back.

Goodbye, Mortlock Versta.