Auctioned To The Damned King

SOPHYNE

On the night of my wedding, what lay before my feet was supposed to be a gift.

But I didn't get any.I am a Dhamir, the coven's most hated.

Dhimirs are short fangs, half vampires and the lowest in rank, I was just a servant who caught the Primus nephew's eyes

Dhamir doesn't get gifts. But I thought, foolishly, that at least I deserved something. Scented candles, a ribbon. A kind word from anybody.

But got a dead body instead.

And I have to take the blame.

The Binding had ended hours ago.

I had stood in my red gownthe, it was the only beautiful thing I'd ever owned and I spoken the old vows.

Domian held my hands and smiled. He kissed my forehead when the priest declared us bound, and for one heartbeat, I let myself believe that my life would be sweet.

It wasn't.

I woke to an empty bed.

The sheets beside me were cold and the candles had burned to stubs. My nightdress, cream silk I'd saved months to buy, clung to my skin.

“Domian?” I called.

So I went looking.

The master chamber door was cracked open and there was lights inside and that's when I heard it. Intimate sounds that made my heartbeat faster.

I pressed my palm to the wood and pushed.

Mahira was against the far wall. Her silver gown were at her feet. Her head was tipped back and her fingers were tangled through my husband's dark hair. Domian's mouth was at her throat, and he wasn't feeding.

They pulled apart at the sound of the door, slowly and unhurried.

Mahira's eyes found mine, and her mouth curved into a smile and no, she wasn't surprised or ashamed.

"Little cousin is awake.” She smiled

“You were supposed to sleep longer," she said.

I couldn't speak, I just stood there motionless. She was supposed to be downstairs with the rest of the coven, feeding and celebrating my Binding, not in the arms of my husband.

My heart felt so heavy breathing became difficult.

"You—" The word cracked in my throat. "What is this?"

Domian stepped toward me, straightening his collar. There was a smear of Mahira's mouth on his jaw. He didn't bother wiping it. "Sophyne. Listen to me."

"Listen to what? That you're bedding my cousin on our wedding night?"

"That the throne is mine."

I blinked. "What?"

He gestured behind me. I turned, and that's when I saw it—the old Primus, crumpled against the far wall, his chest torn open. The wound was black at the edges. They had used silver. Premeditated. The rug beneath him was soaked so dark it looked black in the candlelight.

And I was unknowingly standing in the pool.

The blood crept up the hem of my nightdress, wicking into the silk. I stumbled backward, but there was nowhere to go. The door behind me or he body in front of Domian and Mahira watching like I was a mouse who'd finally found the trap.

“What did ….”

“Well, it's his fault, he walked in," Mahira said, examining her nails. "The old fool was supposed to be sedated, his evening blood was dosed but he metabolized faster than expected.”

I shook my head in disbelief.

“He came looking for Domian to discuss tomorrow's council meeting and found his nephew with my legs around his waist instead." She shrugged. "Messy."

"You killed him." The words came out barely a whisper. "You killed the Primus."

"The Primus was in the way," Domian said. "The throne is mine by blood right. He was supposed to step down decades ago and he wouldn't.” His fingers raked through his hair. “Every year he lived was another year I waited. Another year the coven weakened under old leadership. And now—" He looked at the body, not with guilt, but with the cold assessment of a man calculating a profit. "Now it's done."

Downstairs, something crashed.

I looked up at them

I heard voices, God, no, the guards had realized the Primus was missing, that his chambers were locked from the inside, that something was wrong. Boots thundered on marble and someone shouted his name.

"They're coming," I said, and the terror in my voice was real. "They're coming and they'll find him dead and they'll—"

"They'll find a culprit," Domian said. He stepped forward and caught my chin in his hand, the same hand that had held mine during the Binding vows, the same fingers that had stroked my cheek and made me believe I was chosen. "You love me, don't you, Sophyne?”

I almost stumbled back in shock.

“You told me so tonight. In front of everyone. In front of The Old Ones themselves."

I stared at him in disbelief and shook my head slowly."Domian—"

"Do this for me. For us, my sweet.”

The words hit like a slap.

"I didn't kill him," I whispered. "I didn't—you know I didn't—"

"But you'll say you did." Mahira's voice calm. She hadn't moved from the wall. She was still half-dressed and still smiling.

"You'll go out there and confess. You killed the Primus.

Everyone will believe it, Sophyne. They want to believe it."

I looked at Domian and he rushed to hold my hands tenderly.

“You know I married you even though there were other pretty women. I choose you, I gave you a life.”

I shut my eyes and hoped this was a dream.

“Domian, I can't…”

"Then we tell everyone you slept with the young priest." Mahira said.

The world tilted.

Tobias, he was a priest at the temple a d he had been kind to me several times

A holy man and celibate. The accusation alone would destroy him.

"That's an abomination," I breathed. "No one will believe—"

"They'll believe what I tell them to believe," Domian said then he exhaled still holding my hand. “Do you want me to die? You know if I die you'll suffer, no one will marry you.”

Tears were already running down my cheeks, he wiped them off. “History will remember your love and sacrifice, please my sweet. When I become a Pri…”

“I can't!”

He dropped my hands immediately.

“We have evidence." She tilted her head, grey eyes glittering. "Do you want Tobias to die too? He will and his brother too. They both will, they'll berounded up for questioning. All that blood on your stubborn little head."

The boots were closer. Shouts of "Find the Primus" echoed up the stairwell.

I looked at Mahira. My cousin, my blood, my betrayer.

I looked at Domian. My husband, my fated mate, the man who told me he would love me forever. Vampires don't marry, staying with just one person for thousand of years meant divine, unconditional love and he said he loved me.

I looked at the dead Primus, whose only crime was interrupting a betrayal he hadn't seen coming.

And I made the same choice every Dhamir eventually makes. The choice to survive one more minute, even if it cost me everything.

"Fine." The word wasn't mine. It belonged to someone already dead. "I'll do it."

Domia

n kissed my forehead, It was the gentlest thing he'd ever done, and it felt like the executioner's blade.

"Good girl," Mahira murmured. "Now walk."