Chloria – The Hidden Kingdom
Ryan's POV
The skies above Chloria shimmered with the low glow of dusk, crimson bleeding into silver clouds. The air was different here—sharper, older, steeped in secrets and legacy. I hadn't stepped foot in the kingdom in months, yet everything still smelled like power and pressure.
I hated it.
"Can't believe Liora's getting married before me," Ezra muttered beside me, adjusting his cloak as we entered the royal gates. "And to a council-born. Traditional bastard too. She's barely twenty-two."
"You think age matters to them?" I muttered. "The Council wants more alliances. This marriage is just strategy."
We passed the marble-arched gates leading into the sanctum where the high priest waited. The temple was cloaked in silence, its torches flickering with flames the color of bone.
"Lord Ezra Saint. Lord Ryan Saint," the priest greeted, his voice deep, almost echoing through my ribcage. "The bloodline runs strong in you both. But your fates…" He paused, narrowing his eyes.
I raised a brow. "What about our fates?"
His lips curved ever so slightly, not with joy—but certainty. "Your mates walk among humans."
A long silence fell between us.
Ezra went still, his smirk fading instantly. "Wait. You're saying—"
"No," I snapped. "You're wrong."
The priest didn't flinch. "The bond is written in your blood. You may deny it, Lord Ryan. But you already know. She's touched you. Changed something in you."
Mia's face flashed through my mind—her sleepy smile, her soft voice calling my name, the way her eyes glistened with unshed tears the day she walked away.
No.
I refused to believe it.
"She can't be," I growled. "I'm heir to a legacy older than any of you. I am not just a vampire. I am the Saint. My mate cannot be a human."
"And yet she is," the priest said quietly. "That is why she unsettles you. That is why you fear her."
I turned on my heel before I could hear more. The idea… the possibility—it was dangerous. Too dangerous. If Mia was truly my mate, then everything would change. Everything I built, everything I protected—it would all unravel.
When we returned to the estate, Grandfather was waiting, flanked by two elders. His expression was calm, but expectant.
"Well?" he asked. "Have you finally come to your senses?"
I didn't hesitate.
"Yes," I said coldly. "I'll take the marriage proposal. Find me a noble vampire woman. One worthy of the Saint name."
Ezra's eyes narrowed at me.
But I didn't look at him.
Because I wasn't doing this for legacy.
I was doing it to forget Mia Walls.
To force the bond to break before it broke me.