Chapter 2 False Tears

ARIA'S POV

I had to know the truth.

My feet carried me through the snowy streets before I could think twice. The mark on my collarbone throbbed with each step, reminding me I only had hours left. But the vampire's words wouldn't stop echoing in my head.

He requested you by name.

There was only one place to find answers. The house that used to be mine—the home my stepmother stole three years ago.

I pounded on the door. "Celeste! Open up!"

The door swung open almost immediately, as if they'd been waiting.

Celeste stood there in her silk nightgown, her hand pressed to her mouth. "Oh, Aria! Oh, my poor, poor stepdaughter!" She pulled me into a hug that felt like being squeezed by a snake. "We heard the bells. We saw the mark glow in the sky. I've been praying it wasn't you!"

Lies. Every word was a lie.

I pushed her back and stepped inside. The house looked exactly as I remembered—the paintings my father bought, the furniture my mother chose, the fireplace where we used to sit together. All of it stolen by the woman in front of me.

Vivienne appeared at the top of the stairs, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. "Sister! This is so awful!" She rushed down and grabbed my hands. "You poor thing. To be chosen for the Winter Feast. It's so unfair!"

But her eyes were dry. Not a single tear.

Marcus emerged from the sitting room, a wine glass in his hand. My ex-fiancé—the man who promised to love me forever, then dumped me at our engagement party to marry my stepsister instead. He looked uncomfortable, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Aria," he said stiffly. "This is... unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?" I yanked my hands away from Vivienne. "I'm going to die at dawn on Christmas Day, and you think it's unfortunate?"

"Well, what do you want me to say?" Marcus snapped. He took a long drink of wine. "It's not like anyone can change it. The Mark chooses who it chooses."

"Does it?" I turned to Celeste. "Or can someone make it choose?"

The room went silent.

Celeste's fake sympathy slipped for just a second. I saw something flash in her eyes—satisfaction, maybe even pride. Then her sad mask returned.

"Aria, darling, you're upset. You're not thinking clearly—"

"How does Lord Sebastian Thorne know my name?" I stepped closer to her. "I've never left this village. I've never met a vampire. But somehow, the most powerful vampire lord in the realm specifically requested me. How is that possible, Celeste?"

Vivienne laughed nervously. "Maybe he heard about your healing gift? You're always helping sick people—"

"Vampires don't care about healers," I interrupted. "They care about blood. About power." I stared hard at my stepmother. "About deals."

Celeste's jaw tightened. "You should be grateful. Being chosen as First Bride is an honor. Most girls would—"

"Most girls would be terrified!" I shouted. "Most girls would be devastated! But you three look like you're celebrating!"

Marcus shifted uncomfortably and wouldn't meet my eyes. Vivienne's fake tears had completely dried up. And Celeste—Celeste looked almost annoyed that I'd figured it out.

"You wanted this," I whispered, the truth hitting me like a punch to the stomach. "You made this happen. You sold me to the vampires."

"Don't be dramatic," Celeste said coldly. The false sweetness was completely gone now. "Nobody can force the Mark to choose. If it selected you, that's fate."

"Liar." I moved closer until we were face to face. "Three years ago, you stole my inheritance. You moved Marcus into my father's house before Papa was even cold in his grave. You humiliated me in front of the entire village. But it wasn't enough, was it? As long as I was alive, people remembered whose house this really was. Whose name deserved respect."

Celeste's smile was sharp as a knife. "People have short memories. Especially when someone dies tragically young."

My heart stopped.

"You've been planning this," I breathed. "Since the beginning. You knew the Winter Feast was coming this year. You've been waiting for me to die."

"I've been waiting for you to finally be useful," Celeste corrected. She walked past me and poured herself wine. "Your father left everything to you in his will. Even after I married him, even after giving him Vivienne as a stepdaughter, you were still his precious firstborn. When he died, the lawyers said the inheritance was yours at age twenty-five." She took a sip. "You turned twenty-five last month."

Ice flooded my veins.

"By law, I should have received my inheritance last month," I said slowly. "But you told me the lawyers needed more time. You've been stalling."

"Because dead women can't inherit property." Vivienne giggled from behind me. "Everything goes to the next of kin. Mother."

Marcus looked sick, but he didn't defend me. He just drank more wine and stared at the floor.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to hit them. But my hands were shaking too badly.

"You sold me to vampires for money," I whispered.

"I made a bargain," Celeste corrected. "A witch in the Black Market owed me a favor. She promised that if I gave her something precious of yours—a lock of hair, a drop of blood—she could make sure the Mark found you. Lord Sebastian's court has been looking for specific bloodlines for centuries. I simply... pointed them in your direction."

"Why would they want me? I'm nobody special—"

"Your mother was special," Celeste interrupted, and real hatred filled her voice. "Perfect, beautiful, gifted Eleanor. Everyone loved her. Even your father never stopped loving her, even after she died and he married me." She stepped closer. "Did you know your mother had a secret, Aria? A secret she died protecting?"

My breath caught. "What secret?"

Celeste's smile was poisonous. "Lord Sebastian knows. Why don't you ask him?"

Before I could respond, the door exploded inward.

Three vampires stood in the entrance, their cloaks billowing. The one in front was the same woman from my cottage.

"Aria Thornwell," she announced. "Dawn approaches. It's time."

"No, wait—" I turned back to Celeste. "What secret? What did my mother hide?"

But Celeste just smiled and raised her wine glass. "Goodbye, stepdaughter. Do try to die with dignity. It's all you have left."

The vampires grabbed my arms, and the world went dark.