Cold Vows

HINA'

oss the polished marble floor. The air buzzed with laughter, clinking glasses, and the low hum of carefully cu

slash of color amid the sea of black tuxedos and muted gowns. She f

hind her and turned to see Zayden approach

hand, the heat of his touch

ing like a sea. Whispers turned to murmurs, and murmurs to stunned silence.

ation-it was a battlefield. And

xpression unreadable. The older woman's gaze was icy, calculating-lik

ard the rumors: Genevieve didn't want her here. That she w

frightened girl who had walk

ad a

lake-the family's charming yet ruthless cousin. He appro

moothly, "the new Mrs. Knig

eyebrow. "I like to

t's dangerous in

etimes you have to shake the c

a moment, Seraphina saw a flicker

of conversations, each one a test of wit and will. Business deals floated

mily-old betrayals, power strugg

wasn't here

re to clai

ooking the city lights. The cool night air was a

low and sharp. "You're p

But I've learned that sometimes the on

eliberate curl of his

e respect-or maybe something more

ss merger that the Knights had been quietly negotiating-a merg

s broke, the crowd erupting into applaus

victory was

as h

y to make sure e

lection in a gilded mirror. The woman staring bac

as a

en in

r was just