Noxx's Arc

Chapter 3 of 7

The hall still smelled of spilled wine. Her father, Count Vladimir, crossed the black stone floor, cape hissing behind him. His crimson eyes shone. "One suitor remains," he said. "That is enough. We will bind the match tonight." He raised a pale hand toward Edgar, the butler. "Fetch the vows." Noxx felt the walls of Nightspire Keep close around her. He meant to seal her future before she could read her own heart. "No," Noxx said. The word cracked across the empty hall. Her father stopped. "You gave me a choice. A choice made in one night is no choice at all." "You drove off the rest," Vladimir said. His fangs flashed. "You chose by chasing them out. Only Vesper stayed. Marry him." Noxx's heart pounded. She wanted true love, not a cage dressed as a wedding. But she had no words left to fight her father's logic. He stepped closer. The cold rolled off him. Then the dark king spoke. "Count." Vesper had not moved from where he stood. Now he set one gloved hand on his sword and faced Vladimir. "I will not take a bride who was herded to the altar. A wraith does not frighten me. Neither does a rushed vow." Vladimir's eyes narrowed. "You would delay your own match?" "I would earn it," Vesper said. He looked at Noxx. His white curls caught the low candlelight. "Give her a year. Let her walk beside me and learn who I am. If she turns away at the end, I will go without complaint." Noxx stared at him. No suitor had offered her time before. They had come for her name. This one offered her a door she could still close. "A year," she said. "And if I choose to leave, you honor it." "I honor it," Vesper answered. "Your choice. Not your father's." Vladimir's jaw worked. For a long moment the hall held its breath. Then he lowered his hand. "A year," he said, bitter. "But the match holds unless she refuses it. Those are my terms." He swept from the hall, cape dragging over the stone. Edgar followed, the vows unread in his hands. The tall doors closed. Noxx and Vesper stood alone among the guttered candles. Her breath came easier now. "Walk with me," Vesper said. "These halls are yours. Show them to me." They walked the dim corridors of the keep. Red light fell through the narrow windows. Noxx told him of her mother's magic. Vesper told her of the reaper who raised him and the halls beyond the veil. He did not flinch at the wraiths carved in the stone. He asked her questions, and he waited for her answers. By the time they reached the great stair, Noxx had not found love. But she had found a year. For the first time, the choice was truly hers.