"So this is the closest city to Châtelet." Ruby Kingsley leans her weight against the carriage window.

Mura Island stretches toward the horizon. It's a graveyard of stone and overgrown weeds, stunted by centuries of vampire raids. Ruby scans the empty streets—the world maps never mentioned this place.

The sunrise hits the glass. Golden light tangles in Ruby's black hair and reflects in her pupils.

Jacob Vraj huddles against the velvet cushions. He keeps the heavy curtains pulled tight.

"Can you handle the light?" Ruby asks. Human sunlight is a different beast than the Châtelet dusk.

Jacob's jaw sets. "I'm fine."

Ruby reaches for the silk curtain. "Don't touch it," Jacob snaps, his voice a sharp blade. "I said I'm fine."

He sinks further into the shadows. Silence fills the carriage.

The wheels stop on a quiet, shaded lane. Jacob jerks his chin toward the door.

Ruby's eyes widen as she steps onto the gravel. A sprawling, elegant manor looms over her. "I get to live here?"

"We live here," Jacob corrects.

He scans the treeline. Mura Island is a ghost town being prepped as a Special Zone. Peace is a paper-thin lie.

Jacob grips the silver hilt of his cane. He remembers Angelina Arthur's blade at his throat back at the border.

"A bloodless victory," she had whispered, her emerald eyes unblinking.

Jacob's lip curls. He had agreed to the devil's bargain, but he expects the steel to return soon. He watches Ruby push the front door open.

"This looks like a Lancaster palace," she says, spinning in the foyer.

The house was a vampire's secret estate once. Now it's Number 88, Dawn Road.

Jacob points a gloved finger toward the kitchen. "Food's that way."

Ruby blurs past him.

Jacob watches her. He hasn't mentioned the cover story yet. To the neighbors, they are the Cappes. Newlyweds.

He stands in the kitchen doorway. Ruby is already tearing into a honey cake.

"We're a married couple," Jacob says.

Ruby freezes, a half-chewed crumb on her lip. She looks at him, her brown eyes tracking his face.

Jacob turns his head away. The warmth in her gaze makes his skin crawl.

Life at Dawn Road is a rhythm of naps and sunlight. Ruby has a master suite and the freedom to roam... as long as she avoids the soldiers on the main road.

Millie, a human maid, arrives every morning to handle the stove. She makes a mean apple pie.

One afternoon, Millie brings a shadow. A little girl with short black hair and grape-seed eyes peeks from behind her skirts.

"Mrs. Cappe," Millie bows. "My husband is at the camp. No one to watch the child."

"Mrs. Cappe," the girl echoes.

Ruby smiles. "Hi there."

They play hide-and-seek until the rooms feel too small. Ruby's new life feels almost normal.

"The berries," the girl whispers, pointing toward the lane. "By the road. They're sweet."

Ruby shrugs, ignoring Jacob's warnings. She grabs the girl's hand. "Let's go."

Sunset bleeds into the sky. Crimson clouds marble the blue like stone.

Ruby picks at the red berries in the thicket. She drops them into the girl's makeshift apron-pouch.

"What are you doing?"

The voice hits the air like a cold snap.

Ruby snaps her head around. The girl shrieks, dropping her apron. Red berries scatter across the dirt like blood drops.

Dion stands on the gravel path. His ruby eyes scan the scene, his silver embroidery catching the dying light.

The girl lunges for the house. "Mama!" she screams.

Dion's throat works as he swallows hard. He looks at the child, then back at Ruby.

Ruby stands frozen, her fingers stained red with berry juice.

Dion's knuckles turn white against his cuffs. He heard the rumors of the marriage... but a child?

Humans work fast.

Dion's knuckles turn white as he clenches his fists. He stares at Ruby Kingsley's lips, his shoulders tense.

He leans in, his ruby eyes searching her face for a reason... a sign that Jacob forced the ring onto her finger.

He shifts his gaze to her warm brown eyes.

Ruby looks right past him. Her attention snaps to the trees behind his shoulder.

"Mama!" the little girl cries out.

Millie steps into the golden light. Her brow furrows as she scans the tall silhouette of the stranger.

Dion remains rooted to the spot, unmoving as the shadow approaches.

He jerks his head away, staring at the dirt.

Ruby trots over to Millie, her hands reaching for a container. Dion snaps his head around only when the basket changes hands.

Millie hands over the wicker basket. "Take this, Mrs. Cappe—" She stops, her eyes locking onto the Prince's perfect symmetry.

Millie's breath hitches in a sharp gasp.

She snatches her daughter's hand. "Run!" she hisses. She bolts toward the manor without looking back.

The dying sun hits his pale skin. Dion blinks, his ruby pupils shrinking in the light.

He tracks the retreating figures. His shoulders drop as the realization hits... the child isn't hers.

A long, shuddering breath escapes his lips.

Ruby shoots him a glare. She gestures to the red berries scattered in the mud.

Dion's posture relaxes. "There are rogue vampires in Mura Island," he says. "The humans can't keep them caged."

Rogue vampires?

Dawn Road was a sanctuary. Ruby bites her lip, remembering Vraj's warning about the main streets.

Chaos is the only currency in a border city. The humans pay the price.

"Don't you manage your own kind?" she asks.

Dion flicks a finger. The berries lift from the dirt, floating in a red stream into her basket.

"Our military is barred from the zone. We have no reach here."

"And you? Why are you standing on my path?"

He looks toward the trees. "I have every right to be here."

He stands far outside the legal boundary of the conference center.

A Prince of Châtelet isn't supposed to wander the lanes of Mura Island.

"Where is the house?" he asks, his tone too casual.

Ruby plants her feet, her hands tightening around the basket.

Dion steps into her space and snatches the wicker handle. "I want to see it."

Ruby sighs as her afternoon snack is held hostage.

She grabs a handful of berries and shoves them into her mouth.

They walk together through the shaded lane.

Dion's jaw loosens. The ghost of the child is gone, but the ring remains.

Why choose Vraj?

The Duke is a spider. He's weaving a web with Ruby as the anchor.

Yet, the contract is signed.

He remembers her shielding the messenger in Solara Palace. "My fiancé," she'd called him.

Was it ever a lie?

He cuts a glance at her, his lips pressed thin.

Ruby catches him staring. She holds out a fistful of berries.

Dion knocks them back into the basket.

"You're offering me mud-covered trash?"

"A little dirt won't kill you. Can't the Vampire Prince just use a spell?"

Dion's brow hitches. Ruby stands on her tiptoes, her hand darting toward his face.

He clamps his jaw shut.

He pauses, his eyes locking onto hers. He tilts his head and lets her fingers brush his lips as he takes the fruit.

He turns away the second she pulls back, his breathing ragged.

"Sweet, right? If Millie's too scared to come back, you're making the jam tomorrow."

Dion bites down. His face contorts as he gasps for air.

The acid hits his tongue like a lightning strike.

"What?" Ruby asks.

He shakes his head, his eyes unfocused. He stays silent.