Chapter 17: Unbound, Unmarked, Unforgotten

Annora

I woke up with a start.

My breath caught in my throat, heart pounding so hard it echoed in my ears.

The room was still. Too still. But my body buzzed, tingled even. Like I had been struck by lightning and left smoldering. A strange warmth lingered beneath my skin, humming through my veins like something unearthly. My lips still tingled. My neck pulsed with a dull, aching throb.

I sat up slowly, dazed.

I didn’t know why I felt like this. Not at first.

And then it came back.

The kiss.

The way his mouth had moved from mine to the curve of my throat.

The way I’d gasped. The way I’d clung to him like I might shatter without him.

The sharp sting, so sudden and shocking and the dizzying pleasure that chased it.

My hand flew to my neck. There was no wound, no bite I could see. Only a small patch of soft linen placed gently over the skin. A bandage.

It should have terrified me.

But it hadn’t.

It felt like a surrender.

Like I’d been waiting for that moment all my life and only now realized it.

And even now, if I closed my eyes, I could still feel him. His mouth, his hands, the low, reverent way he whispered my name like it meant something sacred.

Alaric.

The name surged through me, raw and aching.

And with it came a need I couldn’t quiet. A pull I couldn’t resist.

I had to see him. Needed to.

I threw the blankets back and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, breath unsteady as I began to rise. But a voice cut through the stillness.

“Annora. Stop.”

I flinched, heart lurching, and turned sharply toward the sound.

Seated in the corner, half-lost in the shadows was Prince Edric. Arms folded across his chest. Jaw locked tight.

“You shouldn’t be up yet,” he said. His tone was calm, but the tightness in his jaw betrayed him.

“What are you doing here?” I rasped, my voice rough and raw.

“I stayed the night. To make sure you were alright.” He said as he handed me a cup of water.

That answer didn’t sit right. My eyes narrowed. “Why? What happened to me?”

I grabbed the cup, but didn’t drink.

He hesitated. Just for a moment. But it was enough.

“You were… weak,” he said finally. “You collapsed. Alaric sent for help. I made sure it stayed discreet.”

Discreet.

“Drink.” He said softly as he tipped the cup up to my lips. With a sigh, I took a sip, enjoying the relief it brought to my dry throat.

The fog in my mind began to lift, piece by piece. The kiss. The pull. The pain. The pleasure.

“He bit me,” I said softly.

Edric’s gaze sharpened.

“I remember,” I went on, rising slowly to my feet. “Don’t lie to me. He bit me.”

Edric stood as well now, tension crackling off of him like stormlight. “Keep your voice down,” he said, tone sharper.

“Why?” I snapped. “Is that not what happened?”

He stared at me for a long, weighted moment. I didn’t blink. I wasn’t going to let it go. I wasn’t just some servant who’d nod and pretend I didn’t feel what I knew to be true.

Finally, he exhaled. His voice dropped, grim and low.

“It is.”

I stepped toward him, the dull ache in my chest deepening. “So why are you acting like it didn’t?”

“Because it cannot be known,” he hissed, voice laced with urgency. “Do you understand me? If anyone finds out the King fed on a human… an unbound, unmarked human-”

“I’m not turning, am I?” I cut in, panic flickering beneath the surface. My hands went cold. “Am I becoming like you?”

Edric blinked, startled by the question. “No. Gods, no. He didn’t give you venom, Annora.”

I stared at him, breath caught in my throat.

“To change you,” he said carefully, his voice softer now, “he would have had to inject venom…deliberately. That didn’t happen. He bit you. He fed. But he didn’t mark you for turning.”

Relief hit me hard and fast, but it was short-lived.

Because even without venom… something had changed.

“Then why do I feel… like this?” I whispered. “I can still feel him.”

“Because a vampire’s bite, especially the Kings, doesn’t just take blood,” Edric said, stepping closer. His voice lowered, cautious, careful. “It gives something, too. Power. Hunger. Desire. It lingers. It stains the mind. Some say it clouds judgment—makes you crave what you wouldn’t have dared before.”

“But I wanted it before,” I murmured. “I wanted him.”

He met my eyes, and for a long beat, he didn’t argue. He just looked at me. And in that look, I saw something cold and aching.

Pity.

“And that,” he said finally, “is exactly why you need to understand the danger you’re in.”

I swallowed, my throat dry.

“You are unbound, Annora. Do you know what that means?”

I shook my head slowly.

“It means no vampire has claimed you. No blood bond. No vow. No protection. You belong to no one. At least not in the way that matters to them. You’re a servant. A mortal. And in the eyes of the Council… you are disposable.”

His words struck deeper than I expected, each one leaving a hollow echo in its wake.

“But the King did claim me,” I said, my voice soft, unsure. “Didn’t he?”

Edric’s head tilted, almost sadly. “Not like this. Not by law.”

He took a step closer, his voice urgent. “You are unmarked. That means no formal rite was performed. No ritual. No venom to turn you. No sanctioned claim under the ancient codes. So there is no law shielding you. No one who can defend what happened, not officially. You are exposed.”

I blinked. “But… he bit me.”

“Yes,” Edric said tightly. “But not in a way that makes it legal. Or survivable. You’re not a criminal. He didn’t bring you before the Council. There was no consent spoken, no judgment passed. You’re innocent.”

He paused, eyes hardening. “And that’s exactly why they’d kill you.”

I stiffened. “You’re saying… they would execute me?”

“Yes,” he said, without hesitation. “Because to the Council, this isn’t just a private transgression. It’s a violation of the order. A potential scandal. They’ll see it as the King breaking sacred law, feeding on a human without approval, without declaration, without binding. You’ll be labeled a temptation. A threat. Maybe even a seductress. And they’ll do what they always do to threats.”

My voice faltered. “And him?”

“They won’t kill a king,” Edric said bitterly. “But they will bind him. Restrict him. Chain him again to the old laws he’s spent years trying to escape. But you?” His tone sharpened. “You’re easier to erase. A servant girl with no name, no status, no mark to protect you.”

The breath left my lungs. I reached for the edge of the bed to steady myself.

Edric’s gaze softened, just barely. “I know it’s not fair. But this is the world we live in. You were already walking a tightrope just by catching his eye. But now…” his hand gestured toward my neck “now there’s blood. Now there’s evidence.”

“I didn’t ask for this,” I whispered.

“I know,” he replied, quieter now, eyes darting to the floor. “But that won’t matter. Not to them.”

The silence between us turned heavy, thick with unspoken truths.

“I need to see him,” I said eventually, voice trembling. “Please.”

“No.” Edric moved, fast and firm, placing himself between me and the door. “You can’t.”

“I have to-”

“You can’t,” he snapped, more forcefully now. “You don’t understand what the bite has done to you. Not just your body, your mind, your heart. You think those feelings are yours. That this pull toward him is natural.”

I stared at him, my voice barely a breath. “But what if they are? What if I know they are?”

Edric didn’t answer.

He didn’t need to.

Because even in the silence… I already knew.

Something had happened.

Something undeniable.

Not transformation.

Not venom.

But something deeper. Something older than law and older than fear.

Something binding.

And though I was still human…

I knew with quiet, aching certainty, I would never be the same again.