The landscape changed slowly as they drove, the city's buildings and its skyscrapers giving way to smaller towns, countryside, then the rolling hills that marked the approach to Lilian's hometown.
She watched the transitions through the car window, feeling detached from the familiar scenery she once knew by heart.
Everything looked the same. The old highway with its faded white lines, the gas station where she had bought the tasteless coffee on countless drives home from university.
Nothing had changed except her.
The last time she had traveled this road, she had been an ordinary human. Now she was returning as a vampire princess, bonded to three ancient princes who were currently attempting to pass as normal human businessmen.
"You're spiraling," Lucien observed from beside her, her voice cutting through her anxious thoughts.
Lilian turned from the window. He was watching her carefully with his sharp and perceptive green eyes.
