There are sacred things in this world.
Ancient vows.
Royal bloodlines.
Holy trials.
Private emotional conversations.
Unfortunately—
None of those things survived vampire wives.
Especially mine.
I stood inside the guest chamber of the Crimson Church with a glass of wine in one hand, Elena Voss watching me with entirely too much amusement, and four dangerous women entering the room like fate had filed formal complaints.
Valeria arrived first.
Of course she did.
Red hair.
Sharp smile.
The exact expression of a woman who enjoyed chaos as a hobby.
Behind her—
Seraphina.
Arms crossed.
Crimson eyes are calm.
Too calm.
Which was somehow always worse.
Selene entered next like moonlight, preparing an elegant murder.
And Lilith—
Lilith simply walked in like royalty inspecting a crime scene.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
Perfect.
Valeria looked at me.
Then at Elena.
Then at the wine.
Then back at me.
A slow smile appeared.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
"Well."
She crossed her arms.
"This looks innocent."
No one believed that.
Not even Heaven.
I set the glass down carefully.
"Context would help."
Seraphina's voice was smooth.
Cold.
"Please."
That was not a request.
I appreciated consistency.
Elena, because apparently peace was optional, sat gracefully by the window and said—
"We were discussing ancient kings and tragic love."
Traitor.
Professional traitor.
Valeria placed one hand over her heart.
"Oh, I adore her."
Of course she did.
Lilith adjusted her sleeve.
"Explain."
One word.
Royal threat.
Very efficient.
I sighed.
"Apparently, my past life had worse romantic judgement than I do."
Selene raised one elegant brow.
"That is statistically difficult."
Rude.
Accurate.
But rude.
I pointed at her.
"This is why moonlight confessions are dangerous."
Valeria immediately leant forward.
"There were confessions?"
Kavya would have loved this.
I regretted everything.
Elena, enjoying herself far too much for a saint, spoke calmly—
"The First Vampire King told him that a king who fears love deserves his enemies."
Silence.
Perfect.
Catastrophic silence.
Then—
Valeria laughed first.
Loud.
Bright.
Beautifully disrespectful.
Seraphina closed her eyes.
Selene looked at the ceiling like she was asking the moon for patience.
Lilith smiled.
Actually smiled.
Rare.
Terrifying.
I stared at Elena.
"You are enjoying this."
She nodded once.
"Yes."
Honest.
I respected it against my will.
Valeria walked closer.
"So."
She tilted her head.
"Even ancient kings think you should stop pretending emotions are optional."
I folded my arms.
"I preferred when people tried to kill me with swords."
Seraphina stepped forward.
Close enough that breathing became political.
Her fingers adjusted my collar.
Again.
At this point, I was in a committed relationship with neckwear maintenance.
Her voice lowered.
"You are avoiding the real issue."
Dangerous sentence.
I asked carefully—
"And that would be?"
Her crimson eyes held mine.
"Elena."
Ah.
There it was.
The real battlefield.
Not Heaven.
Not history.
Jealousy.
The eternal final boss.
I looked at her.
"She is helping."
Valeria smiled.
"Beautifully, apparently."
Seraphina ignored her.
"She is dangerous."
I nodded.
"Yes."
Lilith finally spoke.
"Which is not the problem."
Of course it wasn't.
She stepped closer.
Royal calm.
More threatening than violence.
"The problem is whether you understand what she wants."
I looked at Elena.
She looked back.
Calm.
Unreadable.
Ancient.
Lonely.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
I answered honestly.
"She wants history not to repeat."
Selene nodded once.
"Partly."
Valeria smiled like a villain.
"She also likes you."
Straight to violence.
I appreciated efficiency.
Elena actually laughed.
Soft.
Real.
And said—
"She is not entirely wrong."
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
Seraphina's silence became aristocratic homicide.
Lilith's royal calm became policy-level destruction.
Selene had entered emotionally dangerous moonlight.
Perfect.
I rubbed my forehead.
"I would like one peaceful supernatural relationship. Just one."
Valeria looked offended.
"Boring."
Fair.
Very fair.
Then—
The blood bond pulsed.
All four marks.
At once.
Pain.
Heat.
Recognition.
Everyone froze.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
I felt it instantly.
Not danger.
Need.
Blood hunger.
The bond.
Stronger tonight.
Because emotions and near-death holy trials apparently improved vampire instincts.
Seraphina noticed first.
Of course she did.
Her voice dropped.
"The bond is unstable."
Selene stepped closer.
"He hasn't fed properly since entering the Church."
Valeria smiled slowly.
Ah.
No.
Absolutely not.
Lilith looked at me with the calm of a queen announcing policy.
"That explains your mood."
I took one step back.
This was a tactical retreat.
Perfectly valid.
"I dislike where this conversation is going."
Valeria stepped forward.
Red-haired disaster.
"Liar."
Seraphina moved too.
Elegant danger.
"You need blood."
Selene added calmly—
"And we are not allowing you to collapse dramatically inside holy territory."
Reasonable.
Terrifying.
Elena stood and moved toward the balcony doors.
Because apparently even saints knew when to leave.
She paused beside me.
And whispered with dangerous amusement—
"I will give Heaven ten minutes before I pretend I heard nothing."
Then she left.
Traitor.
Saintly traitor.
The door closed.
Silence.
Four wives.
One increasingly doomed king.
Valeria smiled brightly.
"Well."
She said.
"Should we discuss this like civilised nobles…"
She stepped closer.
"…or should I just bite first?"
Honestly?
I respected her honesty.
Seraphina touched the mark near my neck.
The bond flared.
Warm.
Sharp.
Mine.
Her voice softened.
Rare.
Important.
"You keep trying to carry everything alone."
Not an accusation.
Truth.
Always worse.
She leaned closer.
"And your blood notices before you do."
That line.
Dangerous.
Beautiful.
Fatal.
Selene stood beside her.
Moonlight and quiet certainty.
"My blood misses yours."
Wonderful.
Now they were using poetry against me.
Unfair.
Lilith stepped forward last.
The queen.
Always last.
Always certain.
She placed one hand over my heartbeat.
And said quietly—
"Kings do not starve themselves to prove strength."
Silence.
Because beneath all the teasing—
That was the truth.
Not lust.
Not hunger.
Trust.
Blood given willingly.
Power shared.
Love disguised as ancient instinct.
I looked at all of them.
And for the first time—
I stopped resisting.
Because maybe Lucian had been wrong.
Maybe kings were not meant to bleed alone.
Maybe love was not a weakness.
Maybe it was the only reason thrones mattered.
I smiled slowly.
Honestly.
And said—
"Fine."
Valeria looked victorious.
Dangerous woman.
I pointed at her.
"Do not enjoy that."
She grinned.
"I absolutely will."
Of course, she would.
Seraphina stepped closer first.
Crimson eyes are softer than usual.
Which somehow hurt more.
She whispered—
"Good."
And kissed me.
Not war.
Not possession.
Something quieter.
Something far more dangerous.
Home.
The blood bond answered.
And somewhere beyond Heaven, beyond history, beyond kings—
The throne remembered.
Not power.
Not crowns.
But the people a king chose to return to.
Good.
Because I was finally learning
that love was not the thing that destroyed kings.
It was the reason they survived.