Rule #1 of the vampire world: a human who sees too much must be eliminated. Rule #2: unless a vampire claims her first. I expected to die in that candlelit room. I did not expect the most feared vampire king alive to look me dead in the eye and say I was his. Damien Nightvale doesn't do kindness. He doesn't do warmth. He certainly doesn't do human brides who show up uninvited with chocolate cake. So why won't he let me go? And why does he look at me like I'm the answer to something he's been searching for — for a thousand years?