See You In Hell

Desires

Fear was obvious in Ivanna's reaction.

Giveon didn't need her to say a word to know that she was frightened. He could hear it in the erratic rhythm of her heart.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Her heartbeat had always been something he noticed, even when she thought he wasn't paying attention. It was one of the first things he had learned about her after she came to the castle. He could tell when she was nervous, when she was angry, when she was lying, and when something genuinely frightened her.

Right now, she was afraid.

Giveon couldn't blame her.

He knew exactly what kind of world he lived in.

Violence was part of his life. Bloodshed was something he had witnessed since childhood. He had grown accustomed to the smell of blood on battlefields and the sound of steel colliding in the distance.

Ivanna hadn't.

She was gentle in ways he wasn't.

Soft in ways the world had never allowed him to be.

He looked at her and wondered how someone like her had ended up married to someone like him.

He knew she wasn't prepared for war.

He knew she wasn't prepared for the cruelty that could come with it.

And the thought of exposing her to any of it made his chest tighten.

Yet there was little he could do.

His brothers were already making their plans.

The council was preparing for the possibility of an attack.

And sooner or later, Ivanna would have to know the truth.

Giveon lowered his gaze to their joined hands.

His fingers were wrapped gently around hers.

He could feel the slight tremble in them.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

Ivanna looked at him.

"For what?"

"For putting you in this position."

She stared at him for several seconds.

"I knew what I was agreeing to when I married you."

Giveon's jaw tightened.

"Did you?"

There was no accusation in his voice.

Only sadness.

Ivanna didn't answer.

Giveon knew that she hadn't truly understood.

How could she?

She had known him for only a short time.

She had heard stories about him, just as everyone else had. Stories about the prince whose blood was neither completely human nor completely vampire. Stories about the strength that made even experienced warriors cautious around him.

But she had never known the man beneath those stories.

And perhaps neither had he.

His gaze slowly moved over her face.

Her deep blue eyes.

Her delicate features.

Then, without intending to, his attention settled on her lips.

They were red and soft.

His thoughts suddenly became dangerously distracted.

He swallowed.

He quickly looked away.

How could he allow himself to become distracted by something so simple?

But the truth was that Ivanna had occupied his thoughts more often than he cared to admit.

She was his wife.

It was only natural that he would be attracted to her.

There had been moments when he had wondered what it would be like to kiss her.

To feel her warmth against him.

To hold her without the distance he had deliberately maintained since their marriage.

Those thoughts had always been pushed away.

Giveon had never been a man who allowed desire to control him.

He had seen what happened when vampires gave themselves completely to their instincts.

He had watched others become slaves to their hunger, their anger, and their desires.

He refused to become one of them.

But Ivanna tested that control without even realizing it.

"Giveon?"

Her voice pulled him from his thoughts.

He blinked.

Ivanna was watching him closely.

"What were you thinking about?"

He cleared his throat.

"Nothing."

She tilted her head slightly.

"You look distracted."

"I was thinking."

"About what?"

Giveon scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

For someone feared by almost everyone who knew his name, he suddenly looked almost uncomfortable.

Ivanna couldn't help but notice.

She waited patiently.

Giveon sighed.

"There is something else I need to tell you."

Her expression changed immediately.

"Something else?"

He nodded.

He turned toward her fully.

"I want you to understand something before I say this."

Ivanna listened.

"I will never force you to do something you don't want to do."

Her eyes softened.

Giveon continued.

"I know what this marriage means. I know what was expected of you when you came here."

Ivanna lowered her eyes.

"But I don't want you to think that because you're my wife, you have no choice."

She looked back at him.

"I want to earn your trust."

His voice was quiet.

"I want you to know me first. I want you to feel safe around me. And when the time comes for us to become closer, I want it to be because you want it too."

Ivanna's heart fluttered.

She had expected many things from him.

She had expected coldness.

Perhaps authority.

Perhaps even an order.

But not this.

Giveon hesitated before finally saying the words.

"We need an heir."

Ivanna's heart skipped.

For several seconds, she couldn't speak.

She stared down at their hands.

An heir.

The word seemed to echo inside her mind.

She had always known.

Of course she had.

Her marriage to Giveon had not been arranged simply for companionship.

Their kingdoms had wanted peace.

Her family had wanted security.

His family had wanted an alliance.

And somewhere within all of those agreements was one simple expectation.

Children.

An heir.

A future successor to the throne.

She had known it from the beginning.

But knowing it in theory was different from hearing her husband say it directly.

Her fingers tightened slightly around his.

Giveon noticed.

He could hear the change in her heartbeat.

First came fear.

Then uncertainty.

Then something he couldn't quite identify.

Acceptance.

Perhaps.

He studied her expression carefully.

He wished he could understand exactly what she was thinking.

But Ivanna was becoming increasingly difficult for him to read.

She looked down for another moment before finally lifting her head.

Their eyes met.

Then she nodded.

Just once.

Giveon felt something inside him loosen.

Relief.

But it wasn't complete relief.

Because he still didn't know whether she had nodded because she wanted to or because she believed she had no choice.

"Ivanna."

She looked at him.

"You don't have to do anything tonight."

Her brows lifted slightly.

"I meant what I said. I won't force you."

She gave him a gentle smile.

"I know."

"And I won't rush you."

"I know."

He studied her.

"Are you sure?"

Ivanna nodded.

"Yes."

She looked down at their hands again.

"It is my duty."

Giveon's expression changed.

"I don't want you to think of yourself as a duty."

She looked at him in surprise.

"You are my wife," he said. "Not an obligation."

Something about those words touched her.

She smiled.

It was small.

Gentle.

But genuine.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The garden around them seemed strangely peaceful.

The sun was almost completely gone now, leaving only traces of orange and gold across the sky.

A cool breeze moved through the trees.

Ivanna shivered slightly.

Giveon noticed immediately.

"Are you cold?"

"A little."

Without thinking, he moved closer.

Then he wrapped his arms around her.

Ivanna stiffened.

She hadn't expected the embrace.

Giveon held her tightly, but there was no force in his touch.

It was simply comforting.

Warm.

Protective.

Ivanna hesitated before slowly relaxing against him.

She placed her arms around his waist.

Her cheek rested against his chest.

For a moment, she heard nothing except the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

She breathed in.

His scent filled her senses.

Something like pine after rain.

Clean.

Earthy.

Warm.

Giveon closed his eyes.

This was dangerous.

Not because she was dangerous.

But because of how safe he felt with her.

He had spent years surrounded by people who feared him.

People who bowed when he entered a room.

People who watched his every movement.

People who saw the prince, the warrior, the half-vampire.

But Ivanna was beginning to see the man.

And somehow, being held by her made him feel like he could finally breathe.

His arms tightened slightly around her.

Ivanna didn't pull away.

She stayed there.

For a few precious seconds, Giveon allowed himself to forget everything.

The council.

His brothers.

The coming war.

The throne.

The bloodshed.

Everything disappeared.

Then his body reacted to the closeness.

His muscles tightened.

His breathing changed.

His eyes began to darken.

He immediately recognized the warning signs.

He couldn't allow himself to lose control.

Not with her.

Not now.

Giveon gently released her.

Ivanna looked up at him.

"Is something wrong?"

"No."

His voice was slightly rough.

She studied him.

He looked away briefly before returning his gaze to hers.

"I just need to be alone for a little while."

"Oh."

There was a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Giveon noticed.

"I'll come to our chambers later tonight."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"You will?"

He nodded.

"Yes."

He wanted her to understand that he wasn't abandoning the conversation.

He simply needed time to regain his composure.

"I'll meet you there."

Ivanna nodded slowly.

"Alright."

Giveon stood.

Ivanna followed.

For a moment, they stood facing one another.

The garden had grown darker now.

The first stars were beginning to appear above them.

Ivanna looked at him one last time.

There was something different in his expression.

Something she couldn't quite understand.

"Good night, Giveon."

"I'll see you later."

She turned and began walking toward the castle.

Giveon watched her go.

He didn't move.

He simply stood beneath the darkening sky, listening to the sound of her footsteps disappearing into the distance.

When the doors finally closed behind her, he lowered his gaze.

He had spent years mastering every part of himself.

His strength.

His temper.

His hunger.

His instincts.

Yet one woman had managed to make all of that control feel fragile.

He ran a hand through his already tousled dark hair and released a quiet sigh.

He wasn't afraid of the war.

He wasn't afraid of his brothers.

He wasn't even afraid of death.

But Ivanna frightened him in a completely different way.

Because for the first time in his life, he had something he genuinely didn't want to lose.

And that realization was far more terrifying than anything waiting beyond the castle walls.