- 5 hours ago
- #asm
Reborn to Marry the Vampire Duke - Short Drama Full HD 720p #ASM
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00I cast the bloodthrall curse on Adrian, binding his body to mine.
00:04For that, he hates me for five long years.
00:07By day, he cuts me down with cruel words.
00:09Yet at night, he comes to my bed like an addict, lost in me.
00:13Later, I am pregnant.
00:15On the day of my deadly labor, he forces a witch to cast a spell.
00:18He gives his heart's blood to save me, but the curse makes him bleed out.
00:22Before he dies, he refuses to even glance at our child.
00:25The first bond ends here.
00:28Next life.
00:29Let me be with her.
00:30I'm begging you, please.
00:33Tears run down my face as I nod.
00:35Satisfied at last, he closes his eyes.
00:37The Wren family hates me and casts me out.
00:40I hate myself too.
00:41If I had only let him be with my sister Vivienne, none of this would have happened.
00:45The agonizing pain of the mother curse tears through my heart.
00:49I don't resist.
00:50I let it carry me after Adrian into death.
00:53I open my eyes again.
00:55Adrian pins me against the wall, crushing my throat.
00:57His eyes blood red.
01:01The bloodthal is acting up.
01:03His breath is heavy.
01:04His body aches to get near me, but his will resists.
01:07How dare you?
01:09Just to keep me from marrying Vivienne.
01:11You cursed me with the bloodthroth.
01:14Five years I couldn't sleep without crawling to your door.
01:17My own body betrayed everything I am.
01:19Vivienne.
01:20She's your sister.
01:21You'd watch her walk into her own grave by marrying that... that thing?
01:25The man Vivienne is meant to marry is the Duke of Ravenhollow Lord Cassian Byre.
01:29The true power behind the Blood Court.
01:31His three human brides all died on their wedding nights.
01:35Whispers say he drained them dry.
01:36Two centuries ago, the great war between humans and vampires ended with the Accord.
01:41It decrees that vampires may not feed on humans at will.
01:45Any who do would be put to death by the Blood Court.
01:47The human crown recognizes the Blood Court's political authority and may not refuse its marriage decrees.
01:53Countless hunters died for this peace.
01:55The greatest sacrifice came from the oldest hunter bloodthroth.
01:58My family, the Asherids, for two centuries, humans and vampire lords have lived side by side under the floor.
02:05Over the years the vampires have recovered their strength.
02:08While the hunter families have steadily declined under restraint, now the Duke of Ravenhollow asks our family for a bride.
02:14It is a pure calculated insult.
02:16But if we refuse, humanity can't bear his wrath.
02:20Nor can we bear the price of breaking the treaty first.
02:22Father and mother have no power to fight only to agree.
02:25But he named no specific daughter.
02:28Any Ashford girl may wed him.
02:30In my past life, I cast the bloodthrall on Adrian.
02:33What I had done could not be undone.
02:35That left only Vivian to marry the Duke.
02:37Right now, I calmly pull my wrist from his grip.
02:40Vivian won't marry him.
02:42I will.
02:43This time, I will give you what you want.
02:49Adrian freezes, then scoffs, like he has just heard a cruel joke.
02:54You?
02:55What nonsense.
02:57Do you even hear yourself?
02:58The Duke is a 600-year-old vampire.
03:01He killed his three wives and countless hunters.
03:03All of Ravenhollow fears him.
03:05Every family with a daughter prays to stay out of his sight.
03:09I keep my word.
03:10Seeing how sure I am, Adrian looks away in disgust.
03:14Break this damn curse.
03:15Vivian is none of your concern.
03:16I will break the bloodthrall and marry the Duke in Vivian's place.
03:20Adrian laughs again, sharp with mockery.
03:22He taps my shoulder and jerks his hand back in revulsion.
03:25You do that out of the goodness of your heart?
03:28What is this, another scheme?
03:30Some new way to torment her?
03:31Scorn fills his face.
03:33Poison laces his face.
03:35He is all barbs.
03:36Refusing to let me near.
03:37A sharp pain hits my chest, stealing my breath.
03:40I bury the last trace of my love for him in my eyes, looking straight at him.
03:45You'll have her.
03:46Just wait.
03:47Only seven days left until the Duke's wedding.
03:49By then, the bloodthrall inside us will reach its peak.
03:53The thrall surge will shatter both our minds.
03:55I need to act fast.
03:59I track down the hidden shop beneath gallows.
04:02Lena Black Rose hangs over the door.
04:04It never withers.
04:05Madam Voss sits behind the counter.
04:07She is the witch who helped me cast the spell.
04:10Her single eye gleams in the candlelight.
04:12Another Ashfield girl.
04:14She doesn't even look up.
04:15You hunters always end up at my door eventually.
04:18I tell her what I need.
04:20She pulls a dark red flower from a glass cloche.
04:23Veins running through its petals like living flesh.
04:25The oblivion gleams.
04:27It can devour the power of the bloodthrall.
04:29Madam Voss twirls the stem.
04:30But I only have one.
04:32It breaks the bond for one person.
04:34The other suffers double the backlash.
04:37It doesn't matter.
04:38Tell me how to use it.
04:39Heart's blood.
04:40The blood of the one your heart truly beats for.
04:44Feed it to the flower.
04:46Watch the petals turn from black to red.
04:49Then eat it.
04:50The curse will break.
04:51My heart beats for Adrian.
04:53Adrian's heart beats for Vivienne.
04:55If I hurt Vivienne for her blood,
04:56Adrian will probably kill me.
04:58My head pounds with exhaustion.
05:01Yet I don't stop to rest.
05:02Getting on my horse,
05:03I ride alone across the moors back to Raven Hollow.
05:06I return to Ashford House.
05:08Adrian is already there.
05:09At once,
05:10I hold the oblivion bloom out before him.
05:12I found a way to break the bloodthrall.
05:14Feed this flower with your heart's blood and Vivienne's.
05:17Before I can finish,
05:18Adrian strikes my hand away.
05:19The obsidian box hits the ground.
05:21The oblivion bloom rolls out.
05:22It falls into the thick bushes of the black rose garden.
05:28Are you quite finished?
05:30Heart's blood.
05:32Only you could conceive of something so twisted.
05:34You might as well just ask for our lives.
05:39We are the ones under the bloodthrall.
05:41Why do you need Vivienne's blood?
05:44You can't even make your lies sound convincing.
05:47I feel a sudden lurch,
05:48like stepping off a cliff.
05:49My throat goes tight and I swallow hard.
05:51My hands drop to my sides.
05:54The bloom drinks from the one your heart beats for.
05:57And yours,
05:59beats for Vivienne.
06:00I give up trying to explain.
06:02I throw myself into the black rose bushes,
06:04searching for the oblivion bloom.
06:06Thorns slash my arms and cheek.
06:08The sting comes again and again.
06:09Seeing me bleed,
06:11Adrian jumps in after me.
06:12He hauls me to my feet
06:14and locks his arms around my waist.
06:16What are you doing?
06:16You've lost your mind.
06:18Every time he touches me,
06:20I mistake it for love.
06:21Then Vivienne appears.
06:22And every mistake shatters.
06:24I wrench free of his arms.
06:26As I fall to the ground,
06:27my palm lands upon the missing flower.
06:29A soft whimper escapes my throat.
06:32Is it joy or pain?
06:33I can't tell.
06:34Adrian thinks I am insane.
06:36He turns and leaves without a backward glance.
06:38So I have to go to Vivienne first.
06:43In my last life,
06:44and in this one,
06:45Vivienne and I have never gotten along.
06:47She finds me an eyesore
06:48and stays at Thornfield Abbey,
06:50refusing to come home.
06:51They call her the most accomplished
06:53Lady North of Raven Hollow.
06:55Whenever she comes back,
06:56Adrian is right there.
06:57He never misses a chance to see her.
06:59That sparks endless fights.
07:01We both despise each other.
07:02When I walk into her room,
07:04she doesn't even bat an eye.
07:05I will marry the Duke in your place,
07:07but you must do me one favor.
07:09What favor?
07:10I need your heart's blood.
07:11Vivienne first goes still,
07:13then lets out a cold little laugh.
07:14You might as well just kill me.
07:15I do not mean to kill you.
07:17Adrian and I are bound by the blood thralls.
07:19Once I break it,
07:20you two can be together.
07:22Since when are you a saint?
07:25You'd take my place and walk into that grave?
07:27I don't know what to say.
07:29I clench my fists in silence for a long while.
07:32Very well.
07:33I doubt you have the nerve to try anything.
07:35I'll call the physician.
07:37She is far too agreeable today.
07:39The physician prepares the silver lancet to draw blood.
07:42Suddenly, a violent kick blasts the door open.
07:44It is Adrian.
07:48He sees the silver blade about to pierce Vivienne.
07:51All the blood drains from his face.
07:53Kicking the physician aside,
07:55he rips off his coat to wrap around her.
07:57His voice is desperate.
07:59Vivienne, are you alright?
08:01She gives him a gentle push.
08:03You shouldn't have come.
08:04How could I not?
08:06You actually believed her?
08:08Are you trying to get yourself killed?
08:09As long as it lets me be with you,
08:11why should I not try?
08:12She smiles as she says it.
08:14One tear slips neatly from the corner of her eye.
08:16That tear falls into Adrian's heart.
08:18His breathing turns heavy.
08:20He pulls her into a tight embrace.
08:22His chin resting on top of her head.
08:24So this is what he looks like when he loves someone.
08:27I stand in the corner, speechless.
08:29The air in the room suffocates me.
08:31I just want to run.
08:32But his dying face from my past life flashes in my mind, pale bloodless.
08:36Lips barely moving to say,
08:38I'm begging you.
08:40History can't repeat itself.
08:41I clench my fists and swallow it all down.
08:44The moment I come back to myself,
08:46Adrian shoves me.
08:47My back slams into a pillar.
08:49I fall to the floor.
08:50A sharp pain shoots through my chest.
08:55He leans down and grabs me by the collar.
08:58Whatever this is, take it up with me.
09:00Leave her out of it.
09:01Anse, when he stood up for me,
09:03he warned others in just this way.
09:05But when it comes to Vivienne,
09:06I am always second.
09:07Now I am that other person.
09:09Why can't you trust me?
09:11Just once.
09:12This is the cure Madame Vos gave me.
09:14You expect me to believe that?
09:16It's our curse.
09:17Yours and mine.
09:18Why would it need Vivienne's blood?
09:20Don't give me that absurd excuse again.
09:22I don't believe a word of it.
09:24I let out a helpless sigh.
09:25My nails dig into my palms.
09:27When I look up,
09:28Vivienne is watching me over Adrian's shoulder.
09:30She is smiling.
09:31A smug, calculated smirk.
09:33She called Adrian here on purpose.
09:36And like a fool, I trusted her.
09:37But time is running out.
09:39I shoot up from the floor and stride forward.
09:41I pull out the Ashford family heirloom.
09:43The hunter's blade, pressing it to Vivienne's throat.
09:46My hand trembles slightly.
09:48Alara!
09:49She is your sister!
09:51You'll damn yourself for this!
09:52She's the girl my mother pulled from a river.
09:55And right now,
09:56she is standing between you and your freedom.
09:59My only fear is that I won't be able to sever this cursed bond.
10:03I promised him his freedom,
10:04and I will deliver.
10:06Vivienne didn't think I would actually do it.
10:08She glares at me with venom.
10:10You hate me that much?
10:11I don't answer.
10:12I toss a silver lancet to Adrian.
10:14I need your heart's blood.
10:16Give it to me.
10:16And I let her go.
10:18Fine.
10:18Remember what you said.
10:19For Vivienne,
10:20he doesn't hesitate for a single second.
10:22With shaking hands,
10:23the physician drives the lancet into Adrian's chest.
10:26Blood slips slowly down the hollow blade
10:28and drips into a silver bowl.
10:34Dark memories flood back.
10:36My whole body starts to shake.
10:37The day he saved me in my last life,
10:40he gave his heart's blood too
10:41until he was pale as a ghost.
10:43But for me,
10:43he filled bowl after bowl.
10:45The Wren family begged him to stop.
10:47He refused.
10:48Not until our baby was born.
10:49I turned my eyes away.
10:51I dare not look.
10:51Once this blood thrall breaks,
10:54he can finally have what he wants.
10:55It will truly be over between us.
10:58Enough.
10:59Let Vivienne go.
11:00They bring the silver bowl to me.
11:02The blood inside is deep red.
11:04The heavy smell of rusted iron hits my nose.
11:06The edges of my vision go dark.
11:08I turn my face aside,
11:10copying the physician's motion.
11:12I grab the other lancet from the table
11:13without hesitating.
11:14I plunge it toward Vivienne's heart.
11:16Vivienne gasps sharply.
11:18Her body goes rigid,
11:20yet she dares not move.
11:21Alara!
11:22I'm your sister!
11:23If you kill me,
11:24father and mother will never forgive you!
11:26Adrian, save me!
11:27Adrian completely loses his mind.
11:30Alara, stop!
11:31If you keep going after her,
11:32I swear I will never marry you!
11:34Never!
11:35It has only pierced the skin.
11:37Tell the physician to draw the blood,
11:38or I'll do it myself,
11:39and my hand will not be so precise.
11:42He pushes the physician toward me.
11:44Blood drawn,
11:44I let Vivienne go.
11:46I dip the oblivion bloom
11:47into both bowls of heart's blood.
11:52He rushes to Vivienne,
11:54pulling her into his arms.
11:55Physician!
11:56Take it out!
11:57Pull the lancet out now!
11:59Why won't she stop bleeding?
12:01Alayta, this is on you!
12:02She draws his sword
12:03and points it at my heart.
12:05Vivienne buries her face
12:06in his chest,
12:07sobbing in a small voice.
12:09Alara,
12:10what do you want from me?
12:11You already have all their love!
12:13Why do you keep tormenting me?
12:15She screams her lungs out.
12:17Adrian shudders with her.
12:19He glares at me like a poison blade.
12:21It doesn't matter.
12:22After the wedding,
12:23they will understand everything I did.
12:24I hold out the crimson,
12:26soaked oblivion bloom to Adrian.
12:28This is the real cure.
12:29Just try it.
12:32How do I know this isn't some new curse?
12:34I don't have time for your games, Alara.
12:36I feel utterly helpless,
12:38but I can't give up now.
12:39I lower my eyes to the sword
12:41he holds to my heart.
12:42The hunter's blade,
12:43its edge gleaming in the candlelight.
12:45I clench my fist,
12:46and without a second thought,
12:47I throw myself onto the blade.
12:52The blade pierces my heart.
12:54Pain explodes through my chest
12:56like blinding white light.
12:57My knees buckle,
12:58but I do not fall.
12:59Adrian's face turns white.
13:01His hand freezes on the hilt.
13:03He can neither pull it free
13:04nor force it deeper.
13:05He just stares at me,
13:06his throat bobbing,
13:07speechless.
13:08I grit my teeth
13:09and press the oblivion bloom
13:11to my bleeding heart.
13:12My blood slides over the petals
13:14like rain on glass,
13:15rejected, unwanted.
13:17I laugh,
13:17I grip the table's edge
13:18to force myself upright,
13:20only just stopping myself
13:21from collapsing with pain
13:23and blood loss.
13:24Adrian's brow furrows hard.
13:25To break the blood thrall,
13:27the oblivion bloom
13:27must drink the blood
13:29of the ones we truly love.
13:30I love you,
13:32and you love Vivian.
13:33It won't drink from me
13:35because my love doesn't count.
13:38Is that clear enough for you?
13:40Adrian's frown deepens.
13:41A sudden wave of panic hits him.
13:44He tries to step closer.
13:45I hold up the blood-stained
13:46oblivion bloom between us.
13:49Eat it.
13:53This time he takes
13:54the flower in his mouth.
13:55A massive weight
13:56lifts off my shoulders.
13:58The debt from my past life
13:59is finally paid.
14:00The moment I breathe out,
14:02exhaustion crushes me.
14:03I can't even move my feet.
14:05I lean on the table to leave.
14:07Suddenly,
14:07a sharp,
14:08gnawing agony
14:08rips through my front.
14:10Mother curse backlash.
14:11The mother,
14:12curse within me,
14:13senses the death
14:13of its child curse.
14:15My knees slam into the floor.
14:16A mouthful of black blood
14:18spills from my lips.
14:19The edges of my vision
14:20start to melt.
14:21My last sight
14:22is Adrian catching me.
14:23His lips are moving,
14:25but I hear nothing.
14:26There are tears in his eyes.
14:27For the first time in this life,
14:28he is crying for me.
14:30I waited a whole lifetime for this,
14:31and it comes only
14:32when I no longer need it.
14:34How unfair.
14:35My mind sinks into darkness.
14:36When I wake again,
14:38father and mother
14:38are sitting by my bed.
14:40Dark bags hang under their eyes.
14:41They must have been here for hours.
14:43You're finally awake.
14:44Father's voice is gravelly.
14:46You almost died.
14:47Do you really care
14:48for that rick boy so much?
14:50I slowly shake my head.
14:52Father, mother,
14:52I want to marry the duke.
14:54What?
14:58I calm them down,
14:59telling them everything
15:00from my past life.
15:01I tell it as a nightmare.
15:02Now,
15:03I wish to take another path.
15:05But the duke...
15:06Father frowns.
15:07A fate worse than death.
15:09That is no good path at all.
15:11Besides,
15:11it was only a dream.
15:13Dream or not,
15:14it remains true
15:14that Adrian does not love me.
15:16He loves Vivian.
15:17If so,
15:18I may as well marry the duke.
15:20And the accord demands it.
15:22To refuse is to break the treaty.
15:23If none of us wed him,
15:24the duke will never let our family off.
15:26Father falls silent.
15:27He seems to age 10 years in a second.
15:29I squeeze his hand
15:30and bid him set his mind at ease.
15:32Truth is,
15:33I am worried too.
15:33In my last life,
15:34seven days after Vivian wed the duke,
15:37she demanded an annulment.
15:38In the end,
15:39she climbed the manor garden wall
15:40by night.
15:41She fell to her death on the spot,
15:43so I can't walk her path.
15:44If we can just tolerate each other,
15:46that is the best ending I can ask for.
15:48Not long after father and mother leave,
15:50Adrian comes in carrying a silver tray.
15:52On it sits a honey lavender cake.
15:54My favorite.
15:55Just as he used to
15:56when I fell ill in days past,
15:58he lifts a fork and brings it to my lips.
16:00But this time,
16:01I don't open my mouth.
16:05Guilt flashes across Adrian's face.
16:07The bloodthrust is broken.
16:10He sighs and sets the tray on the nightstand.
16:12But I really can't marry you.
16:14I can't just watch Vivian walk into her own grave.
16:17I ask him,
16:18so what are your plans?
16:19His face grows grave,
16:20yet he says nothing.
16:22Perhaps he fears I will betray his plans.
16:24A second chance at life has opened my eyes.
16:26I finally see the difference between me and Vivian.
16:29Who he loves and who he doesn't.
16:30It is clear enough.
16:31Now, there is nothing left for me to cry over.
16:34On the wedding day,
16:35I wake up early.
16:36I slip into a black silk gown.
16:38Blood rubies glitter at the neckline.
16:40And a cathedral veil falls from my hair,
16:42light as smoke.
16:43Mother and father hold my hands,
16:44just talking and talking.
16:46Mother can't hold back her tears.
16:48She pulls me into a crushing hug.
16:50Father stands beside us,
16:52his jaw tight,
16:53unable to say a word.
16:54Just like in my past life,
16:56the Duke doesn't show up to fetch his brides.
16:58He sends his crimson guard,
16:59a full squad of vampire soldiers.
17:02More like a funeral than a wedding.
17:04I step into the black carriage.
17:06The convoy moves out in silence.
17:08No cheers.
17:09No music.
17:10Only the echo of holes on stone.
17:12We don't get far.
17:13The carriage violently jolts.
17:14I almost fly out of my seat.
17:16Chaos erupts outside.
17:18Steel clashes.
17:19Then, the door rips open.
17:21Vivian, come with me now!
17:25Adrian, this is his master plan.
17:27To steal the bride.
17:29And suddenly I think that if I had not stopped him in my last life,
17:33he would have done the same then.
17:35I am just about to say no.
17:37Too late.
17:38He wraps an arm around my waist
17:40and yanks me out of the carriage.
17:42My feet touch the ground.
17:44Dozens of crossfills lock onto us.
17:46Not far off, the crowd parts.
17:48Falling back like a receding tide.
17:52The duke rides forward on a massive horse
17:55in deep crimson velvet.
17:56His black hair is slicked back.
17:58His pale features are unnaturally sharp and flawless.
18:02He doesn't look human.
18:03Under the gloomy sky,
18:04his deep red eyes look almost black.
18:06Every step he takes makes no sound.
18:09The street falls so silent you could hear a pin drop.
18:13It tilts his head as if tasting an interesting word.
18:17The Rin hair.
18:19Are you trying to steal my bride?
18:25Adrian knows he is exposed.
18:27He tears away the veil from his face.
18:30Your grace, Viv doesn't want this marriage.
18:32Let her go.
18:35Oh?
18:36The duke seems amused.
18:37I don't recall that being your decision.
18:40Vivian, don't be afraid.
18:43Say it.
18:44Say you don't want this.
18:46I'll take the consequences.
18:48I lift a hand and push back the cathedral veil.
18:51Adrian's eyes widen in utter shock.
18:53I calmly smooth out my ruffled veil and turn toward the duke.
18:57I believe the ceremony was interrupted.
18:59Each word clear.
19:00Shall we continue, my lord?
19:02His voice trembles with shock.
19:03Elara?
19:04Aren't you pleased now?
19:06Get out of here before the duke loses his temper.
19:09I walk to the duke's horse.
19:10He looks down at me.
19:12I don't bow my head.
19:13Your grace.
19:15The Rin heir thought my sister was the bride today.
19:17That's why he came after us.
19:20It's all a misunderstanding.
19:23I have long been drawn to you.
19:26I marry of my own free will.
19:33A hint of amusement flashes in Cassian's eyes.
19:36He stares down at me for a long time.
19:38Such scrutiny raises the hairs on the back of my neck.
19:41Thankfully, he reaches out his hand to me.
19:43The moment I take it, a massive force yanks me up.
19:46I land firmly on the horse, right against his chest.
19:49He circles one arm around my waist.
19:52And as if by design, he lowers his head until his chin nearly rests at the hollow of my shoulder.
20:03Since it's a Mr. Standing, the Rin heir, care to join the wedding feast at Vray Manor?
20:09Adrien's face turns ashen.
20:11He looks at me in silence.
20:13His expression unreadable, Cassian lets out a soft chuckle.
20:17Then you shall come with us.
20:29The music starts again.
20:31The procession slowly moves forward.
20:33But the scene is bizarre.
20:34The bride is not in her carriage, but seated in the groom's arms.
20:37A man sits in the carriage instead.
20:40What happens today will be the wildest gossip in Raven Hollow for decades.
20:43As the blood oath ceremony is about to begin, Adrien suddenly rushes from the crowd and seizes my heart.
20:51No.
20:52You can't marry him.
20:54Come back with me.
20:58He can't pull me away because Cassian draws me wholly into his arms.
21:02One hand locks around my waist.
21:04The other settles over the hand Adrien has on me.
21:07His fingers squeeze just slightly, letting out a muffled groan.
21:11What is the Rin heir doing?
21:13Cassian's voice remains calm.
21:16Do you have any idea what that would cost you?
21:20Exactly, my lord.
21:22I turn to look at Adrien, my voice steady.
21:25You want me to call Vivian over?
21:28His eyes go dark.
21:29His heart aches so badly he can barely stand.
21:32By all rights, he should be thrilled.
21:34Alera is the one getting married off.
21:36But right now, there is no joy, especially now, seeing Alera in her wedding gown beside another man.
21:43It burns.
21:44I look at him standing there, confused.
21:47Just as I am about to speak again, a familiar sharp pain hits my chest.
21:52My body weakens, and I fall into Cassian's arms this time.
21:56A burning fever comes with it.
21:58My hands move on their own.
22:01They press against his chest, gripping his crimson velvet.
22:04My thoughts are no longer my eyes.
22:06The small surge has come through.
22:16Cassian senses at once that something is wrong.
22:19He lowers my cathedral veil to hide the loss of control in my face.
22:23Then he scoops me up in his arms.
22:25Cancel the ceremony.
22:27His voice rings out to the crimson guard, cold and decisive.
22:31Straight to the bridal chamber.
22:33Adrien spreads his arms to block the way.
22:35He doesn't flinch at Cassian's icy stare.
22:37No!
22:38I'm taking her with me!
22:40Cassian simply tips his head.
22:42The bount of bowstrings drawing echoes all at once.
22:45Dozens of drawn arrows are instantly trained on Adrien.
22:49One slams into the stone just an inch from Adrien's boot.
22:53Chips of rock spray into the air.
22:55By now, my mind is entirely gone.
22:58My fingers blindly tear at Cassian's collar.
23:01Without waiting, he carries me swiftly into the depths of Vyre Manor.
23:06Adrien's eyes go bloodshot.
23:08He tries to chase us like a madman, but he is alone against many.
23:12The crimson guard overpowers him.
23:14They drag him out the gates, throwing him down the steps.
23:17Looking at the great doors dressed in black ribbons and the line of guards before him,
23:22Adrien drops to one knee.
23:28Why is this happening?
23:29Why is it Alara?
23:33The moment the words leave him, he goes still.
23:36Alara said it.
23:37She really said she would take Vivian's place.
23:40But he never took it seriously.
23:43How could Lord Ashford agree to let Alara marry that monster?
23:47There has to be a way to fix this.
23:49There has to be.
23:50Staggering to his feet, he runs back to Ashford's house.
23:53First, as he passes the servant's corridor, he hears a familiar voice.
23:58Nice drawings.
24:00Looks exactly like that idiot Alara.
24:06Send it to Vyre Manor tomorrow morning.
24:08Let's see what the duke does when he sees those compromising sketches of his new wife with another man.
24:16A servant laughs obsequiously.
24:18That's a given, miss.
24:20Alara probably won't even survive until the bridal visit.
24:23She'll be dead.
24:25No one will ever compete with you.
24:28Adrien's hands shake.
24:29He pushes the door open.
24:31And the drawings spread out on the table.
24:33He can't even bear to look at them.
24:35I'll be dead.
24:37I'll be dead.
Comments