SPELLBOUND

The man before her looked nothing like she had been expecting. His eyes weren't red like blood. His fangs weren't showing. In fact, he seemed to have no fangs at all. And… he wasn't as pale as the vampires she had encountered before. He was pale compared to humans, but he wasn't that sickly shade of white like all the other vampires she had previously seen. And the most striking thing of all was that… he was just… breathtaking.

Evie was lost in a trance but was immediately jolted back to the present when she heard someone clear their throat.

She couldn't tear her eyes off his as she slowly lifted her hand to place it in his outstretched one. His eyes were silvery gray, akin to the bright moon, and they were full of life, as if there were many stars swirling within them. Then there were his lashes… they were so indecently long and thick for a man. His lips, his jaw, his nose… every single part of him rendered her speechless. She had never seen another human who had been fashioned with such beauty and perfection. But then again, she remembered that he wasn't human to begin with.

She told herself to look away but for some reason, she couldn't. She felt like he somehow did something to her as soon as their eyes met.

When her hand touched his, she almost flinched as her heartbeat thudded even louder. He led her to stand right next to him before he let go of her hand. When he released her hand, she felt the cool air replace where his hand had been and it was then that she realized his skin wasn't cold. She had heard from human soldiers that vampires were cold blooded creatures and that they were as cold as corpses to the touch.

But his hands weren't cold at all. Why was that? How come his hand was warm? It couldn't just be her imagination!

Evie didn't have the chance to even begin to ponder this puzzle any further because the ceremony started without delay. Anyone from the outside looking in would easily be able to tell that everyone couldn't wait for this wedding to end. The humans present were eager for the vampires to finally leave this place and their empire while the visiting vampires were certainly also looking forward to granting the humans' wishes to leave this place and go back to their own empire. For once, humans and vampires agreed on the same thing.

And thus, just as everyone hoped, the wedding hastily ended.

Evie had attended other princesses' and nobles' weddings before and she almost wanted to smirk at the speed at which they carried out and ended what was meant to be a most special occasion; her wedding. But then again, she couldn't blame anyone. No one wanted this wedding in the first place. Every one of them, even the bride and the groom, was forced into this union.

A deep, quiet sigh escaped Evie's lips when everyone started to quickly move and disperse. She couldn't believe how quickly the hall became empty.

Her husband offered his hand to her again. Of course, Evie already prepared herself for this. She was going to the Northern Empire, the vampire's land, right after the wedding so she already said her goodbyes to her family before the vampires even arrived.

A little shaky, Evie placed her hand in his. Her eyes were hot but she swore not to tear up. She looked at her mother as the vampire prince led her towards the door.

Her mother was crying, sobbing quietly where she stood, and it took all of Evie to stop herself from following her lead. Evie looked away, focusing on the path before her instead. As the newlyweds reached the door, Evie halted and looked back one last time. She subconsciously gripped her husband's hand before she turned to him and finally stepped forward. This was all she could do from here on out; to bravely walk into her future, one step at a time, to find out what destiny had in store for her.