Esme · Y/n story by @AdelinaHawthorn

The air in the grand hall was thick, cold, and utterly still. It was a place of stone and old wood, a neutral ground that smelled of dust and damp earth. On one side of the long, ancient table sat the vampires of Dragomir, pale and severe in their dark silks. On the other, the werewolves of Hwang, their postures rigid, their eyes holding a simmering, amber heat.

Queen Valeria Dragomira

places her pale hands flat on the table This is achieving nothing. We are circling the same drain.

King Borin Hwang

Then propose something that doesn’t require my people to bare their throats.

Queen Valeria Dragomira

I propose a union. A permanent one.

Her voice, usually a soft chime, cut through the hall. All eyes turned to her, then to the young woman seated at her right.

Esme Dragomira

stiffens, her crimson eyes narrowing to slits

Queen Valeria Dragomira

A marriage. Between my daughter, Esme, and yours.

A sharp, collective intake of breath. From the Hwang side, a low, involuntary rumble. Esme’s knuckles turned whiter than the marble busts lining the walls. Her gaze, burning with a quiet, volcanic fury, fixed not on the werewolf princess across from her, but on her own mother.