Chapter 1 The Price of My Name

Selena's POV

The first time my family called me valuable, they were preparing to sell me.

I discovered this while standing outside my father's study, holding a tray of untouched drinks and listening to him negotiate my future.

"She is twenty-four. Healthy, unmarried, and from the bloodline you requested. That's all that matters."

I stopped breathing.

A man's unfamiliar voice answered from inside. "The kings won't accept an ordinary offering. Are you certain she is suitable?"

My father's reply came without hesitation.

"She will be delivered before the next moonrise. You have my word."

The tray trembled in my hands.

For years, I had endured being the unwanted daughter. My mother's relatives mocked my weight, my father rarely acknowledged me, and my younger sister, Clara, had learned that humiliating me was an easy way to earn their approval.

I had never expected affection from them.

However, I hadn't imagined they would bargain with my life.

I pushed the study door open.

"Who are you giving away?"

My father turned sharply. His visitor, a tall man dressed in a black coat, looked me over with unsettling interest.

"Selena, leave us."

"No. I heard everything."

My father's expression hardened. "Then you should understand that this arrangement is necessary."

"Necessary for whom?"

He placed a sealed document on his desk. A red symbol had been stamped beneath his signature, shaped like a crescent surrounded by six sharp points.

I recognized it from the history books.

The Crimson Covenant.

An ancient agreement between six supernatural kingdoms. Every generation, their rulers renewed the pact through a blood offering. Most people believed the tradition had ended centuries ago, but the strange disappearances near royal territory suggested otherwise.

I stared at the document.

"You promised them a sacrifice?"

"I promised them what our family owes."

"Then give them your own blood."

His hand struck the desk.

"Watch your mouth!"

The stranger chuckled softly.

My father immediately lowered his voice, embarrassed by the interruption.

I placed the tray down before my shaking hands betrayed me.

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Your grandmother's family made an agreement with the royal courts. The debt has remained unpaid."

"Grandmother died before I was born."

"Her obligations did not die with her."

I looked at the document again. My name appeared beneath the red seal, written in ink that seemed darker than the rest.

Selena Elarian.

My grandmother had always forbidden anyone from using our ancestral surname. She said it attracted unwanted attention. I had assumed it was an old superstition.

Apparently, there was more to it.

"Why me?" I asked.

My father avoided my eyes.

The stranger answered instead. "Because your blood is required."

I stepped away from the desk.

"I'm not going anywhere."

My father moved around it, blocking the door.

"You don't have a choice."

"Everyone has a choice."

"Not when their existence has already been promised."

His words struck harder than his hand ever could.

I glanced at the visitor. "Who are you?"

He adjusted his gloves.

"Someone making sure your delivery happens on time."

Before I could demand an explanation, Clara entered the room wearing a silk dress I recognized from my wardrobe.

She had taken it without asking.

"Father, the carriage is ready."

I stared at her. "You knew?"

Her eyes briefly met mine before sliding away.

"Don't make this difficult, Selena."

A bitter laugh escaped me.

"Of course. It would be inconvenient if I refused to disappear quietly."

Nobody answered.

That silence told me everything.

---

By sunset, my belongings had been packed into a single travelling case.

My father refused to explain where I was going. He only instructed me to behave, obey the kings, and avoid embarrassing the family.

As if I were attending a royal dinner rather than being handed over like payment.

My mother stood near the staircase while servants carried my luggage outside. She had barely spoken since learning about the arrangement.

When I approached her, she adjusted the necklace around her throat.

"Please tell me you didn't agree to this."

Her fingers paused.

"Your father made the decision."

"You're my mother."

Pain crossed her face, but it disappeared before I could understand it.

"Sometimes families must make difficult sacrifices."

I searched her expression for the woman who had once held my hand during thunderstorms.

I found a stranger.

"Then I hope the sacrifice was worth it."

I walked away before she could respond.

Outside, a black carriage waited beside the gates. Its horses were enormous, their dark coats shining beneath the fading light. Strange silver markings covered their harnesses.

The driver wore a metal badge bearing six crowns.

I hesitated before climbing inside.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To the northern palace."

"Which kingdom?"

He looked down at me.

"All six."

My stomach tightened.

There were six kings, each ruling a separate territory. They rarely gathered under one roof, and their meetings usually ended with political threats or bloodshed.

Why would they want me?

The carriage door closed before I could ask another question.

As we travelled beyond the city, familiar buildings disappeared behind thick forests. My phone lost its signal, and the road became increasingly narrow.

I pressed my forehead against the window.

Something moved between the trees.

At first, I thought it was a deer. Then two glowing eyes appeared beside the road, followed by another pair farther ahead.

The driver didn't slow down.

"Are those wolves?"

"Don't look at them."

"Why?"

"Because they already know you're here."

I turned toward him.

"What does that mean?"

He ignored me.

A sharp pain suddenly spread across my wrist. I pulled back my sleeve and found a faint red mark beneath my skin.

It resembled the symbol stamped on my father's document.

Before I could examine it, the carriage entered a vast stone courtyard.

A palace rose beyond the iron gates, its black towers disappearing into the evening clouds. Guards stood along the entrance, some with silver eyes, others with unnaturally pale faces.

Werewolves and vampires.

Together.

The gates opened.

I stepped out, clutching my travelling case.

A woman in a dark uniform approached and examined the paper in her hands.

"Selena Elarian?"

"Yes."

She glanced at the mark on my wrist.

Her expression changed.

"Take her inside. The kings are waiting."

I swallowed.

"All six of them?"