Chapter 49 Would Be Mine

• Florian's POV (Continued)
• The grand hall fell silent as I allowed the gravity of my words to sink in. My court, for all their centuries of experience, had always been cautious, hesitant to embrace the full potential of our kind. But I had never been bound by such restraints. Arabelle was the key—not just to the power I sought, but to the future of our kind. If I could break her spirit, bend her will to mine, there would be nothing and no one left to stand in my way. Not Lucian. Not Florence. No one.
• "Arabelle is a weapon," I declared, stepping forward, letting my eyes sweep across the assembled vampires. "One that, if wielded properly, can reshape the world."