After his father's death, Sarthos led the Zurvos clan. However, he had no right-hand man. As numbers diminished, suspicions stirred within the clan. When the banquet party where the clans met, Sarthos arrived late, covered in scarlet.
When the huntress was brought in and captured, he discovered she was a member of the rival clan that hunted vampires, Blum. So he took her for a bride. However, she learned of his plotting to have her escape because he was in debt when her father spared him.
Was it the obligation, or something deeper?