Page 74 of House of Royals

Jasmine doesn’t say anything for a long time. The mix of emotions roll off of her like a tangible cloud. I wonder if she really was bi-polar in her human life. I’m not sure if she’s more extreme now or if she was completely out of control before.

“I know you’re angry with me now,” she finally says. “But eventually you’ll realize that I did us all a favor. You’ll return to the House. And we’ll finish what we started.”

My jaw clenches hard. Hard enough to threaten to crack my teeth.

“You may not be ready by your birthday anymore,” Jasmine says. “But it won’t be long.”

And the tone of her voice tells me that she will make me ready whether I am or not.

“You have a fatal flaw,” I say evenly.

“Enlighten me,” she challenges.

“You believe that people will do what you say, simply because you place yourself upon a throne.” My fingers ball into a fist. Air flows into my lungs in deep pulls. The anger and the hatred that has been building up inside of me for so long now comes out in eerily calm confidence. “That they will remain loyal to you because you tell them they should.”

“I’ve made sacrifices for the House,” Jasmine says, her voice dipping. The desperation surfaces in her tone. “I have kept it running for a decade and a half because your father chose to abandon us.”

A smile forms on my lips. I let my eyes slide closed and shake my head. She truly doesn’t get it.

I take another deep breath. Give myself two seconds to collect. When I open my eyes, I turn to face her. I take two steps toward her, so we are only a foot apart.

“You’ve taken and taken,” I say, completely calm and collected. “And now, I promise that I will take from you what you love most.”

There’s a moment of reflection as Jasmine tries to figure out what she loves most, which tells me that she is incapable of the true meaning of the word.

“You’ll never take Micah from me,” she scoffs from behind her dark sunglasses. “He hates you far more than I do. He’ll kill you before you get within fifty feet of him.”

Again, the smile pulls on the corners of my lips. “Keep your man toy. I vow to take what you love most, and that, Jasmine Veltora, is the House. I will disassemble it right from under your feet and watch you fall. Alone. The Conrath family hasn’t claimed the House for two hundred years, but that’s about to change. The House is mine. And I’m taking it.”

Jasmine’s eyes slowly grow wide, her mouth falling just slightly open.

Without a breath from her, I turn, and walk back to the car.

WHEN YOU TAKE AWAY HOPE, free spirit, the possibility of new love, and all the things that make life bright and worth living, all you’re left with is revenge and anger.

I pace in front of the chalkboard in my father’s office. On it, I’ve written the names of each member of the house.

I’m pretty sure I’ve already won Lillian. I haven’t seen her since the night of my party, but I imagine she’s keeping herself safe. Lying in wait until I make a move. There’s nothing she can do for now.

I think I can win Anna over. She doesn’t seem particularly loyal to anyone in the house. It’s companionship she craves. And a strong backbone. She doesn’t seem to dislike me by any means. I will figure out how to sway her to my side.

The Kask brothers. I’m not sure how they will play out. Samuel flirts endlessly, but flirtation means nothing. Christian is always known to smile at anything with breasts. But Christian told me that story of his father and how he was the leader before Jasmine. I think I can use that information to my advantage.

I will never want Micah in my house. He had a line drawn through his name the second I wrote it up there.

I doubt that I will be able to gain the allegiance of Trinity, either. I don’t know why she doesn’t like me, but somehow I feel that isn’t going to change.

Cameron will be easy, I think. Be his friend, give him a smile when he cracks a joke, provide him with plenty of salty snacks, and he’ll be anyone’s best friend.

It comes down to Markov. If I can gain him, I know I can do this. With his support, the others won’t question me. He has that kind of power, which makes me wonder why he isn’t the leader instead of Jasmine. Then again, he is driven by his lust for blood. It’s hard to lead when you’re constantly thinking about your next kill.

He will be the most complicated one to win over.

“Revenge is a dangerous game.”

I turn to see Rath standing in my doorway. Hands clasped behind his back. Expression calm and even.

“This isn’t just a game of revenge,” I say as I face my board again. “It’s a game of power.”

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