Page 10 of Claimed By Prince Daddy

We entered the long corridor and walked side by side, not bothering to speak. I couldn’t have voiced anything anyway. My eyes were on the floor, and my heart pounded against my chest with each step I took that brought me closer to the Great Hall. As we neared the doors, a figure in a lavender dress reached the junction at the same time. My head whipped up, my eyes snagging on the sapphire eyes that captivated me so thoroughly.

Ember.

Beside me, Rosalana flinched. Her body went rigid as she glared at Ember. The female werewolf’s gaze slid toward the shadow fae female. Yet, instead of open hostility like I was expecting, I saw a bleakness that shadowed Ember’s dull gaze. She dipped her head in a polite nod and entered the hall first. She never looked back at us.

I stood as if my feet were rooted to the floor. All comprehension flew out of my mind, my thoughts a jumbled mass. I yearned to go to her, yet I knew I couldn’t. My hands felt numb at my sides; the need to touch her, to hold the female, a burning ember inside my chest. I swallowed and inhaled a steadying breath. Glancing at Rosalana, I saw her still glaring hard at where Ember once stood.

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s go in.”

Guiding the female into the Great Hall with my hand on the small of her back, we quickly took our seats.

As soon as I sat, my siblings pounced.

“Hey,” Solarus hissed. “What the hell is going on?” I remained silent, my gaze fixed toward the ceiling. I didn’t want to look at anyone or anything. But Solarus wasn’t having it. He gripped my shoulder and shook it. “Drake, man, answer me.”

I whirled on him, talons slicing out. “What the hell do you want me to say?” I hissed.

On Solarus’ other side was our little sister, Alaria. Her soft brow furrowed in a frown. “You can start by telling us when you were going to tell your siblings you’d found your fated mate.” Hurt flashed in her eyes and sent a jab straight through my sternum.

My gaze softened as I stared at my little sister. “I couldn’t tell you, Alaria.”

She licked her lips, her gaze dropping to the ground before flitting up to meet mine. “Why?”

I clenched my jaw, looking away. “Because I didn’t want it to be true. A part of me hoped this couldn’t be, that it would all die down.”

A pregnant pause. Then, understanding dawned in her eyes. She gave a slow nod. Solarus and Alaria exchanged a brief glance. So much was exchanged in that look. Solarus turned back to me.

“We’re here for you either way,” Solarus said. He gave a firm nod of his head. Alaria nodded behind him.

A knot had lodged in my throat. Swallowing didn’t loosen it. “Thanks.”

Nazarril, the elf king, began the meeting. He turned to King Asar. “Well, what say you?”

King Tridar sat in his seat, awaiting his words. My breath became stuck in my lungs, refusing to dislodge.

King Asar pushed to his feet, almost swaying where he stood. His shoulders seemed to slump under an unbearable weight. He seemed to have aged years in the span of hours. Straightening, the king said, “It has been decided.” His neck tendons grew distended as he swallowed. “We agree to the union between Prince Drake and Princess Ember.”

The world spun on its axis, and a sense of weightlessness descended on me as if I were falling into an abyss. Gazing across the Great Hall, my eyes found Ember’s. I read the same bleak resignation that shone from my own eyes.

CHAPTER TWO: NEW BEGINNINGS

EMBER

Isat inside the horse carriage, each bump in the dirt road shattering the already fractured pieces of my heart. My eyes burned with repressed tears. I swallowed back the lump lodged in my throat.

Already the landscape was going through a twisted metamorphosis. The lush prairies of the elven kingdom were replaced with dense trees, the thick canopy blotting out the sun hovering high in the sky, the only witness to my grief. Except for the other witness, the only other Lanair riding in the carriage with me.

Prince Drake Evenus.

The shadow fae sat across from me; his eyes remained fastened on the scenery blurring by outside our window. The clopping of hooves was the only sound to our ride to his palace.

My thoughts returned to my parents as a memory flashed to life.

“Dad, please tell me you’re not going to go through with this,” I had said as I stood within my parents’ chambers. “You—” my voice had strained in panic. I licked my lips. “You can’t possibly be thinking of making me…mate that prince.”

My dad had watched me through eyes dull with resignation. “What choice do we have, dear?” He had snarled in frustration, his brows slamming over his green eyes. “You are his mate!”

I had raked my hands through my hair and paced the length of the room.

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