Page 22 of Claimed By Prince Daddy

“You certainly will,” my father said, his voice hard. “You have a duty to your people to see this union through to stop the war. Aside from that,” he growled, his eyes darkening. “Think of your duties to your fated mate, for stars’ sake!”

I clenched my teeth, and this time my voice was acrid as I snarled. “I do think of Ember. You know not how often she plagues my mind. But I am a male of my word. I cannot betray my brother, though he was not of my blood—I made a blood oath with him!”

“Drakegeon!” Using my full name, my mother hissed on a rare occasion when she was incensed. “You will?—”

The king threw out a hand toward her, and she fell silent. His eyes blazed as he glared his nose down at me.

“This is the last I will ever hear you bring thissubject,” he spat the word with disgust, “up again.” He rose to his full height, looming several feet above me on the platform. “The common female is of no use nor concern to this family. I forbid you from ever bringing her name to my face again.”

My eyes snapped wide. ‘But father?—”

“That is enough out of you!” His arm sliced the air, and his incisors bared.

My mouth snapped shut as I sensed I had pushed him too far. The queen rose to her feet and placed a hand on his forearm. He turned to her, and she offered him a consoling smile. He inhaled a steadying breath, then sank back onto his throne.

“Now,” the king said, “we will return to the matter in which I summoned you.”

The queen lowered herself onto her throne and withdrew her hand from my father.

“It is high time we introduced Ember Vaughan to the court and the shadow fae throughout the kingdom as your fiancé.There you will be the one to introduce her to the royal court and the fae from the neighboring kingdoms. You both shall also partake of the Shahar dance of engagement before all in attendance.”

My heart dropped.

Not the Shahar…is he out of his mind?

The King’s pupils grew slit vertically. “Do I make myself clear?”

I dipped my chin and bowed my head. “Yes, my king,” I bit out.

“Good,” my father said. “You can go.”

Lifting my head, I backed away from the thrones a couple of steps, as was proper, then turned and stalked out of the throne room. My talons sliced out my fingertips once I crossed the threshold, and the guards closed the doors behind me.

My mind was a scrambled whirl of thoughts. Anger bubbled within my blood as I recalled what my father had referred to, Rosalana as, a common fae. Yes, she did not have royal blood running through her veins—just because she was born to servants did not make her worth any less. My talons flexed, itching to tear into something. Biting down hard enough on my tongue to taste blood, I headed down the stairs in the direction of the gardens to return to Ember’s side.

Laughter sounded from around the corner. My gaze caught Ember as she walked, surrounded by three female servants. The servants chatted about something animatedly. Ember rolled her eyes and shook her head in amusement. Then, her gaze found mine. A frown touched her brow as her eyes dropped my clawed hands. She quickly bid the servantsfarewell. They curtsied and departed from whence they came.

As she approached, Ember asked, “What happened? What did your father say?”

A hell of a lot happened. But nothing much I can share with you,I thought. My throat grew thick with the guilt of hiding from her what I had tried to do within the throne room. If she learned I had attempted to break off the engagement…

I averted my gaze, choosing to stare at the wall.

Her fingers grazed my forearm, then her hand clung to me. “Drake, look at me…”

I clenched my jaw hard and slowly slid my gaze to hers.

Ember’s teeth caught her bottom lip for a moment. Then she asked in a low voice laced with uncertainty, “Is it that terrible? What has happened?”

What I’ve done…yes.

I forced a grin that felt too tight. I shook my head. “No,” I lied. “Well…you might think so.”

Alarm flickered through her gaze. “What?” Her grip on my arm tightened.

“You are to attend a ball with me,” I replied.

She blinked once. Twice. Then her hand fell away. “That’s it?”

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