Page 64 of Claimed By Prince Daddy

My throat grew too tight, and my next words were barely able to pass through. “Alright.”

We sat beside each other on the bed. In the next moment, I found myself seated in Cassiar’s lap, his fingers toying with a strand of my blonde hair. He ducked his head and pressed a kiss to my slender throat before placing another at my collarbone. I fisted my hands till my fingers bit into the tender flesh of my palms.

Melodina…this is for Melodina…I chanted my daughter’s name inside my head with each kiss. Her name was a lifeline under the king’s hands. I felt the small vial still in my left palm, but I couldn’t uncork it and place a drop with him being so close. He would notice!

A knock at the door sounded. Then the door opened, and a guard stepped inside with two wine glasses and a bottle of wine on a tray. I fairly leaped from the king’s lap and stood facing the guard.

The king chuckled. “She’s a little shy, isn’t she?” He asked the guard.

The guard glanced at me as if he was noticing me for the first time. “Uh…yes, Your Majesty.”

I wanted to roll my eyes.

The king gestured toward the small table at the back of the room. “Set the try down there.”

The guard nodded, placed the tray on the table, and promptly left.

“Allow me to pour us some wine,” I told the king, smiling up at him.

He nodded, seemingly pleased I would wait on him. I grabbed the wine bottle and poured the wine into the two glasses. Quickly, I uncorked the bottle and placed a few droplets of the potion into one of the glasses. Tucking the vial into my cleavage, the tiny vial fitting snugly, I grabbed the glasses and offered the king the glass with the potion.

I smiled. “Here you are,” I said, extending the wine glass to him.

He gave me a salacious grin. “Thank you,” he said as he took the glass from my hand. Tipping his head back, he drank the wine. I drank my own glass while I watched, with rapt attention, as he drank every drop.

The king sighed with contentment. He extended his hand and wiggled his fingers, signaling I should hand him my empty glass. I smoothed my brow of any lingering frown and pasted a smile on my face. Placing my glass in his hand, I stood and waited while the king placed our glasses on the tray at the table once more. With his back to me, I made my way over to the bed. I stretched out across the sheets, the hem of the nightgown rising high up my thighs.

Cassiar turned around. His brows shot up, a look of pleasant surprise on his face at the fact that I was waiting for him. Supposedly. He stalked toward me, his steps graceful and light. As he slid onto the bed, I caught the bleary look in his eye, the sheen of his cool blue eyes indicating the potion was fast at work. In the next breath, he collapsed onto the bed, his head falling on the pillow. I lay, frozen in place, as I listened to his even breaths.

Once assured he was asleep, I allowed my muscles to relax. I scooted away from the king, choosing to lie on the edge ofthe bed opposite of him. A plan began to form in my mind. Now that the King had visited me, I would be allowed to tour the palace. All I had to do was find my daughter, and on the nights the king paid interest in me, I’d spike his drink before he could touch me.

Heaving a heavy sigh, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off to sleep.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: REVEAL

EMBER

Melodina’s scent was faint, yet present, as I combed the palace corridors.

It wasn’t hard to seem like a concubine that was simply enjoying a leisurely stroll. After all, the other concubines regularly walked the palace and the gardens outside. I kept a vacant look to my eye and didn’t focus on any one thing for too long so as to appear nonchalant. Harmless.

Four days had passed, and I filled my days with trying to pinpoint my daughter’s exact location by day and skirting the king’s advances by night. Melodina’s scent was smothered by many others—the many fae and the foreign earthy scents of the summer land. I found it harder to find her exact location. Anxiety clawed at my throat as I realized I was no closer to rescuing my daughter. Every night, when I was alone after the king had fallen asleep due to the potion, I contacted Drake. Using the mating bond, I imagined opening the door to my mind and letting Drake walk in. His voice flooded my mind soon after. I kept him updated on my search, and he provided words of encouragement that fueled me with renewed hope each day.

I passed a narrowed corridor leading to a spiraling staircase in the back. At least ten guards heavily guarded the passage. Then, a strong burst of vanilla and rain entered my nostrils.

Melodina!

I whirled and looked at the entrance to the corridor. She was in there! I felt for her spirit, reaching out through the maternal bond I shared with her. Terror sank its icy talons into my heart.

Melodina’s spirit is fading…

My inner wolf threw back her head and let out an anguished howl. I forced myself to turn away from the corridor to keep walking. Every step I took away from my daughter shredded my insides. But I couldn’t stay, couldn’t take on all of those guards, grab Melodina, and hope to make it out of this palace alive. I had to devise a plan.

I made it to the gardens before I sank to my knees on a bed of grass by a small fountain. Tears spilled down my cheeks in rivulets.

Drake,I cried through the mating bond.

I felt the bond ripple, a response coming down the other end.

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