Page 126 of The Vampire's Soul

Shit,Ari couldn’t say it.

“Why do you think I am here, Aristide Moretti?”

To rub it in?

Then the pieces began to click together. “You want me to...?”

God waited.

“You want me to want to lead.” When God nodded, he shook his head. “What about Vincent?” Ari glanced at his nephew, aghast at the idea. “I am a warrior, not a king.”

When God didn’t reply, Ari cursed.

Was this what he was meant to do all along?

If Ari could save eight billion people, an entire planet and twenty quintillion animals—no joke, that’s about twenty billion billion!—then he had to.

Didn’t he?

How did he do that?

How could he tell the king to stand down and go back on his word after all this time?

“Tell me what I need to do!”

“Choose.” God’s powerful voice demanded. “Choose Ari. Step into the role you always should’ve held.”

Fuck.

Was he meant to be the king all along? Had Gio sensed it, creating competition between them to retain power?

“Yes,” God replied with a short nod.

Ari was a natural leader and had always known he could rule if there’d been a need. Before Francis was born, he was the heir. It wasn’t a case of wondering if he could. It was whether it was the right thing to do.

His family loyalty was always stronger.

When he’d returned to the royal family and they learned the risk of exposure was extremely high, Ari had been torn between keeping relations with the king healthy and wanting to take over.

An urge which he never confessed to anyone, not even himself. He’d lost everyone because of this very topic and wasn’t about to voice it.

That was treason.

And the race was not his, they were Gio’s decedents.

“It is Moretti blood.” God shook his head. “Yourblood.”

My blood.

The Moretti blood.

The Moretti brothers’ blood.

Ari glanced down at Sage. Whatever it took. He’d do it for her. To spend another hour, day, year, life with his mate.

“I will ask you once again. What do I need to do?”

“Simply choose. From your heart. Choose. And if you do, I’ll give you the ability to walk in daylight, and task you once again with the mission to protect humans from, well, themselves. At least for now.”

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