Page 13 of Fated to the Vampire Prince
“She is Josse’s child. Hisheir. If she would only…”
“Enough,” I snapped.
The following silence was dark and hollow. We’d disagreed on this many times before. I’d been outvoted in favor of a male-only inheritance. The urge to argue the ridiculousness of it rose inside of me, but Claude pressed on, side-stepping the real issue once again.
“Take Tyson with you,” he demanded. “He’s the best fighter in the training yard, and has run out of challengers.”
I snorted in response. My family didn’t find any humor in it though.
Claire, who had been quiet, was watching me with big, brown eyes framed by thick lashes. The look she gave me stole my breath. In an instant, I was consumed by her. My attention sinking to the luscious curve of her lips. My own parted, desperate to taste her—to seal our bond. I regarded her neck and the lace choker that was coated with dried blood, and my suspicion resurfaced.
Why would an orphan girl dabble in magick? Didn’t she understand the consequences? There was something about her I couldn’t place. That necklace left too many questions unanswered. I was going to have my hands full with her. There wasno doubt about that. Babysitting a spoiled princeling while trying not to lose myself to the mate bond was going to be impossible.
“These aren’t sparring matches in the ring, boy,” I told my nephew, tearing my attention away from Claire. “The Lawless Lands are just that.Lawless. The witches who reside there don’t live by our treaty. They are still at war with one another. The Light and the Dark. We are the only thing standing between our people and safety. Are you ready to cross blades with a demon, to die if necessary, to maintain that balance?”
Claire’s heartbeat drummed faster against my chest, and I set a hand over it if only to ensure the light wasn’t visible from behind my dagger. She wasn’t just nervous. I could feel her fear deepening. She was afraid.
Good. She should be.
Tyson pretended he wasn’t. He puffed out his chest, which made me laugh. The boy responded with a hard glare that didn’t intimidate me in the least. He had been born a vampire, raised with the comforts of the capital. He didn’t have the humility that came with suffering a human death, or an appreciation for delicate peace that made us what we are.
“I’m well aware of the dangers, Uncle. I’m ready for the challenge. Hector and Chastity will concede to our terms, and when they do, we’ll win more land to rule.” He paused, then added, “Ever since I’ve been named your heir, my little brothers have been begging me to get them a castle too.”
Win more land?Is that what he thought this was about?Palaces for lordlings?In a single, vicious motion, I swept my cane out and cracked it across the back of his knees. Tyson’s legs buckled, and he hit the stones hard, the air whooshing from his lungs. Before he could scramble upright, I caught him by the throat and hauled him up until his boots barely scrapedthe ground. Darkness bled into my vision as the monster within slipped its leash, baring its teeth.
The courtyard went silent, save for Tyson’s choking breaths.
“You think this is a game?” I snarled. “That we bleed so your brothers can decorate another castle?”
Tyson gripped my wrist, trying to pry my fingers off his windpipe. But he wasn’t nearly as strong as I was. No. Few were.
Claire let out an audible gasp, and that one little noise had me tilting my chin in her direction. Her fear curled around my senses, distracting me. Her heartbeat racing once again.
She wasn’t just afraid. I was scaring her. Something uncomfortable twisted inside my chest at the realization. I gritted my teeth, squeezing Tyson’s neck harder. So what if I was scaring her? If fear drove her away from me, all the better.
If I let down my guard and gave in to the mate bond, thisboywould become the Duke of Roselyn, in charge of holding the line between our lands, and I’d be banished to this gilded place—with her.
I couldn’t let that happen.
I regarded my nephew with disgust. In all his well-kept southern finery—the royal blue of his father’s crest, the gold chains and rings and silk trimmings—the boy looked hopelessly unprepared. He wouldn’t survive an hour in the Lawless Lands. Nor would the soldiers respect him. This war wasmyburden. Not his. I’d been fighting for hundreds of years. Forging alliances he couldn’t hope to understand.
“The Duke of Roselyn does not conquer land for castles, boy. We have a higher purpose.”
“Enough of the theatrics, Bastien,” Marius drawled. “We only ask out of courtesy. Tyson will accompany you. He needs to be tested.”
I cursed under my breath as I shoved the little wretch aside, resigning myself to my fate for the second time this evening. I knew I had to take him with me. If I tried to challenge Marius and it came to crossed swords, there was a chance he’d see my awakened bloodstone and know the truth: that I’d taken my mate as my sanguine partner, against our laws, and sought to deceive him.
It was best to take the boy with me.
“I can’t protect him from his own foolishness,” I told Claude, who nodded.
“All I ask is that you train him as you’ve trained Lady Natalia. Teach him how to lead, Bastien.”
My lip curled, and I shook my head. Restlessness coursing through my limbs. There was nothing I could do to make Natalia my heir—not without Josse’s blessing, which meant I was done with this conversation. It was time to leave. “Call for your sanguine partner and your trunk. We leave for Roselyn immediately.” I spat at the boy’s feet. “Keep your ridiculous courtly attire here. You won’t need it where we’re going.”
My nephew fled in a flash of shadow, his father behind him. I watched him go with a sinking feeling in my gut. No good would come of this. Marius, content with his troublemaking, waved his wine glass in the air.
“I hope to see you at the next Sanguination Ball. Until then. Brother. Miss Donadieu.” He bowed. “Adieu,mon sang.”
