16. Aurelia
“When have I ever let you down, Father?” I asked, turning my head back to look at him.
He sat back in his desk chair like he did in all of his seats in the palace, making it look more like a throne than anything else. His dark hair was pushed out of his face, the same exact eyes that looked back at me in the mirror staring at me.
Vampires really didn’t age, or if they did, it was so slow it would be thousands of years before any of it showed on their faces. Father had little signs of age besides a few wrinkles by his eyes.
He reached forward and pulled the papers that I was sitting on out from under me with a sigh.
“Off the desk, Aurelia,” he grunted.
“Father.”
He gave me a warning look. He hated that whiny tone that seemed to work so well on him. I had seen the stepmonsters use it more than once to get their way, so it was only a matter of time before I implemented it myself.
I jumped off the desk and went around it. He let out another sigh before leaning back in his chair to watch me.
“It’s just a little tantrum,” I said in a low voice, fully aware that he surrounded himself with vampire guards and not the normal human ones he assigned to the rest of the family.
Since he’s the most important one, he can give us the scraps. Even ones that try to kill us.
Anger and embarrassment flashed through me again, even if just for a moment before I could push it deep down.
It was foolish to think I could utilize someone. I had never been able to rely on anyone in my entire life—why would that change now?
Her reaction had been the wake-up call I needed. A well-aimed slap to the face that reminded me the only person who could change this was me.
“A tantrum that could call off a wedding,” he said very matter-of-factly.
Prince Icas was less than happy about my performance when he finally spilled what the plan was for my marriage. Maybe it was the viselike grip I had his cock in or the subsequent silent treatment after I realized what he was truly after.
He did quite enjoy my blood, but over the last two weeks, he hadn’t gotten so much as a taste of it. He deserves it. If he couldn’t trap me with a blood bond, it seemed his next idea was a baby. And my guess was that he was annoyed that his father was trying to hold me in front of him like a sweet, forbidden treat he couldn’t have.
But it would all change when I officially joined their house, so I had to work fast.
“He gets more out of this deal than you do,” I reminded him, and grabbed a stray strand of hair to circle around my finger. “And we both know his father coddles him too much. He hasn’t gotten used to what it means to deal with a Castle.”
His pause was all the answer that I needed. He was hiding something. Even if his body language didn’t give much away.
“It’s important for our future,” he said after a long moment. “Just do what he asks and try not to fight him too much. If he is happy, his father is happy.”
It’s important for our future.
“How so?” I asked and snuck to his armrest, sitting on it and putting my hand around his chair. “I know nothing about what was negotiated, and yet I’m being asked to do the unthinkable.”
“Unthinkable?” he asked with a huff. “This is your duty, Aurelia.” His tone held annoyance but not anger. He is softening up.
“Then let me in, Father,” I whispered and leaned against him. Something I used to do when I was younger and wanted something. “I want us to succeed. Know my loyalty. It will always be to you. How can a snake enter their nest if it doesn’t even know what to expect?”
His hand came to grab mine. An action I thought was supposed to be a comfort until his nails dug into my skin.
“What did he tell you?”
Ice-cold fear froze my veins. Panic clawed at my throat. I was too close to him. Memories of punishments flooded my mind.
My fight-or-flight response was begging me to run, but I couldn’t. Running would tell him I had done something wrong. And he would sic the guards on me before I could get to safety.
“Nothing I wasn’t expecting, Father,” I said, trying hard to keep my voice steady. “But it does seem it’s his father who is more interested in what I can offer than he is. It begs the question: Why not just marry me to him?”
His grip loosened, and he let out a huff of a laugh.
“He’s already been married for longer than you’ve been alive,” he said. “The family would riot.”
I let his words sit between us.
“What do you owe him, Father?” I asked.
For the first time, he froze against me. It was so slight, I almost missed it. Would have if I were not leaning against him.
“I don’t owe him anything,” he muttered. “But you can say I…stole something from him.”
My head swirled so violently I thought I might throw up all over his desk.
“Something or someone?—”
The door was pushed open by none other than the fucking devil’s son himself with the stepmonster.
She gave me a fucking knowing smirk when she saw our position. She knew exactly what I was doing because she and her spawn had done it hundreds of times to get what they wanted.
Prince Icas, on the other hand, looked a bit miffed.
“Prince Icas offered to give us an introduction to his feeder sourcing consultants. We came to propose it to you, but if you would rather spend ti?—”
“We need to relish in some feeders,” he said and stood up, pushing me off the arm of his chair. “This is more important.”
He gave me a look that told me to get going. I bit my tongue and bowed to him, forcing my feet to move me across the space as they all stared.
“Oh yes,” the stain on our family said just as I walked past her. “Prince Icas shared something interesting with me. Be sure to find me tomorrow so we can…talk about it.”
Krae. Was this how he was going to play this? Complaining to Father was bad enough, but to her? He must have been annoyed with how long it had taken for Father to get around to calling me into his office for punishment.
My gaze cut to his, only to catch a disgusting fucking smirk playing at his lips.
Bastard.
I pushed out of the room only to come face-to-face with the handmaiden I thought I had gotten rid of. I clicked my tongue and turned down the hall.
Her footsteps followed me.
“If you need some blood, princess?—”
I turned on my heels to confront her, closing the space between us and grabbing her face.
“For the last time, leave,” I hissed. She tried to avert her gaze, but I forced her to look at me. “I know that bitch sent you. I want nothing to do with you, and I don’t give a shit about what she will do to you. If I find you near me one more time, I will officially make you vacate your post. However I can. Do I make myself clear?”
She nodded shakily, her eyes filling with tears.
I let out a noise of disgust and pushed her away from me.
I couldn’t trust anyone in the fucking palace. The little mouse had gotten far too close and almost killed me. I couldn’t take the risk of having a known spy by my side.
Against my better judgement, I found myself wishing the little mouse was on my side.