Grand Romantic Delusions and the Madness of Mirth, Part Two

I walked away from my own matchmaking event, leaving behind me the men who I was beginning to believe might be mine. The ones I was even starting to hope were my soul-bound mates.

I know now that hope was wrong.

I also know what I need to do to move forward. To say goodbye to my beloved brother, to accept the duty I was born and bred to undertake — to hold the intersection point and rule a realm.

Love, compatibility, and companionship aren’t factors in my future. But I need just a moment, a few days, to accept everything else that comes with my blood and my position. I need to embrace my fate as if it were my choice — even if it never really was a choice. Any of it.

And that includes finally accepting the deadly power I wield.

But apparently, my would-be suitors have a different future in mind for us all. And though I’m not running — or at least not running from them — they’re primed for the chase.

A good thing, too. For there are children who need our protection … and a last layer of secrets to be uncovered.