CHAPTER 9 #6
Alex suppressed a groan when Lara wasted no time slinking up beside him and shoving her cleavage in his face. He ground his teeth, practically breaking a fang in the process.
“I’m afraid I was detained.”
She looked him over and threw back a glass of champagne. “Why are you wearing that disgusting leather cuff. Please don’t tell me you’re taking fashion advice from Dante now?”
He ran a finger over the cuff that concealed his mating mark with Dani, feeling the connection between them pull tighter. He could feel her heartbeat. And she was thirsty. Good.
“I rather like it,” he said absently. Turning back to the bar, he accepted the glass of fruit juice. It smelled like orange and mango and had a pineapple wedge in the rim. Daniela would love it, and the sugar would do her good. He hoped they would be eating soon.
“It doesn’t go with your suit at all. You’re the crown prince, not some rebel trying to find himself, writing edgy poetry in pubs at night.”
“Duly noted.” Nothing seemed to anger Lara more than not rising to the bait.
“I take it dear little Daniela didn’t like seeing the evidence that we were together.” Lara smirked, reaching up to run a finger down his neck. “I can only imagine she must have been beside herself with jealousy.”
“We weren’t together.” He batted her hand away. “And on the contrary, after I told Daniela how you assaulted me without my consent, her only concern was making sure I was okay, and asking what she could do to help.”
Lara’s cheeks reddened. “That’s preposterous.”
“You can connive all you want.” His eyes flickered across the room to where Dani and Sera had just entered. “Any marriage you force a man into will leave you as shriveled and empty as you are now. Think about if that’s what you want for yourself, Lara.”
“I’ll still be queen.” Her eyes flashed with fury. “And you would do well to remember that.”
He watched Lara track Dani and Sera as they crossed the room, knew the moment she saw his fresh bite mark at her throat by her angry inhalation.
“My mother was a true queen, a woman born from poverty who spent every day of her life working to make the future better for those in this sector who had nothing. You are a spoiled rich brat who wants a sparkling tiara to wear.” When her nostrils flared, he smiled politely. “Excuse me.”
Dani smiled when she saw him approach. “That looked awkward.”
He slipped an arm around her waist, offering her the glass of juice. “How are you feeling?”
He didn’t miss the click of the cameras. The media was hungry for more pictures ever since they’d gotten the leaked images of Dani bowed at his feet in the auction house in her torn dress.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” She took the juice, sipping tentatively.
He leaned in to brush his lips against her earlobe. “You know you can just call me Alex. Or Zander.”
“Or other things, if he’s being truly obnoxious,” Sera added dryly, taking a glass of champagne from a tray when a server came by.
Alex reached for one as well.
Dani looked at the server, then quickly raised her eyes to his. “I know that girl. That’s Giselle from the auction house. She’s been to the legal aid center as well.”
The three of them exchanged a look, the conversation with Evan from the day before taking on new urgency.
“You’re right.” Sera swore under her breath. “Curse the faction. Don’t drink anything from your glass.” She looked around the room. “Can you see Dante or Isabella? We have to warn them.”
“You didn’t tell them?” Alex said, scanning the room.
“Tell them what? I wasn’t briefed on any of this. Shit.”
His brother was over by the fireplace, talking to his bodyguard. He took a glass from a passing tray. Isabella stood with their father across the room. Judas and Luciano Cavalieri were both taking glasses from Giselle’s tray.
He held his breath, praying his sister wouldn’t take one as well, but of course Luciano passed her a flute before taking another for himself. Alex swore.
“Lower your heartrate,” Sera said under her breath. “You’re being conspicuous.”
Like it was that easy. Dani was trembling. He reached over to take her arm. “It’s okay.”
“I can’t believe Evan would do this,” Sera said under her breath. “We told her how risky it was.”
“Maybe she’s just here as a server,” Dani said. “She works at a restaurant. They might have needed extra staff for tonight.”
Alex shook his head. “It takes months of background checks just to get a position with minimal clearance. She’s handling food being served to the king.
That’s something that should have required her to be employed here for years.
I don’t understand how she got in at all.
” He turned to Sera. “You warn Dante. Take Dani with you. I’ll get to Isabella. ”
“How?”
“I have no fucking idea,” he said under his breath.
He was just turning back towards his sister when a scream sounded from across the room.
Glass shattered. Everyone whirled as a form crumpled to the floor.
All Alex could see were a pair of twitching legs, and when the crowd briefly parted, foam bubbling from a man’s lips.
Isabella and his father looked on in horror just as someone shouted—
“It’s poison.”