Page 33 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

“The magic can pick out everything I wear from now on.”

She laughed as she held up a pair of velvet slippers. “Unless you want to wear heels?”

I shook my head and took them. I wanted to keep the ground under my feet. I wanted to be able to feel it. If only to remind me that this was all real.

“Thank you,” I said. “For everything.”

Her brows furrowed as if my words were foreign to her and she didn’t quite know how to respond. Finally, she just said, “You’re welcome.” There was a pause before she gently asked, “Are you ready?”

“I suppose I don’t need to wait for Julian.” I had no clue how much longer he would be, and it was clear Aurelia thought I should go. But was I really ready to face this without him by my side? “Let me leave him a note.”

“Is he very protective?” Each word carefully chosen.

“He’s my mate.” I shrugged, digging around in a nearby desk until I found a pen and paper. I scrawled a quick message to him. “He wants to protect me.”

“Is that a mate’s job?” she asked as she led me toward the door.

“Sometimes.” I hesitated, both preparing myself to walk outside the safety of my quarters and to answer her. “What are you getting at?”

“I wonder if Sabine Rousseaux’s son will struggle with seeing his mate rise to power.”

If she only knew Sabine, I could understand her concern. But I didn’t share it.

“He won’t,” I said flatly. “We’re equals.”

“The Queens have no equals,” she corrected me.

But that wouldn’t do, because I didn’t want Julian beneath me. I wanted him beside me. “This Queen does. Is that a problem?”

“The others won’t share that view,” she warned me. “They have had lovers.” I winced at her choice of words remembering what Julian had told me about his relationship with Ginerva. I shoved it out of my mind as she continued, “But they have never married. Never mated. Never allowed their emotions to be entangled with anyone they took to bed. They have always maintained a firm boundary in relationships for fear a male will demand to be king.”

“And look where that got them.” I shrugged. “Look, if they want the crown back, I’ll leave with Julian. I’m not interested in any of this without him.”

She studied me for a moment, and then she laughed.

“What?” I asked suspiciously.

But Aurelia only smiled. “Just promise to tell them that while I’m with you.”

“They’re not going to like it, huh?” I guessed.

Her smile widened. “I want very much to see their faces.”

“Speaking of...” I looked at the mask she held in her hand. “Do you have to wear that? Does it help with your powers?”

Because there was magic thrumming from Aurelia. It felt different than any magic I’d experienced yet, but maybe that was something I needed to get used to.

Her shoulders tensed slightly under her cloak. “It’s an old custom. Most of the court used to wear masks. Le Vergine—the order I belong to—wore these. Sometimes the Queens and other courtiers still wear masks on occasion.”

“But you wear it all the time because…”

She looked me directly in the eyes. “Le Regine prefers that I cover my scar.”

“Do they?” Anger flashed inside me. I vaguely recalled wearing a similar mask to the party to hide my identity. It was not only a pain in the ass. It was offensive. But there was something more, I knew it. Another reason that she hid behind that mask. “Do you want to wear it?”

She stilled for a moment before shaking her head.

“Then I wish you to do what makes you feel comfortable.”

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