Page 48 of Sleeping With the Vampire

“And?” Again, I didn’t see what business it was of his.

“She is not like the others,” Finn spoke each word cautiously and didn’t say any more.

I got his meaning, then. I didn’t like to be questioned or spoken back to. Perhaps becoming king had made this worse. I was in charge and my word was law. I was used to people listening to me, following my lead.

Izzy followed her own head.

She was used to doing her own thing and it had not even occurred to me that she would try to defy me the way she had. I had lost my temper, which was something that happened occasionally. Still, I had not expected her to react the way she had. Standing up to me like that, chasing me away like a dog.

I didn’t like that.

Despite everything we had shared, the wonderful passion in bed, she did not respect me the way she should. After all, I was more powerful, stronger in every way. I had lived longer, seen more, understood things more deeply. I knew she had fire in her, a desire to walk a different path and I liked that, I would support that.

But she was young, she needed to learn a few things. She overestimated herself and what she could achieve in life. She had not yet learned how to talk to people, how to play them, gently, to coax music out of the most difficult instrument.

I thought of how she had pushed me on Layrr and felt my anger rise again.

She had no idea what I had been facing the last few decades and how I needed my family to support me in the delicate power balance I had been managing. Even if Layrr was compromised, I needed to think about how to deal with it.

I felt Izzy had forced my hand and I didn’t like that, I resented her for it. She had overstepped her position, taken things too far. I thought she was smarter than that and I was disappointed in her.

We arrived in the village of Carsonne in the early hours of the morning. The house of Hugo Montpellier was on the outskirts, on a road leading into thick woodland. It was hidden from the road by a huge tree-lined avenue. It was a magnificent old place, built by Hugo’s grandfather, once a prominent landowner. His son had been an advisor to MoZa many years ago and his son had gone into politics as well. I knew Hugo as a pretty boy, an on-off romantic interest of Sunil’s, but I didn’t know it had become this permanent. I had respected his private life thus far.

I had the car drive up to the front of the house and got out, making no attempt to hide my arrival.

Daylight was coming and I could feel the rising heat in the air burning my skin, especially around the wounds that were still healing. I was not yet at my former strength and needed to take care.

The door was opened by a house servant who took me and the royal guard to a sitting room. Moments later, a flustered Hugo came in, doing up his shirt and clearly waking up.

“Where is Sunil?” I demanded to know right away.

“I… ah… I …” he stammered, eyes wide.

“I know he’s here.”

“No… that’s not true,” Hugo shook his head, but I stared him down and he fell silent, biting his lip, looking shifty. Could this really be the kind of man my son had chosen to be with? I couldn’t see it. I had to fight the urge to knock him to the ground, pathetic weasel.

“Go get him please,” I said, turning away in disgust.

Moments later, Sunil appeared in the doorway.

“Father,” he said, not looking surprised at all to see me. He was fully dressed, not a hair out of place.

“We need to talk,” I said.

“Come,” he said, “I know a place.”

He took me upstairs to an elegant bedroom, which led to a private suite, probably the rooms of Hugo’s grandmother once. There were doors opening onto a balcony and Sunil closed these now for privacy.

“Why are you here, Father? It’s not safe!”

“I need you to tell me what is going on, Sunil, do you understand me?” My tone was angry and firm. “No more fucking me around. What are you doing here?”

Sunil’s head dropped, he appeared to be considering his response.

I looked at his handsome face, the smooth skin of his face, the almond-shaped eyes and remembered how much Simonis had loved him. Part of my affection for him had been because of his mother. Had I overlooked weaknesses out of fondness for her? I wasn’t sure anymore.

Sunil took a deep breath and came closer, speaking softly.

---