Page 15 of The Reluctant Heir

“Like you’re not spoiled. Weren’t you an only child?” Julien asks.

Eden stiffens.

I clear my throat. “I was an only child, but I have a very large family. Most of my aunts and uncles have about ten kids each.”

Julien’s eyes widen. “Wow. Succubi and incubi certainly like to procreate.”

Dad chokes on his sip of blood. “Julien!”

I can’t help but laugh. When I start laughing, Julien does too. Eden looks between Julien and me and her face lights up, her lips curling upward.

Dad shakes his head. “The two of you are going to gang up against me, aren’t you?”

Julien scoffs. “Would I do something like that?”

But from the way Dad sighs, I’m pretty sure the answer is a solidyes. Yes, he absolutelywoulddo something like that.

After breakfast, Dad leads me away from the dining hall and toward a large room on the main floor. There is a long, wooden conference table inside. It’s similar to the tables we had at work, but these are in thehouse.

Does that mean we don’t have to leave the house for work? That might be nice considering it’s below freezing and snowing.

I work to keep my breathing even when I see the group of men sitting at the table.

Does Lucien not have any women advisors?

“This isher?” A snooty voice asks.

Dad pulls me to his side, keeping a hand on my arm. “This is my daughter, Madeline.”

“She’shalf succubus?”

This time, I get a good look at who the snooty voice is attached to. And of course, since life isn’t fair, the guy is gorgeous. He has short brown hair and dazzling glacier blue eyes. Even with the scowl on his face, I can see that his features would put any incubus to shame. It’s probably a good thing that he already hates me because if he didn’t I might be in trouble.

“Yes, my daughter is a hybrid and yes her mother is a succubus,” Dad says, his voice growing darker. “And she is not only a princess of the succubi and incubi, but she isyourprincess and heir to my throne until Lucien returns. Even when he returns, she’s still my spare and youwillrespect her.”

Until Lucien returns? What, do they think he’s just off on a vacation? Did he run away? I need to find somebody I can ask about this, but I don’t want to bring it up with Julien or Eden and something tells me my dad won’t be forthright with me about it.

Dad turns to me, a smile back on his lips. “Madeline, these are your advisors.” He points to each one, introducing me to them. I’m not surprised by their ages, most of them are close to my dad’s age, except for one. The last one that is introduced, is the one who isstillscowling at me.

“And this is Kaine. He is going to be the one to help you get settled. If you have any questions at all, he will be the one to ask. He’s going to be at your side until you’re more comfortable,” Dad says.

I swallow hard.

Him?

The grumpy one?

Great.

After that, Dad dismisses Kaine and me while he finishes the meeting. Apparently, Kaine has a lot to catch me up on. I’d argue if it wasn’t true—I know next to nothing about vampires let alone my father’s clan. Part of me wishes I hadn’t been so stubborn in my refusal to learn about vampires as a teenager. I failed that exam on purpose.

Kaine refuses to look at me as he leads me away from the meeting room. He huffs loudly like he’s upset that I’m causing him to be excluded from the meeting. Or maybe he’s upset about his glorified babysitting position.

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, trying to get up the courage to start the conversation. “So… you’re kind of young to be an advisor.”

He turns those icy blue eyes on me. “Lucien is my best friend,” he says like that explains it.

“That’s… nice,” I say, for lack of anything better to vocalize.

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