Page 21 of The Reluctant Heir

He shrugs. “No, you’re right. I don’t know you. But I do know you’re too smart to fetch coffee and take notes. You were born to be a royal. Don’t let anybody, your family included, make you feel inferior.”

His words cause my breath to hitch.

Isn’t this the same guy who was just accusing me of murder yesterday?

“I will accept your offer to help me find Lucien,” Kaine says. “But even when he’s back, I will still tutor you and get you caught up on vampire politics. No matter what, you’re still royal. And even when Lucien returns, you’ll likely be queen anyway—not of this clan, but another clan.”

I freeze. “What? How would that work?”

“You’ll likely marry into another clan.” He shrugs. “That’s how these things work. King Scott has been at a disadvantagebecause he doesn’t have a daughter to offer in a marriage alliance. You solve that issue.”

A marriage alliance?

“Come again,” I say, my voice sounding flat.

Kaine ignores me and opens up his notebook. “Where did we leave off yesterday? Ah, here we are. Rules for succession.”

I sit up straighter. “Shouldn’t I not be in the running for succession? Since I’m illegitimate and a hybrid.”

“Normally that would be the case, but there is a law that makes exceptions—you are an exception,” Kaine explains.

“What are the exceptions?”

“Death of an entire line.” He holds up a finger. “Fertility issues.” He holds up a second finger. “And, in your case, an exception is made when the child comes from royalty on both sides of his or her family line.” He holds up a third finger before letting his hand drop. “You’d be surprised how often that loophole is used in vampire politics. Though, usually, it’s between vampire royalty.”

I lean forward. “Oooh, scandals. Do I get to learn about those?”

He taps my still closed notebook. “Not yet. You’ve got to learn the boring stuff first.”

I grumble under my breath but I open my notebook to begin taking notes. I have a feeling there will be a pop quiz on this stuff.

7

THE FATTENED CALF

When my father announced that I could take Friday evening off, I should have been suspicious. But it’s not until Eden knocks on my door and tells me to ‘wear comfortable shoes’ that I begin to wonder what kind of evening off I’m getting.

As soon as breakfast is over, Eden whisks me away to go shopping—as if I don’t already have enough clothes in my closet. But I’m also not going to tell herno. We had a pretty shaky first meeting already and I want my dad’s wife to like me.

Pulling into the parking lot of the store, I notice that normal store operational hours aren’t a thing. Here, some stores don’t even open up until ten at night. I guess that is one of the perks of living in a town full of vampires.

The first store Eden brings me to is an upscale clothing store. Beautiful dresses line the windows.

“Why do I need a new dress?” I unbuckle my seatbelt and reach to open the door. Before I can, one of the security guards my father sent with us opens it for me.

There are an insane amount of guards with us. Though, maybe it’s to be expected since they’re not sure what happenedto Lucien. And, technically, Eden is a queen and I’m… whatever I am.

I may have been a princess before I came here, but it’s not the same. I never had any guards and I never needed them. I wonder if this is going to be a permanent thing that I need to get used to or if it’ll stop once Lucien comes back and takes over as heir.

Eden links her arm with mine, walking with me toward the store. “Michael is hosting a ball to introduce you to vampire society. You will be introduced to our allies and other monarchs.”

Her words are said so casually that it takes a few seconds to register her words. I stop abruptly. Eden stops and turns to me.

“Are you okay, dear?” she asks.

“Everybody?” I put a hand to the base of my throat.

She grins and waves me for me to follow her through the door that the guard holds open. I follow, but my heart is pounding way too fast.

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