Page 33 of The Reluctant Heir

Damek smirks. “I thought he hated you.”

“He does. He brought me over here so I could apologize. He’s changed his mind about you and thinks you could be a good…” my voice trails off before I can say ‘marriage candidate.’ This political marriage thing still feels so weird to me. And talking to a guy as attractive as Damek about marriage makes my stomach muscles cramp.

“And you’re sure you don’t like him?” Damek asks.

I nod. “I am one hundred percent certain. Kaine is… kind of a jerk. But he’s my advisor, so I have to spend a lot of time with him. My dad wants him to teach me everything I need to know about vampire politics.”

Damek takes a step closer to me. “Can I see you again?”

“I would like that.” I look up at him through my lashes, giving him a shy smile.

I like it more than I should. What if my father decides to align with another clan? I can’t allow myself to get too attached to him, not yet anyway.

“Bye, Damek.”

“Bye, Madeline.”

10

POLITICAL BLIND DATES

As soon as we get back from Damek’s house, my father calls me into his office to talk. I wonder if he already knows about me going to visit the Rune Clan.

When I get to his office, I am surprised to see two blond haired men with him. I try to remember the pale guy’s name, but I seem to have forgotten. The only thing I remember about him is that he was boring and hard to talk to.

“Madeline, you remember King Nodin and his son Prince Lucas.” Dad waves his hand toward our guests.

Oh, right. Lucas. Or, Prince Lucas, I guess.

I curtsy to them, knowing that’s what’s expected of me. “It’s kind of you to visit.”

Dad turns to our guest. “It’s no surprise that a lot of clans are interested in aligning with us. We’ve had requests from every clan present last night.”

“That is why we came.” King Nodin leans forward in his chair. “We wanted to show you just how dedicated we are to making this alliance work. I believe our children would be very happy together.”

My stomach churns at the thought.

Wait… this guy wants me tomarryPrince Lucas?

I try to imagine a marriage to the guy. He’s attractive enough, but the guy has the personality of a rock.

I glance at Prince Lucas and see that his pale green eyes are on me. He offers me a smile. I return one to be polite and I hope he can’t tell that it’s forced.

I hope my dad doesn’t want me to marry this guy.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying, but it’s too soon for me to make a decision about Madeline’s future. I’m going to need time to think over your proposal and talk to my council,” Dad says.

I relax at his words.

Surely he will talk to me about his decision too, right? I should have a say. After all, it’smymarriage andmyfuture we’re talking about here.

“Of course.” King Nodin smiles at my father. “Take all the time that you need.”

Something about King Nodin’s tone makes my muscles tense up. He seems genuine and smiles, but I get the feeling he’s not going to be okay waiting for long. He’s going to expect an answer very soon.

I have only been here a week. Will I not even get time to settle into my new life before I’m betrothed to somebody? And how long of an engagement are we talking about? Will I even know the person I’m going to marry before the wedding?

I look at Prince Lucas again and suddenly feel sick.

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