Page 5 of The Reluctant Heir

I swallow hard. “I have a sibling?”

He nods. “Two of them. An older brother, Lucien. He’s the one who is missing. He’s six months older than you. And you have a younger brother, Julien. He’s twenty one.”

Six…months… older? I have so many questions. But right now isn’t the time to ask.

“So… Lucien is missing?” I ask.

“Yes. For three weeks now. We’ve tried to find him, but I fear somebody has taken him. I’m not sure if he’s alive or not.”

My chest aches. I don’t want my older brother to be dead. Even though I’ve never met him, I would like the chance to get to know him.

“Since he is missing, that makesyoumy heir.”

I furrow my brows. “Your… heir?”

“Because I am the ruler of my clan.”

My eyes widen.

Right. Vampires have a monarchy system that is a lot different than the succubi and incubi throne. Where mygrandfather rules over all of the succubi and incubi, vampires have a king or queen for each clan. And if my father is the ruler, that means…

“You’re a king?” I ask.

He nods. “And you’re a princess.”

I shrug. “Iama princess. Of the succubi and incubi.”

“With, what, ten cousins in front of you for succession? Not to mention your grandfather is still relatively young for an incubus.”

It’s true. But it’s not like I ever wanted to rule. I’d much prefernotto rule. I would gladly give up my role as a princess. From the way this Michael guy talks, I’m not sure that is going to be a possibility.

“To the vampires—to my clan—you are not the joke they consider you to be among the succubi.” Michael leans forward in his seat, not breaking eye contact. “You could finally be taken seriously, Madeline.”

I don’t like the way he’s looking at me and I don’t like what he’s saying.

How does he know so much about me? How does he know how I’m treated? Nobody outside of our community should know—I’m the dirty secret in my family.

“You look surprised,” Michael says. “But you shouldn’t be. I’ve kept tabs on you from the moment your mother told me about you. I wanted to make sure that you were well taken care of.”

“I am well taken care of.” I cross my arms over my chest. “I take care of myself. I’m twenty three.”

He nods. “Yes, you do well for yourself. But you’re also not happy here, I know that. You stay out of duty to your family and for your mother.”

I hate how well this man—thisstranger—knows me. It aches deep in my chest, making me long for…

Well, a relationship with my father.

I thought I was over this. I wanted to meet this man so bad my entire childhood. It was a dream that I had long given up. At least, I thought I had given it up. But now, looking into his blue eyes, I wonder just how dead the dream is.

“Come live with me, Madeline. Meet your family and take your place as the heir to my throne.”

The words suck the oxygen from my lungs.

The heir to his throne. That’snotwhat I want.

I rub a hand at the base of my throat. “What about Lucien? If he comes back, he’ll be the heir again.”

“You’ll still be my daughter. And my spare,” he says. “You’re important to me and to my clan—just as important as Lucien and Julien.”

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