Page 57 of The Reluctant Heir

Damek looks into my eyes again. I am disappointed that he’s not kissing me right now, but we did come down here to talk.

“I want to help you find your brother,” Damek says.

My eyes widen. “You do?”

He nods. “I know that you’re not interested in being heir to your father’s throne. And Julien is equally uninterested. I thought we could work together and try to find him.”

“I would like that a lot.” I pull my knees up to my chest and hug them against me. “I want to find Lucien. I’m sure my father is doing everything he can to find him, but I want to help. I think us working together is a good idea.”

“I can also help you in another way.” He hesitates before blurting out, “I think we should pretend to date.”

“Pretend… to… date,” I repeat slowly, trying to make sense of the words.

“Until you show favor in one candidate, Kaine is going to make you keep going on dates. And I know you don’t know how these things work, but your father could set up a political marriage for you without your input,” Damek rushes to explain.“If we’re dating, it would at least delay any alliances your father is working on. And then there won’t be any pressure on us. We can get to know one another at our own pace and we could work at this whole being friends thing.”

I think about what he’s offering and slowly nod. “I like that. I’m worried that Kaine and my father are going to set up an awful union. My dad seems to like King Nodin.” I wrinkle my nose. “And I’ve done everything I can to discourage that. I’d run away before I’d consider Prince Lucas as a marriage candidate. I’d almost prefer Prince Caedmon and his player ways than Prince Lucas.” I shiver at the idea of either of those men being my future life partner.

Damek nods. “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow I will have my father announce the news to your father and before the week is over every vampire clan will know that we’re dating.”

“Thank you, Damek.” I look up at him as a weight lifts off of me. I hadn’t even realized I was so burdened by this. “This means more to me than you know.”

“It’s not completely selfless.” He smirks. “My father gets multiple marriage offers a week and if it stops the other monarchs from trying to offer their daughters to me, it’s a win for the both of us.”

I feel a stab of jealousy in my chest at the thought of Damek getting marriage offers from other girls. I know he’s not mine, but I like him.

“Thank you anyway. I can’t stand the thought of going out with any of those princes.” I shudder at the idea.

“To be honest, I can’t stand the idea of you going out with them either.” Damek grabs ahold of my hand and squeezes it. I know friends aren’t supposed to be jealous, but I am. I’m so jealous.”

I grin, unable to hide my glee. “Then I have no shame in admitting that I’m also jealous of the multiple marriage offers your father gets each week.”

Damek laughs and puts his arm around me. I easily fall into his chest as he embraces me. I feel his lips at the top of my head as he gives me a soft kiss. It’s then that I realize being ‘just friends’ with Damek is going to be far harder than I thought possible.

16

THIS ISN’T GOOD

Iwake up to an odd sound. I look around my room, first to my door. It’s shut, like always. I continue looking, trying to find the source of the noise when I see a cloaked figure standing near my window.

My window was shut when I went to sleep but is now open. I open my mouth to call out or scream, but the figure is at me before I can get more than a squeak out.

A vampire, I realize.

From the bulk of the shoulders, I can tell right away that it’s a male. A strong male, if the size of his forearms are anything to go by.

I thrust my fist toward my assailant’s face. He isn’t expecting it and he stumbles back a few feet, letting go of my mouth. I have just enough time to scream at the top of my lungs before he lunges back to me. He slaps his hand over my mouth. The sting makes my eyes water. This time, my arms are pulled tightly behind my back so I have no hope of striking back with my fist. That doesn’t stop me from fighting though. I swing my legs wildly, though it’s of no use. The guy is a lot stronger than me.

Wanting to lull him into a false sense of security, I go lax in his arms. His grip stays tight but after a few seconds, he loosenshis grip. I yank an arm free and go to shove the guy again. He lets go of my mouth to grab my free hand. I scream again, knowing that somebody will have heard by now. The guy’s wearing a mask over his face, but there are holes for his eyes and they seem to glow with anger and he stares me down. But before he can retaliate, the door is thrown open and two vampires in guard uniforms rush in. The team of two are able to take down my assailant.

I sink to my knees in relief as they haul the guy away from me. A third guard comes inside, making his way over to me.

“Princess Madeline, are you injured?”

“Maddie!”

When I hear Julien’s voice, I push myself off the floor and run over to him. I fling my arms around him, feeling safe for the first time. He wraps his arms around me and squeezes me against him. He gently rubs his hands down my hair and softly tells me that everything is going to be all right.

A few seconds later, Dad comes into my room. The guard says something to him and he makes his way over to me.

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