Page 87 of The Reluctant Heir

Damek squeezes my fingers. “What else happened?”

I lick my lips. “I called you and was waiting for you guys to show up. Prince Lucas came into the room—he wanted to see if I had made a decision yet. He gave me a choice to break off my engagement to you and marry him or he said he would put me in the dungeons with Lucien. He tried to fight me, but I don’t think he realized how fast I was. I guess he thought I would be weak because I’m a hybrid. I was able to avoid getting hit and I used my succubus powers to enthrall him. He let me walk out of the room while he stood there and watched.”

Damek grins. “I’m proud of you.”

“I didn’t realize your succubus powers were strong enough to enthrall a prince,” Julien muses.

“Me either,” I admit. “I didn’t think my succubus powers were strong at all. I’ve never seemed to affect anybody except for humans, not that I’ve ever tried.”

“It doesn’t matter how it happened,” Damek says. “All that matters is that you got away and that you’re safe.”

“Yeah.” I chew on my bottom lip, wondering if his words are true. If I have succubus powers that are this strong, I’m pretty sure it would make a lot of people uncomfortable.

Should I say something to Grandfather? He’d want to know.

“I thought, as a hybrid, my powers would be weaker,” I admit.

The guards stop walking. One of them opens the door to an SUV, motioning for Julien, Damek, and me to get inside.

Once we’re in, Damek holds my hand again. “I think it depends on the hybrid. You come from two very strong supernatural lines. Isn’t your mother an exceptionally strong succubus? And your grandfather is the incubus king.”

I nod. “Yeah, but I’ve never had particularly strong succubus magic. My vampire powers are dominant. They always have been.”

Julien turns so that he’s facing me. “Maybe it just happened because of the stress of the situation.”

“Maybe,” I say, though I’m not convinced.

I lean back in my seat as the SUV takes off. There is one SUV in front of us and one behind us. Likely our guards.

“Where is Dad?” I ask Julien.

“He, Kaine, King Rune, and the rest of the guards are going to search the Nodin Estate for Lucien,” Julien answers.

My heart lurches. “Is it safe?”

Julien chuckles. “Did Father not mention how happy he is you chose to tie yourself to a member of the Rune Clan? Trust me, they’ll be safe.”

I raise an eyebrow at him, but he doesn’t say anything else. I turn to Damek, hoping he will explain.

Damek rubs a hand at the scruff on his jaw. “My family is particularly strong. My great-great grandfather and my great grandfather both were pretty ruthless. I’m not proud of it, but our clan merged with quite a few others. We have the biggest vampire clan on the continent. I believe there are a few clans in Europe that have bigger clans than us.”

“He says it like they were power hungry, but that’s not the case.” Julien leans forward. “They overtook clans that had horrible reputations. The members of the clan were glad to be overtaken by the Rune Clan.”

“It’s not that big of a deal.” Damek lets go of my hand and instead slips his arm behind my back.

I lean into him, soaking in the knowledge of what they’re saying. I begin to relax, but I sit up abruptly as I realize the situation.

“Wait. If they find Lucien, that means I won’t be heir anymore.” I look at Damek. “Does that mean our engagement will be off?”

Damek shakes his head. “No. You’re still the spare. When Lucien comes back, it will make things less complicated. Because the only options without him are that either our clans merge or Julien takes over as heir.”

I relax at his words, which surprises me.

Am I… relieved?

Do I want to be engaged to Damek?

“I don’t want to be the heir.” Julien groans. “Maddie, why couldn’t you have chosen another prince? You had so many options.”

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