Page 17 of The Royal Engagement

“No,” I admit. “I rather like the short ceremony that vampires have. From what I understand, the ceremony lasts less than ten minutes, yes?”

“Vampires are impatient. But before the ceremony, there are celebrations. We’ll have dinner with everybody and people willbring us celebratory gifts. After the wedding, we will leave for our honeymoon.” Damek’s cheeks turn red at his admission.

“So why is Queen Rune making such a big deal about our ceremony, if it only last ten minutes?” I ask.

“Because every clan leader is invited. There will also be leaders of other supernatural races attending our wedding. My father is good friends with King Basilicus.”

I suck in a sharp breath.

Thedragonking will be at our wedding?

“He’s also reached out to King Elwin Krishorn and I imagine an invitation will be sent to them, though who knows if they will accept,” Damek continues, like he’s not naming off some of the most powerful supernaturals in our time.

King Elwin is an elf, a species once believed to be dead. A couple of years ago, it was revealed that they were very much alive.

“And I’m certain your family will be there too,” he says.

It takes me a few moments to realize he’s talking about my incubi and succubi family. I nod slowly. “Yes, they will come. I imagine all of my aunts, uncles, and first cousins will be here. Maybe a few second and third cousins as well.”

“How many cousins do you have?” Damek asks.

“I haven’t counted in a while,” I admit. “But I know I have more than one hundred first cousins.”

Damek’s eyes widen as he stares at me in shock. “You have over one hundred first cousins?”

I raise an eyebrow, surprised that he’s surprised. “Incubi and succubi like to procreate.”

He coughs.

I laugh, realizing how strange my family must seem to Damek.

“Do you know all of your cousins?” he asks.

I nod. “Of course. We get together multiple times a year with the whole family, but I grew up seeing some of them every day. And I worked with some of my cousins too...” My voice trails off as I realize that Damek is going to be meeting my cousins—all of them.

“Hey, are you okay?” Damek puts his hand on my arm.

I chew on my bottom lip. “Yeah, I’m okay. I just realized you’re going to meet my family. You know that I’m the only hybrid, right?”

He raises an eyebrow. “It’s crazy that out of that many family members, you’re the only hybrid. Even I have a couple of hybrid cousins and my family isn’t very big.”

“I just mean that my female cousins are succubi. And they’re really pretty.” I glance away from Damek.

He takes a step closer. “I told you, I’ve met succubi before. None of them have ever held any kind of appeal to me. You’re the first woman I’ve ever had serious feelings for.”

Serious feelings…

Could Damek possibly be falling for me?

“As much as I’d love to keep stalling, my mom has texted me five times in the last three minutes asking where we are.” Damek frowns at his phone.

I groan. “Are you sure we shouldn’t just let them fight it out? They can stress over the planning and we can just show up.”

“Tempting.” Damek grabs ahold of my hand and together we head toward one of my dad’s conference rooms where our moms are waiting for us. The only reason I don’t refuse to go is because I know Eden is also there and I don’t want to leave her to deal with Mom and Queen Rune on her own.

When we walk inside, I hear the familiar argument of our moms fighting over colors. They don’t even pause when Damek and I walk in, they just keep on yelling at one another. Eden is sitting at the table with her hands folded on her lap. She hasher head down like she’s trying to make herself as invisible as possible. Knowing Mom and Queen Rune, I’m sure they’ve tried to drag her in on their argument.

“Damek, what color do you want?” Queen Rune turns to face her son.

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