Page 98 of Forever Touched

I grinned, so wide that it hurt. “Asking. Definitely asking. I wouldn’t dream of telling you what to do.”

Her smile softened. “Well, in that case—”

“Adalyn,enoughof this!” a voice shouted, dispelling the magical moment. “Howdareyou say such things to the prince.”

Adalyn’s fear spiked through our bond.

It’s not time yet. It’s too soon!she inwardly whimpered, clearly not intending for me to overhear.

Protectiveness surged through me, and I pulled her close before turning to face an angry Madame Faircroft. As she stormed toward us, I threw her a warning look, and she halted several feet away.

“You’re calling her Adalyn now?” I calmly said, making sure to keep my growing rage in check. “Why not Star? That’s what her clients at your nightclub know her by.”

Her eyes widened a fraction, but she recovered remarkably fast. “Star is her stage name, yes. I won’t pretend otherwise. But as a blood whore, she has no business making professions of love to you. It’s a bald-faced lie anyway. I’ll take her off your hands before she can spout any more nonsense. Come, Adalyn. I think you need some fresh air to clear your head.”

When she stepped forward to grab Adalyn, Kade smoothly blocked her path. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

Looking up at the wall of muscle, she sternly ordered, “Step aside, drothen. You don’t have the authority to keep me from collecting my employee.”

As she tried to veer around him, Loch cut her off. “What about a prince?”

“Forgive me, Prince Lochlan,” she said with a quick curtsy. “But Adalyn is my responsibility and is currently making afoolof me. She’s here as a guest and is disrespecting Prince Everett by pretending to—”

“Youare the one pretending, Deloris,” I interrupted, gratified when her mouth snapped shut. “You and about half the people in this room. You’ve been pretending for years, bowing and scraping before the royal family while whispering behind our backs about how much you despise us. Isn’t that right?”

Her only movement was a slight lip quiver, like she was trying really hard not to sneer.

“Isn’t thatright?” I roared. She flinched, along with several others in my line of sight. My eyes connected with my father’s, and he gave me an encouraging nod. Leaving Adalyn in my family’s protective circle, I strode toward the nearest nobleman and ripped off his mask. “What about you, Lord Farley? Haveyoubeen pretending?”

His face turned ashen as I openly challenged him to defy me. When he submissively dropped his gaze, I whirled toward my next target.

“What about you, Councilman Singh?” His mask hit the ground with a clatter. “Do you secretly wish to depose the royal family? Tokillus?”

“N-no, Your Majesty.Never.” He sank to his knees before me and lowered his head.

Clenching my teeth, I slowly made my way around the room, confronting every face I came upon. Some of the faces couldn’t hide their guilt. Theirloathing. My father had been right. Many in his court were secretly discontent. Each time I revealed a new face, I wrestled with my surprise. I’d known most of these males for decades and thought they’d been loyal to the crown.

How had this happened? How had we not noticedsooner?

“I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed inallof you,” I said, tossing another mask to the ground. “You’re privileged enough to have the ear of the king, yet you secretly complain behind his back likecowards.”

“King Ambrose has barely spoken to us in six years,” a voice behind me said. I pivoted to face Viscount Le Blanc, and he paled. But when a few more voices around the room grumbled their agreement, he stood taller and added, “I’ve heard rumors that something happened to him. That he’s been weakened, both in mind and body.”

Before I could speak for my father, he blurred past me to confront the male himself. “Would you like to test that theory, oldfriend?” he purred, casually reaching out to brush invisible lint from Le Blanc’s suit. “You’ve known me for almost two centuries and have personally seen me execute subjects for less accusations. Perhaps you’d like to serve as my latest example?”

As Le Blanc tensed, so did I, prepared to intervene if he attacked. Despite the unflappable confidence my father exuded, hehadbeen weakened. A pactum gone awry had stolen much of his power from him, and although he was still stronger than most Venturi, a fight would reveal what we’d carefully kept hidden for six years now.

That King Ambrose was no longer the most powerful vampire in his kingdom.

But if I intervened on his behalf, there would be no undoing the damage. The vampires in this room were the strongest of our kind. They’d immediately sense their king’s weakness and seek to flush it out. Toeradicateit. Despite our fancy clothes and diplomatic words, we were animals at our core.Predatorswhose instincts were to prey on the weak.

They wouldn’t hesitate to savagely rip their king to shreds if they knew just how far he’d fallen. And as Viscount Le Blanc continued to stare at my father, I realized with dread that he had no intention of backing down. The longer he held the king’s gaze, the more confident he grew. And the more confident he grew, the more the others took note, seeing far more than I wanted them to.

There was only one thing I could do. One thing that would ensure my father got out of this situation unscathed.

The fear and doubt I’d harbored for years vanished as I stepped forward to protect him, speaking loudly for all to hear, “If you wish to challenge the king, then you’ll have to challengeme. King Ambrose has abdicated the throne, and I, Prince Everett D’angelo, will become this kingdom’s newest ruler.”

Shock rippled through the crowd, including mine. That didn’t stop me from taking another step and drawing Le Blanc’s gaze to me. At the menacing look I gave him, some of his confidence faded. I continued to hold eye contact until he clenched his jaw and finallylooked away.

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