Page 51 of Vengeful Princess

Whatever.

“Did he say what he wanted?”

Lan shook his head as we walked back toward the terrace. The party had kicked up a notch. Many of the older guests had departed and the younger ones were keen to make the most of my father’s booze.

I liked to party as much as the next guy, but not at home, where my father’s watchful gaze missed nothing. It had been hours since the ball kicked off, but I was still stone-cold sober. Maybe a few more drinks would help?

I grabbed a glass of something alcoholic from a passing server and downed it in one. The minute I looked up, I saw him scowling at me from the doorway.

“Go find Kyril and make sure he didn’t mess with Camilla, yeah?” I said to Landon in a low voice. He laughed but trotted off, his blue face mask catching the light. I fiddled with my maskand silently wished I could rip the damn thing off, but Father insisted we kept them on.

It added to the ambiance, apparently. He was the only person here who didn’t wear a mask. Not that he needed one, as he wore one permanently.

“Something wrong?” I asked when I reached him.

“Where’s Camilla? Her father can’t find her,” he said. “You’re supposed to be playing your role as one half of the happy couple this evening!”

I sighed. “She wasn’t feeling too good, so I escorted her to her room.” A small smirk escaped, which my father noticed. He gripped my arm and dragged me away from the people dancing nearby. Nobody noticed the way he manhandled me. Not that they would have cared if they did.

“Fall into line, Cassian,” he growled once we were out of sight. “Fuck with me and I’ll fuck with you. Got it? I have too much riding on this deal to ignore your childish tantrums.” He stepped back and rolled his shoulders. “Now go and find Camilla’s father. Make her excuses and be on your best behavior the rest of the night. I don’t want to hear any whispers of you fucking some slut, got it?”

“What about you?” I asked, emboldened by the drink I’d just necked.

He frowned. “What about me?”

“Will you befucking some slutlater?”

His fist lashed out, but I blocked it easily. I saw the surprise in his eyes before he masked it. He wasn’t used to me fighting back. I usually took his punches like the dutiful son I was.

Not anymore. I had an inch in height on him these days, and more bulk.

“Careful, Father. You have an image to uphold.”

“Watch your mouth, boy. I’m still your father, and never forget, I control your trust fundandyour dear mother.”

The implied threat about my mother’s safety was enough to persuade me to stand down. He couldn’t do much to her tonight, not with the house full of guests, but there was no saying what might happen to her once I went back to Abernethy.

My father was an expert at causing damage nobody ever saw, aside from the servants, who he paid obscene sums of money to look the other way.

He shoved me away and adjusted his tux. “Reassure John and then mingle with the guests.”

26

Milo

Parties were the bane of my existence. I was terrible at small talk and I struggled to read social cues. The only saving grace this evening was the dress code. Wearing a stupid mask allowed me to blend in and hide in dark corners.

I’d deliberately chosen a mask that covered three-quarters of my face. It was black, like my tuxedo, and I’d switched out my glasses for contacts.

A few people had attempted to make polite conversation earlier, but had soon given up when I stood and stared at them in silence. I heard one woman mutter something that sounded a lot like “weirdo” before she walked off.

Not that I cared. I was only here to support Cassian. My parents didn’t move in the same circles as Lucian Forsyth. My family was obscenely rich, but it was mostly because of the software my father had sold to Microsoft a few years back. The sale had made him billions.

I could have gone to MIT or Stanford to study, but I’d chosen to go to Abernethy. Just like Landon. Where Cassian went, we followed.

My decision had baffled my father, but his latest project took up most of his time, so once he realized I wouldn’t change my mind, he let it go.

Landon had left me a while back when he saw Lucian head outside, looking for Cassian. I hung around the main ballroom for a while, watching people dance, and silently laughing at their inane small talk. A couple of women hit on me but I brushed them off.

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