Page 58 of Tortured Royals

Ivar leans back. “This assassin will not be traceable. Not that it will matter when the king’s head is rolling on the floor.”

“What does that mean?” Scyro growls.

Ivar hesitates before saying, “On this you’ll simply have to trust me. The less you know the better in the off chance I’m captured. Above all, your safety is my top priority.”

“Yeah, right,”Blake mutters.

“And what do you need from us?” Hawke, a burly demon with a scruffy beard, and the leader of the Bloodsky clan asks gruffly.

“Everyone here leads either one of the largest, or most respected, clans in Seral City,” Ivar says, smiling. “I need to know that when the time comes, and the king has been taken care of, you’ll back me for the position of king. With your support the other demons will find it easier to accept the…transition.”

For a moment, no one speaks. The clan leaders all peer at one another, trying to gauge their responses.

Ivar pockets his blade and drums his fingers loudly on the table. “So, what do you say? Who’s ready to unite the demons and bring about a new era for our realm?”

I’m not surprised when one-by-one hands slowly go up around the table. My hand is one of the last. I don’t need a target on my back, and voting against Ivar won’t stop this.

“Well, I hope the princess doesn’t find out that you’re supporting a traitor,”Blake jokes in my head. Her words are light-hearted, but it’s obvious she’s seething about all of this.

Alaric is still tense, but the rest of them are back to kissing and touching one another, pretending not to watch the meeting.

“Mmmm I’m hoping I’ll be able to ask for her forgiveness,”I murmur back.

There’s a dark gleam in Ivar’s eyes as he stares around at the show of hands. Everyone has given their support, including Gloria, despite her earlier doubts.

“Well then,” Ivar says gleefully. “I’ll set the assassin in motion in the coming days, and I’ll be in touch when it’s done. Thank you all for coming.” He grabs the drink on the table before him, and he toasts the air before sculling the contents. Slamming the glass back on the table, he stands and straightens the collar of his shirt. Gesturing with his head, his guards around the room form up behind him as he heads for the stairs.

The clan leaders hardly speak as we file from the room after him.

Chapter

Twenty

~ Princess Blake ~

“Soooo is someone going to explain what happened?”Shade asks as we walk from the Bleeding Hearts club. She lands on my shoulder, and my mates and I dart down the alleyway, hiding behind a dumpster.“The moment you entered the club, I couldn’t connect with any of you! I was practically pulling my feathers out with worry.”

Reaching up, I stroke Shade’s wings trying to calm her.“The demons are plotting to take the throne,”I reply bluntly.“No surprise there.”

“Ivar plans to become king,”Dante explains as he exits the club after us. I wave him over, and he moves quickly to our position.“Despite the incredible fact the demon has never cared for anyone but himself,”my demon mate adds.

“He’s organizing an assassin to take Dad out,”I say, scowling at the thought. Dad might be merciless but he’s fair, and he’s still the king. Gloria was right, King Dalton has maintained relative peace in our realm, aside from theoccasional clan war. If Ivar were to sit on the throne, something tells me Seral would see much more bloodshed.

“Okay, so we kill Ivar before he contracts the assassin,”Shade suggests.“Problem solved, right?”

I frown.“I thought of that too, but I get the feeling there was something Ivar wasn’t willing to tell the others. Something tells me this goes deeper than simply hiring an assassin.”

Dante’s expression grows thoughtful.“There aren’t many who would be brave enough to try and assassinate King Dalton. And if they tried a Drozac assassin last time, who do you think he’d use now?”

At the mention of a Drozac assassin, Alaric’s body tightens, and I rest my hand on his arm.“He’ll pay for what he did to your brother,”I assure him.

“Hold on. Hold on. Ivar killed Alaric’s brother?”Shade squawks.

“It’s a long story,”I sigh.“Right now, we need to figure out what Ivar is up to. That demon is hiding something.”

The door to the back of the club opens as a few of the last clan members exit the club, climbing into their cars and leaving the alleyway.

“I picked up on that, too,”Prince Callan agrees.

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