Page 82 of Princess For All

Plus, we’d shown our hand on what we wanted to do with him. That had been ego on our part, and now I regretted that because he was always on edge and defense—the model aide and noble.

Pissant.

But I also came to Anise because of her location. She was so deep into Africa, it was a good section to hunt corrupted while we could. While the eyes of Erebus and those who served Him were other places.

And that was what I let Lloyd and others believe. I spoke honestly in front of Lloyd that Anise accepted the deal to help us hunt—would put all of her people on it and shifters too as long as we gave them meat they were desperate for.

Inez agreed, immediately sending a comically loaded ship since it wasn’t safe for a plane to land given what was all around us. Shifters came out of the woodwork to see what was going on—even humans took the risk from their settlements that had long since learned of us.

I also warned Anise that the corrupted were getting better at climbing and moving with the rise of Erebus’s champion. They’d noticed they couldn’t sense them anymore, but I gave her all of our intel. She’d learn it from her people now that we were hunting, but I didn’t want to risk anyone dying.

But I also let Lloyd have crumbs of this and that. I knew Anise was also putting information into his head, using her power to do it. Most didn’t know she was of the Liu bloodline. Some dismissed it even because almost everyone was part of each bloodline in the end given how we’d all been bartered like trading cards as Inez said.

She wasn’t wrong but some more recently than others and with gifts of those bloodlines to pass down.

It took weeks but it finally worked.

Finally.

Moving him around like a mouse in a maze and with Anise’s power, Lloyd finally made a move to try and push himself into the future ruling princess’s bed. He could cloak himself and I’d let it “slip” several times that this coven was ridiculous for how stuck in the old ways they were. That we were beyond forcing matches if someone fucked.

And how I wouldn’t ever do that to Olivia and rumors passed. To hear that Anise had almost forced her own daughter into a match just because of an easily explained situation like a noble in the wrong hallway and whispers they were lovers was unforgivable. The coven was known for being rigid and traditionalist, their princesses nuns until taking an oath from a noble.

Other vampires or shifters? Sure, fuck the lot of them. They didn’t matter like that or to give vows to. But nobles, those born of princesses were a completely different story.

It was all bollocks and Anise hadn’t bought into that shite in years.

Lloyd clearly didn’t know that.

Anise set it all up and pulled the trigger. Warning her daughter when it would happen. Lloyd would think it was really bad luck that after his weeks of watching her schedule and studying her routines that this one time she had a nightcap with her mother she didn’t return alone to her room like she had been since our arrival.

No, she returned with one of her nobles for some fun. That would be the story.

Instead, they found Lloyd in her room cloaked and all hell broke loose.

Perfect.

I only smirked at him when he begged me to help and that it was all a misunderstanding. The vampire went pale so fast realizing he’d been played that it was amusing.

I went into actress mode and threw myself at Anise’s feet, begging her to let me make this right. That I would speak to my daughter-in-law and pay a handsome price for the crime the vampire who was a guest at her coven had committed. Blah, blah, blah, we both had trouble keeping straight faces, but we’d done worse.

Aether would be on our side of this for sure.

Except an earthquake happened and interrupted everything. There was chaos for a bit, but at least Lloyd was locked up and the deed was done.

“Now Erebus would take our last of everything and even the resources we could trade later?” one of Anise’s nobles complained, not knowing I was right there and speaking freely. “That mine was beautiful even if never touched again and a wonder—evil has no limits.”

“I loved going to visit there to clear my head. To collapse it—”

“What collapsed?” I demanded, horror filling me.

They both flinched and bowed to me, the first answering. “No one was hurt and we’re safe, Princess. It was a gem mine and—”

“Take me there at once,” I demanded. I almost let out my anger when they hesitated. “Now!”

Anise must have received word because she joined us not long after. “What are you so upset about? It’s probably not Erebus. People are panicked about the idea of Him having a champion and all of that and blame Him for everything now.”

“It wasn’t Him,” I whispered, putting the pieces together of a puzzle that I didn’t think I wanted to. “It was Her.”

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