Page 28 of The Depraved Prince
“That’s not it at all, Hayden. You haven’t been interested in being king for the past hundred years. Kallum has studied for this his entire life. He knows the laws. He knows how to rule with more peaceful procedures to keep us out of conflict with the other kings.” His shaky, aged voice increases the tension in the air. My father walks towards him. Holland turned later in life. Probably right before he bit the dust.
“Holland, my dear friend.” My father towers behind him. “You’ve been by my side since we were young, but my wife and I have made the decision. Hayden will ascend the throne. It is his birthright. Please stop challenging this.” He places his hand on his shoulder, and Holland narrows his eyes at my father’s gesture.
Then he turns to me, and with a smile, he says, “Davenports are after her. He wants power, and he won’t stop until he’s taken Ms. Millie for himself. You will be king. We’re moving up your ascension. You don’t have to get married right now.” My eyebrows raise in relief. Good. I’ve never believed in monogamy.
“But you will wed. With an updated condition.” I swallow, my body going rigid with anticipation. I watch my father flash to the door like he’s about to leave, and Holland follows behind. The cold air whips by, making my dark hair sway.
“You can choose your wife now that the Southern King has gone rogue. The day you marry is the day you become king.”
My heart sinks.
Fuck.
“What?” I murmur, my shoulders sinking.
Me? Choose a wife?
What the fuck.
10
HAYDEN
Millie is stayingin one of our finest rooms in the cathedral. Stained glass covers one entire wall. The room is dark, gothic, and vintage. It hasn’t been decorated since the early 1900s.
I had it arranged that way for a reason. My room is close but not too close. Kallum’s room is down the hall.
My dad has tasked me with ensuring she is a Valkyrie, and I should just make it quick. But I want to make it painful. It brings me joy to hurt people. I only wear genuine smiles when I inflict and spread the pain I hold inside me to others like an unforgiving plague. It’s so much fun!
I want to fucking kill her. I want to drain her until her veins are thinned with nothing to pump, and her blood is in my throat. I want to hold her black hair in my hands, pulling from the base as I sink my teeth into her neck, filling it with warm ecstasy. After all, her kind is what got my uncle killed.
I shake my head out of those thoughts. That wouldn’t be smart of me. Like any other delicious rare meal, I must take my time with every bite and taste. I want to take what I want, savor every drop on my tongue, savor every swallow, digesting and marinating her blood in my mouth for weeks on end until it’s time to make her heart stop.
“She’s been banging on her door, screaming for us to let her out. Kicking on it while crying.” Kallum stands by his door at the end of the hall, his glasses on the tip of his nose, with a book in his hand. I sense his unease.
I smirk. “Go to bed, little brother.” I turn away from him and stare at the thick wooden door.
There are carved demons staring back at me, little gargoyles with horns on the sides, and our family crest and emblem in the center. All doors are designed that way.
I fix my suit at the collar. “Leave the family business to us,” I say nonchalantly.
I can hear her take deep, even breaths from the other side of the door.
She’s sleeping. There’s a part of me that likes to watch her do that, but I force it back into the pits of my mind.
“A Valkyrie is staying one door down from me. How can an immortal like me sleep, knowing the most rare blood on the planet pumps by me? Calling my name. I’ve been having to retract my fangs all night long, and?—”
I snap.
“They better fucking stay hidden!” I roar, fury and wrath slipping into my throat and the air, shocking both of us. He cowers from my ruthless demand. My little brother knows what happens when I get mad.Everyone knows.
I don’t know where that came from or why I just came off as territorial. I don’t care about Millie, but she’s my property until I kill her. I turn away, furrowing my brows, gritting my teeth repeatedly. I force my fangs and blood-red eyes to vanish with deep, slow rises of my chest.
I clear my throat and watch my hand that’s pointed at him fall back to my side.
“I’m sorry.” I apologize weakly. “Father wants us to protect her from the Davenports. You know what happens when wetaste human blood from the source, and I’m sure by all the books you collect and read, you’ll know that once we bite a Valkyrie, it’s hard to stop and?—”
“We end up almost always killing them and unleashing our powers, which results in breaking the law. I know.”
