Page 4 of The Forsaken Heir
“Sounds delightful,” I muttered. Rasp was my friend, but some of the things he found fun and exciting werenotwhat I wanted to be caught dead doing. “I’d prefer to stay in tonight, if you don’t mind.”
“Yeah,” Vince said. He held his glass of water in one hand, and used his other to snap a rubber band onto his skin, over and over.
I wasn’t surprised to see the rubber band on Vince’s arm, nor was I bothered at the sound of it snapping. It was a commonthing for him to do. People who didn’t know him may have thought it strange, but it wasn’t. He was himself, and it didn’t matter to me what he did to make himself comfortable or calm. He was kind, fun, and good to be around, but his father didn’t see Vince’s ticks and habits as befitting for someone of his station. He expected Vince to be stoic and proper as he himself was. Sometimes I thought it was Benedict’s treatment of his son that made me dislike the man so much.
Rasp frowned at Vince. “Bro, you’ve never seen a woman naked, for fuck’s sake. You should be jumping at the chance. All you can say is ‘yeah’ to Aurelius? You’rekillingme.”
Vince only snapped his rubber band again in answer.
I glared at Rasp, who sighed and threw his head back in exhaustion.
“Okay,fine,” Rasp groaned. “We won’t go see hot chicks naked, and I’m sorry, Vince. We cool?”
“Cool,” Vince mumbled. “All cool.”
“Sweet,” Rasp said. “So, Aurelius, what can we do to turn that frown upside down?”
“What frown?” I asked, glancing up and frowning even more.
“You look pissed.” Vincent took a sip of his water. “Like, really mad.”
I put my glass down and heaved a sigh. “Shit,” I muttered. “I guess you’re right. It’s all this bullshit with the council. I spent the last two hours listening to them bickering about stuff that doesn't really matter. My dad included.”
Rubbing at my face, I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “I want prosperity as much as anyone, but I want it done honorably. I doubt all my father’s advisors and some of the other families think the same way. There should be a way to pursue peace, and increase our numbers at the same time. Most of them seem to think the onlyway to do that is through subjugating the fae and destroying the wolves. It’s short-sighted and dangerous.”
“One day, you’ll be king, though,” Vincent said, smiling encouragingly at me. “Then you can do what you want.”
I tried not to think of that too often. I loved my father, so the thought of him dying or being too old to fill the role didn’t sit well with me. Plus, as nice as it would be to be an all-powerful king and make all my problems go away with a wave of my hand, reality was a bit more difficult to navigate.
I patted Vince’s knee. “That’s true, but unfortunately, it isn’t that easy. The king doesn’t get to do whatever he wants. Not a dragon king, anyway.”
“Fuck those assholes,” Rasp said, lifting his glass in a toast gesture.
“God, you really have a way with words, Rasp,” I said.
The three of us devolved into laughter, and for a few seconds my worries vanished as I basked in the brotherhood I had with my friends. It was strange that my two closest friends were basically outcasts from their own families—Vincent for his obvious differences, and Rasp for being an immature party boy. They balanced me, though. I tended to be too serious, and Rasp’s flamboyance moderated that, while Vincent’s stoicism and innocence kept me from becoming too bitter and angry.
Gazing out on the night, I wondered if there was any way to keep things from sliding further than they already had. All I wanted was what was best for my people, but I didn’t want that at the expense of others. Was it too late for us already? And if not, how did I get us to where we needed to be?
“What are you thinking?” Vince asked. “You look upset.”
“Sorry,” I grunted. “It’s nothing you guys did. I’m simply trying to think of a way to make things better. I’m worried the situation with the wolves is going to get out of hand. I want our people to live in peace and be able to replenish our numbers. If we go to war with the wolves, there’s a strong possibility that won’t happen. It’s complicated. Nothing you guys need to worry about.”
It was my job as the heir to worry about these things. Vincent and Raspion were dragons as well, but since they were basically outcasts from their given houses, they had the benefit of not having to deal with political matters. I envied them for that.
“Huh,” Rasp said, chewing on his lower lip.
Something about his tone of voice drew me out of my thoughts and wariness seeped in.
“What do you mean ‘huh’? I don’t like that tone of voice,” I said.
He glanced at me quickly, plastering a smile on his face. “Oh, nothing. Just thinking.”
“About what?” I asked dryly.
Rasp winked at Vincent. “Stuff.”
“What the fuck are you up to?” I asked, doing my best to keep my voice even.
