Page 19 of Princess of Thorns and Ruin

“Who decided that?”

“Me.”

“On whose authority?”

“Mine.”

“How dare you—”

The corners of his mouth quirk. “Her majesty might outrank me at dinner parties, but I’ve been tasked with your well-being. Any matter of security falls on me and me alone, and no amount of whining will change that. As long as the threat remains unclear, we shall be quick and discreet.”

My mouth opens and closes in outrage, my fists balled at my sides. “If discretion is so important, why did you allow a random human to tag along?”

He removes his sunglasses and tucks them inside his jacket, the golden ring shining around his otherwise typical garnet eyes surprisingly clear. “You’re a newborn vampire. It’s always better to keep a snack on hand.”

I sit in the front row, convinced this gorgeous woman is here for him, not me—he certainly looks eager to get a bite out of her. “Is she really here for my benefit, or yours?”

I’ve heard other…stories about the assassin. Scandalous tales, really.

Alec grins, and an elusive dimple adorns his cheek. “Aren’t you curious to see how pleasurable the bite can be?”

I squirm in my seat, the words pleasurable and bite heating up my chest. “I wouldn’t want you to teach me.”

Unperturbed, the obnoxious guard presses on his ear piece. “Ready for takeoff. Lucky is secured.”

I whip my head around to face him. “Lucky?”

His shoulders hitch in a careless shrug. “It’s your codename.”

“I don’t care for it.” The plane wobbles forward, and I grip the armrests of my seat.

He winks at me—fucking winks at me—like I’m a schoolgirl and he’s fucking Prince Charming. “Would her majesty prefer spoiled? Or snooty?”

My mouth opens to call him out for being an absolute asshole when an unfamiliar, ticklish sensation warms the back of my ears, and I stagger at the realization that Beaumont didn’t speak those words aloud…he merely thought them. Reading minds isn’t a run-of-the-mill vampire trait, and my eyes bulge at the implications. Either that, or my transformation into a vampire wrecked my brain, and I’m hearing random insults.

Beaumont waves the attendant over and murmurs a few words in her ear as I gape, unable to speak.

“You look pale as a ghost, your highness,” he points out with a gleeful edge to his voice.

My fangs unsheathe of their own accord. “I’ll have you fired, Mr. Beaumont,” I growl, my voice lower than I’ve ever heard it.

Alec tilts his head back and laughs, the sound so joyful and boyish that it’s actually worse than a slap in the face. He sits down in the seat on the other side of the aisle and drums a happy beat on his thighs, gazing out at the runway. “You can try, Lucky. You can try.”

Chapter 8

Assassin

ALEC

Two and a half hours after take-off, I stretch my legs and walk to the bar at the back of the plane. “A beer, please.”

The flight attendant nods and bends down to access the fridge tucked underneath the counter. I spin around and lean on the bar, bored.

No good deed goes unpunished. If I hadn’t let Eleanore escape, I’d be managing covert ops or running security for the coronation. Instead, I’m stuck on a tiny plane babysitting a teenager. I’ve suffered through worse than a three hour plane ride with a royal, but I can’t wait for this charade to be over.

A spoiled princess. How original.

My last-minute decision to have her friend catch a later plane was pure gold. Jesus, she was pissed. She still is, sitting in the luxurious leather seat with her arms braced tightly around her frame. The black plaid skirt and white silky blouse make her look as human as she possibly can, but power radiates off her pale skin.

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