Page 87 of House of Vampires and Flame

“Your Highness!” I shouted to interrupt the fae prince. “I’m reporting for duty, though no one has told me what my duty is! If you want, I can go fetch more drinks and cakes for you.”

“Don’t ever let him go near the kitchen,” Louis said. “You probably won’t see him again before the game is over. He’ll be busy feeding himself, and then he’ll find excuses for not doing his job. He always finds many excuses. Last time, he snuck out while attending to me. When I caught him, he was eating a whole table of food, and he said he was eating for two because he had to donate a pint of blood.”

Cade chuckled, Rowan shook his head in disapproval, and Silas scowled as if I was an embarrassment. Killian stared hard at Louis, his stormy-blue eyes on fire.

“You shall not drink from your squire,” he growled.

“You didn’t protest last time I told you.” Louis rolled his eyes. “And why do you care? He isn’t your squire.”

Killian stood up, his fist balled, as if he wanted to punch the vampire prince.

Just then, a war horn blared across the entire stadium, and the audience stood up and bellowed.

The game was about to start.

A magical billboard materialized, the words Saints vs Sinners streaming in the air.

The princes raised a fist, and the audience roared and cheered.

“Stay here, Little Bob. Don’t fuck it up!” Silas snapped at me unnecessarily.

That was a bad order, since it was too vague. He didn’t exactly give me an outline, so how was I going to know how not to fuck it up? But there was no time to ask him to clarify, since he’d followed Cade and shot toward the center of the ice rink.

The rink had no boards around the borders, unlike human ice rinks. For supernaturals, it was never about protecting the weak. The strong ruled, and if anyone got hurt, it’d be their own fault.

Like a media whore, Louis executed a twirl on the ice to draw attention, and his house bellowed their support. Those vampires knew how to scream. The shifters howled for their prince, trying to drown out the vampires’ deafening sound, as Silas raised a fist in the air like a pompous fool. The fae whistled and clapped as Rowan skated along the edge, faster and faster, beyond lithe. Cade tap-danced to introduce himself. In the section where the mages and witches sat, a riot of colors surged above them like fireworks. They were showing off their spectacular spells.

I applauded and laughed. After this, I’d conspire with Cade and request to join his house. Among all the princes, I liked him the most. He wouldn’t drink from me or hit me.

All the princes were on the ice now, competing for attention, except Killian.

I wheeled around, then nearly fell on my butt, as the prince of the House of Chaos was suddenly in my face. He stabilized me, his strong hands clasping my shoulders as he towered over me. His heat radiated into me, his intoxicating male scent muddling my mind. My whole body strummed with desire. It took everything I had not to throw myself at him.

“Watch yourself,” I said in a low, husky voice. All I wanted was to climb onto him.

He arched an eyebrow, his eyes laughing at me with dark humor.

“Little Bob, isn’t it?” he asked. “My bad if I startled you.”

“Shouldn’t you race to the center of the ice rink to receive cheers like the other princes, high sir?” I grunted as I tried to get a hold of myself.

He grinned, flashing his perfect white teeth. He didn’t have fangs like Louis or Rowan, but I could tell he was more dangerous than them. “You see, I’m not like the others. Let them enjoy the limelight.”

His intense gaze set my heart beating frantically and my pulse spiking. I was also sweating, which was not to my liking. His hands were still on my shoulders. Pleasure hummed on my skin, even though I wore a long-sleeved tunic.

I wondered what it would feel like if his hands were on my bare skin instead. The image of how he’d fucked me in that gold and marble tub from the dreamland flashed in front of me, and my face burned with raw need. My breath hitched, my mouth parched, and my desire kept rising until I feared that I might combust in front of the prince of the House of Chaos.

Pure male need turned his storm-blue eyes to midnight sapphire; the tangible sexual tension between us grew unbearable.

Maybe this insane attraction was all in my head? I lusted after him, so I thought he desired me too.

I flushed in embarrassment, anger, and heat, cursing my body’s reaction at such an inappropriate moment. I hoped that the spectators were focusing on the other flashy princes instead of looking in our direction. But then, no one would put the chaos prince and me, a low servant boy, together, would they?

“You’ve gotten all the princes fighting over you,” Killian purred, his lips tilting up in amusement. “I don’t recall any of them ever fighting this hard over a woman. Are you sure you’re a boy?”

Just like that, I felt a bucket of icy water dropping on my head, yet it still couldn’t quench the damned desire I harbored for this male.

One thing was for sure: the chaos prince was lingering behind to mess with me.

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