“You can give that to Fluffy,” he said.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Sure. Thanks.”
It was nerve-wracking, but I held out my palm to the dog. Fluffy seemed just as hesitant as me, but when Cecil encouraged him, the dog slowly inched forward and took the treat. Any apparent animosity he had towards me disappeared. At least getting mauled by a dog was one less thing I had to worry about.
“Good boy,” Sebastian said.
It clicked in my head a second later that he was talking to me, not Fluffy. My blood boiled again. I stood up, not wanting to spend any longer on the floor.
If Sebastian had a problem with that, he didn’t act on it. He let me stand without a fuss.
“Run along, Cecil,” he said. “We’re going to the baths.”
“Uh, I don’t think so.”
Elian’s smarmy voice rang through the hall. Frustration bubbled up inside me. I had only just arrived at the palace and I was already being bombarded by the royal family. I turned to see what Elian was up to this time when my blood ran cold.
Standing beside him was his father. The King.
Up until this moment, I hadn’t been scared. I was angry and frustrated, upset at this turn of events, but never frightened.
But when the King stared at me with barely restrained fury in those knife-like eyes, I shuddered.
A sudden realization crashed into me like a wave. The princes had power, but they weren’t all powerful. The Kingwas. He could do anything and everything to me—and not just me, but my brother as well. A horrible thought sprang to mind. If my presence in his palace was such a crime, would he punish Amos to get back at me?
My mind raced a mile a minute, going through every possible horrific outcome. It hit me that no matter what Sebastian said, this was not my home and never would be. I did not belong here. I needed to get the fuck out as soon as possible.
“Sebastian Lacehaven,” the King said, deathly quiet. “What is the meaning of this?”
Behind him, Elian was smirking. Once again, he reminded me of a self-satisfied rat. I wished he’d go back to the sewer where he came from.
“The meaning of what, Father?” Sebastian replied. There was no hesitation in his voice. He spoke as if he was completely in the right.
Meanwhile, I wished I was anywhere but here.
The King shared the same coldness of expression that I’d seen on Sebastian’s face multiple times already. He made it clear from a single hard glance that he had many emotions towards me, and none of them were positive.
I couldn’t meet his eye. Unlike Sebastian, where I didn’t want to hold eye contact, I found myself physically unable to look the king in the face. The sheer power radiating from him, the unnerving knowledge that he held every drop of power in this entire kingdom—it was too much for me to take right now. My gaze dropped to the floor.
“You know exactly what I mean,” the King finally replied to Sebastian.
His voice was ice. I hoped Sebastian would drop this, but from what I already knew about him, he didn’t back down from fights—he rose to meet them.
Please just send me back to the hellhole I came from,I begged silently.
Sebastian rearranged himself, squaring his shoulders and standing proudly, like he was settling in for a long argument. The leash was tight in his hand.
“Well, then. Let’s talk, Father,” Sebastian said calmly. “You already know from our previous conversation that I didn’t approve of any of the alphas at the viewing. However, that does not mean I’m giving up my birthright. I fully intend to become next in line for the throne, and to continue on in your footsteps.” He said this last part with a small polite bow. “And I’m aware that, to do so properly, I will carry an heir.”
That comment made me pause. An heir? What was he talking about?
“Is there a problem with what I’ve said so far?” Sebastian asked innocently.
Elian’s gaze flickered back and forth between his father and brother. I couldn’t tell whose side he was on, if he’d even picked a side at all. He seemed more interested in the drama than anything else. Maybe he was just one of those people who enjoyed stirring the pot.
But the King wasn’t as amused. His jaw, dusted with a light layer of facial hair, was tense, and his mouth was a hard line.
“I will not play this game with you, Sebastian,” the King said quietly. “You know full well that you’ve committed a crime by engaging in this taboo.”
