“Father disowned me,” I said, waiting for the absolute shock to pass on my brothers’ faces. “It was just in speech and not in writing, but I don’t think he was bluffing. I think he’s going to make it official the first chance he gets.”
“Wait. He didwhat?” Elian blurted out. “Seb, are you serious?”
“I am dead serious, Eli.”
His eyes widened. I rarely used that nickname for him anymore, but using it now felt right. I saw it dawn on his expression, awakening some old childhood fondness for his older brother that might have been buried deep inside him.
“Just in speech, not in writing,” Cecil murmured quietly to himself. “Wait, Seb, what name did he use?”
I wasn’t listening to him. I looked straight at Elian and said, “I know you also want the throne. But if Father goes through with whatever ploy he’s planning, he might not be so kind to you, either. He’s proven himself to be unnecessarily harsh on disobedience and you’re not exactly an upstanding prince in his eyes.”
“What are you saying?” Elian asked, more confused and nervous than defiant.
“I’m saying that, unfortunately, our dear old Father needs to go.”
“Seb, are you gonna kill Dad?”
“What? No. I meant he needs to vacate the throne.”
“Oh.”
Cecil’s brow furrowed. “But… for you to be eligible to become king, you need to produce an heir first, right?”
I didn’t want to discuss this with my brothers, but right now I didn’t have a choice.
“Rourke and I were intimate,” I told them. “If all goes well, Iwillbe carrying Rourke’s child. An heir.”
They both blushed.
“I—I see,” Cecil said, unable to hold back a little smile. “Wow…”
Even Elian looked happier than I expected him to be. “Does that make us uncles?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “But that’s not the issue right now. I need both of you to find any and all legal documents pertaining to inheritance in Lacehaven.”
“We have those here?” Elian asked.
I love Elian, but Father truly is insane if he thinks he would be a proper candidate for the throne,I thought.
“I think I know where those are,” Cecil mumbled. “I searched the whole library when we were looking for fated mates stuff. There were definitely some boring legal books in here.”
“Good,” I said. “Anything about inheritance, heirs, mating laws—whatever you can think of that might help.”
“Help with what?” Cecil asked, concerned again. “Seb, what’s going on?”
“I told you, I don’t know for certain. But I think Father is finally taking his revenge on me for disobeying him.” I put my hands on both their shoulders. “Whatever happens, you two need to look out for each other. Stay safe.”
The gravity of the situation finally seemed to dawn on them. I saw Elian and Cecil for what they were—two scared teenagers worried about their older brother.
“Fluffy,” I announced. The dog picked up his head. “You’d better do a good job of protecting them.”
He blinked, sensing no immediate danger, and put his head back down on his paws.
The door to the library flew open with a bang, startling all of us. A mix of fear and fury hit me when I saw the group of knights again. They had gone from dependable protectors to despicable thorns in my side ever since they tore me away from Rourke.
They weren’t alone. Melchom stood with them, an unreadable expression on his face.
“Prince Sebastian.” Melchom said it like there was a bitter taste on his tongue. “Come with me.”
