I saw Rourke slowly smile beside me. He was one of five people in this entire courtyard who knew my true name, and I was glad for it.
“And there’s a second clause, too. It says here it was put in place to prevent ascension politics in the royal family,” Cecil went on, raising his head. “A prince who is of-age and otherwise ready to inherit the throne cannot be disowned if he is pregnant.”
I smiled.
Checkmate.
I watched the realization spread over the crowd like wildfire. Even the knights lost their stoic composure and gasped. But it wasn’t just the celebratory atmosphere that accompanied the announcement of a new royal heir—it was also the grotesque, horrible realization that the King had nearly killed his pregnant son.
Father staggered back. “N-no, it doesn’t count. Not if the donor was a non-pedigreed alpha!”
Cecil shook his head. In a voice that was both sad and gentle, he said, “No, Father. The old laws don’t say anything about that.”
I ran my hand over the front of my stomach. It was too soon to tell, but there wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that Rourke’s seed had taken hold. I was pregnant with his child—the next generation Lacehaven heir.
And when Father either died or stepped down, I would be king.
Maybe Cecil’s mood was affecting me, but it was a bit sad to recognize that Father’s dismissal from the throne might happen sooner rather than later. He’d proved himself to be unstable and unfit to lead in front of the entire upper quarter.
I watched him now with a melancholy expression as he prattled on, trying to save face and insist I was in the wrong. But it was too late. The damage had already been done.
One of the senior knights approached me and dipped his head respectfully. “Your Highness, I deeply apologize for my previous behavior.”
As he said it, I recognized him as one of the knights working under Melchom who had ushered me here from the library. I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t sour about it, but he hadn’t actually harmed me so I brushed aside my pettiness for now. After all, Woodshadproved his loyalty to me after assaulting me, so I figured people could change.
“It’s all right,” I said mildly.
He looked relieved. “What should we do about the King?”
I looked at my father. The crowd had dispersed, giving him space as if they were avoiding him. There were no knights by his side. They idled awkwardly, unsure of whether to guard him or to report to me. The only person looking at him like he wasn’t dangerous was poor Cecil.
With a sigh, I turned to Rourke and asked, “What do you think?”
My mate had a grim expression. “I don’t know. He’s your father, Sebastian.” A flicker of anger crossed his face. “But to be honest, if he wasn’t, I’d rip him apart for nearly killing youandour unborn child.”
I stifled a smile. It warmed my heart to hear Rourke so fiercely protective over me.
After a moment’s thought, I said to the knight, “Place my father in the guest house for now, under all-hours guard.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As the knights approached Father, my brothers came to me with matching somber expressions, since I was their only mature familial anchor now. It was difficult to watch the knights apprehend our father, but necessary. Father hurled insults and spat at Rourke before the knights carefully maneuvered him out of the way. Cecil buried his head in my arm when he couldn’t take it anymore. I gave him a comforting pat on the head.
“I’m sorry,” Rourke said. “I wish it didn’t come to this.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I told him.
“Still.”
“What’s this mean for you, Seb?” Elian asked. “Does that mean you’re king now? And am I actually disowned, too?”
“Neither of us are, Eli. Father didn’t use either of our true names.” I grimaced. “He was too busy trying to paint a pretty lie that he lost himself.”
Elian let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, because I was scared for a minute. But why was it such a big deal to him? Was hethatmad that you disobeyed him to sleep with Rourke?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
Rourke chuckled. “Hey, you got my name right this time.”
