My courageous, beautiful female.
She is positivelystunning.
All I want to do right now is demand a portal key so I can go to her and pull her into my arms.
Alas, she’s still talking to my abnormally sane father.
Or perhaps it’s not abnormal at all. Perhaps he’s been sane for a while now.
Is that the true purpose of this trial?My grandfather mentioned that this might be the experience we all need.
“Did you know he was of sound mind?” I ask, interrupting whatever Barnes was just saying to my grandfather.
“I’ve suspected it for some time, yes,” my grandfather replies, obviously understanding what I meant by my question. “I don’t think he was ever truly insane, just… devastated. We all know Strigoi mate for eternity.”
“Yes, but some have taken more than one mate in the past,” I say, aware that every dynamic is different. While most of our kind is too possessive to ever share, there are those who prefer it.
“True,” he murmurs. “Maybe your father will be one of them in the future. If he’s welcomed back into society, I mean.”
My eyebrow wings upward. “So this trial was your idea.”
He merely smiles. “When you become a father—which I imagine will be soon—you’ll understand my decisions, Ciprian.”
“Soon?” I echo, caring more about that than his comment regarding my future understanding. I don’t need a child to know why he did this.
He wanted to exonerate his son while also proving that my female is the right queen for this kingdom. It’s a healingexperience. One that will hopefully encourage the Strigoi to trust their royals again.
They need a strong queen, someone who won’t break their hearts.
And they needed to rekindle their faith in their former king.
I comprehend all of that now. It was a good idea. If it worked, it was an even better plan.
But I don’t care about any of that right now.
I simply want my female. “She’s mine to claim,” I say before he can respond to my inquiry. Because I don’t need him or any of them to tell me that she’s passed. I know she’s destined to be my queen. “I would like a portal key. Now.”
My grandfather’s lips twist upward. “I’m surprised it took you this long to demand it.”
“Some might consider that a failure,” Barnes murmurs conversationally. “However, I’m going to choose to interpret it as a show of respect. He was waiting for a formal decision to be declared before issuing a command.”
My grandfather nods. “That’s how I choose to interpret it as well.”
“Stop talking about me like I’m not fucking here,” I growl, pushing to my feet. “She passed. Let me go to her.”
The two ancients smile at each other, then stand. “She passed hours ago, based on the feedback we’ve received. The kingdom is quite taken with your intended mate, Ciprian. But what we haven’t told you is that the trials have… evolved.”
I stare at my grandfather, waiting for him to elaborate.
However, it’s Barnes who says, “After your mother’s untimely demise, the elders gathered to discuss future trials. We decided it wasn’t fair or enough to merely judge a human’s candidacy. Compatibility is the key to success. That’s the error we made with your father. And we refused to allow history to repeat itself.”
“But then you took it upon yourself to go hunting alone,” my grandfather adds. “At first, we were concerned. I almost came after you.”
Barnes nods. “Marius intervened.”
“He more than intervened. He saved the process,” my grandfather replies. “He offered to report back to me with exclusive updates. It was dire there for a while, but he insisted on letting you do this your way. And I’m thankful that we listened.”
“Because he was right,” Barnes says.
