“There’s a stone I need you to retrieve for me.Lapis Umbrae—Stone of Shadow. It’s actually a shard.”
A stone. What the hell did that have to do with protecting his daughter? “Why me?”
“Because you’re uniquely qualified.”
I stared at him. “Meaning?”
“The shard is hidden at Red Rose Academy.” Angelo let that sink in for a moment. “In Julienne Piaget’s office.”
My mouth went dry. Red Rose Academy. Costin’s territory. My father’s world.
I rubbed my palms against my thighs, the polyester rough under my clammy hands. “Angelo, I still don’t understand how this applies to me.”
“My truce with Dracula—or Costin, as he prefers these days—is on rocky ground.” Angelo’s tone was casual, but his eyes were sharp. “I can’t be associated with any wrongdoing at the Academy. That could jeopardize everything we’ve built.”
I knew about the truce. Everyone did. But that didn’t explain why he neededme.
Angelo tilted his head slightly. “Did you know that Piaget is celebrating her birthday? It’s going to be quite the affair.”
The words knocked the wind out of me like a fist to the gut. Julienne’s birthday celebration at Red Rose Academy. The vampire elite would be there. Which meant?—
My father. My mother. Dante.
All of them in one place. And me, the disgraced prince who’d beaten his own mother bloody.
I forced my expression to stay neutral. “I don’t think I’m on the guest list.”
“You’re not.” Angelo’s lips curved. “But I am. I want you to go as my representative.”
“What?” Red Rose Academy. Seriously? My family would be there—my mom, Dante, all of them. People I hadn’t faced since that day I’d lost control. I could already feel their eyes on me, the silence worse than any words they could say.
But Angelo wasn’t asking.
I leaned forward in the chair. “Why?”
“Because I need you to do something for me.” He paused, letting the silence stretch. “Did you know that Piaget has a new assistant professor? A protégé?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I still don’t see?—“
“It’s Selena Madrid.”
Everything stopped.
The room. My breath. My heartbeat.
Selena.
I dug my fingernails into my knees hard enough to hurt. The velvet chair suddenly felt like a trap. Behind me, I heard Dimitri shift his weight—the bastard probably had that smirk on his face again.
Selena Madrid. The woman the fates had chosen for me. The mate I’d rejected because I thought she was a traitor and a disgrace.
I’d judged her. Shoved her away. Convinced myself I was in love with Rose Allen—Rose Dragan now, happy with the vampire who’d won her.
And now Angelo was saying Selena’s name like she was a chess piece he was moving into place.
“What the fuck does that have to do with me?”
“Everything.” Angelo smiled—a real smile this time, the kind that made him look almost human. He reached across the desk and lifted an envelope, cream-colored and expensive, sealedwith a red wax crest. “This is an invitation. You’re going to represent me and Serenity at the birthday party.”
