Leon was seated in an armchair with an expensive tablet in his hands. The house might be from the dark ages, but the vampires made sure to keep up with the latest technology. Sebastian had once explained to me that if you resisted the progression of technology, then you got left behind. It didn’t wait for you, and that meant your enemies, who marched with the masses, would have an advantage over you.
Leon lowered the tablet to the table next to him and raised an expectant brow at us. “The meal is next Saturday, surely you aren’t parading the Consort Royal as an excuse for your duties? The lie hardly works now that she is bound to our enemy.”
I ghosted my hand over Sebastian’s back, offering him my strength and support. Aira perched on the end of the sofa and folded her hands in her lap.
“Well?” Leon spat.
Sebastian trembled a little then straightened his spine and rose a little taller.That’s it,I silently encouraged.You got this.
“I will not be marrying any princess you present to me.”
“You will marry, it is your duty,” Leon said, rising to his feet. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his display of dominance. This moment didn’t need my derision.
Sebastian’s hands fisted at his sides, and I heard him swallow. “No, father, I won’t.”
“Why ever not?”
Aira’s eyes had softened. She knew, I realized, and had been waiting for her son to open up. Perhaps we should have played this differently, spoken to his mother first who could have cushioned the blow. Too late now.
“Because I’m gay.”
You could have heard a pin drop in that castle. Even the servants shuffling around in the other rooms had paused. Leon’s face fell in shock. Aira tensed as she eyeballed her husband with a cold stare. She was ready to strike should he become violent, and my opinion of her shot up. I always liked Aira, but couldn’t fathom why she tolerated Leon.
“No,” Leon whispered as he ran a hand through his hair. “You have dated many numerous women through the years.”
“Dated, yes. Slept with, no.”
“I cannot conceive of this,” Leon said, his voice rising. Here it comes.
“It isn’t a matter of what you can conceive,” Sebastian stated. “It is whom I am attracted to and the implications are I will never marry a princess.”
Leon’s arms flew into the air. “So what, you expect us to start a line of princes for your viewing pleasure?”
“That would be more fruitful than the princesses, but I think the time for arranged marriages is over. I am capable of finding my own match without your meddling.”
Leon moved so swiftly, he was a blur. Sebastian lunged from his position next to me and the pair slid across the coffee table. The no doubt priceless vase smashed onto the hard tiles as they grappled on the floor. I moved to pull Leon off, but Aira beat me to it, knocking me back as she wrapped her arm around her husband’s neck and put him in a choke hold. Sebastian rolled out from underneath Leon. His features had sharpened, showing his supernatural origins. I rarely saw this happen.
Sebastian wiped the blood from his burst lip and glared at his father. “I am not doing this to hurt you,” he snarled. “Who I’m attracted to is not a choice.”
Leon growled and Aira shook her head. “Let it be, Leon.”
“You are no longer welcome in this house.” Leon sneered. “While you make these disgusting choices, you are no son of mine. You’re dead to me.”
Sebastian froze. This was worse than I thought. I knew Leon was hardly going to welcome the news as it fucked up his plans of international relations and power, but—
“That works for me,” Sebastian spat.
“Just leave,” Aira pleaded. “I will be in touch.”
Sebastian gripped my hand and spun us toward the door. He practically pulled me out of his home and down the steps to his car. He threw the passenger door open, bundled me inside, then appeared in the driver’s seat next to me. The door thudded closed as he put his foot down and we spun into the darkness.
I kept quiet, because what are the right words when your father doesn’t accept an integral part of who you are? I hated Leon for making his son feel like this. Sebastian banged on the steering wheel, and I covered his hand with mine in a show of support.
“You can stay with me,” I uttered. “Always.”
He side-eyed me, his features twisted with a soul-deep agony. “Thank you.”
I nodded and allowed him the space he needed the rest of the way home. We spun into the driveway and Hudson was sitting on the porch swing, reading under the light.
