“Surprisingly, there was more interest in me when they thought I was the prince. Shallow creatures didn’t want me for my body. Only for my title.” Ryan clicked his tongue in fake annoyance.
Lucie giggled. “Oh, you poor thing, not having women who want to use you now.”
“Thank you for the sympathy. It is a tragic blow, but I’ll manage. But you know …” Ryan said as he spun Lucie out and back into his hands. “I think what you and Derrick have is much more appealing. I want that too ... someday. But until I find my mate, I might as well be well seasoned for her.”
“Of course. It would be horrible if you weren’t, right?” Lucie giggled and he pouted heavily.
“We can’t all find this so early in life. My mate might not even be alive right now. I want to live and experience my life. There are no guarantees, right? I could be dead tomorrow. I mean, no one expected the vampire king to die when he did.”
“How did that happen, by the way? I never pried into the events.” Lucie watched his amber eyes turn sad.
“It isn’t a pretty story, Lucie.” Ryan’s voice was quiet, and he pulled Lucie closer to keep the conversation more private. “The previous king and queen were a marriage of convenience. The queen was of pure blood, so the king chose her to be his queen. One day, though, the queen met her fated mate. She originally dismissed him and kept his existence a secret. But soon the temptation of her mate became too much, and they began meeting in secret. Alaric and Jester were young adults at this time. The king and queen had fulfilled their obligations toone another, but the king really adored the queen. Even though she wasn’t his fated mate, she was still his and he loved her.”
He looked at Lucie and sighed quietly. “The king ended up catching the two of them together, and in a rage, he killed her fated mate. He was hurt, but he loved the queen so much that he gave her benevolence. He pushed the betrayal away and even defended her publicly when the secret was leaked out. Alaric and Jester had a hard time with the news, and their relationship with their mother became strained. I think the pain of losing her fated mate became too much for the queen. One evening, she turned on the king while he was asleep and killed him to get revenge for her lover. Then she killed herself.”
Lucie gasped and felt tears threatening her eyes. Ryan gave her a gentle smile. “Like I said, it isn’t a pretty story, and one the kingdom isn’t proud of. That was a long long time ago, though. Alaric has ruled for centuries now, and the kingdom has flourished under him.
“You know, this is the first time a soul-mated couple will ever be taking over as rulers to the kingdom. I can feel it …” Ryan looked around him with a faint smile. “Everyone has high hopes for the two of you. And because of your mate bond and your blood bond, they’re already all at ease. I guess you can probably understand their concern about Derrick taking you as a bride. They were all afraid that you would end up finding your fated mate. That what happened in the past would be repeated. They’re comforted with your connection to one another. It makes for a strong kingdom.”
“What about Willa and Alaric? Are they—” Lucie was interrupted by Ryan mid-sentence.
“Alaric refused to take a queen unless she was his mate. I guess after what happened with his parents, he wouldn’t risk it. But he found her. They also exchanged blood, binding them to one another. I guess he wanted to be extra cautious, so she couldnever cheat on him. But then she couldn’t conceive, which was a big problem for the kingdom. Usually, the king would find a suitable substitute to procure a future heir, but with their blood bond, it was impossible. Not to mention Alaric could never have done that to Willa. Luckily, with a bit of fairy magic, we were given our prince.” Ryan looked off in the distance where Derrick still had a line of ladies waiting for their chance to dance with the prince.
“I thought it wasn’t unheard of for the king to have a mistress. I’ve heard this several times.”
Ryan chuckled. “That isn’t how things are here. But there is another vampire kingdom on the other side of the world that is run very differently. The king keeps a harem of women at his disposal. It wouldn’t have seemed wrong for Alaric to take a mistress when Willa couldn’t conceive. No one here would have batted an eye at it. An heir is the most important thing and all that matters, so it isn’t unheard of. It just hasn’t happened here during the last two generations.”
“It wasn’t going to happen now, even without the blood bond,” Lucie said with a small shrug. “I don’t share. Before I knew we were mates I already knew that he wasn’t someone I would share. I’m worth more than that. I’m not just a breeding machine.”
“You are worth more than that. You both are. Honestly …” Ryan glanced around before dropping his voice to a quiet breath. “Derrick was worried about it. He was afraid you wouldn’t want him, and it terrified him. He has loved you since you were kids, and the idea of you not feeling the same way had him anxious. You know, it was a very tough decision for Alaric and Willa to arrange the marriage between you and Derrick, because of what happened in the past. This weighed heavily on them. But it was a necessary gamble. Let’s face it, it was only a matter of time before our two species came to a head, and the outcome wouldbe devastating for everyone. You and Derrick being together was a necessary risk. We all felt the relief of you and Derrick being mates. And I know Alaric and Willa are incredibly relieved.”
“Well, maybe if you men weren’t morons, we could have known a long time ago that we were fated mates.” Lucie smirked as a gentleman tapped Ryan on the shoulder.
“Guess my shift is up,” Ryan said with a slight bow to Lucie. He turned and eyed the man curiously as he watched him begin dancing with her. He didn’t recognize him.
Lucie stared at the face in front of her, studying his facial features, from his brown eyes to his sleek white hair that was pulled back. Realization hit her as he gripped her tighter.
“Shhh shh shh … such a clever girl, but you wouldn’t want me to kill everyone, would you? Just behave and I’ll spare their lives.” A crisp baritone voice came from him as he smiled, showing his experience on the dance floor. He danced with her beautifully and gracefully.
Lucie tried to control her heart rate as she watched the man in front of her. The man she wished she had the power to kill for what she saw him do to Alexa. Why was he here? What did he want with her? He had such confidence about him, despite being in the midst of the vampire kingdom. This man was powerful. And according to Derrick, he was just as strong as her Uncle Levi, the tier-one deity Leviathan. If that was the case, he could easily destroy everyone here. With determination, she gazed into his eyes and faced evil head-on.
CHAPTER 55
“So, my dear …” His brown eyes were almost smiling at her. “Do you know who I am?”
Lucie knew that this was the man she saw in her premonition, but he didn’t know she knew who he was. Only that she knew he didn’t belong here. She held his gaze with confidence. “Judging from your energy, I only have one guess, and that is you are the one they refer to as Wicker.”
The man chuckled darkly. “I hate that nickname. It was given to me by the demons. Of course, I am no demon. But you already know this, don’t you?” He arched his brow slightly, a smile still resting on his face. Meanwhile, he continued to twirl her across the dance floor. “No matter. My name is Erebus. I am the god of darkness. So while I am not a demon, it does feel more like home around them.”
“And to what do I owe the honor of this visit? You here to bring me to the witch?” Lucie asked sweetly.
He let out a genuine laugh. “Oh, how adorable. No, I only want one thing from that witch, and that is her soul. She made a deal with me, and upon her death, I will devour her soul. The faster she dies, the better, but I can’t physically harm her because of the agreement. The last thing I want is to assist her. No, I’m here for a different reason. I heard the fairy princess was here and that she was the vampire prince’s mate.” His eyes narrowed on her, trailing to her neck. “Now, how is that possible?”
“How is what possible?” Lucie felt his intense gaze on her. He was studying her. And a realization hit her. He didn’t know there were two fairy princesses, since it was rare … unheard of, actually. It had NEVER happened before.
“I was under good authority that the fairy princess had another mate.” Erebus’ voice trailed low as he studied the magic around the girl in front of him. “Yet, there is no denying that you are the fairy princess. I feel like I’m missing something important here. I guess that’s what happens when I stay in the dark for too long. Things that happen in the light escape me. I guess it’s possible that you have two mates.”
Lucie wanted to mindlink someone to warn them, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t feel Derrick either. Her mind was being blocked from reaching out by a strange energy. Her eyes stared back at his as he continued to look at her.
