Chapter five
1134 Words
"You're brooding again." A voice drawled from the shadows of the lounge.
I didn't turn, I didn't actually need to as the scent of the cologne and stagnant air told me who exactly it was, my father's chief advisor.
"I'm thinking." I corrected, my voice as cold as the liquid in my glass, "Why my father had to kill my brother because of a simple misunderstanding only to force me into the role of a crowned prince."
"Your brother was a liability, Cessian. He lacked the discipline the throne requires." Silas stepped into the light, his eyes devoid of any real sympathy. "Your father did what was necessary for the survival of the monarchy."
"Necessary." I spat the word, the crystal in my hand groaning under my grip. "All deaths that are wrong are 'necessary' for my father. I wonder, if I drop dead tomorrow, who will he fall back on?" I let out a sharp, bitter snort. "This must be why he's rushing my bonding with Seraphina. He needs a backup heir just in case he finds a reason to kill me, too."
"The King does not wish for your death, Cessian. He wishes for your compliance," Silas countered. "The modern world is shrinking. The humans have satellites over every inch of America. Their governments are sniffing around the 'unusual atmospheric disturbances' our skirmishes cause. We cannot afford a fractured house."
"Then he shouldn't have fractured it himself when he put a bullet in Julian’s head," I snapped.
Three weeks ago, I had watched my father execute my brother for nothing more than a spark of independence. Julian had wanted a life outside the borders; my father wanted a soldier. I had gone to that underground Lycan bar that night to drown the memory of Julian’s eyes. I had been looking for a way to ruin myself, to become as much of a 'liability' as my brother was.
Then I had met Kira. The most beautiful set of eyes that made my cold blood suddenly burn hot.
She was a Lycan princess, the very thing I was bred to hunt, yet she had been the only thing that felt real in a world of political lies. I had told her the union was a biological dead end. I had convinced myself that our bloodlines were fire and ice, destined only to cancel each other out.
I set the glass down on the marble railing. My skin felt tight, a strange restlessness humming in my marrow that I couldn't explain. Since that night, my senses had been tuned to a frequency I didn't recognize.
"The council meets in an hour," Silas said, retreating back into the shadows. "Your father expects you to support the new border surveillance initiative. Don't disappoint him."
"You know I want to be more than just a disappointment to him," I said, sizing Silas up before brushing past him. I headed toward the grand hall where the council waited.
Cullen, my right-hand man and the only vampire in this palace I actually trusted, was waiting for me. He fell into step immediately, his boots clicking rhythmically against the marble.
"They’re signing the new peace treaty," Cullen murmured, his voice low enough to avoid eavesdropping ears.
"Another treaty? It hasn’t even been three years since the last one."
"The humans are getting restless," Cullen replied. "Their fear of anything they can’t categorize is peaking. We sign this, or we risk being hauled off to their labs for 'observation.' They’re looking for any excuse to start a harvest."
"And what about the wolves?" I inquired, my mind flashing to the sharp, gold eyes of the girl from the club. "Are they staying in their holes, or are they feeling the heat too?"
"The Lycan King is sending a delegate, from what I’ve heard."
I let out a sharp, derisive snort. "A delegate? He still doesn't have the balls to show up himself?"
"Walking into this territory would be a declaration of war, Cessian. Your father would rather burn this city to the ground than let a wolf walk through the front gates. Even with a delegate, there’s talk of a human military liaison joining the oversight committee. Ridiculous, isn't it?"
"It’s more than ridiculous; it’s a cage," I said.
We reached the heavy oak doors of the council chamber. It hit again, sharp this time. Not my heartbeat, it was something else.
"You okay?" Cullen asked, noticing my hesitation. "You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Or Julian."
"I’m fine," I snapped, though the lie felt thin. "I just don't like the smell of humans in the morning."
I pushed the doors open. The room was a sea of black suits and pale, predatory faces. At the head of the table sat my father, his eyes as hard as flint. He didn't look like a grieving parent; he looked like a general preparing for a m******e.
"You actually showed up," Father said, his voice a low, grating rumble that I chose to ignore. I slipped into a seat nearby, my movements fluid and silent, while Cullen took his place as a shadow behind me.
I signaled him with a slight tilt of my head. He leaned down, his ear near my lips. "Who is the delegate they're sending?" I whispered. "The werewolves?"
"I heard the name is Malakai," Cullen murmured. He pulled out his phone, discreetly showing me a surveillance shot of a man with a jaw like a steel trap and eyes that looked like they were searching for something to kill. "He’s the betrothed of the Lycan princess."
"The Lycan princess? Kira?" I asked, my blood, usually as still as ice giving a sudden, unwanted thrum.
Cullen nodded. "Their bonding is set for next month. He’s the future king of the pack."
"Future king?" I looked at the image again, a sneer tugging at my mouth. "He doesn't look like king material to me."
"He smells of trouble," Cullen added, "but he’s the King's favorite and the pride of the pack. He’s the one they sent."
The heavy oak doors groaned open. The man from the photo stepped through, looking even more predatory in the flesh. He wore a tailored suit that couldn't quite hide the bulk of his shoulders or the way he walked like he owned the air everyone else was breathing. A human delegate trailed behind him, looking small and nervous in the wake of such raw Alpha energy.
Malakai’s eyes scanned the room, bypassing my father and the advisors until they locked onto mine. There was a pause, a flicker of something sharp and calculating in his expression.
"Good day, everyone," Malakai announced, his voice echoing with an authority that was meant to irritate every vampire in the room.
I knew, instantly, I wouldn’t like him.
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