Page 32 of Ascendant King

“Thanks,” I said, waving her off.

When she closed the door, I turned back to Declan. He’d been watching with interest. “That’s one pretty filly, you know? She into studs or mares?”

I didn’t wait, lunging forward, my hands ready to wrap around his neck. I hit the soft, plush seat of his chair.

“What the hell?” Declan asked, his face inches from mine.

I could see my hands through his skin, my fingers flexing on the fabric. Stepping back, I crossed my arms.Don’t talk to him. Don’ttalk to him.

He wasn’t really here, and I couldn’t be cracking up, not when I was this close to being the alpha my mother hadn’t lived long enough to be.

Turning away, I went into the bathroom, but Declan followed me. I could see his reflection in the mirror when I splashed water on my face.

“What were you going to do if they hadn’t found some poor maid in here cleaning?” Declan asked, watching with interest as I dried off my face. “Send them on a wild goose chase?”

Don’t talk to him.I went back and pulled out the small toiletry bag from my luggage. When I pulled out the toothbrush, Declan looked on in interest. “Crest or Colgate? What is that hippie nonsense?Tom’s? Jesus Christ, Miles. Is this what you were like when you were under me?”

I ignored him, putting a small amount on the toothbrush and brushing until the foam was so thick I had to spit it out.

“Are you going to floss too? Goddamned apple polisher. No wonder you were my best guy.” Declan sneered. “Does your dentist love you as much as I used to?”

When I was flossing my back molars, he said, “I bet JD doesn’t floss. I should have recommended him for my second earlier. He might have cavities, but he also didn’t have the self-control of a nun.”

He followed me back out into the room. “That’s why you were able to get one over on me. Because you had the self-control you needed to not have any vices. No vices, no weaknesses. You know how much crap I got for cutting you loose?So muchcrap! Getting rid of you was a horse at a parade! Dropping crap all over. Band kids stepping in it.”

I couldn’t focus enough to sort clean clothes from dirty, so I pulled out my book and notebook, everything else that didn’t go in the laundry, and then dumped the whole duffel into the hamper.

My heart was still beating twice as fast as it should. Declan. Declan washere. Only not. And I suddenly understood exactly how Cade had felt when he was busy losing his mind to his magic.

“And just when I got it under control, you come and throw a wrench in the well-oiled machine ofmyoperation.Mine. And now you think you’re going to sit on my goddamned throne? You have another thing coming, Miles. I willtell you that.” Declan scoffed. “I should?—”

I broke in, unable to stop myself. “You’llwhat, Declan? You can’t do anything. You’re not even here.”

Turning, I glared at him, meeting his eyes where he stood a few feet away, mouth already open for a new attack. For asecond, he glared back, his gaze so dark that he should have been swimming in the ocean, starring inShark Week.

Then his lips pulled up at the corners, so amused that he almost laughed. “Ah. There he is. MilesCastillo. The man who thinks he can sit on my throne and call himself king.”

“I don’t want your throne, Declan.” It was my turn to smirk. “I don’t want anything you built, so I’m going to tear it all down. No more drugs. No more guns. The only thing I’m keeping is the people.”

Declan’s smirk grew wider, and he laughed. “Miles. Miles. Trust me when I tell you that better men than you have tried. They tried, they failed, I win. The house always wins.”

“You’re just a figment of my imagination,” I said. “You aren’t any more real than the Tooth Fairy. The Easter Bunny. Santa.”

“You’re killing me.” Declan circled the chair he’d been sitting in and slouched back into it, resting his ankle on his opposite knee. He drew his hands wide. “You want to see how real I am? Keep poking at me, Miles, and I’ll show you exactly what I can do.”

His voice had dropped low, a threat that made a frisson of anxiety go straight up my spine. Eleven years of training couldn’t be undone with one coup. Part of me still curdled when Declan was unhappy.

He wasn’t real. He was just the part of my brain that couldn’t imagine this house, thisbedroomwithout him.

“You’re just my brain overreacting to seeing my old house,” I said to him. “Because I’m just fried in the head enough that I associateyouwithhome.”

“That’s cute. You went home? You see what they did to the place?” Declan whistled. “I sent some guys to go take pictures when I figured out who you were. I figured I could use them as blackmail if I needed to later. Only I never had to. You were the best little soldier I ever had, Miles. Right up until you weren’t.”

I stared at him, sharp tendrils of something creeping up my legs, making it almost impossible to stand. I sat heavily on the bed. “No. Declan never knew who I was.”

“Oh, I most certainly did. You think I was going to just let some punk kid into my inner circle? With no background check?” He laughed. “Of course, once you were mine, I had to protect your secret because damn if you weren’t the best at what you did. I kept your secret a lot of different ways, Miles. You should say thank you.”

I swallowed the words down. How many times had Declan handed me something—pay, a new car, a vacation—and instructed me to say it. I’d always parrot it back.