Page 20 of Exiled Heir

“Whenmyconsort arrived at House Bartlett, we were bonded. If we hadn’t been, I would have kept to his side to make sure that no one else could cast spells on him. I cannot imagine treating my consort with such carelessness.” Sonja rose and swept her hair off the back of her neck, turning away from Petrona as all the light in the room drew back inside her. When she turned back, it was almost as if we were in a dark cave.

“And you and your consort are the model on which all partnerships should be based.” Petrona’s words cut through the darkness, reigniting the mage lights.

“No, I never said that,” Sonja huffed. She examined me again, her eyes moving from the crown of my head to my bare feet.

“Not everyone can be you. You must give them the grace of that, at least.” Petrona rose as well, her long skirts falling to the floor. She walked over to me and reached up to pat my cheek. “Treat him well. Very few people do. I hope he has made a good match for himself.”

Sonja held the door open for Petrona, displaying the sort of deference she hadn’t had in their conversation. Neither one of them spared me another glance, although once they were out the door, I saw Petrona link her arm through Sonja’s, leaning heavily on her cane as she walked.

I waited for a moment longer and saw Keith out in the hallway, bowing to both women. When I was sure they were gone, I started toward the open door. Maybe I would finally get to see Cade’s rooms. Hopefully, they had a bed because between all the damage my body had taken, all the healing it had done, and everything I’d just learned, I already needed a nap.

Before I could imagine what ice prince Cade’s bed looked like (all black or all white, my mind supplied), someone walked up to Keith, slapping his shoulder and giving him a significant handshake. So, Petrona and Sonja weren’t the only powerful people paying him for access to the prince’s secrets. The man walked through the door, shutting it behind him.

He was almost my height, meaning he was taller than Cade by a few inches. He had hair almost the same color as Cade and similar sharp features.

But where Cade had given me the impression he was frozen through, his gaze just as frosty as his heart, this manburned. He spoke first.

“I had to see it for myself. Cade’s little pet before he was collared and owned.”

When he prowled forward, the hair on the back of my neck rose. His eyes scraped over me, making me hyperaware of my newly polished sheen. Rhys had cleaned me up to be put on display for people like him.

At my nonresponse, he bared his teeth. It should have been a smile, but it never quite reached his eyes. “I’m sorry. Let me introduce myself. Brett Kulsa.”

He didn’t extend his hand, but I felt like his introduction was the sort you’d make at a strip club when some rich tech bro was introducing you to his very sketchy money guy. I didn’t respond with my name.

“Where on earth did our little icy prince find you? Impact? Cage?”

I recognized the names of two of the most expensive and exclusive gladiator clubs in Los Santos.

“Doesn’t matter. I know how our little princie works, and given that he wouldn’t even let you shower in his room, you already know yourplacein his life. So here’s the deal. When you’re Cade’s consort, you’re going to have intimate knowledge of everything he does. He has someplan. Some plan for House Bartlett’s future.” Kulsa stepped close and placed his hand in the center of my chest. When I didn’t step back, he smirked. “You tell me all the dirty little details of what he has going on in those backroom deals of his, and I’ll get you free. I’ll even give you cash.”

It was everything I could hope for. And it was certainly less than eight months of playing the perfect werewolf slave. Moreover, it would mean not having to deal with Cade.

I could do it. I could betray Cade. That would be fine. Sure he’d said I was the only one he could trust with this. Sure he believed in a version of me that evenIdidn’t believe in, but who cared?

The lie curled up my spine, wringing me out.Icared, and the smirk that curved on Kulsa’s lips told me everything I needed to know about him. This was not a man I could trust.

ChapterEight

Igrabbed Kulsa’s wrist where his hand still rested on my chest and squeezed. When he whimpered, I pushed him back, leaving him cradling his wrist, the back of his knees hitting the couch, forcing him to sit.

Then I pressed forward, looming over him, putting my hands on the back of the couch on either side of his head. I brought my wolf as close as I could, letting myself feel it in my eyes and teeth.

“You have wrong information. I am Prince Bartlett’s consort. My job is to protect him.” When Kulsa’s eyes went wide, I saw it hit the mark.

He jerked to his feet, and I waited a moment before backing off, giving him enough room to shuffle toward the door, his lips spreading wide. “Good, good. I always have to have the boy’s back. You know, because he’s so young. Position came to him too young. But now I know you’re loyal. Now I know you only want what’s best for him. So we don’t have to tell him about any of this, do we?”

I leaned over, speaking into his ear. “Now you owe me. Get out.”

Kulsa didn’t need to be told twice. He scampered away like the rat I could see he was. This wasn’t a man who kept his deals with werewolves. This was a man who got rid of evidence. If I had agreed to his little backroom deal, then when everything shook out, it would have been my head on the pike next to Cade’s.

After he left, the room felt smaller.

The opulence felt like a collar around my throat. I had learned too much information in the past few hours, and I could see my future through hazy glass. Every time I thought I had a handle on what was going on, I had a handle on my options, I realized I didn’t have the faintest clue what I had gotten myself into.

Kulsa had left the door open behind him, and I saw Keith loitering. Straightening my shoulders, I strode through, the wolf still behind my eyes, a snarl sharpening my words.

“Are we waiting on anyone else who paid for the privilege of meeting me?” I snapped. Keith shook his head, and I growled, “Good. Take me to Cade Bartlett’s rooms.”