Page 11 of The Forsaken Heir

“Ma’am, are you Brielle Laurent? Your answer won’t sway what happens here one way or another. First and foremost, I want to make sure my two…” I wanted to say idiot friends but didn’t want to humiliate them. I sighed. “I want to make sure my friends actually have the right person.”

“I am,” she said, eyeing me warily. “You can call me Elle, though. I, uh, well, I wasn’t kidnapped, though.

” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Well, I guess I was , but it was by these two. Not before. I wanted to live closer to the human world. To get a human education and a better understanding of human technology. I’ve been living with them since I was a teenager. ”

Something about her story didn’t ring true. Maybe it was the way she wouldn’t meet my eye or how she fidgeted as she spoke. She wasn’t telling the whole truth. Of course, why the hell would she? She was literally tied up in the bedroom of her sworn enemy.

“Miss Laurent, I’m sorry for this,” I said, pulling a pocket knife from my belt.

She flinched, eyes going wide at the sight of the weapon, and I cursed myself.

“I’m just going to cut the rope,” I said, holding my free hand up in a surrender gesture. “I promise I won’t hurt you.”

Her gaze flitted to the blade, then returned to my face. Those green eyes seemed to peer into my very soul. A strangely pleasurable shiver went up my spine.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I trust you.”

With a sigh of relief, I went to work cutting the ropes.

“Hey, uh, Aurelius, I could untie them for you,” Vince said. “I know ropes really well.”

Brielle’s eyes widened in shock at the sound of my name. God, she didn’t even know who I was.

“You—you’re Aurelius Decimus?”

Gritting my teeth in irritation, I nodded to Vincent. “Thank you, Vince, but I’ve got it.” I lowered my voice again. “I am Aurelius. I would say it’s nice to meet you but, well, this isn’t exactly ideal, is it?”

“Not in the least,” she agreed.

When the ropes fell away, she rubbed at her wrists and winced. I did my best not to look at where the bindings had cut into her wrists and ankles.

Standing, I tucked the knife back into my pocket and held out my hand to help her stand.

“Aurelius,” Rasp said, looking distraught. “What are you doing, man? She’s a wolf. We need her secured, so she doesn’t?—”

“Doesn’t what , Rasp? Break into your house, and kidnap you ? Tie you to a chair? Something like that?”

His cheeks and ears turned red, and he lowered his head. I didn’t like chastising him like that, especially not in front of Vince and a stranger, but goddamn this had been the dumbest move he’d ever made.

“Sorry, Aurey. I only wanted to help.” He looked at me like a scolded puppy. “You were stressed about a possible war. Me and Vince thought this was a great way to stop that from happening.”

“We will discuss this later,” I growled and turned back to Brielle.

“Again, I am sorry for this. I’ll contact your family straight away and set up a meeting to hand you back over to them.

I hope you can forgive my friends for… Well, for whatever this was.

Until then, I’d like you to stay here as my guest.”

Instead of looking relieved, she appeared uncomfortable. She crossed her arms and looked away at the mention of her family. Strange, though she most likely thought I was lying.

“Are you okay?” I asked. “I swear on my name, on my mother’s name, that I’m telling the truth. I will get you back to your family unharmed and without asking for any sort of ransom.”

“Uh, huh.” She chewed on her lower lip anxiously. “You don’t have to call my family. I can go back to my apartment. No harm done.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think I can do that,” I said. “For all we know, your kidnapping has been reported to your family. We need to do this in a diplomatic way to prevent any type of backlash.”

“No, seriously,” she said, looking somewhat desperate. “It’ll be fine, I can?—”

“I’m sorry, but this is how things have to be. The tensions between your people and mine is high, and I can’t let this go without an official apology. Until then, you will be an honored guest of House Decimus.”

“Okay,” she said, the word coming out in a dejected sigh.

Why did she seem so dead-set against me notifying her family?

“Vince, go get Titus. Tell him to have the maids send up a lady’s robe, fresh bedding, and additional toiletries to the guest suite down the hall.

We have a guest, and quarters need to be prepared for her.

” I looked at Rasp, who still looked chastened, pressed against a wall to get away from my angry glare.

“And you , go to the kitchens and find her some food. And wine. She is an honored guest of House Decimus, and she will be treated like one.”

“Yeah,” Rasp said, hurrying toward the door, followed closely by Vince. “We’re on it, Aurelius.”

Turning back to Brielle, I found her staring into space, an almost dazed look in her eyes.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to summon one of our diplomatic messengers.

I hope to have word sent to your family tonight if possible, but by first light at the latest,” I said, backing toward the door.

“For now, consider my room and my bath yours to use as you please. You’re free to lock the door if that makes you feel more secure.

The others should return shortly to show you to your room. ”

“Yup, thanks,” she said, and finally uncrossed her arms. She chuckled ruefully. “Let me know what my parents say. Should be a good one.”

Frowning in confusion at that comment, I bowed to her and hurried from the room.

Dad should be informed, but that could wait.

I had to get word out as soon as possible.

The last thing I wanted was for someone to realize the beloved firstborn daughter of House Laurent had been kidnapped by the royal house of dragons.

God only knew what they would do if they found out before I could craft a delicate and well-written letter.

It could mean the war I’d been desperate to avert would come even faster.