Page 28 of The Forsaken Heir

AURELIUS

H ot, bitter adrenaline surged through my body, making my hands shake and my breath come in short, angry hisses.

The absolute rage I felt at what Vince and I had witnessed at the apartment made it hard to stay focused.

Shifters sent to kill the daughter of the most powerful wolf family? How and why was this happening?

Elle shook her head at my question.

“I’m not sure,” she choked out. “I… I think my family tried to have me killed.”

“Those bastards ,” Delphine cursed from the other side of the castle parapet. “I can’t believe they did this. I can’t?—”

“It’s all right, Delphine,” Elle said soothingly. “We’re safe now. It’s over.”

“You’re hurt,” I gasped and rushed toward Elle, taking her face gently in my hands and tilting her head so I could see.

“It’s fine,” she said, trying to pull away, but I held her tight.

“It’s not fine. You have a cut on your head. There’s blood.” I turned to Vincent. “Get healers. Now!”

Elle made to protest, but Vince was already gone, bolting for the door that led down into the estate house.

“This isn’t necessary,” Elle said. “It’s not that bad.”

“Get over here,” I told her, tugging her toward an overhang to get her out of the rain. “You as well, ma’am,” I added, beckoning the other woman to join us.

With a dubious look, the older lady only hesitated for a moment before hurrying over to get out of the drenching rain. Under cover, I again took Elle’s face in my hands, inspecting her wound. The thin cut wasn’t deep, but it was bleeding profusely.

Looking deep into her eyes, I said, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

An intense connection hummed between us, and for a moment, I thought I might fall right into her green eyes.

Elle cleared her throat and blinked, breaking eye contact with me. “I’m fine, I promise.” She looked over her shoulder toward the city. “I can’t say the same for those assholes. I’m glad you guys got there when you did.”

My inner dragon roared in the back of my mind, a deep and rumbling explosion of rage.

“You held your own pretty well from what I could see. I was honestly sure we’d find you…” I trailed off and shook my head. “We didn’t think we’d find anything good when we got to your apartment and heard what was going on.”

It was hard to even express how terrified I’d been when we’d gotten there.

After pulling up to the curb, Vincent and I had gotten out of the car and hurried to the entrance to get out of the rain.

As soon as we opened the door, the sounds of screaming and a roaring battle echoed down the stairs to us.

Emotion had surged through me. Terror, panic, anger, and shock.

It surprised me how intensely furious I’d been at the mere thought of someone hurting Elle.

Before she could respond, the door to the platform burst open and Vincent came running, two of our healing staff in tow. The women blinked in surprise when they found not only their prince on the roof, but two wolf shifters as well.

Waving at them, I shouted, “Here! She’s hurt. Someone check on her.”

Despite Elle’s protests, the healers began their work on her and Delphine.

Forcing myself to give them room to work, I backed away, watching as they used magical oils on their cuts and bruises.

Elle stole a few glances in my direction, and that strange feeling swelled within my stomach again—a pleasant warmth that eased up into my chest.

Whatever she saw in my eyes must have been too much. She tore her eyes away, and a faint blush crept into her cheeks. It was one of the cutest things I’d ever seen.

“All right, Your Highness,” one of the healers said, taking a step back from Elle. “She should be fine. There was nothing serious, mostly minor.”

“Thank you, Octavia,” I said, surprised at the relief in my voice.

The second healer tugged a couple blankets from her bag and handed them to my two soaked guests.

“Let’s get you all inside,” I said. “I’ll have dry clothes brought up for you, and you can get changed.” I glanced at the healers, giving them a look and a nod. They hurried off to do as I’d asked.

“Yeah,” Vincent said. “Dry is better than wet.”

“Very astute, my dear friend,” I said as I ushered Elle into the castle.

Delphine followed, and Vincent closed the door behind us. Now that everyone was safe and secure, I could ask the question that had been burning in my mind since we’d arrived at Elle’s apartment.

“Who wants you dead, Elle?”

She turned and looked at me as if I’d told her one and one makes three.

“My family, Aurelius. Isn’t that obvious?” she said, an incredulous look on her face.

“But…”

The response we’d received from them had been curt and emotionless, something unbefitting a high-ranking shifter family.

Sure, that showed that they were heartless and uncaring, but could they actually be bloodthirsty enough to actually send assassins to murder her?

Their own daughter? The idea of something like that happening in the dragon world was so outlandish and disgusting, it was nearly heretical.

Before I could find words to argue against Elle’s assumption, a low, rumbling sound groaned out from Delphine. Turning to look at her, I found the older woman blushing and holding her stomach.

“Sorry,” she said. “All the shifting and fighting. I’m starving.”

“Vince, run to the kitchens, have them prepare a meal. Let them know we’ll be down shortly.”

“You got it.” He took my words literally and broke into an actual sprint to the stairs.

“He’s an interesting one, isn’t he?” Delphine said.

“Interesting and sweet,” Elle said.

The servants arrived a few moments later, laden down with dry clothes and more towels.

Elle and Delphine ducked into a bathroom on the top floor to get changed.

When they came back out, Elle looked refreshed.

With her wet hair and face free of makeup, her natural beauty shone through.

It seemed she was gorgeous no matter what she was doing.

“Come on, then,” I said. “Let’s get you fed.”

In the dining room, Vincent was bringing out a big pot of coffee, and the servants were setting out sandwiches, simple salads, crackers, cheeses, and sliced meats.

Delphine’s stomach grumbled again at the sight of the food, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Go ahead,” I said, waving at the food. “Dig in. Compliments of House Decimus.”

“I am usually a proper lady,” Delphine said, “but that was before someone tried to murder me.”

Without another word, she grabbed a sandwich and took a massive bite. Elle, Vincent, and I sat and began to eat. I poured Elle and Delphine both a steaming cup of coffee to help them warm up.

“God, I hate to think of what a mess our place is going to be when we get back,” Elle said after biting into a small slice of cheese.

“It did look like a warzone when we got there.” I shrugged. “We didn’t do much to help it.”

She waved my question off. “No, it’s fine. You saved us. I’ll take a trashed house and being alive versus the opposite.”

After finishing the food, Vincent stood and set his napkin down. “I need to go see my dad. He wanted to talk this afternoon about some family stuff.” He grinned at Elle. “I’m glad you’re back.”

She smiled back at him warmly. “I’m happy too. See you later, Vincent.”

“I have several guest rooms that are open,” I said. “Most members of the court are here, but we still have tons of vacant rooms available. I can have one made up for each of you,” I offered.

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Elle said. “One room will be fine. We can share. We’re used to it.”

“Absolutely,” Delphine agreed. “No reason for you to go out of your way.”

I wanted to argue. After what these women had been through, the least I could do was get them private quarters.

Though, that may have been exactly why they wanted to stay together.

But then, this was a strange place for Delphine.

A whole building filled with the people who were supposed to be her mortal enemies. It had to be a little worrisome.

“Very well,” I said with a slight bow of my head. “I’ll let my staff know.”

Finding a servant off the dining room, I gave her instructions to prepare the guest room Elle had used the last time she’d been here, and to place additional towels and robes there for Delphine. Fifteen minutes later, I led the two women to their room.

“This will be yours,” I said, opening the door. “Elle, I think you recall this room?”

Delphine gave Elle a knowing look, and Elle blushed.

“Yes,” she said, keeping her voice even. “I do. Thank you so much, Aurelius.”

Looking into her eyes, I grinned. “My pleasure.”

“Thank you for saving us,” Delphine said, straightening her spine, and doing her best to appear regal. “It was most appreciated. Hopefully, we can thank you in some way.”

“Thanks aren’t necessary,” I said, stealing another look at Elle. “I was happy to do what needed to be done. Enjoy your afternoon relaxing, ladies. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” Elle said, still blushing, and pulled Delphine into the room. She threw one last glance at me before she shut the door.

I stood there for several seconds, trying to comprehend everything that had happened. The simmering anger still roiled inside, but I needed to push that away. I needed to think.

Turning on my heel, I headed toward my room. I needed to rest and try to figure out what to do next.

Opening my bedroom door, I froze when I saw Vincent in my quarters.

The man sat on the small loveseat beneath the bay window that overlooked the grounds, his feet kicked up on the coffee table.

Music played from the portable speaker next to him—Taylor Swift, from the sound of it.

Vince was humming along absently as he gazed out the window, and scooping ice cream into his mouth.

“Vince? I thought you were talking to your dad,” I said as I stepped into the room.

He glanced at me placidly, and reached over to turn down the music. “Sorry. Didn’t hear you coming.”