Page 29 of The Forsaken Heir

“Is there a reason you’re in here?”

“I’m really glad Elle is back,” Vince said, wholly ignoring my question. “It’s nice having her around.”

Sighing, I took a seat opposite him.

“Trouble with your dad?” I asked.

Vincent nodded and took another bite of ice cream. “He’s in a bad mood. Like always.”

Remembering how contrite he’d been with me that morning, it was hard to quantify how different the man could be in public versus private.

Most knew him to be a man with a quick temper and easy to offend but otherwise honorable.

He had little patience for diplomacy, and preferred head-on aggressive tactics to get what he thought he needed.

That served him well in business and at court.

His home life left much to be desired. Ever since I’d known Vincent, his father had been a constant source of pressure and stress.

Benedictus kept trying to mold Vince into something he’d never be.

“Does that mean you guys had a fight?”

Vincent, finished with his treat, put his empty bowl aside and shrugged. “Something like that. Anyway, what do you think about Elle being back?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. No one, and I mean no one , hated talking about themselves or their current situation more than Vincent Beatrix.

After all the years we’d been friends, I still found it strange.

He lived an almost insular life. Holed up inside that mind of his was a sweet and intelligent man, but his awkwardness, hobbies, fascinations, and fixations made it hard for him to fit into a world that was so determined to have specific ways of doing things.

Those strict rules and ideals didn’t leave much room for people who saw and interacted with the world in different ways.

Giving up, I chose to go along with his chosen path of conversation.

“I’m happy she’s safe, if that’s what you mean. I still can’t believe the wolves sent assassins after her. Their own daughter ?” I shook my head in disgusted wonder.

“Yeah. They seem like unpleasant people.”

“To say the least. There has to be something else going on. Some kind of miscommunication or misunderstanding,” I said.

“Brielle has done nothing to warrant this type of reaction. Maybe something Karinius said came out wrong, or they took it the wrong way? I can’t believe a family would put a hit out on their innocent daughter for no good reason. ”

“Maybe,” Vincent grunted as he leaned over and pulled open a drawer in the coffee table, extracting a deck of cards. “Wanna play?”

“Sure. Why not?” I shook my head and did my best to put other matters to the back of my mind.

My friend obviously needed to decompress after his meeting with his dad, and the last thing he needed was me bringing up drama from somewhere else.

“What do you want to play?” I asked.

Vincent was already shuffling the cards. “Gin rummy or crazy eights? Or we could do blackjack?”

“No way,” I said, holding up a finger. “No blackjack. Not after you took me for a thousand bucks a few months ago. No. We play war. I like that game.”

Vincent snorted a laugh but began dealing cards. “I guess we’re pretending to be twelve-year-olds.”

“Shut up. It’s fun, and I at least have a chance against you.”

For the next several hours, we passed the time playing cards and talking about banal things that didn’t matter—movies, books, video games Vince had played. Before we realized it, the sun had drifted low in the horizon, casting darkness across the estate grounds.

“Damn,” I said. “Getting late. I guess I should check on Elle and her friend.”

“Maybe,” Vince said with a shrug. “They might not want anyone bothering them. They almost died today.”

“Thank you for that. I’d almost forgotten,” I said, rolling my eyes.

I stood and crossed the floor to the room phone, then called Titus on his extension.

“Yes, Your Highness?” he said, answering on the second ring.

“Good evening, Titus. I assume you’ve heard we have guests again?”

“Yes, Highness. Word has spread. Lady Brielle has returned, along with her lady-in-waiting.

I frowned. “I’m not sure it’s as formal as that. I think the other lady is more a friend than a servant. Anyway, I wanted to see if they’ve called for dinner.”

“Not as of yet, Highness,” Titus responded.

“Very well. Go ahead and have something sent up, okay? Something nice, and send along a bottle of our best red wine.”

“Consider it done.”

“Thanks. I’m going to head over and let them know it will be up soon.”

“Understood.”

Hanging up, I turned to go, but looked at Vince first.

“Are you going back to your quarters?”

Vince shook his head, and made a face like he’d sucked on a lemon.

“Nah. Dad might still be pissed.” He glanced around at the massive suite. “Can I spend the night here?”

My quarters were large, second only to my father’s, and it did contain a small guest room on the far end.

“Sure,” I said. “Just for tonight, though.”

He grinned at me. “You’re the best friend I ever had, Aurelius.”

His statement struck me as heartwarming and sweet. I hoped that one day my friend might find someone who could take him as he was, quirks and all. He was too good of a person to live his life alone, constantly under the shadow of his disappointed father.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” I said.

When I arrived at Elle’s room, I could hear laughter inside. That was a good sign. I knocked. A few seconds later, the door opened. Delphine peered out, a cautious look on her face.

“Oh. Lord, uh, Aurelius? Were we being too loud?”

“Aurelius?” Elle said, appearing at the door. “Hey.”

“Good evening, ladies,” I said, trying, and failing, to keep my eyes off Elle. “You were most certainly not being too loud. I simply stopped by to let you know that dinner is on the way. I assume you’re getting hungry again.”

“Thank you,” Elle said. Her green eyes shone and sparkled in the light of the chandelier overhead. “We were just saying we were getting hungry.”

“Of course. Anything for guests of House Decimus. Well…” I trailed off awkwardly.

Part of me wanted to spend more time with her, but the other part told me it wasn’t proper, especially not with her friend there.

“Uh, I’m going to bed soon. It’s been a long day.

If you need anything more, you remember where my room is? ”

“I do,” Elle said, giving a slight nod.

Delphine glanced from me, to Elle, and back to me again, a knowing grin on her face.

“Good night, ladies,” I said, bowing my head slightly before I departed.

When I got back to my rooms, Vince had already climbed into his bed and fallen asleep. His faint snores were the only sound in the room. Though it was still fairly early, I undressed and got into bed.

Turning on my side, I gazed out the window.

The rain had subsided, leaving a sky full of broken clouds and a milky half-moon.

Sleep took a while to find me, though. For nearly an hour, I kept thinking about the attack on Elle.

The savagery of the half-shifted men who’d come to kill her.

There would’ve been no warning either. Not even a chance for Elle to apologize for whatever imagined slight she’d made against her family.

It was so fucking strange. Elle acted as though she’d expected this, but surely her family weren’t this bloodthirsty.

Eventually my eyes did slip closed, and I slid into sleep.

“ G ood morning,” Elle whispered into my ear.

Rolling over, I found her lying in my bed, an adorable grin on her face.

“Elle? When did you come into my room?”

“I came to thank you for saving me,” she said, peeling the covers off.

My jaw fell open at the sight of her naked body, and I took in the swell of her breasts, dark nipples, curving thighs and a round ass that made me salivate.

“What? You want to ? —”

“I want to thank you,” she said.

“There’s no…uh… no need to thank me,” I muttered, unable to pull my eyes from her gorgeous body. Her heat radiated toward me, and I wanted to fall into it.

“I think I do,” she said, and her hand slid under the covers, gliding across my stomach, going lower, brushing the waistband of my pajamas, cool fingers slipping under ? —

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM.

“ Y our Highness! Sir, wake up, please!”

I sat up, torn from the dream against my will. “Son of a bitch ,” I muttered and climbed from bed.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM.

Another explosive knock, urgent and almost feverish in its fury. Vincent had awoken too and stumbled into the room’s foyer, rubbing his eyes.

“What’s happening?” he mumbled.

“Not sure.” I threw back the bolt and swung the door open. The moment I saw Titus’s face, I knew something was terribly wrong. Panic and terror warred in his eyes, which was unusual. Titus was usually stoic and calm in even the most stressful situations.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, taking a step toward him. “Is my father all right?”

“Your father is in the throne room, Highness,” Titus said, his voice tight with anxiety. “He waits for you there. The rest of the court is gathering.”

I glanced at my watch, then back at Titus. “Titus, it’s just past four-thirty in the morning. What could be so pressing?”

Titus swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “We’ve received word from the Laurents.”

A finger of icy cold fear slid down my spine. “What do they say?”

“They’ve declared open war on House Decimus and all dragon shifters,” Titus mumbled.

“What?” Vincent and I said in unison.

“Why?” I asked.

“They’ve declared war on us for…uh…well, they say we murdered the Lady Brielle Laurent. Murdered her and stole her body.”

“Bullshit,” I growled. “Let me get dressed, Titus. We’ll be out in a moment.”

“Yes, sir,” he said, backing into the hallway.

“They think we killed Brielle?” Vincent asked. “But…but they sent wolves to kill her. If they should be mad at anyone, it’s whichever wolf family tried to kill her, right?”

“One would think,” I grumbled, dragging my clothes on. “Let’s get to the throne room and get the full story. Perhaps Titus is wrong.”