Page 36 of The Forsaken Heir

Our world was populated by magical creatures.

Shifters and fae were the main species who lived in the shadows of the human world.

In the deeper recesses, though, even rarer creatures existed.

Things that were rarely seen even by our kind.

A skinwalker, an ancient malevolent witch native to the Americas, was known to be able to mimic any person, even down to the voice.

“I am not a skinwalker,” I said. Though that was probably exactly what a skinwalker would say, wasn’t it?

Bastien stood only two steps from the royal guard, still looking up at me, and an evil gleam shone in his eyes. I remembered that bitter spitefulness from our time as children.

“Fine.” Bastien grinned up at. “If you aren’t, then prove it. Skinwalkers can only mimic the human form. Not the animal. Shift for us.”

An icy dagger jammed straight into my heart. The greatest secret I had. The shameful thing that had caused my family to disown me and send me into exile.

Glancing away from my brother’s angry eyes, I looked around the room. Hundreds—maybe even more than a thousand—of faces looked at me expectantly. Some appeared intrigued, others confused, still more excited.

Fuck it .

“I am Brielle Laurent. I was born a shifter, but I have no inner wolf, and am unable to shift.”

The gasp that came from the crowd was louder this time.

The dragons and fae all looked shocked and confused, the wolves appeared disgusted and offended by my mere statement.

Despite me coming to terms with the fact years ago, the looks I saw in the crowd sent a pang of shame through me again.

My will bent and began to crumble under the weight of those eyes and the sound of hissed conversations.

That was until a warm hand touched my back.

Aurelius stood beside me, his touch grounding me, filling me with strength again. How could anyone feel small with him standing at their side?

“Do the wolves really think so badly of a woman who can’t shift?” he called out. “Something she has no control over? How is it that you have such little honor, even among yourselves?”

“Watch your mouth, you filthy lizard ,” Bastien snapped.

Cassius stood, his face red. “I think the one who should watch his mouth is the man who stands in my castle as a guest. An honored guest at that,” he said.

A memory, old and nearly forgotten, occurred to me. Something that couldn’t be faked or learned by anyone who hadn’t been there. Bringing it up might shame my brother, but at this point, what would it hurt? Plus, depending on his reaction, it might fully prove who I was.

Leaving Aurelius’s side, I nudged the guards aside, and stood face to face with my brother.

“Bastien,” I said. “If I’m not Brielle, then how would I know what you did with that serving girl when you were teenagers? Do you remember that?”

His twisted face crumpled. “What?”

“You know what I’m talking about,” I chided. “It was only a month or two before I left. I heard something in the butler’s pantry. A whispery sound? You don’t remember?”

Vitriolic anger shone in his eyes, and the veins in his forehead popped out.

“I opened the door to see what it was, and there you were, making out with one of the serving girls.”

“ Bitch!” Bastien screamed and drew his hand back to slap me.

He moved so fast I didn’t even realize he was going to strike me until the hand was already flying toward my cheek.

He would have sent me sprawling, probably split my lip, and knocked me out.

Would have, if Aurelius hadn’t caught his hand mid-strike.

The dragon prince must have moved with lightning speed to be there to save me.

“You don’t touch her,” Aurelius growled. “ No one touches her.”

Bastien looked at Aurelius in shocked outrage. “You dare lay your hands on me? Filth.”

“In my castle, I’ll lay hands on anyone I want,” Aurelius said, moving to stand between my brother and me. He squeezed Bastien’s wrist so hard that his fingertips turned white.

“As for you?” Aurelius said with a smirk. “I don’t think you are an honored guest any longer.”

Without another word, Aurelius shoved Bastien backward. My brother hit the floor and rolled back. The crowd parted with a horrified and shocked gasp.

“Bastard!” my father shouted, then shifted into his wolf form.

Bastien scrambled to his feet and shifted as well.

Aurelius, Rasp, and Cassius all shifted to their dragons, reptilian faces thrashing about, bright light emanating deep in their mouths, unshed fire ready to burst forth from between their jaws.

A dozen of the Laurents shifted as well, joining their patriarch and heir.

This was going to go bad, and quickly. The Hikshil envoy group looked fearful as they backed away from the monsters growling and snapping at each other.

Seeing them gave me an idea. Something that might keep things from devolving into bloodshed and misery.

“ Stop! ” I screamed, rushing onto the dance floor to put myself between the dragons and wolves.

Aurelius’s black dragon shook its head, but he closed his mouth, ending the flames that had begun to creep up around his fangs.

“I can prove I’m Brielle Laurent. Once and for all,” I shouted, trying to be heard above the cries of terror and fear.

“And how would you do that?” a voice sneered.

Turning, I found my mother looking at me with disdain in her eyes.

Pointing to the Hikshil and other fae, I said, “The fae. Their tribes all have shamans and oracles. They can see that I’m telling the truth. They have magical ceremonies that cannot be tricked. Would that be good enough?”

I’d researched the tribe and other fae communities when I’d been younger as part of my studies. It was well-known how much they relied on ceremony and how much they looked up to and honored their senior tribe members. If anyone could prove I was who I said I was, they could.

Several members of the crowd glanced around, some nodding to themselves and others. I could see the irritation on my mother’s face at my suggestion. She knew I would be exonerated and proven to be who I said I was, but if she or anyone in my family disagreed, it would look suspicious.

“Fine then,” she said, waving a hand as if to dismiss me. “We will find out what you are soon enough.”

Bastien shifted back to his human form, a look of barely controlled rage on his face. He jabbed a finger at me.

“Sure. We’ll let the fae have a look at you, but”— he raised his voice—“the ceremony will happen on Laurent land. There will be no hiding from the truth on dragon territory.”

Aurelius shifted back and shook his head, but I cut him off before he could speak.

“Agreed,” I said. “Your land. We’ll work out the details later.”

“Fine,” Bastien said, and turned to shout at the crowd. “The Gala is over. We’re leaving, and any wolves worth their fur will leave with us.” He threw one last withering look at me. “Trash.”

Aurelius jerked forward, eyes flashing, ready to kill. I pressed a hand into his chest, trying to hold him back.

“Stop,” I hissed. “You don’t want a battle here. Not inside the castle.”

He bared his teeth and glared at Bastien and my parents as they and dozens of Laurent allies streamed toward the exits. When he finally looked at me, the anger was tinged with sadness.

“That’s your family?” he asked, sounding utterly heartbroken. “ How ? They’re awful.”

“You get used to it,” I lied.

Aurelius touched my cheek gently and gazed into my eyes.

Where his fingers stroked my skin, electricity seemed to crackle across my flesh.

My heart, already thudding from adrenaline, thundered even harder, threatening to burst from my chest. My mouth went dry.

Something in his eyes, something I understood, burned out at me, marking me like a laser burning into my skin.

“I need to get you somewhere safe,” Aurelius said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Now.”

Nodding absently, I kept my eyes locked on him. The danger had dissipated, but the intensity of what had happened only served to inflame the feelings I had for him.

“Dad,” Aurelius called. “I’m taking Elle to my quarters. It’ll be safe there.”

The king, who looked to be fighting between anger and shock, nodded and waved him away.

“Good. Fine. I’ll make sure the royal guard gets everyone out of here,” he said.

“Your Majesty, you should really go to your own quarters,” Titus said, pushing through the guard to Cassius’s side. “We don’t know if the Laurents might try something more violent.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but instead swiped a disgusted hand through the air. “ Fine . Just make sure everyone makes it out safely.”

Aurelius grabbed my hand and rushed me up the stairs and down the hall to his rooms. The heat of his palm warmed my own hand, and butterflies swarmed my stomach.

He threw open the door, ushered me inside, then slammed and locked it behind him. Once secure, he turned and looked at me, his eyes hooded and hungry.

“I’m sorry about that. We should have thought they’d make things more difficult.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “It’ll all be worked out soon.”

Taking a slow step toward me, he said, “You didn’t deserve what he said to you. It was all I could do not to tear his throat.”

Unable to help myself, I smiled. It had not gone according to plan, but having Aurelius there had kept things from getting worse. I didn’t really want to think about what could have happened if he hadn’t been there to stop Bastien from hitting me.

“Thank you,” I said, putting my hand on his chest.

He glanced down at my fingers before pinning his eyes on me again.

“I appreciate you doing what you did out there,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. The heat from his body radiated through my palm and seeped into my body.

He placed his hand on top of mine. My breath caught in my throat. The sensation of his warmth sandwiching my cool fingers made my knees weak, and my heart rate spiked.

“I want to take care of you, Elle.”