“Welcome to Deveraux Hall, Princess Avianna,” he said, flipping his long cloth coat to the side as he gave me a little bow. “Samuel is most excited to receive you—”
“Then why isn’t he here?” Hawke snapped from my side.
I closed my eyes, taking a steadying breath. We both knew it was a bad idea to bring Hawke in as one of my personal guards for the next week, but what else could we do? The mating bond would drive us to madness with the separation, and damn it, I was still a free woman until the betrothal ceremony was held.
James narrowed his eyes at Hawke, then dismissed him as if he wasn’t worth speaking to. My hackles rose, but I’d already slipped into my princess mask and wouldn’t break that easily.
“You are not allowed on our property,” James said directly to my brother, who stood on my other side.
“He is your king,” Ajax growled. “You will show respect or we’ll treat you as traitors.”
I sighed. Well, this was going swimmingly.
James grinned, a sickly twist of his lips as he brought his hands together and shrugged. “I’m no traitor,” he said coolly. “I obey the laws, pay my taxes, and I’m about to inherit a princess through blood. I’m as far from a traitor as they come.” He stepped forward, arching a brow at Alek. “But your father? That’s a different story altogether. And the last time I allowed a king onto my property, my brother died.” Another shrug. “Forgive me if I’m less inclined to allow such an act again.”
Alek stiffened next to me, but smiled a king’s smile. “If I wanted you dead, James, you’d already be in the ground.” He tapped his temple with one finger, the gold ring there baring our royal crest. “It would take half a thought.”
James blanched, showing for the first time that he was capable of fear. “But you won’t,” he said after he’d collected himself. “Because of the growing number of supporters the Deveraux name has gleaned in recent weeks.” He tilted his head. “Are you regretting allowing a human to rule as queen? I daresay that was one of the biggest missteps you made and led directly to you losing a great deal of support from your once loyal subjects.”
Each vampire around me—king, assassin, and hunter alike—vibrated with power at his outlandish remark. One more poke from James and we wouldn’t be standing here cordially spouting venom, no. Blood would stain the gravel driveway and it sure as hell wouldn’t be any of ours. James had only brought a young female vampire with him to greet us, and maybe that’s what he wanted—to provoke my brother and my guards into attacking what would seem a defenseless vampire. And we couldn’t have that.
“James,” I said his name with utter gentleness and respect, stepping toward him so I was separated from my entourage. “I’m about to be a part of your family by law.” I tilted my head, giving him my sweetest smile. “Do you know what that means?”
He cleared his throat. “It means Samuel will be in line for the throne. He will be king someday.”
Acid crept up my throat with the thought, but I swallowed it down. “It means that my sister-in-law—my vampire queen—will be connected to your family, too.” I let the princess mask slip, just a fraction and just for him. Let him see the power in my eyes, let him sense it for a breath before I snapped my sweet princess facade back in place. “You would do well to start thinking of her, thinking of all my family as yours. Because family is so important, don’t you think? It would be horrible if I saw your family as a threat to mine, or vice versa.” I giggled then, covering my lips with my silk-clad fingers. “Could you imagine?” I popped a hand on my hip and waved my other at the castle. “This would all be a waste of our time, wouldn’t it?”
James shook before he was able to lock down his anger, but he finally calmed and nodded to me. “Quite, your highness,” he said. “You and your guards may drive onto our property. I’ll have servants waiting to bring in your effects.” He glanced at Alek again, and we all held our breath to see what he’d say. He was the king, after all, and one of the most powerful vampires in history. If he wanted to start a fight here, there really wasn’t a damn thing any of us could do about it.
“I will say goodbye to my sister here,” he finally said. “In private.”
James dipped his head before motioning to the female vampire. She hopped out of the cart, her simple cotton pants and white blouse glowing in the moonlight. “Princess Avianna, this is Lady Bianca. She is one of our finest and most trusted cousins. She will take the place of your guard and talem when you sign the betrothal agreement.”