Page 6 of Beast

“Why wouldn’t he marry the first consort he sees? I would,”Chalen points out.

“You don’t know Dante the way I do. He’s furious at thethought of being put in a corner. He’s going to choose someone guaranteed toenrage his father.” I hold up a small recording device. “And I’ve got theproof. How is Donald Dellacourt going to react when he hears his son plottingto embarrass the family he worked so hard to elevate? The press will eat it up.He’ll get kicked to the surface, and the Dellacourts will have more to worryabout than the political situation on Tír na nÓg. Dante Dellacourt will bevulnerable, and the Finn twins will lose their biggest backers. You can pushthe government to declare for Torin. It won’t be long before all three aredead.”

“I want the girl dead, too,” Chalen says between clenchedfangs. “The wife. She goes down with them.”

I’m a bit startled by that pronouncement. The woman inquestion is a consort. Meg Finn is valuable. If her husbands are dead, she’llbe fair game to any royal vampire without a consort. Consorts are precious. Aroyal even considering harming a consort is a shocking thought. I carefullyschool my features. “I’m sure that can be arranged. Are you still in contactwith the king?”

Chalen nods. “I speak with King Torin daily. I am attemptingto convince him to make his plea directly to our government. The twins areaccusing him of all manner of crimes. He needs to show that he is the one whoturned over the tyranny of their father’s reign.”

“Do you actually believe that?”

“Of course not. He killed his own brother and would havemurdered his nephews if he hadn’t proven incompetent. This is about perception,not truth. If I can move the members of the senate to Torin’s side, I canisolate the bastards responsible for my brother’s death.”

I don’t bother to point out that Kinsey Palgrave’s body wasnever recovered. He simply vanished after telling his brother he was goingafter a consort on the Refugee plane. Chalen Palgrave figured out the consorthis brother had been interested in was Megan Finn. As Meg Finn’s husbands arealive and well and his brother is missing, Chalen drew certain conclusions.He’s going to have his revenge on the Finns and the Dellacourts. He’s willingto do whatever it takes to get it, even placing his own “beloved” mistress intohis enemy’s bed. He will not be swayed by anything as simple as logic.

“I need a copy of that tape,” Chalen orders. His facesoftens for a moment. “You’ve done well, Amanda.”

I keep my eyes demurely down. “Thank you, sir. I only hopeto serve you.”

I will never, ever let him know that Dante Dellacourt is tentimes the lover he is. I’ll never let him know I actually kind of like thebastard. This is war, and my personal feelings will only get me in trouble.

“Keep me updated,” he says before cutting the connection.

I sigh and stand. One day I’ll have a nice, normal job withPalgrave Industries. I’ll get married to someone of my own caste and live inthe happy normalcy of the mid-levels. I will never go to the surface again, butI learned that living in the upper heights with the royals is too dangerous forme.

I stare down at the tape that will likely cost DanteDellacourt his lofty position. It isn’t fair, but I download it and ship it toChalen Palgrave’s address. I hope it’s all over soon so I can get on with mylife.

Chapter Three

Dante

I rub my head as I walk into the small kitchen thenext morning, trying to get rid of the fogginess from the night before. As avampire, I don’t actually eat solid food. I dine on prime-grade meal pills, butthere’s an ultramodern food preparation appliance in deference to the home’sinhabitants with fully functional digestive tracts. I glance around, slightlyrelieved to see that my mother is not present. Only Cian sits at the table,munching on a piece of toast and drinking fragrant tea. I pour myself a cup andthink briefly about adding some Scotch. Just a nip.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Cian says, never looking up fromthe book he’s reading. I catch sight of a bunch of equations that make my headhurt even more. “It will get back to your father that you’re drinking beforenoon, and you’ll never hear the end of it.”

I groan, but my tea is alcohol free as I sit across from mycousin. “Fine. I’m in enough trouble as it is. What are you doing up so early?Shouldn’t you be screwing your wife or something?”

Cian grins as he looks up. He doesn’t even come close totaking the bait. “Meggie’s tired. She had a long night. I thought I’d let hersleep in. You look worse for the wear, cousin.”

“Thanks.” I slept like crap, but I don’t need to be remindedby Cian. My cousin looks fresh as a daisy. Cian looks every bit the youngroyal. He’s dressed in casual clothes, but there’s no doubt the man is a king.He simply lacks his throne.

Cian forms the intellectual half of the king. He’s one halfof symbiotic twins, a rare condition in Fae royals. He shares a soul with histwin, Beck, who forms the warrior half of the duo. Of the two, I always feltcloser to Ci. Cian was my playmate when we were young. Many summers were spentat the White Palace playing with Cian and Bronwyn. My heart clenches at thethought of sweet, mischievous Bronwyn. She’s gone forever, killed by her ownuncle’s thugs.

“If it’s any consolation, I think you did the right thing,”Ci says in his musical accent. “None of those women were right for you.”

“My father would disagree,” I reply, thinking about thefight last night. It doesn’t seem real, but my father was serious. I have toget married or get out.

Cian shrugs negligently. “I’ve found parents don’t alwaysknow their children the way their peers do. I wouldn’t have picked any of thosewomen for you, cos.”

I’m curious. “Who would you pick? What’s my type?”

“Someone like Meggie,” Ci says. There’s nothing about hisattitude that makes me think he is anything but serious.

I feel myself flush. I thought I kept my crush secret.

“Meg isn’t anything like the women I date,” I mutter. Meg isfar smarter and kinder than the women I date.

Cian laughs. “No, she isn’t. That’s the trouble. Everyoneyou meet here is going to be influenced by your name. They might hate you orwant you, but somewhere in there, they’re reacting to the fact that you’reDante Dellacourt, heir to Dellacorp.”