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He lifted her chin as she cast her gaze down to her feet. “You are no idiot, Seraphina. You are still so young—only nineteen.”
“Twenty,” she corrected. “Today was my birthday.”
My eyebrows shot up my forehead.She kept that quiet.
He winced. “Your mom said nothing. We should have celebrated.”
She hunched forward, refusing to meet his eyes. “I don’t deserve it,” she said tearfully. “I’ve messed everything up and all I ever wanted was to meet you, and it’s all ruined. It’s…” Tears fell down her cheeks, patterning her face with trails of wet against the glow of the candles and lamp. “I don’t know what to do, Dad.”
His eyes twinkled, lashes fluttering as he placed an arm around her back, pulling her tightly to his chest. Kalon’s face contorted, and I shot him a sardonic smile.Game on.
“Dad,” she said again, and he rested his head against hers, squeezing her tighter. “Will you help me? Azia is coaching me, but there are things only a king can teach. Like how to be a princess.” She glanced at the maps from his arms. “I can help, however needed. This is my destiny, and I have magic. I’m still a sorceress.”
His two weaknesses: wanting to be loved and his adoration for power.Well done, sweetheart,I said in my head, hoping she felt the admiration through our bond.
Kalon stepped forward. “I can help teach you,niece. My brother has many duties as it is.” He kept the contempt from his voice, but I spoke up.
“We appreciate the offer, Your Highness,” I mocked, keeping my tone light, “but there are things only he can teach, like working the delicate politics here. But thank you,” I added, and his chest heaved.
Sargon chimed in, pulling Olivia at arm’s length. “He’s right, brother. I need to be the one to show my daughter how everything works.”
I noticed a demon board, a wooden board used to send back demons to the underworld when they broke through, usually when mortals played with dark objects or those same boards. “Why do you have that? Demons rarely come here. There are not many mortals for them to mate with.”
Kalon touched the board, sliding his hand to the symbols branding each emperor demons of the underworld, serving the goddess Salenia. “One mortal gave birth this morning.”
“They couldn’t have slept with another mortal?” Occasionally, two mortals we fed on would fuck, too, or nobles would force them to so they could watch.
Kalon shook his head, his nose scrunching. “The offspring is an aniccipere.”
“Ah.” I stroked my chin, glowering at the board. “So, there’s a demon in the castle?”
“Mayb—”
Sargon interrupted. “No one has had any sightings in the four months she’s been pregnant.”
Olivia chimed in. “Four months? Shouldn’t it be nine?”
Sargon answered, “No. Aniccipere babies are born sooner. They reach adulthood faster, too. It’s the only way for demons to unleash their forces into our world. Normally, when they come here, they can’t stay for long. That’s why we’re not worried about it still being here. The board is just a precaution.”
Olivia shuddered. “What will happen to the baby?”
Kalon grimaced. “We’ll send it down to the south.”
“Why?” she asked.
“That’s where the aniccipere live. Occasionally, we will allow a few into the castle. Some live in the cities, but most stay down south. There are old towns that were never fixed up.”
She swallowed hard, the sound bubbling in my ears. “Isn’t that where you said Hamza’s supporters were?”
Sargon only nodded.
Fear leaked into our bond, and she held her next breath. “The vampires who want to kill me for his death are aniccipere?”
Sargon glanced at the floor, then climbed his gaze back to his daughter. “We’re managing it. No one’s been able to get into the castle. So you don’t need to be concerned.” He placed a hand on her upper arm. “I won’t let them get to you.”
She rubbed her forehead, smoothing the wrinkles which formed from her frown. I sped to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist. “It’s okay, love. If they try to get you, I’ll kill them.”
Sargon tilted his head. “Besides, you’re not the one who killed him. We still don’t know who’s responsible.”
