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Knight spread his hands as he sat back and picked up his glass once more. “I’ve survived worse. In fact, we’ve both survived worse. And that’s the very reason you’re panicking about this.”
Jeremiah froze, and his brows dipped. “What?”
Knight let out a small sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s too bad I’m too pretty to go into psychology.” He leaned forward again, capturing Jeremiah’s gaze with the barest hint of thrall that Jeremiah didn’t bother to fight. “You forget that we’re cut from the same cloth. That the world hates my kind almost as much as they hate yours. I’ve heard similar insults ever since I was turned—that I’m little more than a diseased human. That I’m a freak. That I don’t belong.” His jaw was tight but his eyes strangely blank as he rattled off the things they’d both had spewed at them. “So I know what you’re thinking when you look at that well-dressed, proper little prince.”
“That he’s going to get himself killed?” Jeremiah asked roughly.
“That you’ll sully him if you put your hands on him. That you don’t want to ruin him because you’re a Hellhound.”
Jeremiah closed his eyes and hated with every fiber of his being how well Knight understood him. “I have no business with him. And whatever this feeling is,” he said, rubbing his chest, “it won’t matter. He’s the crown prince. Even if I wasn’t a Hellhound, you know he’s probably betrothed so some… princess or duchess or whatever.”
“From my research, I can tell you he’s not,” Knight said. “The queen and king married for love, and they seem pretty determined that their children all do the same.”
That was the last thing Jeremiah wanted to hear. He didn’t need false hope, even if it was nothing more than a glimmer. “You’re missing the point.”
Knight sighed, pushing to his feet. “No. You’re missing the point, and I’m not going to enable your bullshit anymore. I love you, Sunshine. You’re my brother in more ways than I’ve learned how to count. But you’re also a dumbass, and I’m not going to sit here and watch you keep getting in your own way.”
Before Jeremiah could stop him, Knight was gone with a speed even he couldn’t follow. A surge of anger hit him, and he flung his empty glass at the wall, feeling only a moment of satisfaction as it shattered. He stared at all the broken pieces like a kaleidoscope on the ground, glass glinting in the dim light, and then he turned on his heel, determined to find the queen and king and put an end to the madness.
* * *
The castle was like a goddamn maze, and he found himself in some conference room with chairs set up in front of two thrones like they were in stasis, waiting for the rulers of the country. He was exhausted and ready to give up looking for any member of the royal family. Why had he thought doing this immediately was a good idea?
It was late, and the queen and king were both feeling low, having sent the twins off for safekeeping, so there was every chance they’d turned in early.
Jeremiah had never loved anyone as much as those two loved their offspring. And he most certainly hadn’t been that loved himself, so he couldn’t quite comprehend how it would feel, but it had to be close to how he got every time one of the members of his team got injured on the job. The heart-racing, gut-twisting fear he felt any time one of them went down was almost too much to bear.
He wasn’t sure he’d survive this life loving someone even more than that…
And that, above all, was what terrified him about Remi. He didn’t think the prince was weak. Far from it. He’d proven in the last week that he was brave, if maybe a little reckless, but the way he wanted to protect his family was behind all the ridiculous decisions he made. And Jeremiah could understand that.
He’d thrown himself into danger before to protect the others. He’d do the same for any member of this house without regret.
But those were moments, not forever, and he had to figure out how to shake the feeling he was having because it wasn’t sustainable. His only real option was to confess what happened and let the royals fire him so he could move on. He could work behind the scenes where he belonged and not have to see Remi’s face every single day.
He wouldn’t have to feel the damned longing that hadn’t left his chest since he looked into Remi’s eyes and realized there was more to him than a vapid, self-absorbed brat.
Even if he was still a bit of a brat.
“You look lost.”
Jeremiah jumped and hated himself for dropping his guard. It was half a dozen times now, and every single one of those moments had been either watching Remi or thinking about him. It was a problem. He spun to find King James standing in the doorway of the conference room, a gently amused look on his face.
“Did I frighten you?”
Jeremiah rolled his eyes, but he didn’t hesitate to admit the truth. “A little.”
“Never thought I’d hear the day a Hellhound admitted that to a human.”
Jeremiah pursed his lips, then gestured to the seat beside him. “I’m not like most Hellhounds.”
“I’ve never met any others, but I have a feeling you’re right,” James said as he walked in and lowered himself beside Jeremiah. He looked very unkingly in his pajama pants and matching shirt, and the thought almost made Jeremiah smile. He’d never really considered royal families could ever be average, but then again, he didn’t spend a lot of time considering royals.
Up to this point, his only motivation in life was to stay alive and get paid.
“Are you lost?” James asked after a beat.
“No, Your Majes—”
