Unraveled

Aden nodded, and had to blink against the sudden renewal of dizziness. Stupid pills. He explained what had happened, what had been done to him. How he’d been drugged.

Riley shook his head. “I don’t know how you deal with all those voices anyway. But don’t beat yourself up about it. One slip-up in how long? A year or more? That’s reason to celebrate. You know, at a vampire mansion. Like, now.”

At least the wolf wasn’t snarling at him.

“Help him dress, and I’ll ensure Dan stays away from this room for the rest of the night,” Victoria said from her outer post, and then was gone.

Riley unzipped the bag he held. “I seriously hope you’re not going to make me do all the work.”

“Please. I’d have to be dead to let you put your hands on me.” Aden stood—and almost tumbled back on his bed, his knees were so weak, but he managed to remain upright, and held out his hands. Several articles of clothing were thrust at him.

He dressed quickly, and realized he was now wearing a suit almost identical to Riley’s. Black, silk, expensive. He brushed his hair and teeth, then splayed his arms wide, silently requesting inspection.

“Better, but not done yet.” Riley held out his open palm.

Aden saw what rested in the center and actually backed away. “No. No way.”

“You must.”

The ring—Vlad’s ring—glistened with a luminous shimmer in the light. Bad idea, all the way around.

“Your coronation ceremony will take place in thirteen days and—”

“Thirteen days,” he interjected. That seemed relevant somehow. Familiar. “So why wear it now?”

“As a symbol of your power.”

Power? Please. He had no power. Not any that mattered.

“We must go,” Victoria said suddenly, at the window again. “Everyone is waiting.”

Riley arched a brow at him and shook the ring. “You’re king, ceremony or not, and the vampire king wears this ring. Always. Your people won’t take you seriously without it, and you’re going to have a hard time being taken seriously anyway since you’re human.”

“Thanks for the newsflash.” I don’t want to be king, he thought, but he reluctantly pinched the band between two fingers and slid the thing in place. A large opal stared up at him, casting multihued beams in every direction. His foggy mind could have studied those beams forever, lost.

He’d wear the ring tonight because, in their minds, he was king. According to their laws—of which he knew only this one—he who killed the king became king. But Aden planned to appoint someone else, someone deserving, someone competent and equipped. And soon. Without letting himself be killed.

“Go.” With a push from Riley, he was stumbling toward the open window.

Chilly air enveloped him as he climbed out and strode toward a dark blue sedan the pair had hidden a few yards from the ranch. Stolen, no doubt. They didn’t own a car, so Victoria “borrowed” one when she needed to be driven somewhere. Or rather, have Aden driven somewhere. All the while, crickets sang and wolves continued to howl.

“Goblins out tonight,” Riley explained as he settled into the driver’s seat. “Though they’re thinning out, and should be contained soon.”

Goblins. Little monsters who liked to eat human flesh. Aden hadn’t met one yet, but had heard the stories about sharp teeth ripping through human bodies like a knife through butter. Little wonder he wanted to put off that introduction as long as possible.

Aden and Victoria had claimed the backseat. She had tried to sit in front, in the passenger seat next to Riley, but Aden had grabbed her hand and tugged her back with him. She could have fought him, but allowed the restriction, silent.

Once they were on the road, she withdrew a cologne bottle from the center console and sprayed him from top to bottom. Soon he was choking on the scented mist that clogged the air.

“Enough,” he said, waving his hand in front of his face.

“This is necessary. Believe me, you don’t want to smell like the Fae when you face my people.”

“So I still smell like him?”

“Yes,” she and Riley said in unison.

Great. Not at his best mentally and he reeked. What a night. “So where’s Mary Ann?”

“Home,” Riley said, and there was all kinds of fury in his tone. The kind of fury Aden had been expecting since the wolf’s arrival. Which meant Aden had just opened a big can o’ crap. “There’s no reason for her to be involved in this. Plus, she checked out some books at the library and is currently reading them, hoping to learn everything she can about the witches. And speaking of Mary Ann—” his voice rose with every word “—why the hell were you shoving her around today?”

Yep. Crap. “I’m sure you asked her, and I’m sure she explained that I was teaching her to defend herself.”

“No, I didn’t ask her. I figured the defense thing out on my own, thanks, but I wanted to chat with you about it first. Did you have to be so rough? She’s only a human.”

“I’m only a human. And yeah. I had to be rough. That’s the only way to learn.”

“No, it isn’t. In fact, I’m taking over her lessons.”

Oh, really? “Sorry, but she didn’t ask you. She asked me. So I’ll be the one continuing with her lessons.” He could have relented. Wasn’t like he cared one way or the other. But allow Riley to boss him around? Multiply “hell, no” by “dream on” and divide by “suck it,” and the answer was “the wolf could bite the big one.”

That earned him a thick and heavy silence.

Aden sighed and dropped his head against the seat rest. He needed Riley on his side tonight. More than that, he had a thousand questions he needed answered. How was this meeting going to go down? What was expected of him? Was there anything he should or shouldn’t say? Anything he should or shouldn’t do? But as he sat there, peering up at the car’s roof, mind drifting, churning, he could only make himself care about Victoria.

She’d sat through his exchange with Riley, stiff and too quiet, as if she didn’t dare breathe because she might miss something. Was she jealous of the time he spent with Mary Ann, as he was often jealous of the time she spent with Riley? Or was she still hurt about earlier? Or both?

Either way, he didn’t like it.

He’d dreamed about her for six months before he’d actually met her, and in that time, she’d become the most important part of his life. A part he needed, craved. Like Mary Ann, she accepted him for who and what he was, and had from the beginning. Even though her own people considered him unworthy—not to mention his own. She understood what it felt like to be considered different. She was a princess, set apart. And hadn’t he vowed just today to only ever make this princess laugh?

“Just so you know,” Riley gritted out. “If you hurt her again…”

“You’ll call me a bad name?” Aden retorted. “Or maybe tell your friends not to like me?” He knew he shouldn’t provoke the wolf. Riley’s claws could rip through bone in a blink. But again, bite the big one, wolf.

Riley growled from low in his throat. Expected. What wasn’t expected? Victoria laughed, an honest to God laugh.

“I’m sorry,” she said when Riley tossed her a dark look. “But that was funny. You know it was.”

“Whatever,” Riley replied, but there was now suppressed amusement in his tone.

Aden’s chest puffed up. He’d done that. He’d caused that reaction without even trying. But then Victoria’s laughter subsided, and she once again refused to look at him.

More. He had to have more. “Victoria,” he began. “About what happened—”

“I know,” she said on a trembling exhalation. “I already figured out your reasons for ditching me at the ranch.”

Oh, God. Was she going to cry? “I didn’t ditch you, I swear.”