It took weeks normally—and with the way technology used to be before the apocalypse—to plan a visit to another court. To show up was… Beyond insulting. I couldn’t even fathom what my princess would have done.
Probably kill one of their nobles for the insult and break all ties with that princess and house for good. I couldn’t see her doing anything milder than that.
And certainly not allowing them to stay and handle accommodations. To most that might have seemed like she was a doormat, but no, it was smart. She looked like the bigger person, the kind princess who reaches out to many, even if they misbehave and insult her as she’s a bigger person than that.
Plus, some came ready for the insult and could then start trouble with her later, saying it was her fault for how she originally treated them. Now they had nothing to stand on besides pissing off others if they made a move on the coven. Maybe once that might have been a good idea given how young she was, but now she had a line of very old and powerful vampires at her back, dying to join her coven.
Hearing how she disbanded the house of Darbandi coven almost made me ill. No one had ever done that, certainly not when abducted, and they attempted to force her to be adopted. Instead, the man who’d done it now swore himself to her to be her guard and protect her.
And no one was getting by Vitor to touch her. He was a legend and the reason the house of Darbandi had controlled so much power and territory given the region and how many wanted it. Many had wanted to take them out and end the house, simply because how sick they were, daughters killing their parents for power, but none could go against Vitor and the other ancient nobles they had.
Not without risking their own nobles and lives.
But Inez had. She had done it all on her own, the baby vampire, as she called herself. And my fucking twin had captured her heart.
I wanted to hate her. She was making Cerdic happy, and after all he’d done to me, I never wanted him happy. Every time I looked at her, I tried to find flaws, but I couldn’t. Yes, some would prefer others, I preferred my princess, of course; Bahati much more gorgeous than Inez, but Inez didn’t have many faults.
To say otherwise was a lie like Bahati was more beautiful. But I would never say otherwise.
The jealousy was rising to dangerous levels though. After Inez put that princess in her place about treating nobles like nothing but blood sources, more than a few were talking about it. Several seemed to agree, but didn’t say anything, their deals with Inez more important than her going against tradition.
However, their princess relatives had a lot to say about how full of herself and selfish she was. The funny thing was they believed that. They thought it was some ploy to bring in all the best and oldest nobles—as she had—because she offered them respect, which most wouldn’t, but it was all a con to have them at her side and access to their blood.
It wasn’t a bad idea. I could see how jealous many of the princesses were that they hadn’t thought of it first.
But it wasn’t a ploy for her. She really meant it and treated them with respect, shifters as well. It shocked me, but I did truly believe her and it wasn’t a con. Funny how so many princesses went right to that as if any other reason would be absurd.
The jealousy level shot up again as appetizers started. Here, most were barely making it, and we were standing in Inez’s air conditioned castle with cold drinks, and the first trays of bacon wrapped duck breast bites were coming around, along with crab cakes. Next, were fish taco bites and bear meatballs. Then, seared gator and salmon cucumber bites.
By the time the turkey cheese crostini and beef cups came around, I was pretty sure there were at least a dozen princesses who were ready to strangle Inez for gloating at what she had… While stuffing their faces and looking like humans in movies who were wondering if they could put more in their purses. The murmurs asking how they had all this food, and others squirming as they didn’t want to answer, was amusing.
“I wonder if any confessed Olivia got ill for trying to push Inez to agree to be adopted,” Hanna said to Nora. “The princesses that came that day heard Matilda say it, but if they didn’t pass that on, it could lead to trouble as the next idiot tries to make a move before she thinks others will.”
“How ill?” I asked. “Or how was she ill exactly?”
Nora gave me a look that she was debating pounding me for interjecting and not speaking to them as I should. She seemed to think better of it, probably assuming my princess could be one of the “idiots” to worry about.
“She was dying. Slowly. She degraded a bit more every day until she apologized to Inez. She sent nobles to spy and start trouble with the plans to push Inez into a corner so she would beg for help and agree to be adopted. It was a stupid plan that underestimated everyone involved, including myself, as she assumed I would stand idly by and keep our alliance.”
“It really was a stupid plan,” Hanna agreed. “Inez might be young and naïve in some ways, but honestly, she’s maybe one of
