Page 29 (1/2)

He alhed Would he ever catch a break?

"Aden" Victoria’s voice snapped hihts

"Of course there’s ti the witch, so we aren’t needed for that"

Her eyes narrowed, and she raised her chin "Fine We’ll talk Why don’t I start?" She crossed her ar her flawless skin Her electric blues pierced hiirl lips beckoned him No wonder the boys wanted him to kiss her first and talk later Beautiful

"Tell me about your date with my sister," she commanded

Ouch Should have expected her to start there, he thought "I wouldn’t call it a date We talked about possible changes to benefit your people Like pink being the new black Then we talked about you" Or would have, if the goblin hadn’t busted in "About how much I…love you" There He’d said it Said the words If ever there was a time to tell her, it was now He didn’t want her worried or unsure about his feelings "You’re brave and caring and you see me as an equal, not a hindrance I just feel better when I’"

Her mouth dropped open "You love me?"

"Yes I do I love you," he repeated "You don’t have to say it back I’ll understand if you aren’t there yet" Yeah, he would understand--but he sure wouldn’t like it

Her expression softened, and she gazed down at her feet, hands twisting together There was now a rosy flush to her cheeks Was she embarrassed by his confession, or had she fed recently? If so, who had she taken froet over that, he told himself She’s a vampire That’s what she has to do to survive

"I…I love you, too, Aden"

Thank God Every bit of the jealousy drained She loved hiain" No one had ever loved hi and loyal and you understand me better than I think I understand ain

He would never get tired of those words

"And because I love you so irls will not allow you to simply talk to them Or rather, their fathers won’t You’ll have to ro ato say is, there’s no way around it You have to date them properly"

"No I don’t I can refuse to see them" Simple as that He loved her, and she loved hiet tired of those words

"You can’t I told you That will cause problems Violent problems"

"I don’t care You’re more important"

Her lashes rose, and for a moment, there was hope in her eyes But then she blanked her features, showing him more of that emptiness Emptiness he despised "Actually, I’ now You’re the one who’s important to my people"

Was that what her father had raised her to believe? That the king was the only one who ain? As if a second slaying would be possible?

He frowned "Look, I don’t have a lot of ti with you Especially now"

She ran her tongue over her too-sharp teeth "That’s what I said, but then you said we had--"

"I ht"

The reminder sobered her She knew about Elijah’s prediction; she knew his life would end all too soon "Oh"

"Your people will need a new king, anyway, and I’ll find the to let Aden, a human, lead them So why not a olf--a olf they already deferred to? He nodded, liking the thought A lot It was a perfect plan, really Except…once again the thought of giving up the title…angered him, and that made no sense

He forced his ht for this moment; he couldn’t allow himself to become distracted and ruin it "Like I said, I don’t want to spend what ti with you And I don’t want to spend it being shut out for reasons I don’t understand"

She stood there, silent, watching hihed "What do you want to know? I’ll talk, I’ll explain"

"What are you feeling right now? About hed Dude! You sound like a girl, wanting to share your feelings and stuff Dating 101, Julian told the soul Sound like a girl and get the girl Where have you been? I thought you were supposed to be the expert

Her arhs "Well, I’m…furious"

With him? "You don’t sound furious You don’t look furious"

Her chin lifted yet another notch "I’s, Stephanie says"

"So unbottle You’ll feel better, I pro He must have channeled one of histhat dancing thing around her shoulders "That’s too dangerous"

"For who?"