Since my title was announced, my brothers pushed me away. Although it didn’t help that our father adores them all, yet finds me absolutely mortifying.
“I saw that little conversation you had with Kara,” Adeline whispered. “What was that all about?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry about it,” I said.
“Well, I am worried about it. You have a wife, Malachi. You can’t keep entertaining her like you’re a bachelor in Rewyth.”
“You know that’s not what this is.”
“Don’t I?” she scoffed and leaned back in her seat. “You’re blind, brother. Always seeing people for their best qualities and ignoring the worst.”
“I see who she is. Trust me, she’s not an issue.”
Adeline just shook her head. “You better be telling the truth. Jade’s been through enough as it is. You don’t need a jealous ex in the mix making things worse.”
“I’m next!” One of the twins shouted, pointing to where Adonis and Jade still flowed through the dance floor.
This earned a roar of laughter from the others.
“You should get married more often, brother,” Lucien announced. “It really brings some excitement to the family!”
“You’re all pigs,” Adeline sneered. “Jade is not a prize to be passed around, she’s your new sister. And princess, might I add.”
“Yeah? For how long?” Lucien retorted. I stood so fast my chair fell to the ground behind me.
I left them all at the table, Adeline yelling after me, as I stormed onto the dance floor to find my wife.
Jade stared at me with wide eyes as I approached.
“Do you mind?” I asked Adonis. He had always been the most mature of my brothers, and there had been times when I really wanted to trust him. I really wanted to believe he was different from the others.
But loyalty was expensive. And it wasn’t a risk I was willing to take tonight.
Adonis gave a respectful nod and passed Jade’s hand to mine. Unlike Lucien, Adonis would never disrespect me in front of everyone. In private, maybe, but not here.
Whatever walls Jade had dropped when she was dancing with Adonis were up again. Her face was blank and her posture was stiff, no doubt tracking each one of my movements as I took her small hand and led her slowly through the crowd of dancers.
“You seem to be getting along with my brothers,” I said. She missed a small step, stumbling over my foot and nearly falling. I caught her around the waist as she fell into my chest. “And it also seems you were not lying about your dancing skills.”
Jade huffed as she straightened. “No, prince, I was not lying. And your brothers have been…entertaining.”
There was more to that, but I didn’t push.
Although my curiosity was at an all-time high. Perhaps she needed more of a warning. Did she think I warned her from my brothers out of my own jealousy?
“Lucien is a hot head,” I admitted. “He’s relentless with women, and he’ll pretty much say anything to get whatever he wants from you.”
“And you think I’m the type to be easily manipulated by a few funny jokes or superficial compliments?”
Her jaw was sharp, matching her perfectly sculpted cheekbones. With her face this close to me, I could see every flash of emotion in her eyes. Even as she held a straight face.
Those eyes were daggers. Her sharpest weapon.
“I don’t know,” I said back. “I don’t really know anything about you.”
“Really? Stalking me in the forest didn’t show you everything you needed to know?”
“Careful, princess,” I whispered, very aware of the wandering ears around us. I tugged her closer to me, just an inch, and leaned down to her ear. “You don’t want to give away all my secrets, do you?”
She tensed, but didn’t back away. I continued talking.
“Adonis has always been my favorite brother. He’s smart. He’s respectful. But his loyalties are questionable.”
“And what about you?” she asked. “Where do your loyalties lie?”
“My loyalties lie with myself, my future kingdom, and my wife,” I said. The words came out harsh, but they were truthful. Jade had to know that. There were hundreds of rumors circling the human lands about me, I wasn’t naive. But Jade had to know that she could trust me. She had to believe that I would do anything to protect her, and she had to believe that everything I did was for the future of my kingdom.
Everything.