Fatal Fascinations

Chapter 12: King Julian

"My-my betrothed?" I sputtered.

Roland nodded slightly.

"Poor you," Luca mumbled behind me, causing Roland to cast a sharp glance in his direction.

"How unfortunate you've had to endure Prince Lucas for the majority of your journey," he said smoothly, raising a light brown eyebrow in disdain at Luca.

"How unfortunate you haven't been overthrown yet," Luca bit back sweetly.

"I hope you enjoyed your time in exile after your grevious actions," Roland said, his voice losing its lilt. Exile?

"I know Nessa enjoyed herself-" Luca began.

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. In milliseconds, I watched Roland's golden eyes spark with fury and rage, their colors swirling from muted green and gold to fiery resilient metal. He lunged effortlessly for Luca, his talons sliding out in a swoosh that echoed across the throne room.

But Luca had expected his reaction. In fact, based on his curving smile and readied stance, I would say Luca was delighted over Roland's outrage. He quickly stepped aside from Roland's lunge, swerving around as if part of a dance.

"Still got that temper," Luca taunted, dodging another blow to the face from Roland's weathered knuckles. "Not so princely now."

"Boys!" A loud, demeaning voice resonanted throughout the room.

Without hesitation, both Luca and Roland dropped their raised fists, compelled to bow low to their king. Caspian, his mouth set in a grim line, marched over to Luca and clasped the back of his neck, dragging him forward to stand next to me.

"Save your petty wars for outside the court," he remarked to Luca, his voice so low and cold I could barely hear him.

I looked again towards my uncle, whose face remained bored and emotionless even upon seeing his long lost niece. His tawny hair hung just below his chin, framing his oval face. The scruff around his goatee was uneven, his large eyebrows bushy and unplucked. Still, both my uncle and I possessed the same muted gray eyes, as if all the color had seeped through our irises and into our souls. Average in height and weight, the only sign of his age could be seen in the frown lines of his forehead.

"King Julian," Caspian spoke up, his voice silencing the tittering throne room.

"I present to you Annalina Lucille Genevieve Ducari, rightful heir to the Throne of Vampires."

Alex squeezed my hand harder at his words, saddling closer to me as if to protect me from any form of verbal attack.

My uncle clasped his hands together and stood, not taking a single step away from his gold encrusted throne. He isn't wearing a crown I noticed.

"Welcome home," his silvery voice filled the silent room. I was surprised at his light tone, as he looked completely unamused by the situation.

The crowd began to whisper again, small bits of commentary which morphed into a roar.

"Leave us!" King Julian's sudden proclamation startled us, causing me to take a step backward in fear.

Chairs and tables scooted and dragged across the floor. Miraculously fast, the room was abadoned in a mere thirty five seconds, all the common vampires whisking frivously away to inform the rest of the world about my reappearance. All that was left was those sitting at the King's table, Roland, and my small band of individuals.