22. Why him?

22

WHY HIM?

E arly the next night, I am called into Dad's office. When I arrive, I find Damek sitting next to King Rune. Dad motions me to his side when I come into the room.

"Madeline, King Rune, and Prince Damek have come with a proposal. Seeing as these alliances are about your future, I thought you should have a say in what our answer will be," Dad says.

My heart thumps a little faster as I turn to face Damek, but his father is the one to speak.

"I, of all people, know how hard a political marriage can be," King Rune says. "I didn't have a choice with my first wife. My father, who was king at the time, ordered me to marry her and that was that. I didn't even have time to get to know her before we were suddenly married. It put a lot of strain on the marriage and things didn't work out between us."

I did know that. Damek explained that his father fell in love with a human, but was forced to marry another monarch. That's why Damek is the only eligible heir to take his father's throne. Because all of Damek's younger siblings are illegitimate according to vampire succession law.

Uh, those stupid law books that Kaine has been making me study have come in handy.

"That is why I want to offer the two of you a better solution than what I had," King Rune continues. "I am proposing for our alliance that there is a six month betrothal period between Damek and Princess Madeline. Six months would give you both time to get to know one another and hopefully, time to fall in love."

Six months. It's more than I thought I'd get. And while I'm not exactly ready to be engaged, it is a very good solution. Damek and I could date. And I would be free from all the expectations of dating other royals.

While it's not exactly what I wanted, it's probably the best offer I'm going to get. Especially since, according to what I've learned while being here, most monarchs get a couple of weeks at best to prepare for a wedding.

Dad looks at me. "Madeline, I will leave this decision up to you. The Rune Clan have offered up a very good alliance proposal, but Prince Damek isn't your only option."

I chew on my bottom lip as I look at my dad, trying to gauge his feelings on the matter. His face remains passive and completely neutral.

He really is leaving this up to me. Ugg.

I turn to face Damek. He is watching me with a hopeful expression. He told me he would come up with something when we parted last night and that is exactly what he did. He gave me time. Not just time, but a peaceful time.

I look at my dad again as I clasp my fingers together behind my back. "I think we should accept their offer."

Dad gives me a curt nod before turning to King Rune. "I'll sign the alliance papers and we can make a formal announcement of their betrothal."

I swallow hard.

Betrothal.

The thought of being engaged makes me feel queasy, but there is no other option. It's this or it's marriage. What Damek has done for me is more than I thought I could get.

Who knows—maybe Lucien will come back in those six months and I can be free from a political marriage. Until then, I'm going to take the gift of time that has been given to me.

A few hours later, after King Rune and Damek leave, Dad calls me to his office to talk. I sit down in a chair opposite him and smooth out the skirt of my dress.

"You wanted to talk?" I ask.

He studies me carefully. "You're okay with the betrothal?"

I sigh, then nod. "Yeah, I think I am. It's not exactly what I wanted—what I wanted was to be free to date and choose my husband. But I do like Damek. He's a nice guy and I could see us having a happy life together. I'm very glad that I get the chance to get to know him before I marry him."

Dad's shoulders relax. "I'm glad you like him. The last thing I want is for you to be forced into an unwanted marriage. The Rune Clan is a good one. Out of all the clans, they have offered the best alliance. It's unexpected, given our history with their clan, but King Rune and I are both ready to put the past behind us. This is a good thing that you're doing, Madeline. And Prince Damek is one of the good ones. I believe he will make you very happy."

"I know he will." I lick my lips, which suddenly feel dry. "And I appreciate the time that I'll have to get to know him."

"That wasn't me," Dad admits. "King Rune tells me that it was Prince Damek's idea. He argued to give you an entire year. He thought you needed time to get used to your new role in vampire society. But King Rune and I both agree that six months is enough time."

A year .

Wow, Damek really did try.

My heart swells as I realize that he is looking out for me. It would've been easy for him to demand us to get married in a couple of weeks. I wouldn't have had a choice but to agree. This is the best gift he could've possibly given me.

"The Rune Clan is very powerful. You honor the Scott Clan by agreeing to this betrothal. Thank you, Madeline." Dad shuffles some papers on his desk. "I've informed Kaine of the arrangements. He is going to go over everything with you and make sure you understand all the details of the alliance."

My mouth goes dry.

Kaine knows.

I wonder what his reaction will be.

I never should've kissed Kaine. It wasn't right. To be fair, at the time I had no idea that he had feelings for me.

Will he be heartbroken over the betrothal?

I stand from my chair. "Is that all?"

He nods and turns back to the papers at his desk, dismissing me with a wave.

Kaine is waiting for me in the office.

I stand at the door, not ready to head inside just yet, but I can hear his heartbeat on the other side. Which means… if I can hear his heartbeat, he can hear mine.

Still, I hesitate.

It was only yesterday, in this very office, that I kissed Kaine. At the time, I did it because I was scared. I wanted a way out of the marriage alliance. And after what Kaine told me… I had to know how I felt about him. But it didn't change anything. All it did was confuse Kaine. I shouldn't have done it.

I take a deep breath and force myself to push the door open.

Kaine is sitting at the desk with a large book open in front of him, but he's not looking at the book at all. When the door opens, his eyes move to mine immediately. He jumps up from the desk and makes his way over to me.

I shut the door behind me and turn to face him, readying myself for whatever he's about to say to me.

"Why?" Kaine asks.

I raise an eyebrow. "Why what?"

"Why, out of all the choices, did you choose him?" Kaine clenches his jaw. "Why him, Madeline?"

I open my mouth to respond and then close it.

I don't know how Kaine wants me to answer his question. After a moment of debating with myself, I decide to just go with the truth. I feel like the truth is the best option in this scenario.

I put a hand to the base of my throat. "I like Damek. Out of all the potential marriage candidates, he's been the nicest. He knows that I don't want to get married right now. And instead of trying to force me to marry him now , he's argued with his dad to give me time to get to know him. He's a good guy. And since you told me that I have to marry a royal, he's the only one I would consider. It's this or running away."

Kaine looks at me, his glacier blue eyes full of pain. He closes them and turns away from me.

That isn't what he wanted to hear.

Tears press against my eyes and a sob escapes my throat. Kaine abruptly opens his eyes to look at me and he relaxes his tense muscles, taking a step forward.

"I'm sorry, Madeline. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"It's not your fault. It's all of this." I wave my hands. "This marriage alliance. The whole six months thing. It's all too much."

Kaine puts his arms around me and pulls me into his embrace. It reminds me too much of our kiss yesterday, but his touch is comforting. I allow him to wrap me in his arms. I lean my head into his chest and I squeeze him around the middle. We stay like that for a long time before Kain tugs me over to the loveseat. We both take a seat.

"Talk to me," he says, not pulling me into his embrace for a second time.

I take a deep breath. "Did you know that succubi are really picky about who they marry?"

He shakes his head. "No. I admit, I don't know much about succubi and incubi society."

I sniff. "Usually, a succubus will date for a long time. Even for us, marriage is a forever thing. So, it's not unusual for a succubus to date an incubus for a couple of years. They want to be sure before taking the step of marriage."

"Do you really need that long to decide?" Kaine asks. "I've never been married before, but it seems like that is something you should just know after only a few dates."

"Maybe." I shrug. "But it's just the way succubi and incubi society works."

"Do you want a couple of years to date before marriage?"

I nod then shake my head. "Yes. No. I don't know. I honestly don't know what to do. I don't know what is right or wrong when it comes to this situation. It's overwhelming."

"And I made things worse for you." Kaine rubs a hand at the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I promise that I will be supportive of your relationship with Prince Damek. Even I can admit, that he's a good candidate. His clan is probably the strongest one to offer an alliance. Your marriage will mend ties between our clans, which is something we need."

My heart feels lighter at his words.

Kaine approves.

He sighs. "And I promise to keep things friendly between us. No kissing. No fake dating. No embraces. We'll just be friends. I'm your advisor. Anything more than friendship would be inappropriate."

I wipe at the tears on my face. "I'm okay with us being friends."

Friendship is more than we've had before now. Our relationship has always been more… antagonistic. This is better than anything I could've hoped for.

"Damek will make a good husband for you," Kaine says, after another long pause. "He's already in love with you."

I shake my head. "No, he's not."

"Madeline, the guy argued with his father, the king, to give you time. If it were up to him, the wedding would be next week. He's doing it for you." Kaine gives me a pointed look. "As jealous as I am, I can still admit that he will be good to you. He'll be good for you."

He's jealous.

Of course he is. He told me he has feelings for me. And as curious as I am after the kiss we shared yesterday, I know that Kaine is right. Damek does care for me, though I'm not sure it's love quite yet. And he will make a good husband.