25. The third option

25

THE THIRD OPTION

W hile waiting for my rescue, I explore the room.

It's a very large room—as big as my room at my father's estate. The carpet is plush and feels soft against my bare feet.

Speaking of my feet, I find my heels sitting at the end of the bed. Whoever placed me down took them off my feet, which is creepy. At least I'm still wearing my puffy gown from the night before. My hair is now slightly disheveled with a matted chunk of dried blood where I was hit in the head. My tiara is missing, but other than that I look surprisingly well.

I glance out the window. The view is nice, with rolling hills that expand for miles. I bet it's gorgeous in the summer months when everything is green and lush.

I step back when I hear movement in the hallway. A moment later, the door to my room is pushed open and Lucas walks through. I fight to keep my heart rate steady, but my stomach plummets when his pale green eyes lock onto me.

Gone is the cold look from last night. He's grinning, like all is right in the world. All it does is confirm that Prince Lucas is, in fact, a psychopath. "Ah, you're up."

I lace my fingers together behind my back, watching him with a careful expression.

"Have you had a chance to give our discussion last night any further thought?" he asks.

"Our discussion?"

He steps closer. "Are you going to call off your engagement to Prince Damek and instead announce your intention to marry me? Of course, six months is too long. A week should be more an ample amount of time for our engagement."

I keep my mouth shut, not wanting to shout at him that I'd never marry him. But my rescue hasn't arrived quite yet and I don't want to make him angry. I'm not sure I could fight him off. I've never fought a full vampire before.

He loses his smug smile as he looks at me. "Princess Madeline, you have two options. Marriage or the dungeons. Which will it be?"

"I choose the third option," I say, unable to keep my mouth shut. I will not allow this guy to threaten me.

"Third option?" He raises an eyebrow.

"I stay betrothed to Damek and you let me and my brother go." I put my hands on my hips and level him with a glare. "Because there is no way that I am marrying you."

"The dungeons it is." The hard, cold look from last night is back. It's a look that promises pain.

Prince Lucas moves toward me with his vamp speed. I move out of the way in time to miss a kick to my side and land a punch to his jaw. I move out of the way again, before he can land a hit.

Am I… faster than him?

It's clear from our movements that I am, but it surprises me. I didn't imagine I could ever match the strength or speed of a full blooded vampire. I'm just a hybrid.

I feel my magic reach out to Prince Lucas and he abruptly stops fighting. The cold look from his eyes are gone and he watches me with a soft expression.

What is going on? Is he trying to lull me into a false sense of security? But I recognize his expression. It's one I've seen hundreds of times… on humans.

Did I… no… there is no way that I used my succubus magic to enthrall him. My magic isn't strong enough for that. But the longer he looks at me with a lovesick expression, the more I think that I was dead wrong when I thought my succubus magic wasn't strong. For me to be able to enthrall a supernatural like this, my magic has to be very strong. Possibly stronger than even my cousins.

"I'm going to go now," I tell him.

He nods slowly. "Okay."

I walk right past him and out the door that is now unlocked. As I walk past servants and guards, I get several looks, but nobody tries to stop me as I head to the front door of the mansion. Just as I'm about to reach the doors, they are thrown open with a loud thunk. Damek is the first to walk through and I meet him halfway as guards rush into the home. I'm flanked by no less than ten guards while the rest make their way through the mansion.

"Maddie, are you okay?" Damek's eyes roam me, looking for any injury. He stiffens as he smells the dried blood on me. "You're injured."

I point to my head. "They hit me over the head to knock me out, but it's already healing."

His shoulders stay stiff.

"I'm okay." I put my hands on his arms. "I managed to get away from Prince Lucas."

He pulls me into his arms and squeezes me against him. The move feels comforting and sweet. I find myself leaning into him and letting him take the bulk of my weight.

"We need to get out of here. Our forces are going to check the dungeons for Lucien."

I stiffen when I hear Julien's voice behind me. I turn to face my younger brother. "Why are you here?"

He cocks an eyebrow. "You think I'd stay at home while Dad and the forces came to rescue you?"

I smack his arm. "Yes. Because you should be safe at home."

Damek puts his hand on my lower back. "You can fight with your brother later. We really should be going now."

I notice our guards make a complete circle around us. They're ready for us to leave too.

As we head out the front doors of the estate, I glance back at the beautiful home that I was held captive at. I can't help but think about what happened today. I used my succubus magic for the first time and I enthralled a supernatural.

No, not just a supernatural. I enthralled a vampire prince . It's something that should have been impossible. I've never heard of any succubi or incubi enthralling a monarch. Most of them aren't even capable of enthralling other supernaturals, only humans.

I also used my vampire powers and I was faster than Prince Lucas. That can't be normal. But when Damek slips his hand into mine and laces our fingers together, I focus my attention on him instead of whatever just happened. I can worry about that later. Right now, I need to focus on getting out of here.

"Besides your head, did he hurt you in any way?" Damek asks, his voice deceptively soft. I can still see the anger burning in his eyes as he glances at the dried blood in my hair.

I swallow hard. "No. I'm okay. He didn't hurt me. I woke up in that room alone—that's when I noticed there was a landline phone."

"I'm hurt you didn't call me," Julien pipes in.

"Sorry." I shoot my younger brother a smile. "Damek's number was the only one I could remember."

Damek squeezes my fingers. "What else happened?"

I lick my lips. "I called you and was waiting for you guys to show up. Prince Lucas came into the room—he wanted to see if I had made a decision yet. He gave me a choice to break off my engagement to you and marry him or he said he would put me in the dungeons with Lucien. He tried to fight me, but I don't think he realized how fast I was. I guess he thought I would be weak because I'm a hybrid. I was able to avoid getting hit and I used my succubus powers to enthrall him. He let me walk out of the room while he stood there and watched."

Damek grins. "I'm proud of you."

"I didn't realize your succubus powers were strong enough to enthrall a prince," Julien muses.

"Me either," I admit. "I didn't think my succubus powers were strong at all. I've never seemed to affect anybody except for humans, not that I've ever tried."

"It doesn't matter how it happened," Damek says. "All that matters is that you got away and that you're safe."

"Yeah." I chew on my bottom lip, wondering if his words are true. If I have succubus powers that are this strong, I'm pretty sure it would make a lot of people uncomfortable.

Should I say something to Grandfather? He'd want to know.

"I thought, as a hybrid, my powers would be weaker," I admit.

The guards stop walking. One of them opens the door to an SUV, motioning for Julien, Damek, and me to get inside.

Once we're in, Damek holds my hand again. "I think it depends on the hybrid. You come from two very strong supernatural lines. Isn't your mother an exceptionally strong succubus? And your grandfather is the incubus king."

I nod. "Yeah, but I've never had particularly strong succubus magic. My vampire powers are dominant. They always have been."

Julien turns so that he's facing me. "Maybe it just happened because of the stress of the situation."

"Maybe," I say, though I'm not convinced.

I lean back in my seat as the SUV takes off. There is one SUV in front of us and one behind us. Likely our guards.

"Where is Dad?" I ask Julien.

"He, Kaine, King Rune, and the rest of the guards are going to search the Nodin Estate for Lucien," Julien answers.

My heart lurches. "Is it safe?"

Julien chuckles. "Did Father not mention how happy he is you chose to tie yourself to a member of the Rune Clan? Trust me, they'll be safe."

I raise an eyebrow at him, but he doesn't say anything else. I turn to Damek, hoping he will explain.

Damek rubs a hand at the scruff on his jaw. "My family is particularly strong. My great-great grandfather and my great grandfather both were pretty ruthless. I'm not proud of it, but our clan merged with quite a few others. We have the biggest vampire clan on the continent. I believe there are a few clans in Europe that have bigger clans than us."

"He says it like they were power hungry, but that's not the case." Julien leans forward. "They overtook clans that had horrible reputations. The members of the clan were glad to be overtaken by the Rune Clan."

"It's not that big of a deal." Damek lets go of my hand and instead slips his arm behind my back.

I lean into him, soaking in the knowledge of what they're saying. I begin to relax, but I sit up abruptly as I realize the situation.

"Wait. If they find Lucien, that means I won't be heir anymore." I look at Damek. "Does that mean our engagement will be off?"

Damek shakes his head. "No. You're still the spare. When Lucien comes back, it will make things less complicated. Because the only options without him are that either our clans merge or Julien takes over as heir."

I relax at his words, which surprises me.

Am I… relieved?

Do I want to be engaged to Damek?

"I don't want to be the heir." Julien groans. "Maddie, why couldn't you have chosen another prince? You had so many options."

I snort. "You've met the other options. Damek was the only one I was interested in."

Damek smiles. "And to think, the first time we met, you punched me."

Julien's eyes widen. "WHAT?"