Chapter 12
Negotiations
Amelia stood behind Carolyn’s chair as I entered the princess’s sitting room. The kid smelled happy and content with life, which I took to mean she enjoyed her new role as the princess’s handmaiden. She waved enthusiastically as I sat down, instead of running over to say hello.
Rupert, Keeper of the Eastern Gate, gently grabbed Amelia’s wrist for breaking etiquette and lower her hand. She stuck her tongue out at him, breaking it again which made me chuckle.
Our bond was much stronger than when I’d gone to sleep, but it no longer seemed to be growing stronger. Amelia’s presence had been the first I’d detected, and I’d felt it a day before they arrived. It had taken all my self-control not to pick Kathrine up and run towards her when she appeared at the edge of my awareness. I knew if she was here, then Davina would be too.
The bond we shared was not like my other bonds and I didn’t know what to make of it. I felt no attachment to her or need to use her. She seemed exempt from my influence and darker tendencies, despite how useful she could be to me. She was an oddity which I didn’t need to find an explanation for.
Princess Carolyn’s scent held none of the anger that it had in when we last saw each other. It had been five months, and with Davina’s help, she seemed to have come to terms with what happened to her family. She didn’t like me, but the unrestrained hatred was no longer there.
Her expression remained guarded as she took me in, weighing what she saw. “I’m told you’re enrolling me at Darksmith.”
“I am.”
“I want something in return for my silence.”
Rupert, Keeper of the Eastern Gate, and Carolyn’s spymaster smirked at me, enjoying finally having power over me. Carolyn knew what I was, and things would become awkward for me if this became public knowledge. While killing her was an option, it still wasn’t an effective one, or a good one. For now, I had to play nice, even though she was working against me.
It was obvious that the reason Carolyn had chosen to come here was because it would allow her father to lay a trap for when I returned to my resting place. This plan didn’t interfere with her guards’ oaths as no one was helping her try to escape. The trap the king set might even be able to free her, considering how much time he had to work with.
“What do you want?” I asked, willing to make some concessions.
“I want you to sign a betrothal contract between your son and I.”
Rupert’s smile vanished, clearly not hearing the request he thought he would. Carolyn had just turned sixteen and Luke was twenty-seven, which made her request very amusing to me.
“I’m not sure you are allowed to negotiate your own marriage contract, princess.”
“I’ve been informed you gained a royal bloodline, making you vampire royalty and your son a prince.”
Angelica.
I’d read Arcadia’s laws, and I got where Carolyn was going with this. “Because he’s technically royalty, you can negotiate your own marriage with him or with his father.”
She nodded.
“Why do you want to marry my son?”
“She likes his butt,” Amelia blurted out, before erupting in a giggle fit.
Carolyn blushed as she turned and glared at her handmaiden.
“What! You do.”
I smirked. “I’ve been informed she ogles it every chance she gets.”
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Carolyn’s embarrassment became mortification as Amelia giggled while nodding her head enthusiastically. This was not going the way Carolyn planned. When she looked to Rupert for help, she saw no sympathy or help waiting.
She was on her own.
“Why do you want to marry my son?”
A lifetime time of etiquette training let her meet my gaze, despite her being beet red. “He has my family’s bloodline constitution which assures it will be passed on to our children. He also doesn’t covet the throne or seek power, so I won’t have to worry about strife within our household.”
Those were good reasons for a political marriage, but not good reasons to let her marry my son. “I want my son’s wife to like him for more than just his political goals and bloodline. Now, why do you honestly want to marry, Luke?”
She paused as if choosing her words carefully. “Luke has nothing but love for you and his sister. I’ve never seen anyone care about their family as much as he does. I want to be cared for that way, and I know he’s capable of doing so.”
“And she likes his butt.”
I chuckled. “Good answer.”
Carolyn’s face lit up. “You’ll sign the betrothal contract?”
“The contract won’t give you what you want. Love doesn’t work that way. You have to show someone you’re worthy of their love and then hope that they want to love you. You can’t force it.”
Rupert cleared his throat.
Carolyn frowned at my statement, but indicated he could speak.
“Political marriages can involve the sharing of love potions.”
I was aware of that. Love potions didn’t make someone a slave or have romantic attachment. It just made them love the other person as much as the person they loved the most. Kings occasionally shared them when they signed treaties so that they would treat each other like the person they cared for the most.
I met Rupert’s gaze. “I will make sure the princess dies within the day if she manages to make my son unknowingly share a love potion with her.”
Killing her would void the love they shared. Rupert wanted me to make my position clear so that the oath her guards took to protect her would force them to make sure she didn’t have access. He wasn’t helping her marry my son. He was stopping a teenage girl, who’s orders he had to follow, from doing something foolish.
He gave me the briefest of smiles. “If you indirectly threaten the princess again, I will remove you from her presence vampire.”
I turned back to the princess. “I won’t sign a betrothal contract. However, my son is about to become my apprentice. As he’s not even at the advanced tier of magic yet and I don’t have the time to teach him, he’s in need of a private magical tutor. One who is aware of how his bloodline will help him. Anyone who was willing to teach him would have the perfect opportunity to get to know him and build a closer relationship.”
Carolyn began to smile again. “Lessons every night after classes, no exceptions.”
“Three nights a week and I’ll make sure your guards can’t attend.”
Rupert glared at me.
“Five nights a week, no guards, and no handmaiden.”
“Four nights a week, no guards, no handmaiden, and I’ll arrange things so you can train with him with his shirt off for an entire lesson.”
“Deal.”
Your negotiate skill has reached level 10
***
Headmaster Wink greeted me at the door to his office, smiling and holding a glass of wine. “How’s my favourite occult studies professor doing?” He waved for me to follow, and we both took a seat at his desk.
He’d been referring to me this way ever since I’d handed over Gorgath’s first tuition payment. Darksmith wasn’t strapped for cash, but the immediate doubling of the academy’s tuition for teaching one more student, who had been a model student, kept Wink in a perpetual good mood. Each additional core he received improved this mood further. We were finally getting paid a decent wage.
“Better,” I said. I meant it to. Kathrine was on the road to recovery.
“What can I do for you today?”
“I need a favour.”
He groaned. “What’s her name and how far along is she.”
“It’s not that sort of favour.”
He groaned again. “Please don’t tell me you eloped with a noble. There is only so much I can protect you from, Vincent.”
“I’m not sleeping with one of my students.”
His face fell. “Oh, no. How many? And how many of them know about each other?”
“This has nothing to do with any of the students.”
“Thank goodness. Please continue being discrete. I understand everyone involved are adults and that you’re a very attractive man, but the school has a reputation to protect. If people knew a professor had a harem it would look bad for us.”
I decided to ignore his comments. “Look, I came here because I have three underage sorcerers who would like to apply to join Darksmith.”
He frowned. “Three.”
“Yes.”
“How old?”
“Between sixteen and eighteen.”
“Do they meet our requirements?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not sure why you brought this to me. My assistant could have dealt with this.”
“One of them is Carolyn Ironheart, heir to the throne of Arcadia. She’s demanding we perform her and her friends’ assessments tomorrow morning.”
He groaned. “I’ll begin the paperwork.”