Prince of Shadows Read Free

massive stone fireplace set in a wall of glass. He was flanked by his three eldest sons: James, Wesley, and Cale.
    In their expensive black suits, white shirts, and silk ties, with the arrogant wink of diamond ear studs, his heirs were every bit as impressive as the view. To Kendra, their adornments were like sparkly rhinestone collars on pit bulls. The flash couldn’t distract from what they were: the most brutal killers imaginable. Their presence filled her with apprehension. She kept her focus on Bram as she approached, a lamb to the lion.
    “My king, how fine you look today.”
    He gave a big ribald laugh. “I look like hell and am probably dying, but I’m still vain enough to like hearing lies from pretty girls.”
    Kendra hadn’t seen him up close for some time and was frankly startled by his deterioration. A huge, torso-heavy man with a mane of red hair, he’d spent his lifetime indulging in every possible vice, because he could. Apparently, those fleshy pleasures had caught up to him. His skin was sallow, his once piercing eyes almost filmy. There was wetness in his faint gasps for air. Whatever was eating at him, Kendra hoped it was horribly painful and of irreversible progression. She took the hand he offered with its excess of gaudy rings and placed a dutiful kiss upon it. She kept her gaze lowered, fearing that if she glanced up, she’d find him ogling down the front of her dress. The feel of his clammy skin was repulsive enough.
    “You honor me with your attention, my king.”
    “It’s been an honor having you placed in my care.”
    Over the corpses of my family . Teeth gritted, she kept her reply mild. “You’ve been very kind and generous. And patient.”
    “My concern for you is the reason I’ve called you here.” A sudden wracking cough made him pause; he began again with a slight wheeze. “I’m being unpleasantly reminded that I’m not immortal. I need to make sure our clan is entrusted to the right hands. I have eight eligible sons. All would make strong leaders if they had you beside them.”
    Kendra almost dropped to her knees as they went traitorously weak. Time’s up . Her breath caught as he continued.
    “I have four bonded sons who have fine mates, but none of them would be my choice as queen. You’re the one I would have seated next to my successor.”
    Her thoughts scrambled desperately. “I have no political pull, no experience.”
    He cut her off. “You have sentimental ties to my people. They’d rally behind you no matter which of my sons you picked. Your father was beloved by our clan. He was a great man, with many friends.”
    Her shock and distress loosened a tongue she ought to have held. “Then perhaps you shouldn’t have killed him.”
    Her soft words echoed in the room like the sound of a trapdoor dropping out from under her feet. Kendra could see her death in the widening surprise and slow furious narrowing of Bram’s eyes. The fact that he refrained from immediate retaliation had her wondering if she held some degree of power after all.
    “One makes mistakes that are later regretted,” he told her with careful control. “I plan to amend that by bonding you to one of my sons.”
    Cale stepped forward with a quick “I demand the right of first claim.”
    Startled, Kendra glanced his way. His tightly leashed intensity reminded her that behind the civilized veneer, a barely restrained attack dog quivered at the end of its chain. She had no doubt that, if released by a word from his father, he would take her to the floor right then and there to seal the deal for that coveted place on the throne.
    Bram chuckled. “I’m sure you do. But you’ll wait your turn, just as your brothers will have to. The decision is hers. Step back and be silent.”
    Cale inclined his head slightly, withdrawing to stand beside his siblings, though his coiled focus never wavered. His stare remained fixed upon her.
    Bram offered an apologetic smile, saying, “Boys,” with an