Page 58 of Vicious Kings
The dark-haired man, who must be Professor Locke Drakiss, leans forward, those obsidian eyes dissecting me layer by layer. "Curious timing, your arrival at Valemyre."
Straight to the punch with this one.
"Not really." I sink into the obscenely plush seating when Tallon guides me down, trying not to let it show how the cushions threaten to swallow me whole. "The Shepherdwanted me gone. The university wanted a new omega. Simple transaction."
"Nothing involving the Moreau clan is ever simple," Drakiss says with a dismissive edge in his voice.
I keep my expression bland. Of course they know who I am. The whole fucking campus knows by now. The hunter's daughter turned omega to be whored out to the Fae who bids the highest. But that doesn't mean they know why I'm really here. It can't.
"The Moreau clan doesn't exist for me anymore," I say, injecting just enough bitterness to sell it. "They made that clear when they threw me out like garbage."
Tallon's hand brushes my shoulder in a touch meant to be comforting, probably, but it sends an unwanted shiver down my spine. "I can't imagine how awful that was for you."
"It was illuminating." I smile stiffly. "Twenty years of being told I'd amount to something special, only to find out I'm just another breeder for the Fae to collect."
Corvinus laughs, but there's no humor in the sound. More like the same horror I saw from the headmaster when I recounted my sordid little tale. "Just another breeder? My dear, you're far more interesting than that."
He rises from his seat with catlike grace, moving closer until he's standing directly in front of me. This close, his beauty is almost painful to look at, like staring into the sun.
Ifthe sun was an arrogant asshole who murdered people.
"A hunter raised from birth to kill the Fae, transformed into the very thing we covet most." His fingers ghost under my chin, tilting my face up toward him. "The irony is delicious."
Every instinct screams at me to snap his wrist, to headbutt that perfect nose, to grab the decorative letter opener on the side table and see how far I can shove it into his eye socket. But I stay still, letting him study me like I'm some exotic pet he's considering for purchase.
"I could make your time at Valemyre very comfortable," he says, and his thumb traces along my jaw. "A private suite in the claimed omega wing. Protection from the more...aggressivestudents Tallon tells me you've been having trouble with."
My gaze slides over to the shifter, who smiles patiently as he sips his wine, as if he's waiting for the prince to close the deal. A foregone conclusion.
That's why he brought me here. Because Corvinus is bored with the endless options at his beck and call and wants his novelty.
"You'd have access to resources your current scholarship could never provide," Prince Corvinus continues. "All you have to do is say yes."
My stomach churns. This is it. This is what I came for. Say yes, you fucking idiot. Say yes and get close enough to?—
"In exchange for what?" The words that come out of my mouth certainly don't sound like a yes. They're also dripping with sarcasm. "Being your pet?"
Oops.
His smile widens, showing teeth that are just a little too sharp. Not as sharp as Caelyx's, though, and only the one set. "If you wish to call it that."
"You collar omegas and dress them in frilly pink bullshit," I say flatly, because evidently this is my version of being charming. You work with what you have, and what I have is mommy issues and unbridled feminine rage. "What else would you call it?"
"Such a crude term." Corvinus releases my chin, circling behind me like a shark. "Think of it as a mutually beneficial arrangement. You get protection and privilege. I get the novelty of a hunter on a leash, who just so happens to be an omega."
The rage that floods through me is so intense I see red. This fucking prick. This arrogant, entitled piece of shit who killed mymother and ruined my life wants to parade me around like a trophy. The word is out before I can stop it.
"No."
Oops again.
"No?" Corvinus repeats, like he's genuinely never heard the word before.
"I said no." I stand, needing to not be surrounded by them, needing space to breathe. "Find another omega to play dress-up with. I'm sure Isabella would cream herself for the opportunity."
Tallon makes a choking sound that might be suppressed laughter. Or he's aspirating on his sparkly drink. Locke's expression doesn't change, but his energy gets even stormier.
Corvinus just looks... amused.
