The Silver Eyed Prince (Highest Royal Coven of Europe) (39 page)

“Did they ever find them?” Carlos asked.

“No. That was seventeen years ago and to this day, no one knows where they are or what had happened to the Queen and her unborn child.”

Elizabeth began making calcul
ations in her head. So many things couldn't all be a coincidence.
Seventeen years ago—, that was in 1994, the year she was born. The black pearl, the mark on her nape, Elizabeth Gwendolyn—, her mother's name, her father's absence—, which her mother never satisfactorily explained . . .

“What about King Edmund Royce?” Debbie Parks asked, startling Elizabeth back to the discussion. “Wha
tever happened to him?”

“He was so disheartened that he went into secl
usion. King Tristan frequently visited and consoled him, but to no avail. It was a sad, dark time for the Highest Royal Coven of Europe. Eventually, after four years, the Supreme Royal Council asked King Edmund Royce to step down and crown his successor. By this time, the Queen was presumed dead and her title had been relegated to Duchess.”

“K-King Edmund Royce—” Elizabeth swallowed the mass that bunched in her throat. “I-is he still alive?”

“Yes, but nothing much was heard from him after he retired.”

“Who succeeded him?” Bret Kline asked.

“His first cousin, King William James the Thirteenth, who visited in 1894 with his wife and newborn child, whom we now know as Prince William Erik the Fourteenth, sole heir to the throne.”

Elizabeth covered her mouth as a sudden onslaught of nausea churned in her gut. All at once, the pieces of the puzzle comprising her life fit i
nto place. She had just discovered that she was the Pure One and undoubtedly, she was the unborn daughter of King Edmund Royce at the time her mother, Queen Elizabeth Gwendolyn, was abducted. Prince William, obviously, was her destiny—, her Twin Flame. He had come to America
specifically
to find her.

Her mother and the school administrators apparen
tly knew this all along—, which accounted for that private meeting with Sir Henry and his Councilors. It was all a set-up. Everything was premeditated, manipulated, and intended to produce the outcome that everyone—, including the Prince, had anticipated.

As for herself, she knew nothing except the lies she'd been fed. Every single freaking thing was a fabr
ication from her identity, to the love she so foolishly thought Prince William reciprocated, which turned out to mean nothing—
nothing,
but a fulfillment of his obligation. To make matters worse, she suddenly realized in dismay, they were
second cousins!
She vaguely recalled what her friends told her, about how European Royals intermarried only within their clans to preserve their pure breed.
Royals are zero percent human,
Ben had said,
human stuff does not apply to their equation
.

A mixture of confusion, anger, and betrayal boiled in the marrow of her bones. She was so enraged that her hands began to tremble and hot tears pricked her eyes.

Why did her mom do this? Lie to her—, not just once, but many times, over the years? And why did William hide the truth from her, made her fall in love with him, fool her into believing that he loved her just the way she was, against all odds, when in reality, he simply needed her as a necessity to revive his clan!

She propped her elbows on her desk and covered her face with shaking hands, stifling a sob. Did she rea
lly believe that a Prince like him would fall for a nobody like her? What a gullible dumbass she had been!

“Elizabeth.” Lela touched her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

She drew a deep breath and nodded, dragging her palms across her eyes to wipe the tears that had slipped away, and catching a glimpse of her friends standing around her in the empty room. In her absorption with her misery, she didn't even hear the bell ring or notice the class had ended.

“Are you sure?” Carlos said from behind her chair.

She nodded again, unable to talk, swiping frantically at the tears that wouldn't stop coming.

Ben tucked a pink hanky in her hand and rubbed her back. “There, there, tell us. What's the matter? What can we do to help you?”

“C-can you guys give me a ride home?” She hiccupped, gathering her things.

“Isn't Prince William picking you up?” Lela asked.

“Y-yes, but I don't want to see him.” She stood up and slung her bag on her shoulder.

“Why, what happened?” Carlos asked.

“He lied to me. He doesn't love me. I was so stupid, I thought . . .” She shuddered and choked on a sob.

Ben, Lela, and Carlos exchanged glances and pulled her into a group hug, ceasing to ask any more que
stions.

“You're not stupid for falling for him,” Ben said. “He's charming and gorgeous and you're not blind—, he is. You're a good, smart, beautiful girl, and he's an idiot if he can't see that.” 

“He wanted me to go to England with him.” She dabbed the corners of her eyes with the hanky.

“Wait—, I’m confused,”
Ben exclaimed. “If he wanted you to go with him to England, then what makes you think he's not serious about you?”

Elizabeth exhaled heavily. “It's a long, complicated story. I really should've listened to you guys when you warned me. Chad even told me to be careful but . . .” She suddenly wished that Chad was around so she could hide in the security of his arms.

“Don't beat yourself up over it,” Lela said, urging her to the door and into the corridor. “You guys seemed perfectly fine when he dropped you off and we have no idea what upset you in the two hours we were in class. But just so you know—, we're here when you're ready to talk about it, okay?” 

Elizabeth bit her lip and croaked, “Okay,” thankful for having good friends who stood by her no matter what. Then, she belatedly realized with a sinking fee
ling—, that like her, the web of lies surrounding who she truly was also deceived them.

On Love and Trust

       Prince William sped through the gates of Darian Hall earlier than usual. He had finished all his obligations for the day in anticipation of their trip to England in the morning.

A new red Camaro passed just as he neared the parking lot and in that split-second. He caught Eliz
abeth's scent. He cursed, swerved his car, and gave chase.

It took only a moment for the Prince's powerful v
ehicle to cut off the car Carlos was driving, forcing him to pull over on the side of the road before reaching the main exit gates.

He slammed the door to his car and stalked towards the Camaro with a marked frown. “Where are you g
oing?” he barked, as he yanked open the door next to Elizabeth's seat. “Didn't I tell you I was going to pick you up?”

Elizabeth glanced at her friends. “Can you guys wait for me?” she said, before stepping out.

“Sure,” Ben said. “Carlos, lock the doors and close the windows. This is going to be war.”

Prince William felt an instant sense of foreboding as soon as he laid eyes on Elizabeth. She was very, very angry and though he wouldn’t let hi
mself delve into her thoughts, somewhere in the back of his mind, he already knew what the reason was.

“I'm not coming with you to England.” She regar
ded him with cold, distant eyes, far different from the girl who had just kissed him goodbye a few hours ago.

“Why?” His gloom deepened.

“You know why!” Tears sprang in her eyes. “Don't pretend you're clueless! I know why you wanted me to go with you!”

“Elizabeth—” He made a move t
owards her.

“Don't!” She recoiled from him. “Don't you dare touch me.”

“Elizabeth, listen to me—,” He stymied the spiraling panic in his gut and took another step closer. This couldn't be happening—, not now, not when everything was going perfectly.

“No—you listen to me!” She held up her hands and backed away. “You misled me. I trusted you and you lied to me!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” His heart pulsated with apprehension.

“You made me believe you loved me!” she cried, flushed with fury, chest heaving with each labored breath. “And I was so stupid to fall for you. You tricked me to get what you wanted.”

“Damn it, Elizabeth!” his own rage spilled from his tongue with a loathsome, bitter taste. “I did no such thing.”

“Oh yes, you did!” She narrowed her eyes and he saw the hurt and betrayal in their depths. “I was gull
ible and you took advantage of me. You were after me for a reason—, so you can breed your clan of Pure Bloods.”

“Yes, but that is my—,
our
destiny!” he bellowed, the mounting pressure in his chest slowly suffocating him. “The entire clan of the Highest Royal Coven of Europe is counting on us, and I intend to see to it that the Purification will not fail this time around.”

“Exactly,” she spat. “You courted me so I would agree to your plans. So you could bring me home, your prized Pure One, ready and willing to breed like a frea
king dog!”

“That is not true!” he retorted with equivalent i
ncandescence. “I wooed you because I loved you. I could have just ordered my men to drag you back to England, but I did not. I wanted us to get to know each other, become friends, then from there, fall in love—, like Papa and Mama.”

“Your parents' love for each other is genuine, Wi
lliam. Not some prearranged match influenced by duty and destiny. There's a difference!”

The profound disillusionment in her face and the perfidy in her eyes siphoned the very air in his lungs. He suddenly felt haggard and accountable. In a quiet, i
mploring voice, he said the only thing he knew in his heart was true. “What I feel for you is real, Elizabeth. I truly do love you.”

“I don't believe you!” she shrieked. “If we met u
nder the usual circumstances—, you, the Prince, sole heir to the throne, and I, just a girl from the Tainted wing—, would you even be aware that I existed? Would you even notice me in the crowd?”

Her rejection felt as if a wedge had slashed straight into his core, the fissure widening with every breath he took. “Why are you doing this to us? You are my Pure One and I am your Twin Flame.”

“What if I wasn't? What then, William? Would you still love me?” She tilted her chin up with a challenging glare.

He stopped to look at her—, really look at her. She was slipping away from his fingers. He was losing her. He opened his mouth to talk, to argue his case, but the determined set of her mouth forbade him.

Her voice broke the awkward silence. “You are not in love with me, William. You are in love with the
idea
of fulfilling your duty to your clan.”

The scalding rebuke scorched a raw nerve. “If that is what you think, then, you don't really know me.” He clenched his jaw to thwart the disco
nsolate sense of loss that swiftly invaded his entire being.

“No, I don't.” She shook her head. “In fact, I don't even recognize y
ou. The guy I fell in love with was William Erik Darkcross, not the conniving Prince who would do anything to entice a naive female into his lair, so he could use her like an animal to breed his precious offspring!” She turned away and covered her face with her hands, weeping with such ruefulness, that his heart shattered with the pain he had inadvertently caused her.

As she stood sobbing and disheveled before him, once again, he saw the sad, confused girl, he had held in his arms not long ago in that dark creek, who was lonely and frightened.

“Elizabeth—” He reached out, wanting so badly to comfort her, tell her how sorry he was, and how much he loved her.

“Don't.” She flicked his hand away. “Please—, just go.”

“Elizabeth, you don't understand—” he persevered, though he didn't have an idea what to do or how to handle the situation, much less fix it, or undo it—, anything that would earn her trust again.

“Understand what?” She riveted glittering, swollen eyes at him. “You already told me once before—, you came here to find me. Now I know the reason why. I don't need any more explan
ations.”

“Please don’t do this,” he rasped, unable to hide the desperation in his voice.

She inhaled sharply and straightened with a steely glint in her eyes. He could almost physically see the walls she surrounded herself with, rising between them all over again.

“I'm done, Your Highness.” She bowed her head and curtsied, expres
sing deference, but her tone had a hint of defiance. “Thank you for giving me the honor of your company in the last few weeks, in spite of your busy schedule.” She turned and strode towards her waiting friends in the car, not giving him a chance to respond.

Stunned and speechless, he watched helplessly as the car drove away, leaving him in a cloud of settling dust. His strong-willed Elizabeth had toppled his world from its axis, t
ogether with every plan and dream he'd carefully charted for the two of them.

For the first time in his life, he felt powerless. His connections, his wealth, not even the magnitude of his rank mattered to her.
Her human nature—, the side that possessed
principles
he could not comprehend, had prevailed. What was it she needed that he has not given?