Worse, he’d overheard Ember throwing up earlier as he walked past the bathroom, and she still looked pale and wane.
Not even his own family would deign to speak to him. His mother, father, and siblings were in a corner with Alura’s parents on the opposite side of the room. None of his so-called friends would come near him because it was obvious his parents were taking issue with his actions and his peers lacked the balls to risk displeasing their ruling monarchs in the name of friendship. Or their future ones—which would be his older brother and sister, both of whom were already married. So the odds of Bastien ever sitting on the throne were slim to none. Which was fine by him. Last thing he wanted was to occupy the throne, since the only way to get it would be over the dead bodies of his loved ones.
Though tonight, he wasn’t feeling much love from them.
Open hostility?
Big affirmative there.
And because he had no chance of inheriting, no one else would dare risk displeasing anyone else in his family. That, folks, is why I’ve always been such an unreasonable ass.
Since the day he was born, he’d never held any delusions about the people around him. They were his friends only so long as they could use him to get close to his brother, sister, or parents. He was a means to an end. It was why he’d loved Ember so much. She, alone, hadn’t sought to use him for rank or privelage. In fact, she’d avoided his family and everything to do with royal obligation and ceremony, preferring instead to just spend time alone with him.
And he’d cherished every last moment of it.
But those days were gone. Alura adored her new position in his family. She was lapping up her role as visira like a starving cat in a creamery.
Dear gods, what have I unleashed?
Sighing, Bastien wished Fain Hauk was here. His Andarion drinking buddy wouldn’t give two flips about what the royal family thought. Or anyone else.
Unfortunately, the Andarion War Hauks had a bad history with the eton Anatoles. And the ruling eton Anatoles were Bastien’s cousins through his maternal uncle’s spawning twin sons with the Andarion heiress. So while Bastien was a loyal friend to Fain Hauk, Bastien’s cousin Jullien eton Anatole had taken preference for the wedding invite.
Besides, he liked Jullien.
“Wow. Someone who’s a bigger leper than I am. Never thought I’d live to see the day. I am impressed, Bas. Truly an incredible feat for Bastien Aros Cabarro, handsome baby boy genius.”
Speak of the devil.…
Igorning Jullien’s use of the irksome nickname Bastien’s mother had given him in childhood, he turned to find his half-Andarion cousin standing behind him. Damn, for such a humongous bastard Jullien could move even more silently than the best-trained League assassin. It was a most unnerving trait.
But at least one person wasn’t shunning him. Mostly because Jullien, being half human and half Andarion, was used to everyone fleeing at his approach. As if he’d had a choice in his birthright. He couldn’t help his mixed heritage, any more than Jullien was responsible for the fact that humans and Andarions had been at war for most of their history. Yet both races held it against the prince as if he was personally responsible for all their sins.
Bastien had always felt bad for his cousin over the way he was treated. Had always gone out of his way to be nice to him. ’Cause if the truth were known, he preferred Jullien over his own siblings most days. While Jullien could be a bit standoffish and blunt, he was highly intelligent and had an honest, offbeat sense of humor that Bastien appreciated. It was a breath of fresh air amidst the courtiers who practiced duplicity and lies in all things.
At least with his cousin, he always knew where he stood and what Jullien thought.
“Good to see you, Julie.”
Jullien snorted before he made a grand gesture of fluffing the lace at his left cuff. “Appreciate that bald lie when we both know I’m as welcome here as a lethal STD in a whorehouse.”
Which was exactly how Bastien felt at present. He laughed at the perfect description for the two of them.
Jullien stumbled a bit and Bastien sighed at his poor cousin. Even with those dark red glasses covering half his face, it was obvious Jullien was flying high on something that was most likely illegal in every known system. He probably wouldn’t even remember being here, and that broke Bastien’s heart for him. As Jullien had said, he was ever a leper, and most of their family cursed his name the moment they saw him approaching.
It was so bad and frequent that Jullien often introduced himself as “Dammit Jullien” to people as a joke.
But Bastien didn’t see a hybrid human-Andarion bastard in front of him. All he saw was family.
So what if Julie had a set of fangs and human eyes with Andarion features. That had never mattered to him. He didn’t judge folks on their looks.