Jules spent the next few days jumping at every little sound, scared that Uncle Wayne had found out about his visit to the basement. What if they noticed that someone had used a blood stancher on the Xeus? Jules could only hope they’d think it was the Xeus’s superior healing at work.But as three days passed without any trouble, Jules relaxed—enough to start considering going back.He knew it was crazy. It was a miracle he hadn’t gotten caught last time. He shouldn’t tempt fate again.But he had promised. Not to mention his own curiosity wouldn’t let him forget about the Xeus. Who was he? Why was he locked up in their basement? What did his uncle want with him?Okay, research time. He needed to research it. Or rather, he needed Eric to research it for him. Jules wasn’t the smart Blake brother, after all. He liked to think he was fairly intelligent, but he wasn’t embarrassed to admit that his bab

They decided to turn the plan into action the very same evening. Liam was having doubts, but Jules convinced him that they should do it while their uncle wasn’t home. They might not get another chance like this anytime soon.So Jules huddled in the cupboard near the basement, waiting for Liam to do his part.He didn’t have to wait long.Soon enough, there were Liam’s panicked shouts and then the sounds of people in heavy boots running past the cupboard.Then everything went quiet.His heart pounding, Jules got out of the cupboard and quickly headed to the basement. He had no idea how much time he had: probably ten minutes, if he was lucky. It should be enough. It had to be. Hopefully the guards wouldn’t think to check on their prisoner—they rarely seemed to—so Jules hoped they wouldn’t find out that the Xeus was missing until the morning. And hopefully no one would notice that Jules was missing, too.

Inner Core Planet Calluvia   “It was the only choice, Haydn.” Prince Haydn Schaefer pursed his lips, still looking at the unconscious man in the hospital bed. “Was it?” he said quietly. “We had to act without his consent.” “Because he was in no state to give it,” his husband said, taking his hand and squeezing it. Haydn turned his head and smiled weakly at Royce, his smile turning more genuine as his husband’s gaze held his. It was a little embarrassing that just looking into Royce’s dark eyes affected him like this. Everything felt magically better when Royce was close and looking at him. “I know,” Haydn said with a sigh, putting his head on Royce’s shoulder and deeply inhaling his familiar scent. It comforted him. “But Dr. Jordan said this procedure was too risky. What if he doesn’t remember anything when he wakes up?” Royce dropped a kiss on top of his head. “Then we’ll help him remember. At least he’s back to n

Twenty-four years ago He was fighting again.Ilona could only watch it through the window, biting her lip hard every time someone managed to land a punch on him. One small, six-year-old boy against seven older boys was hardly a fair fight, but of course no one interfered. No one ever did. Devlin’s position at the court was too precarious for anyone to interfere. He might be the king’s “nephew,” but most of the court strongly suspected that he wasn’t really Princess Lina’s son. It wasn’t hard to guess when the princess herself barely acknowledged the boy and kept him in a separate wing of the palace. Only a select few knew the truth: that Devlin was the king’s bastard, the bastard the king didn’t recognize as his son. And to make things worse, the poor boy’s designation only made him a larger target. Being a Xeus was difficult for adults too, but children could be so very cruel, and privileged chi

Devlin Schaefer, the Duke of Westcliff, wasn’t in a very good mood. He had a headache—not a new occurrence ever since he’d woken up on Calluvia to find the previous two months of his life gone from his memory—but this morning it was particularly aggravating. For one very specific reason.“Your Grace, His Majesty is waiting for you.”Devlin gave a clipped nod before walking toward the king’s office. He paused for a moment, reinforcing the bland, neutral expression on his face, and then entered the room.The king wasn’t alone. Austin Cormack, the palace press officer, was there too. He bowed to Devlin, his gaze lowered.King Stefan regarded Devlin with a deep frown, a hint of displeasure in his scent. “Nephew,” he said coldly.Devlin briefly entertained the thought of calling the king Father. He almost laughed out loud.“Your Majesty,” he said instead, as coldly.&l