Riley laughed with genuine humor. “Your jealousy is showing, Lore. I’d be careful if I were you.”

Lauren ignored him this time, swinging her crystal eyes back to Victoria and snapping, “Bring Aden here tomorrow night. Everyone will meet him. Officially.”

And kill him before the fourteen days “ticked away?”

“Yes.” Victoria nodded, but not by word or deed did she reveal her sudden trepidation. “All right. Tomorrow, you shall meet your new king. In the meantime, we shall mourn.”

The conversation ended, everyone properly chastised.

Victoria sighed and peered over at the body of her father. Which meant Aden peered over at her father. He considered the charred remains, speculating about what the king had looked like before. Tall and strong, surely. Had he possessed blue eyes like Victoria? Or green like Stephanie?

Vlad’s fingers curled into a fist.

Aden stilled, sure he’d just hallucinated. And he must have, he rationalized, because Victoria had not seemed to notice the earth-shattering event and he’d watched through her eyes.

Vlad’s fingers uncurled.

Once again, Aden stilled, waiting, gauging, heart thumping against his ribs. He hadn’t imagined that. He couldn’t have imagined that because even as the thought formed, those fingers twitched as if trying to make another fist. Movement, true movement, and movement equaled life. Right?

Why hadn’t Victoria noticed? Why hadn’t anyone? Maybe they were too lost to their grief. Or maybe Vlad’s once-immortal body was simply expelling the last hints of his existence. Either way, Victoria needed to be told what he’d seen.

Victoria, Aden projected, desperate to gain her attention.