Free Scion's Freedom (Siren Publishing Classic) by J. Annas Walker Page A

and still be free?”
    “I asked you if there was any reason someone might want to harm you, and you said no. Didn’t it occur to you this might have been something to put on the list? You are the freaking Scion of the High Prince of all vampires, second in line to the throne!” His voice rose in both pitch and volume.
    “No, I am not!” Cassy shouted. “I refuse to be anything I don’t want to be! Max is the next heir, not me! He can have it!”
    “How did they know where to find you, if you are on the run? The reporter knew about Erica and your apartment.” The cop in him was coming to the forefront.
    “Seventy-five years ago Father found us. He was furious at first. Max had to marry beneath his status to maintain the peace treaty Father had ready. Extra negotiations had to take place because the bride would one day be Queen, just not in her own right. Enough time had passed by then. Father was no longer angry with us for my actions, just disappointed. We had done well for ourselves. We weren’t rich but not poor either. Nor had we resorted to less savory means of making a living like selling ourselves.
    “He forgave us and allowed us to remain in the human world. We were happy young women who enjoyed the vastly changing world of the twentieth century. We learned to drive and vote. We went to universities for what we pleased. Telephones and microwaves were like magic,” Cassy reminisced. The happy memories distracted her.
    David cleared his throat, interrupting her. “What happened next? Why not go home when the economy collapsed?”
    “During the aftermath of The Fall, Father and I could not contact each other. Martial law prevented us from going out at night to hunt. Erica and I fed on the sick and dying after the blood banks ran out, like all the others. We had been Confederate nurses in Atlanta during the Civil War and posed as nurses again. When everything settled, we were finally citizens. Life became easier. She went back to journalism, and I found a way to help people adjust to their new freedoms. I saw no reason to go home.” She sighed.
    “That doesn’t answer why you didn’t just go back. The man is loaded. You could have had anything you wanted, a fine home, cars, and expensive clothes. Why stay in New Atlanta? You like the smell of burned buildings and filthy streets? Give me a break. Doesn’t he live in the Hamptons or someplace else grand?”
    She could see how he would not, could not, understand. On the surface, it sounded great. The reality of that life was vastly different than it appeared.
    “If I offered you everything you needed and all you wanted, would you take it?”
    “That sounds really good. What would I have to do?” She was glad to see he understood there would be strings attached. Nothing in life was ever free. No matter what it was, there was a toll to be exacted for everything.
    “The price is that you would not be allowed to make any personal choices. What you ate, wore, drove, learned, read, and watched was up to someone else. Your friends would be selected for you, as well as when you could see them. You would be told who to marry and love would play no part. You would not be allowed a profession. Music, dance, and entertainments would have to be learned, not to please you but to benefit others. Your education would be what you were told it would be and nothing more. All the while, you are to sit quietly, smile, and be eternally grateful for your rich surroundings and the luck of your birth. Would you still accept the offer?”
    A long, deafening silence filled the room. She could almost hear the thoughts passing through his mind. She watched as he carefully pondered what she had said. He inhaled deep and exhaled slow.
    “No. I don’t think I could do that,” he admitted.
    “Neither could I,” she agreed. “A gilded cage is still a cage.”
    David reached out both hands to her. She took them gently and stood, deftly bringing him into a standing position. He