Secret Heir (Dynasty #1)(103)

“Yes.”

Magnus raises an eyebrow.

“You can’t possibly know, Jazmine,” he replies simply.

“What is that supposed to mean, Magnus?” I retort. But he keeps that unshakeable calm. Damn he’s good.

“It means that you have no idea of the full implications of your and Raph’s actions.”

I bristle at that.

“Is this you trying to have the sex talk with me?” I snap. “Because I’m a little too old for that, I think. Maybe you shouldn’t have waited until I was seventeen to bother to find me.” I know that last part isn’t true—Magnus has told me that he didn’t found out about me until just before my father’s death. But still, I’m trying to distract him from digging deeper into this thing between Raph and me.

He doesn’t take the bait.

“No. I expect that you have adequate knowledge about such things,” he replies dryly.

“This is about something far more serious. I told you before that the St. Tristan Dynasty and the Evenstar Dynasty are the two sovereign Dynasties. The rule of Eden has always fallen to one of the two.

“As such, these two sovereign Dynasties have always been the furthest apart, just like the elements that they lord over. Night and day, the sun and the moon. Opposites and rivals in almost every way. You’re playing with fire here, Jazmine. You have no idea of the full implications,” he says again.

“Well, why don’t you tell me then?” I snap. I’m sick of Magnus’s cryptic words and for once, I just want him to tell me the whole damn truth, whether he thinks it’s the right time or not. But of course, he doesn’t.

“All you need to know is that you cannot trust Raphael. He is a St. Tristan, heir to the St. Tristan Dynasty no less, and he is his father’s son.”

These last words echo Layla’s and I feel my blood turn cold at hearing them. I force myself to block out the whisper of doubt racing through me. Because I do trust Raph. I hadn’t realized just how much I’ve come to trust him until now, as Magnus forces me to question it.

“Raph is not his father’s son. He’s his own person. You don’t know him,” I reply evenly.

Magnus’s eyes grow troubled then.

“No, Jazmine. It’s you who doesn’t know. Raphael’s … allure when it comes to the opposite sex is no secret. But not everything is as it seems. The St. Tristan Dynasty is toxic.”

His words make my temper flare. The only other member of the St. Tristan Dynasty I’ve met is Jethro and I couldn’t agree with Magnus more when it comes to him. But he’s wrong about Raph.

“Is this the part where you take away my cell, ground me for life and tell me never to see Raph again?” I ask flatly, although I’m fiercely hoping not.

Magnus just shakes his head wearily.

“I have no right to exercise that kind of authority over you, Jazmine.”

“Damn right,” I retort.

“But I can only hope that you’ll listen to me. You cannot trust him, Jazmine. The St. Tristan Dynasty is poison and every single member of it is a snake.”

I don’t excuse myself as I get up, shoving my chair back as I walk away. I can’t listen to another word from Magnus and I tell myself it’s because I trust Raph and nothing that Magnus says can ever change that.





33





Unlike the Fall Ball, the Winter Ball isn’t only for Regency Mount students. It’s for all of the Dynasties and nobles, so it’s a much grander affair.

Although it’s been a relatively mild winter so far, the Aspen estate is covered in a thick blanket of snow for the occasion and of course, the snow is real.

But it’s not just the snow covered landscape that steals my breath or the grand manor house, because at the center of the vast estate grounds, there is what looks like an actual ice castle, which appears to have been erected especially for the event.

Orbs of pale blue light float high above the rafters of the vast ballroom which is made of pure ice. When I walk into that ballroom, I feel like I’m walking right into a storybook painting.

“Impressed?” I turn to see Keller coming up behind me, looking awesome in her silver and white dress. Amidst the backdrop of the ice palace, she looks like the snow queen from those children’s stories herself. She’s totally in her element.

I remember thinking when I first met this girl that she was all attitude and cold as ice. But I was totally wrong, just like I’d been wrong about a lot of things when it came to Eden and to the Dynasty heirs.

I return her beaming smile with a wide grin of my own.

“Impressed is an understatement,” I reply.

“Did you do all of this yourself?”

“Of course not!”

“She had help from us.”

I blink once, twice. At first, I think I’m seeing things, because there’s a young boy now standing on each side of Keller, both of whom look identical. From their light brown hair to their deep grey eyes, so much like Keller’s, but with a spark of mischief entirely their own, and even down to their identical silver bow ties. Twins.

Keller rolls her eyes.

“Jazmine, meet Leo and Jael, my little brothers, a.k.a, the Aspen terrors.”

Leo and Jael each flash me a smile. Leo’s is slightly shy, whereas Jael’s is both mischievous and brazen. Both boys are handsome, even for their age but I can tell that Jael is the one to watch out for. He’ll be breaking hearts left, right and center when he grows up, no doubt.