Vicious Prince (Royal Elite, #5)

by Rina Kent

He stole my breath, my life, my damn existence. And now, I’ll steal his. My name is Teal Van Doren, and I’m a thief. The type who’s not interested in pieces of jewellery or goods, but the type who’s after lives.

My foster sister, Elsa,

Some are born for peopling; I was born for anything that doesn’t include that.

I can relate

when I first met her, I thought she was the bitch heiress to Dad’s fortune. She proved me wrong by the way she acts —

As if she took lessons from my brother, she always makes sure I’m not too lost in my head.

We’re walking to the first class of the day. The grand hall of Royal Elite School, or RES, nearly swallows us. It’s one of those schools the privileged have direct access to, the type of school the greatest names in the UK attend, Dad included. The feeling that I’m continuing in Dad’s footsteps is one of the rea...

“I heard about your deal with Dad.”

Elsa acts like an older sister even though she’s only a few weeks older than me.

Dad needs help, so I stepped up.”

That would be, eh, awkward, especially since I’m almost certain she’s kind of figured out who my crush is.

Not that Dad doesn’t like me and my twin brother. He’s taken care of us since that day he found us curled up in balls, bleeding and starved to death. But the fact remains: we’re only his foster children. Elsa is his real daughter.

Since I started to somehow grasp human nature, I’ve learnt they get offended when the truth is shoved in their faces. My twin brother Knox says I’m too direct and that I sound like a bitch.

She just doesn't have a filter, i'm like that.

All this time, only Knox and Dad understood the way my brain works. I never thought Elsa would catch on this soon.

Dad returned from a nine-year coma, during which he was cut off from the world. He needs all the allies he can get. Aiden’s father, that Jonathan King bloke, isn’t trustworthy. Do you really think he’ll play nice with Dad after the grudge he held for ten years? He holds Dad responsible for the death of his wife, and that doesn’t just disappear.”

Besides, no one actually knows me — or at least not the way they think. They don’t see the constant shadow over my shoulder or the tears trapped in the middle of nowhere. Only I do.

Usually, I’m okay with someone touching me when I see it coming, like when Elsa clutched my shoulders earlier. I saw her before I felt her and that was fine, but a sudden attack always triggers this stony state.

He of all people knows how it feels. That darkness, feeling without seeing — all of it.

Knox and I are fraternal twins, but we barely look like siblings.

“That’s how identical twins are formed. You and Teal are fraternal. She didn’t steal your egg — there were already two.”

“Were you there?”

Hahaha

I wouldn’t have come this far if I didn’t have him.

Aiden King is one of a group known as the four horsemen of this school’s football team, something stupid about the damage they do to their opponents’ defences. Aiden is Conquest, and true to his name, he’s already conquered Elsa.

Ronan Astor. An earl’s son with a Prince Charming complex.

Ronan Astor is my next target. As well as my future husband.

At least in Knox’s case, he uses the plastic easy-going personality as a defence mechanism to get what he wants. I know all too well what he’s hiding beneath all the laughs and grins. In the few weeks I’ve watched Ronan, he’s never shown another facet of the sickly, cheerful personality. He’s always smiling, laughing, grinning, throwing parties, fucking, and fucking, and more fucking.

I don’t know why he calls me that when he’s never once thought I’m pretty. I heard him talking to Kimberly — Elsa’s best friend —

Refusing to show Ronan a reaction, I continue walking as if he didn’t just set off my second trigger for the day. First Knox, and now him.

I’m usually more aware of my surroundings for this exact reason, but I spent all night searching for and watching videos of my opponent, making sure I know him better than he knows himself.

He’s as readable as it gets. Even with my weird relationship with feelings, I can figure him out. I watched him for weeks on end before I took this

step.

I never spend alone time with Ronan, and it’s for a reason. He’s always surrounded by people;

Mrs Abbot, the librarian.

My father told me I’m getting a fiancée. At first, I was fine since it was

Elsa, but apparently, there’s been an internal sister swap as if we’re in medieval times.

point is, I don’t want a fiancée.

me getting on his nerves is only fair after the way he not only triggered my anxiety attack, but also gave me the foreboding sensation he’s able to ruin my domino castle.

Ronan Astor is the sole heir of an earl, and he has no way to refuse his father’s wishes. He’s the perfect puppet, someone used for his symmetrical face and playful nature. He was always meant to have an arranged marriage, and he has no way to refuse it. That would

mean disgracing the great Edric Astor’s name, which is something that...

Ron Astor the Second. Yes, that’s my dick’s name,

Very odd.

Lars is in his late forties

he’s the head butler,

Mum and Dad are returning today.

He doesn’t want my parents to be disappointed in me, so he and I struck a deal as soon as I took a special interest in partying.

Since I was a kid, it’s always been this way with him. After all, I spend more time with him than my own parents.

Ahh so the partying is a sort of coping method/ way to act out because you're lonely.

Our mansion — no, the Astor family mansion — has stood here for centuries, since the time of Henry V.

John

He’s Lars’ assistant,

Fuck how much she loves that tyrant. How much she went through just to be with him, leaving not only her country but also her family to be by his side.

It’s been…what? A few months since they graced me with their presence? They’ve been doing this a lot lately, disappearing to go to conferences, or more like my father dragging my mother with him to the other ends of the world like India and fucking Australia. They used to do that when I was a kid, but I thought it was over around middle school.

a slight French accent that she hasn’t been able to lose even after living in England for twenty-three years.