Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

Breakfast was supposed to have started, but everyone was still sitting around, waiting.

Poppy and her brothers were all seated around a large table making small talk with the Emperor and Empress, trying not to broadcast the fact that they were all waiting for someone.

Thirty minutes later, the Emperor gave a signal. He was hungry and he was no longer willing to wait. Just as he was about to give the order for the food to be brought out, a small commotion sounded at the doorway.

"Cancandi!" Leonardo jumped up and went to greet her. "Is everything okay?"

Leave it to the doctor of the family to think the worst possible thing could have happened to someone who came late to a planned gathering.

"I'm fine!" She reached out and took hold of his hand. "I just had to spend a bit of time with someone important."

Behind her, the tall red-head figure of Byron came up from behind. He smiled a greeting at everyone but his eyes were bleak.

"Byron." The Emperor stood up. "Have a seat Son."

Now that he understood the reason for Candace's tardiness, he was thankful that she actually took the time to convince Byron to join the breakfast.

Another signal from the Emperor and the breakfast items began streaming out—Pancakes and eggs, meats and cheeses, cereals and pastries, and a plethora of fruits that were so exotic, Candi had never even seen most of them.

The twins jumped up and pulled Candi in between them.

"Here we go. Passion fruit juice for you. And also some water." Jason began pouring her juice and water.

"Here's an extra napkin for you." Jared covered her lap with another cloth napkin from the stash on the table. "This white outfit shows every little bit of crumb and dirt. It's a nightmare to clean because magic has to be used on it to keep it this pristine."

"Yes, will the next Emperor please consider using brown as the royal garb?" Jason eyed Dante who laughed and wisely kept his mouth shut.

Candi smiled. They were fussing over her as if they hadn't seen her in ages when, in reality, they'd just had dinner with her the night before.

Byron took his place next to Poppy and Dante, his eyes downcast.

He continued to say nothing as the food was brought out, even as Poppy and Dante were slipping food onto his plate.

They said very little to him and allowed him to sit there among the noisy family, but their actions were clear. They both cared about him, no matter what had happened.

"Take a look at these fresh fruits and vegetables," Slate pointed to the table filled with exotics. "These all came from Laroche Gardens."

"Yes. We have a direct connection with the King of Laroche Gardens after we returned Olivia to her world." Dante laughed. "Now, it's as if the fruits are on a constant stream, thanks to Slate."

"I didn't do much." Slate cut into a strawberry looking fruit that was the size of a watermelon and began slicing them into smaller servings.

"Are you kidding? The Princess Olivia Faraday is completely besotted with Slate!" Dante laughed. "She's totally in love with him and kept calling him her rescuer and knight in shining armor!"

Slate glanced over at Candace and shook his head, as if to tell her not to worry about it and that he was completely unaffected by Olivia.

Candace smiled. As if she didn't know.

Slate had been secretly trying to find a way to be alone with her the entire time, but with so many people around, he hadn't even been able to steal a kiss let alone do anything more substantial.

She smiled into her napkin. He had been looking so frustrated lately, prowling around like a starving wolf…perhaps she needed to feed him a bit, later on tonight…

The Emperor reached out and took a slice of the strawberry and gave Slate a meaningful look.

"It wouldn't be a bad idea, Slate, if you thought about Olivia as more than just a damsel in distress whom you just rescued. They are one of the strongest insectoid worlds in the galaxy and would make very strong allies." The Emperor pursed his lips.

"Father. I truly haven't given Olivia Faraday a single thought other than getting her out of the hands of the Pirates."

Slate placed slices of strawberries onto the Empress' plate as well as Candi's and Poppy's plate.

"You could just fake it like your brother is doing with that Hollow woman," the Emperor smiled at Slate who merely grimaced in distaste.

He turned to Lucas. "And how is that going, by the way?"

Lucas turned beet red. "It's going well."

He was not about to go into the details of the sordid situation and what he'd had to do to make Dahlia think he liked her.

To be honest, Lucas still had no idea what the reason was for wooing Dahlia, but since his brothers had come up with the game plan, he was simply doing his part to carry the ball to the goal line and trust that they had a good plan in place.

"Well, I'm glad that we are all here today as I need to announce a few things, as well as clarify other situations." The Emperor cleared his throat.

"As you know, there's been some changes." He looked over at Byron and Poppy. "I will make an announcement to the galaxy that Poppy is my daughter and a Princess of Erenveil."

He turned to Byron. "I will also be making another announcement that Byron is still my son and also a Prince of Erenveil, but the Crown Prince will now be Dante."

"Father," Byron looked up. "It is not necessary to perpetuate a lie. I will not continue to live my life under such a hanging sword."

"You are my son in every sense of the word. Within your blood is the blood that runs true, the Royal Blood of Erenveil. That has never been a lie. The only thing that was ever needed was to legitimize what was already the truth."

The Emperor rubbed his brows. "Now, since it sickens me to think about marrying your biological mother, the other option I have, which is far more desirable, is to simply adopt you into the Royal Family."

"Father. Adoption requires…" he turned to the Empress Anastasia.

There was no need for him to say what everyone already knew, that an adoption required the approval of the Empress.

And what Empress in her right mind would approve of Byron, given the mistreatment that she had suffered at the hands of his aunt and his mother?