Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
“Your best would be not waylaying me from important matters in order for you to take my time to point out how hard you’re working to support me.”
Perhaps it was his suggesting the unthinkable, rehoming my cats, even as a for instance.
Perhaps it was him weaponizing what I’d said weeks ago about how I worried I’d made us all about me.
Perhaps it was that this wasn’t a heat-of-the-moment reaction to traumatic events, which plausibly would cause tempers to flare, but instead a cold distance while delivering seemingly calculated cuts meant to draw blood.
Mostly, it was all of that.
So I didn’t lie. I didn’t know this male.
And I didn’t like him.
Whatever it was, I was less cautious with my words than I should have been when I retorted, “I do understand you have important matters on your mind, and though I’ll never understand what a heavy burden you have to bear, I know it’s there. That said, it might be nice if you understood I haven’t been taught how to deal with a male shifter in times like these, and as such, perhaps you might put some small effort into not behaving like a dick.”
At that, his head ticked, and his gaze darkened to a starry night.
Dang.
Then he spoke.
“And maybe we can have this discussion when I haven’t been up all night, knowing the citizens of the Fall are riled, they want blood, but before that, they want answers we do not have. Not to mention, finding it impossible to sleep knowing that my mate has been in the sights of a stream twice. I’ve seen the vid from the cam on that street, Laura. I know how close you were to Antheme, thus I know you could have been hit by the stream that burned a hole through her gods-damned heart. I’ve also been in a cold, clinical room and seen for myself a lifeless Antheme with a hole burned through her gods-damned heart.”
Oh gods.
He’d seen her?
“And the last thing I want on this earth is to lose my mate and turn into a weak, bitter piece of shit like your fucking father,” he concluded.
With that, Aleksei was done talking, I knew, because after he finished speaking, he walked out on me.
Chapter 35
Caelyn
The member of staff (a chambermaid named Linzy) quickly retreated from the pandemonium that was going down in the breakfast room after she escorted me into it.
I didn’t blame her, because this pandemonium included Timothee shooting from his chair, angrily tossing down his napkin, then leaning toward his mother, his face red with anger, his eyes glowing blue, and his mouth shouting, “You’ve lost your fucking mind!”
“Timothee, for goodness sakes, calm down,” Queen Calisa replied.
“Tim, let’s go take a walk,” Aleece suggested.
Timothee turned on his sister. “Fuck that. You know she’s insane to even consider this.”
“I know you needed to fly last night,” Aleece said carefully. “And you didn’t. Maybe you should do that now.”
“I can’t.” Timothee’s accusing gaze swung to me standing in the door, like it had been me who’d confined him here. “I’ve been forbidden.”
“I’ll talk to Aleksei. He’ll understand,” Aleece said.
“Fuck Aleksei too,” Timothee ground out, then he stalked toward the door, which I was still standing in.
I jumped out of his way, and he stormed right by me.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Queen Calisa said, rising far more genteelly and making her way to the door. “Good morning, dear,” she greeted as she swept past, like her son hadn’t just thrown a huge strop.
Right.
Seemed like emotions weren’t just running high in the prince’s suite.
I wandered toward the buffet, forced myself to make some selections (I wasn’t at all hungry), then sat down beside Mr. Vinestrong.
Through this and what had come before, the non-royal members of the breakfast party, that being Mr. and Mrs. Vinestrong, Mr. Truelock, Monique and Gayle, had been studiously eating their breakfasts.
Aleece was the only royal left at the table. Aleksei and the king were in the meeting. And Errol wasn’t there.
“What’s happening?” I asked Aleece.
She flicked out her fork that had a chunk of pineapple speared on its prongs.
“Mom has an appearance today. She’s not canceling.”
Oh dear.
“It would be a tactical misstep if she did,” Aleece continued.
“According to Germaine?” I asked.
“According to Mom,” Aleece answered.
“She’s right,” Mr. Vinestrong put in. “It is now about demonstrations of strength. It would not send a good message if the royals cowered in their palace.”
And now I was seeing why they were going ahead with the Masque.
Two assassination attempts on the True Heir and his mate, but all’s good. Nothing to see here.
I saw the reasoning.
I still did not like Queen Calisa heading out that day.
But I was surprised at Timothee’s reaction.
“Timothee doesn’t agree?” I inquired.
“Tim’s beast has been roused,” Aleece shared. The earnest little sister who wanted to believe her brothers were good beings made an appearance as she said, “He was really upset about what happened to you yesterday. The loss of Antheme. But his mother putting herself out there is a sitch that isn’t going to be easy for him to retain control. Dad and Aleksei will feel the same, but they’ll get it, so they’ll be able to control it.”