Interlude
LEO
Leo wrenched his mind away from the feel of Posey’s soft lips against his. It had been everything he had imagined and more.
But every time he thought of their kiss, his chest tightened as he remembered the way she had pulled out of his arms and run from the room when he asked the names of her grandparents. Surely she knew her own lineage.
She had to know because Leo desperately needed her to know that information.
Lanover had many things that set it apart from other kingdoms, and one was the quirks in their various laws of succession.
Leo didn’t care about most of them, but there was one that had been occupying every moment of his waking thoughts since his kiss with Rose.
Before a crown prince of Lanover could become betrothed, he had to present the name of his intended to the royal council for approval—along with the names of her parents and grandparents.
It was a legal formality—the council had never refused the royal choice—but it was still a requirement.
He paced up and down the room, considering the issue.
It was possible Posey didn’t know her own ancestry.
His parents had faced the same problem since his mother had grown up without knowing her birth family.
But they had succeeded in tracking down the necessary answers.
Posey didn’t come from Lanover, though, so it wouldn’t be nearly as easy.
He threw himself into an armchair by the fire only to leap back to his feet almost immediately. He would travel to the mountain kingdom himself if necessary. It had to be possible to find the names of her grandparents.
He resumed pacing. Why did such an archaic and ridiculous law still exist? Why hadn’t his grandparents repealed it after it caused so much trouble for his father?
He ran a hand over his face. His parents had only just taken the throne. They wouldn’t think it was a good time to challenge the royal council—not even for the sake of their beloved son. So it would be up to him to find the answers.
He once again felt the weight of Posey in his arms and groaned, his pace increasing.
“Slow down, Leo,” said a laughing voice from just inside the door. “You’re going to wear a hole in Uncle Frederic’s favorite carpet. He might never leave you in charge again.”
Leo spun to face his cousin, grateful for the distraction. “There you are, Luca! I’ve barely seen you the last few weeks.”
“I’ve been too busy obeying orders.” Luca strolled further into the room. “Orders issued by you, I might add. Some thanks I get.”
Leo raised an eyebrow. “Ha! I have eyes in my head, you know. I’m well aware those orders haven’t been causing you any hardship.
So don’t pretend you haven’t been enjoying yourself.
I must say, the princess is nothing like the dutiful, well-trained royal my parents were expecting—I don’t know what they were thinking.
” He shook his head. “She’s beautiful enough, though, which is all I promised you. So you can hardly complain.”
Something flashed in Luca’s eyes, although he quickly turned his gaze away from Leo to hide it.
Leo frowned, his own gaze turning sharp. Had that been anger? Was Luca angry that Leo had spoken disparagingly about Princess Rose?
Fresh worry churned in his gut, adding to his worries over Posey. He had thought Luca was treating the entertainment of Princess Rose like a game, and Leo had been pleased his cousin was enjoying himself. But that quickly hidden emotion had nothing to do with lighthearted flirtation.
“You can’t be serious, Luca,” he said sharply, his panic rising. “Don’t forget what I said at the beginning. Her parents won’t let Rose leave Arcadia for anything less than a future crown. Any other man who marries her will be expected to join her there.”
Luca shifted uncomfortably, his eyes sliding away from Leo, and Leo’s anxiety grew.
“They expect me to run an entire kingdom one day, Luca.” His words held an edge that he couldn’t rein in.
Luca had been there from Leo’s earliest memories—plunging into trouble at his side but taking the consequences alongside him just as stoutly.
Leo’s father had recently taken on the kingship, but he’d done it with his younger brother at his side as Chief Advisor.
When Leo had asked how his father managed the pressure, he’d said that he didn’t bear it alone.
He had both his wife and his brother, Cassian, at his side.
Leo had felt relieved, knowing that he might not have a brother, but he had a cousin who was as good as one.
When Leo’s turn came to take the throne, he would have just as strong a team as his father did.
And with Luca at his side, he would still have the link that tied him to his childhood and the carefree boy he had been in those years.
Without Luca, Leo’s inner self might entirely disappear beneath the weight of the crown.
Luca couldn’t abandon Leo for Arcadia. He couldn’t. Luca had sworn his future to Lanover, just as Leo had—first when they were children and again when they turned eighteen. Leo might be the one to wear a crown one day, but he had never thought of the burden as his alone to bear.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Luca said. “Lila seems to love Lanover. She might…”
Leo shook his head. “What about your suspicions? You kept insisting Rose had some sort of hidden agenda. I thought you were just getting swept up in whatever game you were playing—finding ways to make your duty more interesting. But there might be something in it. Have you tried investigating?”
Luca hesitated. “I suppose it’s foolish, but I want her to tell me herself. I want her to trust me enough to share her worries with me.”
Leo’s face tightened. “Trust is essential. If there’s no trust between you, Luca…”
“Why do you think I’m so eager to find out what it is she’s holding back?”
“You’re sure there is something?” Leo felt the weight of yet another worry.
“There’s something there,” Luca said quietly. “I’m sure of it.”
Leo wanted to leap on Luca’s words. To convince him that Rose was a dangerous deceiver and he should have no more to do with her. But he forced the impulse down.
“Are you sure it’s not just that she was given the same instructions I was given?” A cynical note crept into Leo’s voice. “She probably came here aiming to become a queen. My parents told me she’s very dutiful—even if I haven’t seen any sign of it myself.”
Luca looked away, hiding his expression. But Leo caught enough of a glimpse to read his emotions. Luca hated the thought of Rose pursuing Leo even more than he disliked Leo criticizing her.
Leo imagined the situation in reverse. How would he feel if Posey was more interested in Luca than she was in him?
His chest tightened in a spasm so sharp it was painful, and his gut churned sickeningly. He quickly pushed the thought away. Posey had never paid Luca any attention.
But as the sensations faded, so did his earlier indignation.
He had been sure he couldn’t be crown prince without his cousin at his side, but that had been before he met Posey.
If he faced a future without Luca’s support, he wouldn’t face it alone.
If Posey would have him, he knew they could bear any burden together.
He still wanted to have Luca at the Lanoverian court. He had always imagined their future wives forming their own bond—the four of them not just family but friends as his parents were with his uncle Cassian and aunt Tillie.
But feeling as he did about Posey, how could he fight to deprive Luca of that same connection? Leo couldn’t see the attraction in the feisty, inconsistent princess, but if Luca truly cared about her, Leo couldn’t work against them.
He intended to fight for Posey with everything he had, so he had to let Luca do the same with Princess Rose.
And at least the match might soften his parents toward his own choice.
They couldn’t be disappointed in him if Luca achieved the Arcadian marriage alliance in his place.
Luca becoming part of the Arcadian royal family would strengthen the connection between the two kingdoms almost as much as Princess Rose becoming Lanover’s future queen.
“Rose isn’t interested in me,” he told Luca in a quiet voice. “It’s utterly obvious that she doesn’t look at me at all. She’s too busy looking at you. I don’t think we’ve had a single conversation that wasn’t stilted.”
“Stilted? Lila?” Luca laughed, his brow clearing. “She doesn’t have any issue speaking her mind with me.”
Leo clapped him on the shoulder. “If she does have a secret, you’ll work it out. Maybe it’s that she has no more desire to marry me out of duty than I have a desire to marry her.”
“No, you don’t want to marry her,” Luca said, his usual grin returning to his eyes. “Gratitude is the most you feel.”
Leo raised his brows. “Gratitude?”
Luca’s lips twitched. “For bringing her friend with her to Lanare.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Leo said stiffly, even knowing his cousin would see straight through him.
It was the first time in his life he’d had something he didn’t want to share with his cousin.
But he’d only realized belatedly that Posey wasn’t from Lanover and wouldn’t have understood what it meant for him to ask the names of her parents and grandparents.
She hadn’t realized it was a declaration of his intentions, instead running from the room without knowing the extent of his feelings.
She deserved to hear his heart before Luca did.
Luca didn’t press him, though—he just laughed.
“I’m not so distracted by Lila that I haven’t noticed how you’ve been spending all your time—the time I freed up for you.
But keep your secrets for now. I’m sure the whole kingdom will hear about it soon enough.
And then you’ll be wanting me to shield you from Uncle Frederic and Aunt Evie.
” He shook his head, but he was still chuckling as he left the room, his good humor fully restored.
Leo watched him go with a sigh. He hadn’t predicted the consequences of asking Luca to distract Princess Rose.
But he wouldn’t have given up the past weeks with Posey for anything.
In that short time she had not only wrapped herself around his heart, she had already helped him make Lanover a better place.
Nothing about Princess Rose had impressed him, despite his parents’ assurances. Posey, however, would make an incomparable queen.