Chapter 6
SIX
Christian
“I just wish you’d be more involved in your Kingdom! Claim a Promised of your own. Maybe take on a wife and child to carry our title. Is that too much to ask?”
I blink up at the aging King staring down on me with disappointment lining his gray eyes.
“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, leaning back a bit further in my chair and losing my focus entirely when the large council door at the back of the room opens without a sound and Rorrick’s broad shoulders slip inside.
A pang of interest startles my chest, and I rise to my feet before my father has even finished sighing.
“Please excuse me,” I say to the table of counselors, and their questions rise in tone the further I stray from the table.
“Christian!” my father adds on top of the rumblings of frustration, but his words are cut short when I grip Rorrick’s enormous upper arm and guide him right back out the way he came.
“Did you see her?” I ask the very second the door closes behind me.
He nods silently as a maid slips by us, our attention lingering on her small frame until she turns the corner and is out of sight. I can’t help but note there’s no excitement in his eyes, no reassurance.
How is he so calm when she’s with them? I can’t protect her. I can’t even feel her bond anymore, and that loss alone is making me fucking crazy.
“Seven’s been hurt,” he finally says.
I pause, and the seriousness of his words sinks into me. But I can’t stop myself from asking . . .
“Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Healthier even. Well-rested it seems. A fucking princess in his realm where we couldn’t even understand how to properly feed her in ours.” Rage pulses at his jawline, and I hate how much it hurts the deepest part of my chest to hear the news of her wellbeing.
Fuck. She’s doing great. Fucking great.
“Does she seem happy?” What? Who the fuck am I right now? Is she happy? When have I ever cared about a woman being happy?
“Not particularly,” he answers.
A smile pulls at my lips.
“Good,” I whisper.
“What?”
“I mean, it’s good that she’s safe.” I fold my arms and force myself not to let out the manic happiness again.
I scrub my palm down my face and peer back at the council room door, knowing I should go back but not finding the steps to lead me there.
I mean it, honestly. As long as she’s there, far away from my father, Crymson Vaine will always be safe. So long as I let her go.
. . . If I can let her go, that is.