Chapter 125
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I want to trust Bree, but the weight of my responsibilities looms heavy. I know I must find the answers to the council’s demands, but I am also afraid of upsetting her and scaring her off.
It’s not until much later that I catch up with Bree at dinner; I sit at the dinner table, the warm glow of candlelight flickering around us. The meal is laid out, yet an air of unease hangs over everyone, and Bree looks exhausted as she picks at her food–no doubt from my mother smothering her with fabric this afternoon while the seamstress was here. My mother looks around the table with a frown. “Where is Damian?” she asks, her voice tinged with concern. I glance at his usual seat to see it is still empty. I spoke to him just before coming in here; I could have sworn he was right behind me.
“He was right behind me,” I reply, glancing toward the staircase. The nagging feeling in my gut grows stronger. I can‘ t shake the sense that Damian’s absence is deliberate, that he‘ s up to something because he walked down here with me but is suddenly absent. He knows how our mother gets over dinner, especially when she cooked again tonight, much to my staff’s horror. They know that means they have no say, and she’ll try to do everything herself while they are forced to watch or pass her things.
“He might be checking patrols,” my father offers.
“He knows I do that after dinner,” I reply.
“You aren’t coming to bed early tonight?” Bree asks, looking
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rather disappointed. I frowned slightly, knowing we still needed to talk but hadn’t had a chance.
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“I’ll try to get up earlier tonight. I just have a few meetings,” I tell her, though I am sure she is sick of hearing that. “Are you right with Max?” I ask her, and she nods, pushing her food. around her plate. My mother seems to notice the tension between us and quickly tosses her napkin aside.
“I’m going to find your brother,” she announces, but my chair scrapes against the floor as I push it out.
“No, stay. I’ll find him,” I tell her, and she quickly sits back down.
I excuse myself and head up to find him. I knock on his bedroom door, but there’s no answer. My curiosity piqued, I open the door slowly and step inside. The room is dark, and the curtains are closed tight, but my eyes quickly adjust.
“Damian?” I call out, scanning the space. He’s not here and doesn’t answer me through the mindlink. Opening the mind- link to the staff, I ask them. “Has anyone seen my brother?” One of the maids quickly answers and I recognize the voice instantly to be Vanessa.
“He was in your room before we served dinner; I was going to take the laundry up. He said he’d drop it in your room, Your Majesty,” the girl answers, and I growl. “Thank you, Vanessa,” I tell her, closing the link and heading upstairs.
Entering my room, I call out to him. “Damian, are you in here?” I ask, shutting the door. My heart sinks when I spot him crouched in the corner of the closet, rummaging through Bree’s old suitcases that we had stored in there. He jumps slightly at the sound of my voice, looking up with wide eyes
Chapter 125.
1:200 Vouchers
filled with surprise and a hint of guilt. “I didn’t think you’d find me so quickly,” he mutters, trying to compose himself as he stands up, brushing invisible dust from his clothes.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demand, crossing the room in a few strides.
“Nothing,” he snaps, his defensiveness palpable.
“Doesn’t look like nothing to me,” I reply. “You can’t go through her things, Damian. This is her life you’re invading.”
“I’m protecting the kingdom, something you are refusing to do,” he shoots back, his voice rising. “You’re blinded by your feelings for her. You can’t see the risks she poses!”
I step closer, my fists clenched. “And what exactly have you found that justifies this invasion of privacy?”
Damian bends down and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper from the suitcase..
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