Chapter 0056
Violet
We walked in silence through the halls of the palace. I didn’t even let myself wonder at the beauty of the place. The air felt cold and stale and haunted in a way. That might have been my imagination, though. Theodore was absolutely silent. The grand halls of the palace seemed eerily quiet. Every footstep echoed as we walked caught sight of the cameras hidden in the corners of the corridors and almost sneered.
I bet there were cameras in our room. The thought creeped me out and meant I’d probably actually have to share a bed with Theodore. Great Like I needed that tonight of all times.
As we reached the door to our room, Theodore stepped ahead of me and opened the door. He entered first and scanned the room. I walked in behind him. The door barely clicked shut before I started pacing, turning over the entire exchange in my mind. The stone actually glowing was a surprise, but more than that was the reaction to it.
Theodore was grumbling. His eyes were on the ground. His shoulders were slumped, and he Hooked deeply unhappy.
I looked over at him. “What?”
“You should have just let me kiss you,” he muttered.
“Are you serious?” I scoffed a laugh, but I could see that he was completely serious. “You are serious… What on earth do you think that would have accomplished?”
“Well, it certainly would have made the whole night more enjoyable.”
I set my jaw, biting back the scathing words I wanted to say. I took a deep breath, and
Theodore was likely more stressed than he had let on.
Perhaps… he was always more stressed than he let on.
I thought back to that conversation about Theodore I had with Kincaid and all the literature on the mating drive.
It was quite possible that, yes. Theodore experienced the mating drive more than the average person, and it drove him to chase sex as often as possible, but it was also likely a reaction to his stress levels.
He had been fearful at the table, maybe even… triggered by being back at the palace.
He frowned. “I expected you to say something.”
“I don’t think it would be helpful to say what I initially wanted to,” I narrowed my eyes. “You didn’t answer my question.”
He shrugged, non–committally, and smirked. “You telling me you didn’t want to kiss me?”
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+25 BONUS
Chapter 0056
“I believe I’ve already told you that.” He chuckled. “And you’re still evading my question.”
He shrugged again, folding his arms across his chest and studying me with an intensity that felt… almost warm. “It would have shut him up. You didn’t see Owen’s face.”
I tilted my head. “How do you figure?”
“He doesn’t know what real passion is like…” His lips twitched and he rubbed the back of his neck. “And… he’s only ever seen our father with his mate…”
I set my jaw. “Did you… for a moment consider that I didn’t want you drawing any sort of parallels between me and your mother–in–his mind?”
He winced. “No.”
Of course not.
“Does Owen have a soft spot for your mother?”
He scowled. “No.”
“I didn’t think so. His mother doesn’t either, and neither does his wife…” I smirked. “Though I find it interesting that they don’t have children. I would have thought that Owen’s insecurities about his right to the throne would have made him try for an heir as soon as possible.”
I shook my head, waving my hand. That was a conversation for another time. Maybe never. It would be nice to have Owen’s wife on my side, I could tell that she wasn’t exactly on Owen or her mother–in–law’s sides, but she had no real power either. If I had any plans regarding her, it would have to be to get her out the palace and the miserable situation she was in.
I sank down and kicked off my shoes with a sigh. I told you before that I have no interest in playing this game.”
“We have to make it convincing.”
“The stone was more convincing than any kiss,” I smirked. “Though, I-”
I broke off and looked around, searching for any tell–tale signs that there was a camera or some sort of listening device. I sighed and went looking for my hotspot. I turned on the security feature and watched the light of it cast a thin film of it over the walls.
“There. Privacy. I’m very impressed by the way. I was worried that you wouldn’t catch on.”
