A guard suddenly appeared in the hallway. "Dr. Seneel needs you both now."
They hurried to Ardec's chambers, where Dr. Seneel sat next to his patient, his head in his hands. He didn't look up when they entered. "I did everything I could."
Luke stared at his father. "He's... he's...."
"Gone," Seneel whispered. "He's gone."
Reality of the situation almost knocked Luke over. He looked at Larisa, who had tears in her eyes. Their father was gone, and now he was king. Regret washed through him that he had thought of only the one good thing that would happen if he took the throne. Now he had it, and he had no idea what to do.
"Does anyone else know yet?" Larisa asked.
"No. The guard wasn't in here when I sent him to fetch you." Dr. Seneel gave Larisa a hug. "I'm so sorry about your father."
"It wasn't your fault," Luke offered before he took a good look at the doctor.Or was it? Did you poison him?
The bigger question was why someone would want Ardec dead.
Dr. Seneel went to the door. "I'll leave you two alone to say your goodbyes. I'll tell the guard to make sure that no one disturbs you."
Once the door closed behind him, Larisa turned to Luke. "What would he gain by you being king?"
"Hell if I know," Luke answered. "What do I gain by being king? A bunch of headaches and a daily routine that I don't want." Except for Sarah.
"Someone murdered him. And while we need our time to grieve, we have to keep that detail in the forefront of our minds. There may be a greater scheme going on here that we don't know about."
Luke knelt beside his father. "We may not have gotten along, but I didn't want this. Not during our worst fight. I'm so sorry that I purposely avoided you this last week." Unshed tears tore at his throat.
Larisa smoothed her father's hair back. "I'm sorry, Daddy." She gave a sad smile. "I haven't even called you that in years. I wish we could have talked and settled a few things."
There was a commotion at the door, so Luke yanked it open. The guard was arguing with Tuva.
"Let her in," he ordered.
Tuva went straight to Ardec. "I hope you and my daughter are together again and enjoying the afterlife." She glanced at the siblings. "Are you two okay?"
"We are, but how did you know?" Luke asked.
"I passed that snake, Seneel, in the hallway. He told me."
"You don't like him?" Larissa stepped in front of Tuva. "Why don't you like the doctor?"
"He killed your mother. He could have saved her, but he didn't."
Before Luke could ask her what she meant, another guard appeared. "I'm sorry, sir, but you have company in the main corridor."
"Who is it?"
"Lady Kayleigh and her parents."
Luke looked at Larisa as his heart dropped. "That's all we need."
Chapter Nine: Betrayed Again
Sarah Hale
Wren sat at the dinner table with the entire Hale clan and told them everything. Sarah watched their faces as each detail was revealed, and she almost giggled at Colton's expression at them finding themselves in yet another fiasco.
Just think how they would act if they knew about Luke.
