"Whoever your mystery woman is."
He stared at her before he answered. "As quickly as I can."
"Good. You need to be happy." She followed him to the door. "I'm heading back to the infirmary to see if I can deduce what poison was used."
He stopped and she almost ran into him. "Do you think Kayleigh and her parents are safe here?"
"Why wouldn't they be?"
"Who knows why Father was poisoned."
"Maybe they did it," she answered flippantly. "I'd say they're fine. You, on the other hand, might want to watch what you eat or drink."
He thought about her words as he headed back to his quarters, but he dismissed her comment. There was no way that Kayleigh would poison the one man in her corner to force a marriage.
He was almost to his room when Kayleigh suddenly stepped out from behind a pillar. "I've been waiting for you."
"Isn't it disrespectful for me to speak with you alone? Aren't you supposed to have a chaperone?"
"I'm not concerned."
"But I am." Luke turned and headed the opposite way. He wanted to give you no opening to accuse him of anything inappropriate. He grabbed the first guard that he came across. "Stay by my side."
Kayleigh stomped her foot. "You can play your little games, but this isn't over."
“It doesn’t have to be over because we never started.”
She growled as she stomped away without another word.
Luke dismissed the guard once she was gone. He flopped across his bed, unsure what his next step was supposed to be but wanting it all over with.
As it turned out, it was two days before he was finally able to have a moment to himself. Royal announcements, funeral proceedings, and a subsequent coronation all took place in a relatively short amount of time.
Kayleigh and her parents had left in a huff, but not before they made their position clear. “I understand now why your attitude is so short, and I am sorry about your father. When you’ve had the proper time to grieve, we’ll revisit our wedding.”
She wouldn’t accept that there never would be a wedding, and Luke was just happy to see them leave the kingdom right before his coronation.
Tuva and Larisa stayed by his side the entire time, and Luke wasn't sure that he would have been able to handle everything if they hadn't. He had even tried to convince his sister to just move home permanently.
"I have a life, Luke." Larisa was kind but firm. "I've already spent more time here in the last several days than I have in the last many years."
"Things are different now," he pointed out. "We don't have the issues that you had with our father."
"I can't give up everything I worked for. Besides, won't you have someone taking up all of your time?"
Tuva had gone to lay down, so Luke pointed to the lake. "Let's go for a walk."
Once he was certain they were out of earshot of anyone who may be lurking around, he turned to her. "I want to tell you who she is."
Larisa nodded.
"Remember that family that got banished because the father was accused of stealing an idol?"
"The Idol of Mishra. Of course. Everyone knows that story. We were just kids."
"Sarah was just a baby, too." He stared at her as he waited for his words to sink in.
Her eyes widened. "You're in love with a member of that family?"
