"It doesn't even count that I benefitted myself? I was happy, emphasis onwas."
"Who is she, Lucas? Who is this woman who has you so twisted that you can't even see what's best for our kingdom? I can only assume that she's someone beneath you or you would have already presented her to me."
"Can you please, for once in your miserable life, talk to me as a father instead of a king?"
"I am treating you as my son. If I weren't, you would have been married months ago." Ardec sat back against his cushioned seat and stared out the window for a moment. "Once you are king, you will understand that it's a very fine line between the title and anything else. You have to put your kingdom first, above all else."
When the driver stopped in front of the castle, Luke reached for the door. "I just won't have children then because I would never be able to say that. It's pitiful that you can even say those words to your own son."
He slammed the door shut and headed around to the back of the castle where the property met the sea. He walked along the beach, just as he had with Sarah so many times during their meetings at different waterfront locales. When he reached an isolated area, he turned his face to the sun and screamed. Long wails filled with all the pain and misery that he had harbored quietly since he last saw Sarah. His soul screamed for her, needing to feel her in his arms again.
When his throat was raw, he sank to the sand suddenly exhausted. He had spent all the energy that he had, and still Sarah filled his thoughts. For the first time ever, he was appreciative of the distance between them. She would be devastated if she heard of the plans that his father had for him, and he had already hurt her enough.
He hadn't told her everything when he last saw her. It had been all he could do to control himself not to grab her and whisk her away to somewhere that no one could find them. Although he had finally admitted that his father would have her killed, he hadn't impressed upon her that Ardec had actually threatened to hire mercenaries to locate her and end her life. Speaking to her that day had been the hardest thing he had ever done, and one of the riskiest, but it had also been the only thing he could do.
He had risked that one visit because he needed to recharge his own energy by seeing her. Ardec had him watched at all times, and not even Luke could sense every possible danger. When Sarah had walked away from him, calling Colorado her home, part of him had died. His rationale was that Ardec would ease up eventually, and he could make it up to Sarah then.
But he had been wrong, and instead of easing up, the constant surveillance had gotten worse. He glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was standing on the dunes behind him.
You'd never see them anyhow, not until it was too late for Sarah.A little sleeping potion to the guards was the only way he had managed to meet her that one last time at all.
He also hadn't told her about Kayleigh. At that particular time, he hadn't thought it was a big enough detail that they needed to focus on. Now, he knew that he should have. He should have told her that he had no intentions of marrying anyone other than Sarah, and he would renounce the throne if he was pushed into a corner.
Which seemed like exactly what was going to happen.
After fighting the urge to just shift and fly like hell to meet Sarah somewhere, Luke wandered back to the castle and headed for his workshop. It was the one place that he knew the guards wouldn't interfere with him. As long as they knew he was within the confines of the castle, he would work in peace.
A half-finished chest sat on the workbench when he flipped the lights on. It had been some time since he had worked on it, but he needed something to do that reminded him of the woman he loved. Sarah had mentioned in one of their early dates that she hadn't been able to find a hope chest that she liked. His plan was to finish this one and gift it to her on their wedding day.
He picked up one of the panels and started to sand it smooth. The grains of the wood became more apparent as he sanded, and he found a rhythm that put his mind at ease from the turmoil of his thoughts.
The door opening made him pause. He shook his head at being interrupted. "Who's there?" He was about to kick someone's ass for invading his personal space.
No one answered, but he could hear light footsteps coming down the stairs. He walked across the shop and looked up to find his grandmother, Tuva, descending down to him.
"Grandma! What are you doing down here?" He hurried up the stairs to help her down. "You shouldn't be taking all of these stairs."
"I wanted to see my boy. Make sure you're alright."
He settled her into a chair. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Lucas, I may be old, but I'm not blind and I'm not stupid. I wanted to be sure you were okay after your father's surprise announcement."
"You knew it was a surprise?"
She laughed. "Anyone who saw your face could tell it was news to you."
"You know my father. He wants the kingdom protected and feels that by me marrying Kayleigh, it makes things a little more stable."
"I want to tell you a story. When my daughter told me that she was in love with your father, who was a prince just like you at the time, I was totally against it."
"You didn't want her marrying royalty?"
"I didn't think he was good enough for her."
Luke chuckled. "Aren't all mothers like that?"
"Well, maybe so. But your mother told me that her heart only felt right when she was with him. They were soulmates. And you know how stubborn dragons get when that happens."
