“I know.” She nipped his bottom lip. “If you didn’t, you would have let me get on that plane and gone after Theo yourself.”
It would be complicated. He didn’t see a way forward for them that didn’t involve a shit ton of compromise and a healthy dose of pain.
Galen didn’t give a fuck.
For so long, his life had boiled down to one hard task: keep Theo safe. That wouldn’t change, but now there was somehow room for more. He’dmakeroom for more.
He took Meg’s hand and tugged her toward the doors. “Let’s go get our man.”
When they droveacross the border between Greece and Thalania, Theo expected to feel relief. Like he was finally coming home. Unfortunately, relief was in short supply.
Peace had left the building, too.
He had one chance to get this right or Phillip would no doubt build a dungeon just to throw him into it for the rest of his life. But all Theo could think about was Galen and Meg. They’d be close to landing in New York by now. Meg would want to go back to that threadbare little apartment, but Galen would growl at her until she snapped and agreed to go to theirs.
No, not theirs anymore. Galen’s.
Damn it, he made the right call. Theonlycall. If Theo couldn’t have what he wanted, then he’d make damn sure the people he loved could. They were both too stubborn by half, but they’d figure it out. Galen just needed to learn to give a little instead of stepping onto the battlefield, and Meg needed to becoerced into believing that bending was better than throwing herself against every problem she came across until she broke.
They’d figure it out.
They had to.
Isaac cleared his throat. “You’re sure about this, Your Highness?”
“Yes.” He checked his phone again. The heads of the seven noble Families in Thalania formed a Parliament that worked in conjunction with the King or Queen. They didn’t have the power of the sitting monarch, but that wouldn’t matter in this scenario. Therewasno sitting monarch, and there wouldn’t be for months yet. All he needed was for the majority of them to publicly confirm that the marriage between Theodore Fitzcharles II and Mary Mortimore was legal based on the documents they’d seen with their own eyes. Phillip couldn’t fight both the public and the Families, and Theo had already taken steps to get the public on his side.
One thing at a time.
“I’m not talking about taking the throne back—it was always yours. I’m talking about Galen.”
He didn’t look up from his phone, couldn’t risk Isaac seeing the way his whole body clenched in agony at Galen’s name. “There’s nothing to say about Galen.”
“He’s one of your greatest assets and you put him on a plane heading in the wrong direction.”
“Galen is much more than an asset and he deserves to be treated as such.”
Isaac exited the highway and stopped at a light at the bottom of the ramp. He turned to face Theo. “Forgive me for being blunt?—”
“If you’re not blunt, there’s nothing to forgive.”
Isaac ignored that and kept talking, each word a hammer chiseling away at the wall Theo fought so hard to build aroundhimself when he walked out of the airport and left behind what had become two of the most important people in his life. Isaac cleared his throat. “Forgive me for being blunt, but you made a dumb ass move leaving him behind. Probably the girl, too, based on how you looked at them. A king needs allies, people he trusts beyond all political machinations, people who are there forhimand him alone. Do you really think you’re going to find it in Thalania when you just sent the only two people that applies to away?”
“I don’t remember asking your opinion.”
Isaac snorted. “Galen’s not here to offer his, so I figured I’d step in. You already know what he’d say.”
Yeah, Theo knew what he’d say. The same thing Isaac had. The same thing Meg had. That they wanted to come with him to face this together. He couldn’t allow it. If he let himself, he’d find a way to convince them to stay. To try to find a way forward.
He’d destroy them all in the process.
They would be happy together, damn it.
“What if therewasa way?” Isaac kept going, kept outline possibilities that were beyond impossible.
Now more than ever.
Ten minutes after they hit the capital city, Ranei’s, limits, Isaac checked his phone and cleared his throat. “I need to make a stop.”
