“This way, Empress,” Thorne said, his deep voice rolling over me and breaking me from my observations.
He held out his hand, and I only hesitated for a split second before I took it. His rough, callused skin pressed into mine, his thumb briefly skating across my knuckles as he helped me down. When he released his grip, I felt the lingering ghost of his skin against mine. I squeezed my hand shut to banish the feeling and followed him as he and a couple of guards escorted Mother and me over the sandy pathway and up the granite staircase.
On instinct, I reached out to take my mother’s arm as the steps grew steeper, and to my surprise, Thorne did the same.
“By the Fates, I’m notdead,you two,” Mother said, her words trailing into a laugh. “I can walk up a set of stairs.”
She hated it when I coddled her. But after watching her waste away for almost sixteen years in a bed, it was hard not to feel an innate sense of protection around her.
Thorne chuckled but still kept my mother’s arm tucked into his. “Then humor me, for ifmymother caught wind of my terrible manners, she’d?—”
“What would I do?” a new, clipped voice said from around the corner at the top of the stairs.
As I took the last couple of steps, I saw a woman who appeared to be in her late sixties waiting for us, her lips quirked into a smile. The sight was at odds with her stern features, her sharp jaw, arched eyebrows, and dark brown hair streaked with gray coiled into a tight bun atop her head. Her green dress reminded me of the clothing the wealthy councilmember’s wives back in Veridia City would wear.
Thorne straightened at her voice, then smiled back at her. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Mother.” Gesturing to the woman, he said, “This is Lady Azura Reaux. My mother.”
“His Majesty invited me to come welcome our new guests. I couldn’t very well miss this momentous day,” the woman, Azura, said. Her eyes shifted to me, and I could see the similarity to Thorne—they had the same clear, light blue gaze. She tilted her head, that tight smile still plastered across her lips.
Something about it made my hackles rise.
But I couldn’t dwell on the feeling long before footsteps reached my ears, coming from behind Thorne’s mother.
The most beautiful man I’d ever seen stepped into view.
Bright hazel eyes scanned the scene, a dimple appearing on golden-brown skin when he smiled at us. He ran his gloved fingers through short, wavy brown hair, stretching the sleeves of his gray button-down shirt. With his high cheekbones, perfectly shaven face, and chiseled features, he may as well have been carved from stone.
“You must be Empress Aris,” he said, his voice smooth as he held a gloved hand out to me.
I looked up at the stranger and smiled politely. “Clarissa is fine. Andyou are…?”
His grin widened. “Oh, forgive me. My name is Galen. Galen Grimaldi.”
I schooled my face to mask my sudden surprise. This was theking? He was…not what I expected. Emperor Gayl had always paraded around in his royal apparel, his thick, dark cloak making him seem all the more ominous. Not to mention the guards and advisors who flocked at his heels.
This man…he looked rather like Thorne, actually. Carefree and casual, with his linen pants and loose shirt. And not a guard in sight.
My mother glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. So, this was my future husband.
Not bad.
For an arranged marriage, at least.
12
Clarissa
“Ihad no idea we’d be meeting you so soon, Your Majesty. I haven’t had a chance to recover from the journey,” I said quickly, my appalling scent of salt and sweat hitting me in full force.
“Nonsense, you look beautiful. And please, none of that ‘Your Majesty’ here. I’m just Galen.” He turned to my side. “And this must be your mother?”
Mother offered him her hand. “Evadine Aris.”
“I heard you would be joining us. I’m so glad you both could make it.” Galen held out his arm for me to take. I felt Thorne’s icy blue stare on us. For some reason, his body tensed when I wrapped my hand around the sleeve of Galen’s forearm before relaxing once more.
“I’ll show you to your rooms, and we can meet again for dinner tonight to go over details of the tour. How does that sound?” Galen asked, breaking my stare from Thorne.
“Wonderful. Thank you, Galen,” I said as we made our way through the entrance, unable to stop myself from gazing at the high granite columns that lined the walkway. “Your home is beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
