A few days later, Roman lay on his bed and stared miserably at the black satin canopy above. He’d told his mother he didn’t feel well and locked himself in his rooms all day like a petulant child. Truthfully, hedidn’tfeel well, just not in the way he’d led her to believe.
He slid his gaze guiltily to the untouched soup his mother had delivered earlier. Perched neatly on a meal cart with his favorite sweet bread, the “feel-better” meal taunted him. He hated lying to his parents, but he couldn’t bring himself to deal with anyone today.
The day before yesterday, Violet hadn’t shown up to his weekly dinner with the Maekins. Meri saidSlaytonhad invited her for dinner at his house. Yesterday, Roman looked into the guy. Slayton was their age, lived in town, and worked at the grocery store his father owned. Her mother hadn’t mentioned Violet having dinner with SlaytonandGriff or any of Violet’s other friends. Only Slayton.
It could be nothing, but what if Roman misread things and Violet had feelings for this other guy and not him?
Roman had warned everyone in the palace school against touching Violet, but he hadn’t thought she’d meet a guy from town.
To make matters worse, Violet barely looked at Roman in class, not even when Ms. Bonner squawked in outrage at the sight of the upturned classroom the morning after the birthday ball.
Alarm bells rang through the air, snapping him from his miserable thoughts. The deep chimes echoed off the stone walls, and Roman strained to decipher the code. His heart sped up with recognition.Rebels.
Rebel factions attacking the kingdoms were an ongoing problem throughout Eden—always had been, always would be. The rebels wanted to end the royal bloodlines. They believed the throne should be earned, not inherited, but their selfishness only proved how ill-suited they were to rule. The throne passed down the royal bloodlines because non-royal fae were too weak to properly defend an entire kingdom under attack. There had never been an assault large enough to require the use of their most powerful magic, but if there ever was, they’d be ready.
If someone sounded the rebel alarms within the palace, then rebels had already breached the palace walls.
I have to find Violet.Roman rushed to his dressing room, threw on his leathers, strapped on his weapons, and skidded to a halt halfway to the door.Shit.
Vivian’ssafety should be his top priority. His father might disown him if he failed to protect her. Mate bonds were the sole reason the royal bloodlines stayed strong, and if Roman couldn’t find a way to transfer the bond from Vivian to Violet, he’d have to marry Vivian to keep his kingdom safe.
Still, Roman would check on Vivian after he ensured Violet’s safety. Vivian should be in the arena training with the other junior warriors, and he didn’t feel pain or fear through their bond. Only nervous excitement.
Not surprising Viv would think a rebel attack is exciting,he thought incredulously.
Roman ran down the hallway and skirted around the corner nearest the stairs, smacking into a maid with a meal cart. She shrieked and the contents of her cart went crashing to the ground.
Roman grabbed the maid’s arms to keep her from falling and familiar eyes stared back in shock. Not a maid.Violet. “What are you doing here?” he asked with a shaky, relieved breath.
“Mom said you weren’t feeling well. I made you soup.” She pointed with a shaky hand to the mess on the floor, “and I wanted to see if you’d have dinner with me when you’re feeling better so we could talk.”
Violet’s daunting words hung over him like a sharp blade waiting to strike, but he didn’t have time to demand an explanation. With great difficulty, he slammed his warring emotions down and locked them up tight. Now that he knew Violet was safe, he could move his focus to finding Vivian and his parents.
“The alarms mean the rebels are inside the palace walls, don’t they?” she asked him. “I-I need to find my mother. She knows I’m here and will be beside herself looking for me.” Trembling fingers fiddled with one of the beaded bracelets adorning her wrist.
The chance of rebels getting inside the actual palace was low, but Roman couldn’t leave Violet to wander the halls alone.Think.
“It’s not safe for you to walk around by yourself. The guards will have already ushered your mother and the other staff into safe rooms.” Taking her hand, he dragged her down the hall and into his rooms, not stopping until they reached his bedroom. Roman bent next to the bed, lifted part of the black damask bed skirt to tuck under the mattress, and gestured underneath. “Hide under here and don’t come out until I tell you to.”
Violet dropped to the floor and scooted her lithe body underneath the dark cherry wood frame. She rarely did what he said on the first try, and her submission stirred something inside him.
Roman lowered to his knees to peer under the bed, and the terror on her face took him aback. He tried to sound reassuring when he said, “I’ll be back.”
He started to stand but she latched onto his arm with a clammy hand. “Please, don’t leave me.”
His fists tightened on the bed skirt at her desperate plea, and every instinct screamed at him to hold her until the warriors neutralized the threat. “I have to find Vivian,” he explained instead, “and they might need my help to fight.” As a royal fae, even at sixteen, his physical strength and skill outmatched most of their strongest warriors. “You’ll be safe here.”
Scared eyes begged him to stay, and he averted his gaze. “I’m scared, Rome.”Godsdammit.
The increasing terror in her words cut through him like a knife. “I know, princess, but I have to check on your sister and find my parents.” The words sounded harsh as he battled his growing trepidation at leaving her there, and she flinched.
She freed his wrist and dropped her arm to the floor with resignation. “I understand.” It felt like something broke between them, but Roman didn’t know what or how to fix it. Violet had to know he didn’t want to leave her, right?
If Roman shirked his duties, his mother and father would never forgive him, and if something did happen to Vivian, he’d never forgive himself.But if Vivian dies, the bond breaks.
Appalled at his unsavory thoughts, he rose abruptly. “I’ll be back for you. I promise.”
“Rome,” Violet called out softly.
