Violet tilted her head back and frowned. “What is wrong with you?” She pushed his arm away and hugged Slayton, ignoring Roman’s grumbles.
“If I see Titus, I’ll beat the shit out of him,” Slayton vowed. “I knew there was something off about him.”
Marissa waltzed through Violet’s door behind Slayton, her flared hips swaying. She gave Violet the world’s most awkward hug before moving to Roman’s side, running a soothing hand down his arm. “I came as soon as I heard.”
Oh, gods.Had word gotten around to everyone? Violet tried her best not to order Marissa to leave. Of all the people she wanted to see right now, Marissa held firm at the bottom of the list.
“Who told you two?” Roman barked like a guard dog.
Marissa flinched and stepped back. “Everyone in town knows.”
Slayton reached for Violet to pull her away from a fuming Roman, but the prince snatched his wrist midair. “Stop touching her,” he ground out.
Violet held her hands up between the two. “Will everyone calm down?”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Violet’s mother wailed from the doorway, hurrying in a whirlwind of skirts. Marissa and Slayton stepped back to allow Meri to pull Violet into a hug. Violet liked hugs, but if she had to hug one more person, she might throw herself into the ocean and let the sea creatures have her.
Violet’s father, Edgar, walked in next, bringing her into his arms. More pity hugs. “It’s going to be okay, monkey,” he murmured against her hair. The childhood endearment almost made her cry again, but she’d sworn earlier not to shed another tear. He kissed the top of her head and addressed Roman. “We’ll do everything we can to find Vivian and bring her back to you.”
If Violet’s father had slapped her, it would have hurt less. “Bring her back to him?”
“I don’t want her back.” Roman stepped slightly in front of Violet as if shielding her would soften the blow of her father’s words. “I was never going to marry Vivian, and since she married another and broke our bond, she did me a favor.”
Everyone in the room gasped, and all eyes turned to the prince. “The bond is broken?” Violet’s mother asked, her voice barely a whisper. “That can’t be. Her note said nothing about getting married.”
Violet tried to step around Roman, but he held fast, so she pinched his side until he moved with a deep scowl. “What note?” she questioned her parents.
Her father grimaced. “Your sister left a note that she and Titus were leaving together, but we didn’t think she’d be foolish enough to marry the man. If the mate bond is broken—”
“I’m marrying someone else,” Roman finished for him and flicked his gaze to Violet before returning to Edgar.
“I thought the gods made the bonds,” Violet mused.
“If they want to keep the bloodline strong, they’ll bond me to whomever I marry.” His words were absolute, as if saying it made it so.
“You can’t know that,” Violet’s father argued. “Vivian might have broken the bond, but she is still who the gods chose. If you two marry, I’m sure—”
“No,” Roman cut him off harshly. “Vivian and Titus have committed treason. I wouldn’t marry her if she came crawling to me on her knees, royal bloodline be damned.”
Violet’s mother whimpered. “You mean to kill them?”
“The only reason I won’t separate their heads from their bodies for what they’ve done to Violet is because she’s asked me not to.”
A deep line formed between Edgar’s brows, and he and Meri exchanged a loaded look.
The prince’s declaration made Violet’s head spin. The conviction with which he spoke peppered goosebumps down her arms. Why did he care so much? They did the same to him, yet he focused solely on her.
The room filled with tense silence. No one knew what to make of Roman’s declaration, and to his credit, he looked completely comfortable as if he’d told them about a new horse.
Violet’s mother nodded. “We understand, and thank you for your mercy.”
He laughed humorlessly. “Do not mistake me for a kind man. It is not me you should be thanking.”
Marissa and Slayton remained silent, watching the exchange, Slayton with a speculative look, Marissa with one of… anger? What didshehave to be angry about?
Roman turned to Violet and bowed slightly. “We’ll give you three privacy, but I’ll be back to check on you later.”
“Okay,” Violet acquiesced. “Thank you.”
