The room is deathly silent as I move across the dark blue Persian rug and take a seat in an upholstered chair that I’ve sat in many times before, but never under these tense circumstances.
“Care to explain where you were yesterday?”
I shift in my chair and grip the armrests. “I was ahead of the parade, ensuring all security was in place.”
“Isn’t that why we have Ottar? He’s the second-in-command to security, is he not?”
“He is,” I answer.
“Was he not doing his job?”
“No, he was.”
“I see, and what were you supposed to be doing?”
Fuck. My mouth goes dry as I attempt to answer his fast, hard-hitting questions.
“I was supposed to be with Lilly, assisting her through the parade.”
“I see.” He nods. “And you didn’t perform that duty.”
“I did not,” I answer.
“Any reason behind that other than your own selfish decision and disobedience?”
I wet my lips and shake my head. “No, sir.”
“I appreciate your honesty, but unfortunately, we’ll have to suspend you from your duties.”
My stomach crashes to the ground as I sit taller. “Suspend me?” I ask. “Wh-what do you mean?”
“I mean, we’ll be reviewing your decision and assessing whether or not it’s grounds for termination. Until then, you are not to step foot inside the palace. You’re only allowed in the servants’ quarters and will not be privy to any private intel.”
“But, Theo, sir, what about Lilly?”
“She seemed to carry on perfectly fine yesterday without you, despite the obvious heartbreak she was suffering through that only Katla, Lara, and I were aware of.”
That stings more than you know.
I’m proud of her for being able to fulfill her duties without help, but it doesn’t feel good not to be needed, especially given the line of work I’m in.
“But... I was trying to help with Brimar and—”
“I’m grateful for the work you did in the early morning, taking care of Brimar and cutting the story before it could ruin the day for us, but that was all that was needed at that moment. Ottar had security under control. You should have been with Lilija, which was most important at the time. You lost sight of your duties.”
“I was trying to help,” I say, hanging my head.
“You were trying to avoid her. Your personal life encroached on your responsibilities and that’s the last thing I expected from you.”
He’s right.
“I’m sorry, Theo. I let you down.”
“You let Lilija down.”
And that is probably the most painful realization out of all of this.
I don’t know what to say, so I just nod.
