My father’s brows scrunched. “How serious?”
Lord Pippin and I glanced at one another again.
So many memories flashed through my mind.
So many loving moments. So much happiness.
All brushed aside for the crown.
“It was just serious,” I whispered, my heart hammering inside my chest. “That’s really all you need to know.”
Lord Xenon waved his hand between the two of us. “Are you two back in this relationship now?”
Lord Otto tapped his phone on his knee. “They were both late this morning and came in together.”
Lord Belshazzar grunted, with his eyes on his glass. He gently continued to swirl the remaining blood in the flute around and around, staring down into the crimson liquid.
Lord Pippin shook his head. “We are not in a relationship right now, nor have we had any sexual relations since she woke from her Rest.”
“But you’ve had private moments.” It wasn’t a question. Lord Belshazzar glanced up at him. His ice blue eyes didn’t waver from the other Overlord. “Were any of these caught on camera and could they be used against her?”
I shook my head instantly, drawing his attention. “We only spoke privately when I first arrived at the stronghold. And once during a Challenge—but that was actually part of the Challenge, I guess. And none were outside of the royal floor.” I cleared my throat, keeping my expression blank. “Anything else after that was behind closed doors.”
Lord Belshazzar nodded his head. Slowly. “So no cameras?”
“No cameras.”
He went back to spinning the liquid in his glass.
I dropped my head into my hands, my elbows digging into the wood as I leaned heavily on them. I closed my eyes and muttered, “Harmony, who did this?”
My assistant stated calmly, “I’m one hundred percent positive it was Athena Insteia. After you killed her mother at the Blood Rite, she started private inquiries about you. She even tried to track me down. I know for a fact that she managed to find the two-hundred-year-old paper trail to your and Lord Pippin’s home. After that, it would have been just a matter of finding a vampire who lived in the same area at that time and paying them enough money to talk.”
I kept my eyes closed. “We used false names.”
We’d wanted privacy. Our privacy.
Anonymity was precious.
She chuckled quietly and patted the top of my head. “You disappeared for seven years, your majesty. Back then, it would have been near impossible to track your whereabouts, but now we live in the digital age. And you’re the daughter of an Overlord. Did you think no one would notice?”
“False. Names.” I ground my teeth together.
She snorted. “Perhaps try names that aren’t so obvious next time?”
I peeked up at her. “They were fine names.”
Lord Pippin glared right at me. “I told you we should have changed our last names too.”
“Why?” My attention turned to him. The old argument…still old. But now with a new twist. “Did either one of us foresee this happening? Oh, that’s right. You did. You knew I was nicknamed Black Widow. Maybe you should havesaid somethingabout that.”
His red eyebrows lifted and his tone was droll. “I’m sure that conversation would have gone over great.”
“Coward,” I muttered.
“Do you have any idea what you’re like when you’re mad at someone? When you were pissed at me, you made me sleep outside.Outside, Gwen. Even if it was fucking raining.”
“You could have found a hovel to sleep in,” I argued. I lifted a finger. “And that only happened once. Don’t bring that shit up. Or did you forget about the time you thought I’d left our chickens out—”
