Elias sank his teeth into his bottom lip. He tasted iron.
The emperor sighed. “I hoped you would one day accept her as my wife and as your mother. I hoped you would love her and our children, your siblings. I am saddened, so very saddened.” He paused. “I am disappointed in you, Elias.”
Elias’s eyes stung. He squeezed them shut.
There was no point arguing. Nothing he could say could convince his father of the truth. The world the emperor lived in had been crafted and built by the untruths the empress had dripped into his ears over twenty years. When the emperor looked at Elias now, all he saw was what the empress wanted him to see.
Elias exhaled. He could not get his father to love and believe him. But at least Elias had the power to hurt him.
He straightened his shoulders and pasted on a smile. “Well, don’t worry.” He turned and faced his father. “Tomorrow, I will marry Prince Gerard. I will then be part of the royal family of Draconia. I will move to the Castle of the Dragons. I’ll have a whole new family. A whole new life. I will leave you andyourfamily behind.”
Elias took a step towards his father, smile stretching wider. “Your family will be perfect now that your disappointing son is gone. You’ll have the family you and the empress always wanted.”
Elias took another step forward. His cheeks hurt, he was smiling so hard. “I can make things even easier on you both. I’ll never visit. Never send letters. I’ll be gone completely from your life. It will be like I was never your son. I’ll remain in Draconia for the rest of my days.”
The emperor shook his head. “No. That is not what I meant. I?—”
“I think it will be best for all of us.” Elias strode to his dresser and sat. “Now I really must prepare myself for the wedding tomorrow. I want to make a good impression. I want to impress my new family.”
Elias glanced into the mirror. His father stood staring at the back of Elias’s head.
“You can leave me now,” Elias said, voice brisk.
In the mirror, his father sagged. Elias’s lungsconstricted. And for a second, the urge to make peace sprang up inside him. But what was Elias meant to do? So many times over the years, he’d tried with his father. It achieved nothing.
It just left Elias more bruised and battered.
So he turned his gaze to his own reflection. He picked up a jar of lotion and opened it. He smoothed the lavender-scented cream over his neck. After several moments, his father left and closed the door behind him.
Elias dropped the lotion onto the table. It clattered. He leaned forward, slippery fingers gripping the dresser. He took deep, shaky breaths.
“Fuck!”
After twenty years, he should be used to this. He really should. He met his gaze in the mirror.
Tomorrow he would marry. Was he really thinking of opening himself up further to Gerard? Of trusting him? Of giving the man the power to hurt him?
Elias had put up walls for a reason. He’d kept his distance from others to protect himself.
Was he really considering giving all that up?
He shook his head.I’d be a fool to trust someone again.
Chapter
Thirty-Five
“You and Prince Elias seem content with each other,” King Alaric said to Gerard as they stood in the small room just off the ceremony chamber.
The room was quite crowded. It held not only the two of them but the queen consort, a monk, four warrior monks, and four guards from Draconia.
Some might consider four Draconian guards excessive when warrior monks were already present. Well, it was actually eighteen Draconian guards in total if one counted the six with Elias and then the others standing outside each door leading into the ceremony chamber.
But Gerard was taking no chances. No one would interfere with his wedding today.
“Yes.” Gerard smiled. “I am very pleased with my betrothed.”
“That is good.” The king paused. “But remember, it is important to continue our bloodline. Keep your eyes open for opportunities that present themselves.”
