Page 85 of The Royal in Room 3

Journalists surged toward the erected barriers being guarded by members of the security forces. The bodyguards surrounded me, keeping a watchful eye in case anyone broke through the barriers.

“Your Royal Highness,” a member of the press threw at me, “how do you feel about the chancellor’s betrayal? He was one of your father’s most trusted advisors.”

“Do you believe the sentence will be severe enough?”

“Will the royal family pursue further charges?”

“What do you make of the people who believe the chancellor’s means were unconventional but necessary to prevent Belvaria from having an incompetent future ruler?”

The questions rolled right off my back, where I would have been offended before. Cameras flashed, blinding me, and I wished I hadn’t left my shades in the limousine. Security formed a path around us as we walked toward the vehicle.

I kept moving toward it.

“Prince Soren, is it true you spent several weeks living in a brothel called Halo House?”

The door to the limousine opened. One more step and I would have been inside, but the question gnawed at me.

“Don’t answer that question,” Julian whispered.

“What is your connection to Halo House?” another reporter threw out.

“Halo House is a remarkable place that offers shelter to those who are in need,” I said, quiet falling around us as I projected my voice so everyone could hear and not misconstrue my connection to the shelter. “When others turned their backs on me, its doors were opened without judgment or question. I have the utmost respect for Phoenix, its owner, and for Officer Aaron Vale, who took me there when I had nowhere else to go.”

Because my country turned its back on me.

I bit my tongue to keep that part to myself.

“Did you make any meaningful connections while living there?”

Jude’s face entered my mind, his body covered in sawdust, his hands around me, his voice telling me I was capable. The air around me suddenly felt insufficient.

“Yes,” I said without elaborating, then entered the car.

Julian took a seat next to me and closed the door. When the car drove off, he raised the privacy screen.

“That was a bad idea, talking about Halo House,” he said.

“I do not mind the people believing I lived in a brothel, but I refuse to have them malign the place Phoenix works so hard to keep running.”

I spoke to Phoenix from time to time, though not as often as I would have liked, given our time difference. I kept pressing him for information about Jude and how he was doing, my stomach cramping until he reassured me each time that Jude hadn’t taken another sub.

Julian sighed. “Except you refused to answer any other question. One of them will realize how important Halo House is to you and possibly do some digging. From what you tell me, that’s not the sort of publicity that Halo House needs. Some of the members are there to hide their whereabouts, no?”

Shit, he was right. I had to call Phoenix to warn him.

After changing out of the formal clothes I’d worn to the courthouse, I declined my valet’s offer to bring lunch to my room and went in search of my father.

For the first time in weeks, I felt hopeful. I had made up my mind that I would return to California as soon as possible and convince Jude that walking away from me had been the wrong decision. He was stubborn, but I had been raised among politicians and diplomats. Surely persuading one carpenter to admit he loved me couldn’t be more difficult than surviving court.

Father would understand. At least, I hoped he would.

I checked his private study first, but it was empty. As I entered the smaller council room, I heard whispering voices. The door stood partly open, and in my excitement, I pushed it wider without knocking.

“Father?”

I stopped abruptly.

My younger brother was pressed against the wall with his legs wrapped around another boy, and their mouths were smashed together. They sprang apart so quickly my brother would have fallen to the floor if his “friend” hadn’t caught him.