Page 100 of Royal Caleva: Luis

She used the bathroom to splash cold water on her tear-streaked face. Before she turned on the spigot, she stared at herself in the mirror, noting every line at the corners of her eyes, every laugh line around her mouth, the slight sag of the skin under her chin, and the dark circles under her eyes. The dark circles could be attributed to her worry and the fact that it was the middle of the night, but the rest of it? Definitely not queen material.

And she couldn’t handle being a liaison, with all the brevity that implied. Luis hadn’t asked for it, but she had given her heart into his keeping. She couldn’t bear to have him toss it back to her when he got bored.

As soon as Grace’s identity had been announced publicly, Eve would be on a plane back to Iowa. Time away from Luis—and the spell of seduction he had woven around her—would help her get her mind right before she returned to Caleva permanently.

In the meantime, she closed her eyes and prayed for his life.

CHAPTER 24

Luis surfaced into wakefulness and wished he hadn’t. It felt like someone had swung a wrecking ball into his abdomen while every other part of his body throbbed with pain of varying degrees. He would swear that even his hair hurt.

He opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital room, connected to an alarming number of blinking machines.

And then memory flooded back.

Eve telling him goodbye. The overwhelming urge to vomit. His legs so painful he couldn’t stand. Eve calling for help before he blacked out.

What the hell had happened to him?

Judging by the number of wires and tubes attached to him, it was something serious. Or they were being extra careful because he was the king. Since he was never ill, it was hard for him to judge.

He glanced around the room to find Raul and Grace asleep in recliners. His heart contracted. If they were in the room, his situation must be worse than he thought. Yet warmth flowed through him to see both his children sitting vigil over him.

Eve was not there, though.

Loss hollowed him out. Had she abandoned him already?

He closed his eyes. A single tear seeped out and trickled into his hair, a sign of weakness he despised, but he couldn’t stop it. He didn’t want to put on a reassuring face for the benefit of his children or a strong, regal mask for the benefit of the medical professionals.

He wanted Eve so he could be just a man who felt like he had been dragged to hell and back.

No, she wouldn’t leave him when he was seriously ill. She must be nearby.

His glance swept over his children again, taking in their sweatshirts and rumpled hair and the blankets they had wrapped around themselves. They had been here for some time.

The lack of light around the edges of the shade covering the window indicated it was night. But which night?

He closed his eyes, trying to conjure a memory of what happened after he arrived at the hospital.

Mikel’s voice drifted through his mind. What had he been saying?

Poison.

Luis’s eyelids snapped open. He wasn’t ill. He had been poisoned. But how? He had eaten only food prepared by his own staff. He started to shake his head, but it hurt too badly to move. Mikel must be wrong.

On the other hand, Raul and Grace were sleeping in the room with him.

“Raul.” His voice came out as a raspy whisper. He worked some saliva into his mouth and tried again, pushing this time. “Raul!”

Grace stirred, sliding out of the chair to tiptoe up to his bedside, her gaze focused on his face. “Dad?” she whispered. “Are you awake?”

“Yes,” he croaked, his heart swelling with the joy of being called Dad.

Relief lit her face as a tear snaked down her cheek. “Oh, thank God!” She turned and spoke in a low but carrying voice. “Raul! He’s awake!”

His son bolted out of his chair to the bedside, brushing Luis’s fingers ever so gently. Raul’s careful touch told Luis more than Raul had meant it to. “Pater! Gracias a Dios! We should call the doctor.”

“Not yet,” Luis said. “I need to hear from you what happened, what is wrong with me.”

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