Page 96 of Clash of Kingdoms

I couldn’t sleep.

It’d been three days, and I’d slept on and off only briefly. Every couple of hours, I left my chambers to ask my father if he’d received any news—and the answer was always the same. I hated the way my final conversation with Aurelias had ended. It’d been on my mind every moment he’d been gone. I was hurt he wouldn’t repair the damage he’d caused, but I loved him so much that my heart was still tied with his irrevocably.

I left my bedchambers and entered the great room, expecting no one to be there so I could look out the large windows to the city and field beyond, to check for the scales of dragons in the torchlight.

But they weren’t there.

“Sweetheart.”

I turned behind me to see my father sitting at the table, wearing his lounge trousers without a shirt. A nasty scar was on his shoulder from where he’d been stabbed. Other marks of battle were on his tanned skin, old scratches and cuts. He was a burly man with lots of muscle on muscle, a bear without fur. I approached the table. “I’m so tired, but I can’t sleep.”

“Neither can I.”

I took the seat across from him, seeing the bottle of scotch and his glass. I would normally reprimand him for his drinking, but tonight, I didn’t care. In fact, I grabbed the bottle and took a drink myself.

My father didn’t pass judgment.

“They should have been back by now.”

“It’s unrealistic to have any expectations.”

“But you’ve been there.”

“I don’t know what the circumstances are. Because this time, the demons probably knew they were coming. They may have had to sneak to the crystal, find another way of getting the job done. I’m worried…which is why I drink and not sleep, but that doesn’t mean they’re unwell.”

“We don’t have any dogs in the fight, so why are you up all night?” Uncle Ian hadn’t traveled with them underground. He was safe with the dragons, waiting for the vampires to return. If things went south, all he had to do was fly away.

“I do have a dog in the fight.” He crossed his arms over his chest as he slouched in the chair. “A couple…”

My father had despised Aurelias at their first interaction. That hatred lasted a long time. But now, it was different. Their journeys and battles had changed their relationship. “You’ve grown close.”

He was quiet for a while. “He’s a good man.”

I said nothing.

“Reminds me of myself.”

I was hurt by Aurelias’s betrayal, also hurt that my father seemed to tolerate that betrayal, but I kept that to myself. Because if you looked past that, Aurelias really was a remarkable person. One day, he would find a vampire woman who could give him what he wanted, and he would marry her…and she would be the luckiest woman alive…or unalive. By the time that happened, I’d probably have been dead for several hundred years, my descendants ruling the Kingdoms while my body rotted in a grave. The pain made me swallow, because I knew I would never love another man the way I loved him. I would meet someone new someday, but he would never compare to the man I’d already loved and lost.

“You alright, sweetheart?”

My eyes lifted to his again. “Yes…just worried.”

“I’ve seen Aurelias and his brothers in battle, and they’re definitely superior to the demons we’ve fought. I have faith they’ll return. But until they do, all I can do is sit and drink.”

I gave a nod. “It’s only been a few months, but I can’t remember how life used to be. It’s hard to believe it used to be normal, peaceful. I would read books after dinner…and now I can’t focus beyond more than a few sentences. War is always right on our doorstep, and people are always dying.”

My father released a heavy breath. “This is a life I never wanted you and your brother to know.”

“And if we survive it, I’ll never forget it.”

“If Aurelias does return and the demons attack us once more, we should win with the vampire army.”

“But they have to destroy the crystal—and return.”

“Aurelias knows the consequences if he fails.” He looked at me, the subject of Aurelias’s motivation unspoken. “He knows he can’t.”

He would put his life on the line for me several times, but not tell me his secret. There were times when I was moved by his protection and bravery…and then burned by his abandonment.

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