Page 75 of The Sorrow of Shadows

“You can’t tell anyone, at least not yet.” I’m not surprised to hear her say this, but I don’t like it all the same.

“It might be too late for that,” Breyla says, fidgeting nervously.

Gen levels an impressive glare at me. If I didn’t know herso well, I might be afraid of the queen in front me. “Who did you tell, Aurelius?”

“Why do you assume it was me?” I ask in an exasperated tone.

She gives me a look as if to say she knows better. She does, but I’m not going to tell her that.

“It may have been both of us, actually,” Breyla admits, and it takes me by surprise.

I tilt my head at her in question. “Who did you tell, Princess?”

“I may have lost a bet with Elijah and he got me to show him...one of my memories that exposed us.” She seems wholly embarrassed, probably because she’s having to admit this to her mother.

“Of course, it’s fucking Elijah,” I grumble.

“Hey!” she snaps at me. “It’s not as bad as what you did.” She jabs an accusing finger into my chest.

“What I did was necessary, and you know it,” I huff back, brushing her finger off my chest.

“No, what you did was a show of territorial male bullshit. You were basically a dog pissing on a tree to mark its territory.”

“Silence!” Genevieve demands in a tone that has us both hushing. “You two are insufferable.” She rubs her temples, trying to release the headache we’re causing her.

“Somebody just tell me who you told.” She sighs, looking between the two of us.

“Prince Ayden was...” Breyla’s voice trails off as she tries to find her words, “made aware of Aurelius's feelings toward me last night.”

I smirk at her word choice, but it quickly turns to a frown when I see Gen’s face.

Pissed would be too light a word to describe the emotion on her face. She’s irate, but there’s also something akin to fear in hereyes. She begins pacing back and forth, muttering to herself about idiotic males.

“Why in the hell would you do something so stupid, Aurelius? Can you imagine what someone like Prince Ayden would do with that information? The danger you’ve put us all in by giving him leverage like that?”

I take a deep breath, trying to find an answer that will satisfy her, knowing I’m in trouble either way. “The prince is a nosey bastard and already suspected something before I exposed the truth. He would have figured it out either way, but I needed to send a message that he couldn’t misinterpret.”

“Ah, so territorial male bullshit, just like my daughter said.” She rolls her eyes, clearly irritated with my reasoning.

I couldn’t really explain it any other way but a need to claim my little demon and make sure no one else would dare touch her. I can’t say that, though, because that’s the literal epitome of ‘territorial male bullshit’.

“What’s done is done. If it helps, he gave us his word he wouldn’t tell anyone.” I shrug as if that’s supposed to help. It doesn’t.

“And you believed him?” she asks incredulously. “You were obviously thinking with your dick. Honestly, I should strip you of your position as emissary after this stunt.”

I tense at her suggestion, never considering that was something she would do.

“But I won’t,” she sighs. She finally ceases her pacing and stands directly in front of us.

“As you said, what’s done is done. Moving forward, no one else can know. I trust Elijah, of course. Ayden is a wild card, no doubt. I’ll find some way to end our betrothal, Aurelius, but until then you must keep your relationship with Breyla a secret. I need time.”

Then she does something I’m not suspecting and wraps her arms around both of us in a group hug.

“I’m happy for you both, truly. But you’re both idiots. Don’t do anything else stupid for a while,” she says, squeezing us tightly.

“No promises,” Breyla responds and hugs her back.

As we pull away from the hug, Gen’s face softens. “Breyla, now that the ball is over, we need to decide what to do for Julian.”

---