Page 62 of The Reign of Blood

“Hey, I make sense all of the time. You’re saying that like I don’t,” he grumbles, and I grin.

“Whatever you say, old man.”

“Old man? I’ll give youold man,” he threatens with a scoff, and I snicker. “I miss you,” he breathes, and my smile becomes weighted with the same feeling.

“I miss you too.”

We knew we would have to be apart, but this is the longest I’ve ever gone without seeing my father and Nora, and it’s harder than I thought it would be. Not that I would tell them that. It would only inflict more worry on them.

“How was it?” he asks, his voice low and nervous, making me frown.

“How was what?”

“Seeing her.” Understanding instantly washes over me and my heart clenches.

I try to swallow past the lump lodged in my throat, but it’s useless. “Unexpected,” I rasp, clearing my throat.

“I can imagine it was.”

“Honestly, I would have expected to see you there before her,” I admit, taking a deep breath to ease the rising tension.

“I’m sure.”

Silence hangs in the air, and in that seemingly-eternal moment, my father holds all the control. He’s always been like this, giving me the silence and space to think about how I feel so I can express it in its truest form.

“I’m torn over it all,” I admit.

“What do you mean?” he asks, keeping his question light and open as I try to decipher what has my chest twisted in a knot.

“I don’t feel compelled to go and save her, and I don’t know if that makes me a bad person or not.” I exhale the biggest breath, realizing the weight of what’s been riding my shoulders.

He clears his throat and I imagine him wiping a hand down his face. “She doesn’t need saving, Addi.”

“She doesn’t?” My body stiffens, another frown marking my forehead.

“She chose to be there. She chose to be with them.”

“Oh.”

I don’t know how that makes me feel, either. She chose to be there instead of with her family? It’s times like this that Ihate the fact that we haven’t spoken more freely about her. But in the same breath, why bother when she chose something else anyway?

I’m aware she’s always been connected to the downfall of the kingdom, but as much as I hate her, I’ve never dared to find out the truth.

“Did you know she was there the entire time?” I ask. It’s the deepest question I’ve ever asked about her, and I instantly hate it.

“I guessed, but I was never certain. When we ran, I didn’t look. There was no need. If she wanted to be with us, she would have run too.”

My eyebrows knit in confusion, but I refuse to delve deeper when it comes to her. My mind refuses, shutting me off. Instead, I’m focusing on something else entirely. “So it doesn’t make me a bad heir to not worry about the safety of someone in the kingdom?”

“Oh, Addi. No. Far from it. Being a leader isn’t all sunshine and roses. There’s always something ugly around the corner, things we don’t want to face or have to handle, along with bad decisions we don’t want to make for the greater good. But the fact that you question that, the fact that you consider the kingdom as well as yourself, is what makes you a worthy heir.”

My chest tingles with the praise from my father, easing the self-doubt threatening to creep in.

“Thanks, Dad.” A knock on the door interrupts our call. “Sorry, Dad. My friend is here. We’re going for dinner,” I explain, and his voice chirps up.

“Of course, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to mention the kiss of amethyst,” he states as I open the door to see Flora on the other side. She smiles but instantly panics when she sees I’m on a call. I smile back, holding a finger up for her to give me a second, and she nods.

“What about it?” I ask, averting my gaze from Flora as my father speaks. My teeth sink into my bottom lip as I listen, unsure of what he’s telling me. “Are you sure?”

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