Page 89 of Crownless King

“Sauria,” I blurted out the first name that came to mind.

He nodded slowly. Thoughts appeared to cloud his mind.

“Are you happy, Sauria?”

“Yes.”

There simply was no other one-syllable answer I could give him that wouldn’t potentially invite more questions.

A smile ghosted his lips, that barely-there smile that one had to look very closely to spot or, like me, one had to know and love this man so much, they wouldfeelhis moods shifting.

Voron was wistful, melancholic, sad. He was calm. But he wasn’t happy. He hadn’t been since he’d lost me. I was sure I’d been the last person to hear him laugh. The Sky Crown failed to replace me, no matter what he might’ve told himself.

He looked down and adjusted the black lace of his cuff. The familiar gesture robbed me of breath. My eyes burned with unshed tears. So, so many tears I’d kept inside me. How was I supposed to go through life without him when he was the one who made me feel alive?

“Thank you for having us,” he said in that formal, detached voice he’d used with the courtiers back at King Tiane’s court. “Sorry for the rather sudden intrusion.” He slipped a large sapphire ring off a finger on his hand that had a few more rings now than he used to wear before. Though, the little silver band of Mulena still glistened on his pinky, irreplaceable. “Your husband will be rewarded. But please accept this as my personal thank you to you as well.”

I didn’t move from my spot by the wall.

“It’s not necessary. We didn’t do much. Hospitality is an old tradition to be honored. It’s our pleasure to welcome you here.”

He inclined his head with a polite half-smile. “The ring won’t buy you happiness, dear Sauria, but you don’t need any. You are one of the very few people I’ve met to admit they are happy. Take it, if simply as a token of my appreciation. I insist.”

I shuffled forward and held my hand under his for him to drop the ring into my palm. I couldn’t let him touch me, no matter how much I longed to feel him again.

Curling my fingers around the heavy ring that still held the warmth of his body, I lingered. I realized I couldn’t leave him without hearing from him the answer to this one question.

“Why aren’t you happy, Your Majesty? What do you need for happiness?”

“There is nothing I need, dear.” He gave me a puzzling smile that waned before taking hold. “Nothing fromthisworld.”

My heart ached for him. I used to make him happy, and I had loved doing it. I’d lived for it.

Maybe I could do it again?

All I had to do was to step forward, wrap my arms around him, and tell him my name.

My fingers trembled. My entire body shook with nerves, need, and longing. I wished to be in his arms. I craved his touch more than anything in my life right now…

Once again, the door to the house opened.

“Your Majesty?” Alcon exited out onto the patio.

He gave me a curious look. I smiled and curtsied in reply.

Never before had I been so grateful to see Alcon. His interruption brought me back to my senses and possibly saved my life. Aithen’s life, too. I couldn’t afford to take any risks. How could I be so reckless and forget even for a second what was at stake here?

With my head down, I stepped back into the house where I was safe, where my baby had been growing in peace, undisturbed by the perils of wealth and power. The only thing I could do was to make sure it remained that way.

ChapterTwenty-Three

VORON

“Is everything all right?” Alcon inquired.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Voron shrugged. “I’m having a conversation with our hostess.” He flicked his wrist toward thetaureanwoman, but she was already going through the door, back into the house.

Regret pinched his heart as he watched her leave. There was something in her large brown eyes that made him want to keep talking. He felt he could tell her his entire life story and, somehow, she’d be able to make it all better. As if the random stranger from a secluded farm could ease the pain of his past.

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