Page 23 of Until the Stars Fall

“Last I checked, Your Highness, I’m not the leader of the Emeryn armies. You are.”

Running a hand behind my neck, I dropped my eyes back to the map, but I could see nothing except a blur of papers and ink. For all intents and purposes, I was their commander, but lately it seemed to be in title alone.

I had a new assignment.

Brennan.

The ass had been a pain in mine since our father charged me with controlling him. I had assigned guards to track him and keep an eye on him for me, but all that had done so far was confirm my suspicions that he hadn’t changed his ways at all. Princess Calla had visited a few times during the past year, and he had done a good job charming her as commanded. But after each visit, I still found him tangled up with a brunette. Or a blonde. Every single time.

Fact of the matter was, Brennan had little to fear if he failed. When he screwed up, I was the one our father railed against. As unfair as that was, I didn’t fight it. Not after the promise I’d made to our mother.

A promise I wished she had never asked me to make.

A promise I never could have denied her.

Protect your brother,she had said.Promise me you will be there for him when I cannot.

And I had protected him, at least from the king.

But I had failed to save Brennan from himself. That needed to be remedied.

Something moved in front of my face, and I glanced up to find Matthias now standing, waving his hand over the desk.

“Where did I lose you just now, Connor?” he asked with genuine concern. “It’s your brother, isn’t it?”

I nodded once before shaking my head slowly. “I don’t know what more to do. What can I possibly try that I haven’t already?”

Matthias returned to his seat with that mischievous look of his. “You never did take my suggestion of locking him up.”

I envisioned shoving Brennan into one of the cold cells with nothing but urine-soaked straw for bedding. Bread. Water. Darkness. Solitude. As cruel as that sounded—and as guilty as it made me feel to consider it—I was starting to think it might be the only way to turn the little shit around.

“Maybe,” I muttered, ready to be finished with this topic altogether.

“It really is unfair for you to have to manage marrying off your brother,” Matthias said. Before I could agree, he continued. “When does the king expect you to focus on your own marriage prospects? After all, our kingdom will need an heir just as much as we need this alliance with Arenysen.”

I suddenly wanted to go back to discussing Brennan.

“Maybe he thinks we have time,” I said with a shrug, trying not to let him see how this new topic grated on me. Not that I could hide much from him, though.

“And what do you think?” Matthias asked, all humor gone from his tone. He honestly thought I had time to think about finding a wife? As if he could read my thoughts, he jabbed his finger toward me. “And don’t tell me you don’t have time to think about it.”

I settled back in my chair and laid my head back, lifting my eyes to the ceiling. WhatdidI think about it? I wasn’t averse to the idea like Brennan was, but I wasn’t exactly gearing up to bind myself to anyone just yet.

“I have time—to find her, that is,” I said, still looking at the ceiling instead of at my friend. “If it’s meant to happen, it will happen.”

Matthias started laughing before I’d even finished speaking, and I raised a brow in question.

“Don’t tell me you still believe in that mate nonsense!” His forehead crinkled as he ridiculed me. “You know that’s just a fanciful bedtime story. It’s not real!”

“And how do you know? When exactly did you become an expert on romance?” I tried to keep my tone flat, uninterested, even as something tightened defensively in my chest. If I dared try to explain to him how my parents had actually been mates, bound to each other by fate, he would have scoffed and denied it. Funny how a war—a war fought for love, at that—could turn everyone’s hearts away from the truth.

“Sure it’s not just your way of putting off marriage for as long as possible?Oh, she’s not my mate. Can’t marry her.” He wagged his head as he proceeded to mock me, and I would have thrown something at him had there been anything handy.

“Why are you so eager to marry me off exactly?” I asked. My love life—or lack thereof—had never come up before this, and it seemed an odd time to mention it.

Matthias’s smile faded slightly, but he didn’t let it disappear completely. “Watching you working so hard to pair your brother off had me thinking, I guess. Arenysen needs a future king. And we need a future queen. That concerns everyone in our nation, does it not?”

He wasn’t wrong. It would need to be addressed sooner or later.

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