Page 85 of Blooms of Darkness

“I’m much better. I promise. Thank you for allowing me some time to rest.” Guilt clawed at my gut for lying so blatantly to his face, but I’d get over it. I had to.

“The second trial is set for this afternoon. You’ll be okay, yes?” he asked.

His eyes were trained on me, looking for something. Hesitation, perhaps. However, the manner in which he asked made me think it wasn’t necessarily a question and more of a notice to be prepared.

“I’ll be ready.”

A knock sounded on my door. “Oh, for fate’s sake,” I muttered under my breath.

My father chuckled, rising and moving to the head of my bed. I had propped myself up to read so he didn’t have far to lean down to offer me a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Ian walked in as the king was leaving. He bowed, as he always did. Ruppert grumbled loudly in the hall about the number of visitors.

“There is no need to bow and treat me as King in these chambers, Ian my boy.” The King clasped my friend’s shoulders. “You look more like your father every day.”

Ian’s back straightened, his posture impeccable, despite the king’s insistence at casualty. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The king tsked. His face fell, and he had yet to remove his hand from Ian. “I miss him. Especially during tedious Court gatherings. He made things far more bearable.” His eyes teared before he quickly blinked them away. “Much like I’ve seen you do for Lana.”

I knew my father had plenty of private conversations with Ian, and I wasn't privy to knowing how many had been about his own father. Witnessing the exchange firsthand, though, twisted something in my stomach. The concern from earlier ate at me even further. My father addressed Ian as though he wanted to ensure he told him his feelings, before he no longer had time.

Which meant whatever plagued him wasn’t getting better.

Ian watched him go with longing in his gaze, as though he wanted to know more.

“That was sweet,” I said.

Ian smiled. “He talked about my father more when I was a child, but it's been a while. Hearing that from him meant so much.” He sighed.

Holding out my hand, I motioned Ian to move close to me. Leaning on him for support, I rose from bed.

Kalliah’s scoff sounded from the doorway. “You’ve barely left your bed since your return. How are we going to pull off sitting through a trial?”

“I’m much better, I swear. I woke up this morning feeling nearly back to normal. Stop fussing.”

Ian let go of me, as if he wanted to test what I said, and I surprised them both by not only remaining standing, but also tilting my hip, pressing a hand on it, and sticking my tongue out at both of them. “Overbearing friends. Both of you.”

“Don’t you have a trial to prepare for?” I asked Ian.

He nodded, running his fingers along the side of his cheek. “Yes, I don’t have long, and there are two things we need to talk about.”

“Go on.” I waited for his big revelation.

“First. No more Hidden Henchman activities. After what happened to you, and everything going on with the trials, it’s too much. Once this is over, we will figure out how to start again. It’s not worth the risk over the next few weeks.”

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. The risks were too great at this point. Especially since he, Leif, and Corbin would be in danger continuing Hidden Henchman activities, too.

I conceded. “I have to agree with you, for now. But the moment these trials are over, we return to our plans to help our people.”

Kalliah clapped her hands in agreement, giving me an incredulous glare while Ian took a moment and assessed myseriousness. “We’ll discuss it again after the trials. Now, more importantly, I have news to report.”

“News?” I frowned, unsure what information we had been expecting and didn’t have.

“I did some additional digging into Kade and Storm. After Leif and Corbin came up short, I used some of my contacts as Captain of the Royal Guard to inquire further.”

A deep crease between his eyebrows told me something hadn’t panned out.

My eyes widened in expectation. “And?”

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