Page 24 of A True King

“I have to go. I’ll be in touch soon.”

And with that, he hangs up, leaving me shell-shocked that we could still have staff that are spying on us with an intent to do harm. And the fact that he said what he said about Mia, has me rethinking everything again.

I need to clear the air. Mia and I are about to have a chat. And this talk could end it all or put us right back where we were three weeks ago.

I’m antsy as I walk to my chambers. Opening the door, I look around. It’s just as I had left it. I glance at the closet secret passage. It’s now or never.

Chapter Thirteen

Mia

I insist on unpacking my bags. After much fussing, Tessa and one of the housemaids finally leave me alone. I sit down on the giant four-poster bed with its embroidered bed coverings and innately carved wood. My hand runs along the fabric, feeling each bump of the threads.

I look around at my belongings. But it’s the balcony that draws my attention. Slowly, I rise and walk toward the double glass doors. As I open one, the cool mountain breeze blows around me. I shiver. It feels ominous. It feels like I’ve just let an enemy enter my room. I force myself to stay there. The gardens below are quiet. I can hear a horse whinny in the distance. It all seems so calm. It’s storm season here and on the horizon, I notice some darkening clouds. I feel a storm coming both literally and figuratively.

What if I hadn’t given out Christian’s schedule? What would have happened? What if I had told him what was going on? Would he have believed me then? I kick at the stone of the balcony.

“Ouch,” I mutter as I reach down, grabbing my foot.

“You should be more careful,” Christian’s voice comes from behind me, and I jump.

“Holy shit! You scared me!” I yelp as I turn my body to face him, my hand clutching my chest. I can feel my heart beating a mile a minute, partly from being startled and partly from Christian being so close to me.

“You really didn’t give them any real intel. Did you?” he states. His eyes search mine as though the answer lies in my pupils.

I frown at first, confused as my mind races to catch up, and when it does, I stop breathing for a moment. Does he believe me now?

I did my best to report very little and nothing that couldn’t be found on the internet. I’d only reported little nuggets of insider information once a week or so, just enough so that they would believe, but again, nothing that revealed anything. But the only way they would truly know that is if…they found the burner phone.

A few weeks ago, when the palace was in a shakedown over the threat of The 44 and the king’s security staff had decided to investigate every member of the royal staff, I had intentionally left it in my closet. I was afraid to carry it around with me for fear someone would find it. And then, I didn’t want to take it with me because I was one hundred percent sure it had a tracker in it. I had quickly sent three days of a schedule, assuming I’d be back at the palace by then. I stupidly thought they wouldn’t know I had left. Ignorance clouded my judgment and now he knows everything.

I search his eyes, but he gives nothing away. I shake my head slowly.

“Why didn’t you tell me every detail?”

Shrugging, I cross my arms behind me, a nervous habit since childhood.

“Mia!” His voice rises a fraction and I look into his eyes.

“Because…” I pause, searching for words. “It didn’t matter. What I did was awful and unforgivable. I should have told you. I should have trusted that you’d protect me and my family. I shouldn’t have kept this from you, but I did.”

“Because you thought you were protecting me,” he adds.

I nod. “I thought I could handle it all myself.”

“And?” he prods.

With a sigh, I run my foot along a seam on the stone floor of the balcony. “I was foolish.” I bring my hands to my face, covering it because I feel like a prize idiot. “I thought if I gave them bad intel, then I’d appease them and keep you safe and I didn’t realize all the connections until they came for me in England. And then, it was too late.”

I feel his hands on mine, pulling them away from my face. He’s so close that I can smell him before my fingers peel away from my eyelids. Opening my eyes, I’m granted an up close and personal view of his perfect face.

“You couldn’t even be treasonous without protecting your king,” he says in a low voice, his hot breath caressing my face. I shiver at the word “king.” I jokingly called him that once because, well, he will be one day, and he can be quite demanding at times. It went from a joke to something more when I used it in the bedroom once, and now…well, I feel it in places I shouldn’t.

“I’d never hurt you,” I say as I try to keep my eyes from looking away from his.

His hand slowly comes up and cups my jaw. This time though, I’m not afraid of his touch. I lean into it, letting my eyelids drift closed for just a moment.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, as one single tear makes its way over my lower eyelid, rolling down my cheek and splashing on his finger. “I was so very wrong. I should have trusted that you would protect my family, me, and yourself.”

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