Page 42 of A True King

“Dinner is served, Your Highness,” she says with a small curtsy.

“Join me,” he commands. It’s not a question. I could say no, but my curiosity wins, and I follow him into the dining hall. It’s as stately and grand as the parlor. Two places are set. One at the head of the table, and one on the right side. It looks almost comical. The table could easily accommodate twenty people, and here we are taking up one little corner of it. I suppose a king of his age is accustomed to such things. Eating at a smaller table would probably be beneath him.

We eat in silence. Every time I think of a question, I second-guess myself. By dessert, I’m pushing pie around on a plate, no longer hungry and full of at least fifty questions.

“Stay the night,” my grandfather demands. “I’m old and need to get to bed, but there is more to say.”

I bite my lip as I contemplate it. I’m still annoyed at Christian, even though I have zero right to be annoyed at him; if anything he should still be angry with me. But, again my curiosity gets the best of me. I nod.

“I’ll stay,” I agree.

“Good.” King Ivan raises a finger, and a staff member comes over to him. “Please, show Ms. Edgewater to the guest suite in the east wing. I’ll be retiring now.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the young man says as he gives the king a small bow. I stand to follow him, but my grandfather puts up a hand, stopping me in my tracks.

“For what it’s worth, Mia. I’m pleasantly surprised to see you inherited so much of me. I’m glad we’ve had this time together.” And with that, he leaves the room out a side door as the staff member waves me toward the main doors. What did he mean by that? Why is he acting like he won’t see me tomorrow? Fifty more questions get added to my list by the time I’m shown to my quarters for the night.

I go to pull my phone from my bag once I’m alone. Only, it’s not there. Shit, it must have fallen out in the car. Frowning, I look for a telephone in my suite and don’t find one. With a sigh, I decide a conversation with Christian can wait till tomorrow.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Christian

Mia’s quarters were locked when I arrived back inside the palace. Even the secret passage door is locked. When I asked Cain to check on Mia after she didn’t answer my calls, he told me that he was informed she had retired early and asked not to be disturbed. Fucking great. The barbarian in me wants to go pound on her door until she answers, but I decide against that. The last thing I need is staff calling my father to tell him I’ve gone mad.

I toss and turn all night. I’m angry and the fact that she’s angry at me only riles me more. How can she be so upset with me? After the shit she pulled, she should be glad that I didn’t lock her ass up and throw away the key. A few hundred years ago, she’d be rotting in the dungeons beneath the castle.

At four in the morning, I give up on sleep. I go to my private study and turn on my laptop. Something about the history of Skogdal has been nagging at me for days. I pull up our private library online and begin to scour through ancient documents that have been scanned and cataloged.

My personal quarters staff arrive at six to find me still reading.

“Shall I have breakfast brought to you?” one of my staff asks.

“Yes, please,” I state, not bothering to look up as I continue scrolling through documents.

I find treaties, agreements, and legal documents galore. It’s an interesting history. There is a definitive break from their past association with nearby countries in the late eighteen hundreds when King Ivan’s grandfather took over the principality and declared it a sovereign entity. But it wasn’t until King Ivan was crowned that the last of the legal documents were signed, making it officially the youngest principality in Europe. It’s odd that a country would be formed in this manner in the middle of the 1900s. These types of things happened centuries ago in most cases. Certainly not in recent years.

My desk phone rings with an internal call. Sighing, I pick it up, hoping it’ll be Mia. But it’s Pete.

“Your father’s flight was delayed. There are storms in Paris all day. I’ve advised his pilot to attempt to look for a clearing this evening, but if it’s not possible, then tomorrow.”

“Thanks. And Auggie?” I ask.

Pete’s silent for a beat. “I’m still working on him. He is all too comfortable where he’s at. He even mentioned going for a coastal drive today.”

“I’ll call him later.”

“Very good.”

“Keep me informed about the king’s flight status,” I state as I look out the window. There’s stormy weather coming here, too. It was sticking by the coast last night, but it looks like we’ll be getting rain all day as well.

My research wanes by mid-morning. I turn to my emails, finding one from Tessa stating she’s taking off a few days to visit a friend that’s in town unless I need something pressing. I tell her to log her vacation with the king’s office and enjoy herself. At least someone is having fun.

By lunchtime, I decide to go find Mia. There’s no way she’s still asleep. I make my way to her quarters, down the long hallways of the palace. When I’m nearly there, Cain stops me.

“Sir, I was just informed that Ms. Edgewater decided to run some errands in town. Do you want me to have her brought back?”

Sighing, I shake my head. “No, no need. Just keep me informed when she returns.”

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