Page 200 of The Throne Seeker
She lowered her head in shame.
“Mum,” Roman said, his voice rough and raw. “It’s me, Roman.”
The queen gave him a weak smile, holding her fragile hand out to him. “I may be dying, but I think I can recognize my own son when I see him.”
He barked a harsh laugh, but the smile left quicker than a lightning strike. “How are you? Truly?”
The queen waved her hand. “Nothing I haven’t experienced before.” She suddenly sat up with a start, coughing. It sounded more like a wheezing gasp, coming from somewhere deep within her lungs.
Roman was at her side instantly, rubbing her back as she coughed into her handkerchief. Rose caught a glimpse of the crimson-red color that blotched the white cloth. Her hope the queen could overcome this episode dwindled.
Roman helped his mother lay back down.
Once the queen had recovered, she finally noticed Rose, her eyes widening in surprise. “Rose, is that you?” the queen whispered, studying her from head to toe.
Roman looked up at Rose, stretching his arm toward her. “Yes… it’s a long story. But Rose is?—”
“A siren,” the queen supplied in a light, raspy voice. Her gaze dropped to their intertwined hands, and she raised her eyebrows at them. “Are you two…?”
“Yes,” Roman replied without hesitation, his chest puffing out with pride. “She’s mine.”
Rose’s heart swelled while her siren’s ego threatened to burst at the seams.
She looked back at the king and queen, ready for the horror that was sure to be spread across their faces, for the disappointment, anger, and disapproval. Just as it had when she was with Tristan.
But instead, the queen smiled.
Smiled.
“This is the best news,” the queen whispered, surprising Rose further by reaching out her hand.
Rose hesitated. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she didn’t know if she was prepared for the suffocating rush of sadness that was sure to follow.
But she couldn’t refuse the hand she’d waited for so long to be stretched out.
She took it. Without warning, a memory of the queen’s flashed through her mind. The queen was in the fields during the peak of summer, watching Rose and her children playing together, laughing and chasing one another, running through the blooms.
Just as quickly as the vision came, it left.
Rose looked into the queen’s shaky eyes as if she knew she could see the memory, too.
“I always knew you’d be a part of our family,” the queen said. “It was only a matter of time.”
“So did I,” the king said, beaming.
Rose blinked, flabbergasted.
This had to be a dream.
Roman looked just as confused. “You’re not angry?”
“Of course not,” the queen replied. “Why do you think I had you watch over her during the wedding? You think I didn’t know why you took her to Highland Haven?” The queen looked to her with knowing eyes. “I told you I’d help you find a suitor, and I did.”
Rose’s mouth parted in awe. She… she had planned it. All of it.
The queen didn’t mind her being family, after all. The simple fact made her eyes blink furiously.
“But perhaps we need to keep this good news to ourselves for now,” the king said. They needed no explanation. “Did you learn anything more from Moretti?”
