Page 93 of Cruelly Fated
“You have a diary?”
“Nooo…”
I slapped his arm, oddly relieved. I liked a sensitive man, but Kyon and a diary…? That wasn’t him.
He cupped my face and turned my chin up and to the side, making me look at him. His gaze bored into mine, the light mood all gone now. My breathing quickened in anticipation—of what, I didn’t know.
“You’re in my fucking veins,” he whispered in a dark, possessive tone that sent my pulse roaring.
I met him halfway, our minds and desires synced, in a searing kiss. He ran his nose up my cheek, inhaling my scent. I closed my eyes, breathing him in too. Then, he licked and nibbled on my lips and I parted them to give his tongue access.
Footsteps approached.
He tore his lips from mine and shoved me behind him.
An older man in a butler’s uniform knocked, then peeked inside.
“Sir, the king and queen request your presence in the queen’s west room.”
KYON
I waved the servants off and opened the door myself, ushering Allie in beside me. Her grip trembled, but she stood at my side, steadfast and proud.
“What is this?” Father sneered. “I didn’t call foryou and your whore. I called for you.” He swirled the whiskey in his glass, still dressed in his royal jacket and full regalia. The party must have ended a short time ago.
“Say one more word about my mate, and I’ll abdicate my title, this family, all of it,” I growled.
A flush of crimson lit the king’s face, a rare crack in his polished mask. “How dare you!”
“Did you say…mate?” Mother’s frail voice floated up from the settee as she rose. Her skin looked waxy, lips pale—early signs of withdrawal from her herbal regimen.
I softened my expression. “Yes, Mother. This is Allie. She bears my mating mark.”
“Oh.” She clasped her hands together, emotion coloring her face. “That’s wonderful. Oh, poor Catalina… She’ll understand—”
“NO.” Father’s voice snapped like a whip. “There’s nothing to understand. Our son is delusional, a trait he clearly inheritedfrom your side of the family. Go to your room and stay there until you’re feeling better. You’re not fit to be seen.”
A low growl rumbled from my chest. “Don’t speak to her like that.”
He guffawed. “She’s my wife. You have yet to learn how to keep your women in line. Send her away. We have real family business to discuss.”
I tightened my grip on Allie’s hand.
“I have something to say first. Mother, you might want to sit down.”
The king puffed a slow stream of smoke, his eyes narrowing into slits. “You don’t give orders in this house, boy—”
“Torian’s dead.”
The glass slipped from his fingers and shattered against the hardwood. Mother collapsed onto the settee, curling into herself, a raw, keening cry tearing from her throat. Her personal maid burst through the door with a tray of tinctures and calming oils. The sharp, acrid scent clawed at my nose.
“Ugh. Get her, and that reeking mess, out of here,” the king bellowed.
Two male servants rushed in, lifting my mother carefully. I looked away as they carried her out, guilt gnawing at my gut. I hated that she’d lost a son. Hated that I was the one who had taken him from her.
The king poured himself another glass from the bar and dropped into a chair with a bitter scowl.
“Sit. We’ve got more family business todiscuss.”
