Page 65 of The Rejected King
Davin looked at his mother. “Emree wouldn’t choose to leave. You did this.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you would do something like this to me.”
His mother let out a sarcastic laugh. “You know, I could say the same thing about you. I can’t believe you would do something like this tome. I’m heartbroken and embarrassed. You’ve completely ruined my life and yours.”
“I’m sorry I ruined your life, but what about my life? My happiness?”
“Your happiness is why I sent her away. You are blinded by love and unwilling to see the bigger picture.”
Davin didn’t even recognize his mother right now. He turned to leave. “I have to go after her.”
“You can’t.” His mother caught his arm. “Did you not hear anything in that meeting? You’re now in the middle of an election. You can’t run away.”
“If you tell me what direction she went, I can go after her and be back by nightfall.”
His mother shook her head. “If the newswriters find out that you ran after Emree, they will tear you apart. They will say that you don’t take your position seriously and that you love a woman more than you love Enderlin. Your chances at the revote will be ruined.”
“So I’m supposed to let Emree go? The woman I’m doing all of this for in the first place?”
“For now.” She placed a capitulating hand on his arm. “Just until things settle. They won’t care what your motives are, Davin. If you leave, you’ll lose what little chance of winning you still have.”
Davin sighed, weariness overwhelming him. His mother was right. Davin couldn’t leave. If he left, he would definitely lose the election. He could accept being removed from office if the people of Enderlin wanted that, but until they voted him out, he had to fight. Because in his heart, hedidbelieve he could do good things for Enderlin. And because he believed Emree could, too. Whether the people knew it or not, shewouldbe a remarkable queen.
He would regret it if he didn’t at least try. He didn’t like it, but until he knew exactly where Emree had ended up, he couldn’t waste time trying to find her. After the election, he would move heaven and earth to get to her, either as the king of Enderlin or as a regular man.
He could only hope that by then, it wasn’t too late.
31
Emree
It had been one month since the Promenade ball and one month since Emree had been forced away from Davin. Emree had traveled for days to her new home in Dakotaland. She had spent the first few nights in the province staying at a local inn until she had found a small apartment to rent. As promised, Queen Arillia had lined up a storefront for Emree to start her book exchange. The space was small and old, but it was perfect for what she needed. It took Emree a week to renovate the room, adding fresh paint and new shelves. She’d had a professional sign made for the front of the shop, and she had stayed up late several nights organizing the books into genres so they would be easy to locate.
The book exchange had officially been open for two weeks. Emree had tried to be happy about it, but every time she looked around at the books, all she saw was Davin and everything she had been forced to give up. Each day she went through the motions, thinking that today would be the day Davin would come for her, but he never did.
Perhaps he thought she’d left him on her own accord. Emree had no clue what the queen mother had told him, but she doubted that Queen Arillia would want to take the blame herself.
Each day that Davin didn’t come, Emree tried to calm her broken heart with a personal pep talk, where she listed in her mind all the reasons why everything was fine. Whyshewas fine.
He’ll come for you.
If he doesn’t come for you, it’s because he needs to focus on being king.
You have your own journey ahead of you.
You needed to save him.
He deserves to be king.
It wasn’t meant to be.
And Emree’s personal favorite:Something better will come along.
As if there was something better than Davin.
Nobody liked handsome, smart, creative, powerful, well-read men. They were the worst! And let’s not forget about the king’s sculpted abs. Gross!
She wondered if hewouldstill be king. She might have to amend her thoughts torejectedking. Even as much as she hurt at his absence, she couldn’t squelch the tiny flame of hope that he wouldn’t be rejected after all.
The pep talk was ninety percent effective, which was good, but the ten percent of Emree’s mind that wasn’t buying into the pep talk wreaked havoc on her heart. Especially at night. That’s when the cruel ten percent reminded her of every moment, every touch, and every laugh that she and Davin had shared together. It was a great pastime for someone that liked torturing herself, which apparently, Emree very much did.
