Page 22 of The Crownless King
“Are you here to escort me to dinner?”
He held out his arm and the woman grabbed it and got out of her seat, the smile she gave him so reminiscent of her daughter that it made him mad at Amaya all over again. Before the feeling could overtake him, her mother pressed a cool hand against his forehead and the cloud of anger dissipated. He gave her a startled look.
“If no one understands the way the Akachi leaves you, I do.”
He nodded, a lump in his throat.
The woman sighed. “I wish I could help you, but there are days that I am not myself. I’m useless to my daughter. I can’t even get her out of this.”
He wiped the tear from her face. “I would never hurt Amaya.”
She hummed. “There are many ways to hurt a person. Amaya has had to fend for herself for years. Pushing her will get you nowhere. Taking her away from her work will hurt her as surely as you raising your hand to her.”
“You heard our argument?” He sighed.
“It’s not as though the two of you censor your volume or tone,” she scolded him.
He nodded, properly chastised by this tiny woman that was so important to his mate. It had been at least sixty years since he’d allowed anyone to take him to task. His mother had been the last and surprisingly, he was allowing Ms. Anita to fill a spot so long abandoned.
She looked up at him and smiled. “Are you here to escort me to dinner?”
His heart clutched. Was this his future?
“I am if you’re up to it,” he forced out around the lump in his throat.
“Of course. Dinner with vampires. Not something I get to do every day,” she said excitedly.
He walked her downstairs and groaned when he saw Raven in her spot at the dinner table. The fire Mujaji worked nights now that she and Sebastian were mated, so most times, she missed dinner. She only came to “the big house” as she called it when she didn’t feel like cooking. If he thought Sebastian gave him shit, his firefly would cuss him up and down. She stood when she spotted him and Amaya’s mother.
“Ms. Anita.” She rushed forward. “What are you doing here?”
“Raven? My goodness, do you live here too? What are you doing in a house full of Bayi vampires?”
Raven helped the woman into a chair before turning her gaze to him. “Your Highness?”
The questions swirled in her eyes and Sebastian stood, unsure how Levi would react. It hurt him that his best friend could no longer trust him, though he understood. Shame filled him and Bas’s face morphed into empathy.
“Red,” Bas said softly, calling his mate back to his side.
“What’s going on?” Raven asked again, ignoring her mate’s call.
“Amaya is staying here,” Levi answered, his nails digging into his hands as he clenched his fists.
“Here? Why?” Raven straightened and narrowed her eyes, her gaze sweeping the table.
“Her uncle stole the Akachi piece from Levi,” Sebastian told her.
She gasped.
“He was going to sell it to the Buru,” Anita provided, and Levi gave her a surprised look. She had known what her brother was up to?
“They’ve been circling their house for the past week and a half,” Lucas added.
Despite the conversation around him, his shoulders slumped in relief. It hadn’t been two weeks as Amaya had claimed. The days were still foggy, but he took comfort in the fact that he hadn’t lost that much time. He could add gaslighting on top of the shit his little witch was doing to him. He sighed. It was well what he deserved, but he would rather go completely mad than release her.
He tuned back into the present conversation, his feet a little firmer beneath him.
Raven frowned. “Then why haven’t I seen her around here? Or at work?”
