Page 155 of Lethal King

Before Tytus can finish, Babcia raises a weak arm up at me.

“Are you alright, dear?” she asks, her creaky voice filled with concern.

It’s like I’m the one in the hospital bed when I feel her eyes fall on my throat, on the red mark burned into my skin.

“Just dealing with a man problem of my own,” I say, attempting to brush it off.

But those glazed eyes stay glued on me.

“Good or bad problems?” Babcia asks, her bushy eyebrows raising with a knowing curiosity.

“A bit of both,” I sigh, before immediately regretting it.

Tytus is here. And I can feel him straighten up.

“What good is there?” he asks, his voice laced with suspicion.

“There was no good,” I lie. “I’m just tired.”

With all my strength, I try to keep my cheeks from flushing with a shameful pink fire.

Tytus seems to reluctantly accept my excuse, but Babcia isn’t so easily wavered.

“Oh, my poor sweet Rozalia,” Babcia smiles. Resting her head back on the pillow, she stares up at the ceiling with a puzzled look. I can’t quite tell if she’s smiling or frowning.

“I’m fine,” I insist.

“I know. I know,” Babcia whispers, her voice breaking. “But please promise me this. Don’t deny yourself. Don’t ever refuse what you want because it doesn’t seem to fit into your life as you first expected. If there’s one way I can repay you for all you’ve done for me, it’s by begging you to please think only of yourself and no one else.”

A thick blanket of silence falls over the room as Babcia’s eyes glaze over again.

“What’s going on?” Tytus cautiously asks, completely oblivious.

“Nothing,” I say, shaking my head. But the gears are already spinning.

What does Babcia think she knows? Am I projecting something I’m not aware of? About Rian?

I want to know.

“Don’t deny yourself, Rozalia, dear,” Babcia quietly continues. “That’s what I did with my first love, and it only led to sorrow. If only I had followed my heart, and not listened to what others said, I might have spent two years in heaven, instead of a lifetime in hell.”

My limbs go limp as I realize what Babcia is saying.

“Roz, is everything alright?” Tytus asks.

“I think so,” I say, not sure if that’s true.

“My ex-husband was a rich man,” Babcia mindlessly reveals. “Well, relatively rich. He owned a small business. A house. White picket fence and all. But behind it all was blood. Anger and resentment. People told me I would fall in love with the life before I fell in love with the man. But even back then, I knew it wasn’t true… because I had already fallen in love with a man. And that man had no such life… only love to give… and that would have been enough… if only I had listened to my heart…”

I can only watch as a worrisome shiver rattles down Babcia’s fragile body. It’s significant enough that even Kaja reacts, jumping off the bed and scurrying onto the floor.

My twisting heart sinks.

“Babcia, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

Before she has a chance to respond, Tytus reacts. Racing to the door, he rips it open and steps out into the hallway.

“We need a doctor in here, stat!” he roars.