Page 67 of His Realm

“You will not have courtesans or⁠—”

“No,” Varic told Cirillo, “I will not.”

“How did your father miss this devotion in you?”

“He misses it in himself,” Isabella chimed in, which had to have been hard since she was basically saying that the king didn’t feel that same way about her. I had to wonder, if Messina had been utterly enthralled with Isabella, how different his rule could have been with her constantly at his side. “And can therefore not see it in his son.”

Yes, it was his right, as king, to surround himself with others. But if he hadn’t been so distracted, what kind of man might he have been? I didn’t believe for a moment that Gideon could have dispatched Isabella as easily as he thought he could have, as easily as he had the trusting Livia. In a fight between Gideon and Isabella, my money would have been on her.

“So what will you do now about your father’s present dilemma?” Cirillo asked.

“There’s no dilemma,” Varic answered, his hand moving to the back of my neck, holding gently but firmly. “This whole business has carried on too long. My grandfather, I believe, felt great sympathy for Decimus. He probably thought, what if he’d lost my grandmother the same way Decimus lost Ashira, and so he acted rashly. He gave Decimus free rein and sent him away with the promise of a mate. That was a mistake.”

Cirillo nodded, his gaze sweeping over Varic like he’d never seen him before. I wondered how much he’d changed in the time they’d been apart.

“Decimus may feel that Leda was taken from him unjustly, but first of all, she was never his mate, as she was not from a noble house and could not be elevated to that station. Second, Leda was never truly his, as she was my mother’s courtier, and therefore my father was not within his rights to grant her service to another.”

“Yes,” Isabella agreed.

“Third, Leda, as far as I know, never assented in all her years in Ophir, to becoming a courtesan.”

“No, she did not,” Isabella said softly.

“I have to wonder,” Varic began, “why Decimus mistreated someone he claimed to have been so enamored with, but honestly, it’s not my concern. My grandfather promising his brother a mate is not a debt I will honor, as it was never within his right to give. Mating is completely dependent on another person’s will and agreement. That such a ridiculous debt was ever put into place, and then honored, is beyond reason.”

Phrased like that, I had to wonder why Messina didn’t stop the madness even before Decimus demanded Isabella of him.

“Ødger believes that as Lord of Ophir, he can not only expect payment from my father, but demand my consort as well.” He glanced around the room. “It’s madness, and now, of course, he will reap the reward of asking for such a gift as my consort.”

No one said a word. We were all waiting for what he was going to say next.

“I am now going to go to Ophir, with my consort, my rekkr, and my rajan, with all my guard, and we’re going to bring that holding into my realm. I expect the support of the council in this endeavor,” he finished, glancing at his aunt.

“Of course,” Sabira affirmed. “We’ve all thought it was madness that Ophir was beyond the laws of Ascalon. Decimus himself is the man’s son, after all.”

“Many have been jealous of Decimus, I know,” Varic told her. “When he was at court, our granduncle would regale Cassius and me with stories of the debauchery he allowed in his home. He was always surprised when we both declined his invitations to visit.”

“I was never surprised,” Isabella said, smiling at him. “I know my sons.”

Varic chuckled. “You might be too softhearted to be the consort of a king.”

She tipped her head at him. “Perhaps.”

Everyone left us then, Isabella taking Cirillo’s arm, telling him she would find him a room in her wing. I didn’t miss that he turned at the rolling door and glanced back at Varic, before Hadrian rolled it shut after him.

“I think he liked the new you,” I told Varic as he stepped in close and caught my chin in his hand.

“If you left me in the middle of the night, I would hunt you to the ends of the earth,” he said gruffly. “There is the difference between you and Lord Cirillo.”

“You love me,” I said before kissing him, smiling against his mouth.

“You are my very heart,” he murmured when he eased back, turning my head, exposing my neck. I felt his warm breath there before his fangs. “There will never be another.”

“I know,” I whispered, my hands on his chest, clutching his dress shirt. “Varic. Please. I missed you.”

No more words needed, his mouth closed over my skin, and he bit down. Hard.

There was a jolt of pain because we’d been separated for so long and the bite wasn’t tender, as it normally was. He was ravenous for me, and I knew that as soon as he took the first swallow.