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“Yes. She finds it endearing.”
He thought back to the stricken look on Livia’s face when Matteo had mentioned his fiancée. But Javier also thought of the slight note of warmth in his brother’s voice when he said it. Mouse. He didn’t say it as if she were small or gray, though in Javier’s opinion she was both. No, he said it as if she were fragile. His to care for.
“She may.”
“No. It is because of how I found her. Shivering and gray, and far too small. Like a mouse.”
Javier was not certain that Livia liked to be reminded of her origins. However much Matteo might find his name for her affectionate. He meant what he had said to Violet. Javier was not a good man. Matteo might be, but for the two of them it was more honor than it was anything quite so human as goodness.
In fact, the only real evidence Javier had ever seen of softness in his brother was the presence of Livia in the palace. He didn’t know the full story of how he had come into... Possession of her, only that he had found her in quite an unfortunate situation and for some reason had decided it was his responsibility to fix that situation.
“You will keep things running while I’m gone,” Matteo said, a command and not a question.
“Of course I will.”
“And I will endeavor to make sure these meetings go well. You remember what I told you.”
“Of course. If ever you were to exhibit characteristics of our father, it would be better that you were dead.”
“I meant that.”
“And I would kill you myself.”
His brother smiled and walked forward clasping his forearm, and Javier clasped his in return. “And that is why I trust you. Because I believe you would.”
They were blood brothers. Bonded by blood they hated. The blood of their father. But their bond was unshakable and had always been. Because they had known early on that if they were ever going to overcome the evil of their line, they would have to transcend it.
And they could only do that together.
Their relationship was the most important thing in Javier’s life. Because it was the moral ballast for them both. Because Javier knew how easy it was to upset morality. How emotion could cloud it.
How it could cause pain.
Whether he understood Matteo’s being so intent to marry Violet or not, he would support it. All that mattered was Monte Blanco. Violet’s feelings were a nonissue.
All that mattered was the kingdom.
CHAPTER FOUR
VIOLET HAD BEEN essentially born into money. So she was used to grandeur. She was used to the glittering opulence of sparkling shows of wealth. But the palace and Monte Blanco were something else entirely.
It wasn’t that the walls were gilded—they were entirely made of gold. The floor, obsidian inlaid with precious metals, rubies and emeralds. The doorframes were gold, shot through with panels of diamond.
Given what Javier had said about the limo, she was somewhat surprised to see such a glaring display of wealth, but then she imagined the palace had been standing for centuries. She could feel it. As if it were built down into the mountain.
And it was indeed on a mountain. Made of white granite, likely the namesake of the country.
It reminded her of Javier himself. Imposing, commanding, and entirely made of rock. The view down below was... Spectacular.
A carpet of deep, dense pines swooping down before climbing back upward to yet more mountains. She could barely make out what she thought might be a city buried somewhere in there, but if it was, it was very small. The mountains loomed large, fading to blue and purple the farther away they were. Until they nearly turned to mist against the sky. A completely different color than she had ever seen before. As if it were more ice than sky.
She had not thought it would be cold, given that she didn’t think of cold when she thought of this region, but nestled as it was between France and Spain at such a high elevation, it was shockingly frigid and much more rugged than she had thought.
Queen of the wilderness. He had brought her out here to be Queen of the wilderness.
The thought made her shiver.
Then she turned away from the view and back toward the bedroom she had been installed in by a helpful member of staff, and she couldn’t think of wilderness at all. It was ornate to the point of ridiculousness.
