AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And Arden…The guilt I had about hurting her overwhelmed me every minute of the day. I had no idea if I could make it right, and that killed me.
Looking into her family and trying to track down the Order was the smallest thing I could do. And it would also keep my mind occupied with something concrete, even if it slipped through my fingers at every turn.
I took the long way to the central palace’s library, my enforcers giving me some space. A few guests nodded in greeting to me, but no one tried to stop and talk. I rounded the corner to walk past the gardens and immediately wished I hadn’t. Kathrin was walking with a friend of hers, a female whose name I’d willingly ejected from my thoughts.
She spotted me, so turning and walking the other way would be cowardly. I looked away and kept walking, but she strode directly toward me. Her delicate features were pulled into what I assumed was supposed to be a sympathetic expression. I saw right through it.
“Your Highness,” she said, bowing her head. Enforcers pushed between her and me, creating a barrier. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what?” I kept walking, looking straight ahead. “There’s nothing I need to say to you.”
“For your relationship withher.” She hardly kept the disgust out of her voice when referring to Arden.
“I don’t have a relationship with her.” I glanced at my enforcers, who gradually put distance between us. “Leave, or one of my enforcers will make you.”
I didn’t want enforcers to manhandle females, but if Kathrin didn’t back off, I’d give the order.
“That’s not what everyone is saying. They saw you at the carnival,” she said, finally stopping. “And they saw you after. We aren’t stupid, Flint.”
I stopped and glared back at her, a growl coming up from my throat. She shrunk back and looked at her feet. We’d known each other for a long time, back when I was just Flint and not a Royal, but her calling me that as if we were anything but enemies made my wolf want to come out.
“Refer to me by my title, or I’ll have you banished,” I said. “And your rumors are unfounded.”
I kept walking, leaving her behind. Agitation made my shoulders tight. I knew we’d been too obvious when we’d saved Arden, but my instincts had been more powerful than my senses. Did it matter anymore? She was mate-bonded to both Lex and Jagger, a fact that everyone could now see. The magic between them was that strong.
And I wasn’t a part of it.
I shoved the angst down by the time I arrived in the library. The historian had the final few books that might have had information ready for me, and I tore through them.
Nothing.
Fucking nothing.
I almost threw the books across the room before I remembered Luthor Meade. I hopped to my feet and stalked toward the historian, whose eyes widened.
“You have Luthor Meade’s address?” I asked.
“Y-yes, Your Highness.”
“I need a car to go to him immediately.”
The historian started to get up, but paused.
“I don’t want to speak out of turn, sir, but he hasn’t gotten back to us about whether he got in touch with his father’s associates,” he said. “And he might be at work.”
“I don’t care. I’m going to talk to him in person. Call his workplace and tell him to come home immediately. And get the car. Now.”
The historian got to it, calling Luthor and having another aide arrange for my car. Within minutes, I was on my way out to Luthor Meade’s home in the far reaches of Rouhaven. The outside of his small home reminded me of the library, with its old-fashioned design and the dark shade of the wood siding on the outside.
An enforcer knocked on the door for me, and a small female, who I assumed was his wife, answered the door.
“Your Highness,” she said, bowing shakily. “Luthor is in our library.”
“Take me to him.”
She led me through the house. It was more modern inside, but books were still in piles and on shelves in every room. Finally, we reached the back office. Luthor was standing in it, frantically doing cleaning spells. The room was packed with books, and every wall had a floor-to-ceiling shelf. One in the corner was behind glass, which I assumed held rare finds.
“Hello, Your Highness,” Luthor said with a sheepish, anxious laugh. “I’m sorry for the clutter. Would you like some tea?”
