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“The king is summoning you,” he said, his tone grave.
I twisted my face up in confusion. “The king?”
“Yes. He wants you to come immediately.”
I looked down at my robe, knowing that I only had a nightgown underneath. “Should I change?” I asked.
Leo dragged his eyes up and down my body in a way that made my skin flush. “He said to take you directly there. I’m not sure he will wait for you to get dressed.”
I nodded, though a sense of unease unfurled in my gut. It was highly inappropriate to be walking around in my nightgown, but whatever the king wanted—he got.
Leo held his arm out for me, and I wrapped fingers around his bicep, allowing him to guide me down the long, winding hallways. For a little while, we traveled in silence. I stared at the paintings on the walls and the gold crown molding as I shuffled across the patterned red carpet. There was a slight chill in the air. Springtime in Aldrich was unpredictable. I didn’t like the subtle bite to my skin, and a chilled shiver traveled down my spine. Leo eyed me and pulled me closer.
“I should’ve just let you change.” He leaned over, his hot breath traveling down my neck. “You’re cold.”
Leo was always looking out for me. Handing me jackets while I stood outside at royal events. Making sure I ate. Finding Band-Aids for my blistered feet when I had to wear heels all day. At school, he set library books outside my door every morning with breakfast. When he wasn’t chasing after August, he was spending time with me. Atticus ignored him. Hell, everyone ignored him. Part of his duty as a guard was to blend in, but for me, he always stood out. He had this presence that couldn’t be overlooked. Maybe, I saw him differently. Maybe I was the only one who ever saw him.
Sure, he got along well enough with August, but August was conditioned to not make friends with workers in the castle. His father forbade it, his mother frowned upon it.
I was taught the same things; however, I never paid much attention to the rules of court. My mother was a rebel, too. My father lived and died by the creed of social politics. I didn’t want to be like that.
“Do you have any idea what he wants?” I asked, my voice shaky.
“No idea. He had a meeting earlier with a lord, though.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Perhaps it has something to do with my parents? Queen Isabelle mentioned selling my childhood home recently. Maybe he wants to sell it to the lord.”
Leo nodded. “How would you feel about that?”
I let out a sigh as we turned the corner. “I’m not sure. There was a time when I envisioned myself growing up and having a family of my own in that same home. But now I just associate the place with grief. It might be nice to finally let go, although there are a few things of my mother’s that I would like to hold on to. Seems like a waste to let that empty manor just sit there.”
Leo placed his free hand over mine. Warmth traveled down my spine. “I’ll help you pack up whatever you want.”
Until I turned twenty-five, the queen and king had complete control over my trust fund. Any properties my parents owned belonged to the Crown. “If I had any say in the matter, I’d give it to you,” I said.
He stumbled in his steps for a fraction of a second. “You would?”
I nodded. “I remember you telling me about your mother and sister in their flat in the city. I’m sure it might be nice for your sister to have space to run. You’re always working so hard, Leo. Would you love having a place to call home?”
He smiled. “The guard barracks aren’t too bad. But when I have a few days off, I wouldn’t mind a place of my own. Pretty soon, August will have an entire team of guards assigned to him, which means I’ll have more flexibility. Would you come visit me?”
I smiled at him as we made one last turn. I had expected us to go to the king’s office, but I had been so consumed with my conversation with Leo that I didn’t realize we were headed toward his bedchamber. “Course I would visit you.”
Leo gave me a blinding smile, his perfectly straight white teeth gleaming at me. He really was handsome in a rugged sort of way. I truly wished I could give him my home. Leo would be so adoring to his future family. It was beautiful to see how he was with his sister, and the way he cared for his mother was inspiring.
I changed the subject, feeling the need to address what happened in the library. “I wanted to apologize,” I whispered. “F-for the library, I mean I’m not sure why August…” I couldn’t describe what had happened. It was too embarrassing.
He cleared his throat. “Did you…did you want that? Should I have stopped him?” It wasn’t like he could have intervened. August could do whatever he wanted.
I looked down at my feet, too filled with shame. “You know I’ve always had a certain fondness for August.”
When I looked back up, his lips were pressed into a line. “I’ve observed this, yes.”
“I never imagined we would… I suppose I thought it would be different. Or maybe we’d lead up to that.”
“He was staking a claim.”
I blanched. “What?”
