AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I pursed my lips. “Did we release that?” I sure as hell hadn’t issued any blood studies.
Alvaro shook his head, displeasure clearly written across his face. “We did not.”
Fake, likely. Though neither Alvaro nor I would say that aloud.
Carmen’s eyes trailed from the paper up toward the Canciller, but they caught on the table next to him. She was smiling and strong, and pride pinched the center of my chest. Then her expression changed and I could tell that something had happened. There was something I couldn’t see.
Running my hand through my hair, I scanned the scene but saw nothing as Carmen read off some medical nonsense on national television.
It wasn’t live, at least. That was good.
Agustín Duarte smiled, clearly pleased with her compliance. Sometimes I wished I could punch the smile right off his face.
“Now that we have settled the debate, I want to get back to your history.”
I swallowed.
“Hearing your story would awaken a deep sense of responsibility and need in any Arrebol citizen, but as its leader, I can’t help but feel the sensation tenfold. You are the very symbol of perseverance that people need, and your goodness floods through the masses as a friend to the young, and a beacon of hope to the old. You are a reminder of the Familia Real in the sweetest way, one that the people can connect to, while still mourning the end of the line.” His smile curled upwards, and he tilted his head to the side. “It almost makes us forgive you for your passionate affair with Isaac Monroy.”
He paused, Carmen froze, and my blood boiled.
“Why the hell is he asking that?” I said to no one in particular.
Alvaro snorted at my side. “Be careful with tournament romances, Antonio. Competitors are coupled with other competitors—it helps with fertility rates and all that. Woman aren’t fertile for as long as men. I recommend you do a service to the commonwealth by looking for a new wife in the generation before hers.”
I glanced up at him and grimaced. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Alvaro shook his head, still smirking, but the Canciller continued. "Tell me, would you be excited about the prospect of your wildly popular mentee marrying Isaac Monroy?”
My heart stuttered in my chest.
“Of course,” I lied.
Alvaro huffed a laugh and shook his head before going back to his notes.
Duarte had given the approval to Isaac, and we had the letter to prove it. A part of me wondered if he was doing it to torture me, to make me play along with his strategy.
I thought of when Carmen and I met in person for the first time. I’d been anticipating seeing her in the flesh and she absolutely despised me.
I’m not the marrying type.
The way she had said it, almost like a challenge, had ignited something inside of me. Something I shouldn’t feel.
It was ignorant and blind to hope.
But, if I was right… If it was the Sanguine Call that swirled between us, it would be impossible to deny. It was agonizing not to hang on her every word, like the sunshine breaking through a dusty window, brightening my life. Giving me meaning. The scent of her blood in a room was intoxicating.
She was good, and others had tried to break her. My nails dug into my palms. I couldn’t let that happen anymore.
"Isaac?" Carmen echoed, her voice climbing in pitch, as if the mere mention of his name brought forth a storm of conflicting emotions. Her fingers clenched into tight fists by her side. He shouldn’t have come to my house.
"Yes," the Canciller replied, a slow smile spreading across his face
“Of course.” Renata was back, and she replied with a smile. "Isaac is a kind and intelligent young man.”
My hands clenched and a stab of pain hit my heart.
"Indeed, Renata, you two could make a remarkable couple," the Canciller said, his voice dripping with false warmth. “But we all know he isn’t your only option.”
