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Grux hated to hear his father talking like everything was a deal to be made, so emotionless. Grux having a child was a huge thing, and his father was turning it into a show for everyone to enjoy. He didn’t like it.
“Maybe I would rather we don’t do that.” If they were going to do anything, he didn’t want to invite people. He wanted it just to be him and Scarlett.
And maybe they’d be out of here before then if he could secure the right ship. It was hard between watching over her and keeping his father pacified to dig through the comms or commandeer a ship, though.
His father waved his hand. “It’s a good thing. It will bring us into people’s good graces, especially after that Jorvlen attack. It’s exactly what we need right now while we plan our next move. After everything we’ve gone through, this is exactly the distraction the people need right now.”
Grux clenched his jaw, trying to remain calm. He knew this was something they did, but Grux didn’t like how his father was making it out to be. Bonding with Scarlett was supposed to be an intimate thing, not this.
“Plus,” his father continued. “It only gets better from there, son. This will be the way to get through to her family! If I send out an SOS that says she’s pregnant, they are bound to receive the comm. Scarlett will be thrilled to hear her family wants to watch this. It will open up windows for us.”
Us. He could almost laugh at the thought. His father wasn’t thinking aboutthem. His father was thinking abouthimself. He would claim it was for the people, but minor wars had been going on for years. The Lorrian army was strong enough to handle it.
No, the tie to Earth wasn’t as beneficial as he claimed. It would lessen the strain they had with another race, but the Terrans were so far and, honestly, weak that he was only doing this to make himself look good. To be the king who achieved the impossible.
“This is just a closer step to them wanting to join forces with Lorr. This could be good for us, bridging the gap between our two planets—a united front, a brighter future. And who doesn’t think about the future when a baby is involved?” His father nodded excitedly. “This is great news indeed, Grux.”
Grux could only rub his eyes. He was too tired for this. His mind wasn’t here. After everything with Scarlett and the baby, the last thing he wanted was to argue with his father. “Father, can we discuss this later? I’m tired from the stress.”
There was no arguing with his father. If he could get out of this meeting, he could actually try to work on contacting Scarlett’s family—with a real message about her well-being and not whatever politically loaded comms his father was sending.
His father waved his hand. “All right, I’ll speak to you tomorrow instead. But in the meantime, inform Scarlett of our plans.”
Grux frowned.Our. He hadn’t agreed to anything yet, but his father was making it sound like he had.
He left, heading back to their suite. He hoped maybe to talk to Scarlett a little about everything. He knew she wasn’t going to be jumping up and down about the idea.
So far, she had fought him on everything, and he understood why. Scarlett wanted her freedom, and being here was not what she signed up for. Hell, he didn’t even like it half the time.
He headed down the hallway from his father’s study and took the stairs down to the main floor. He took a right and took the hallway toward their suite. He took a deep breath in before he opened the door to the room. “Scarlett, I’m back.”
He looked over the space, seeing it was empty. He frowned. “Scarlett?”
Silence.
He walked around, looking in the bathroom and out on the balcony. She wasn’t here.
He knew it was possible she had left the room to go somewhere else, especially since Nyla wasn’t here. She wasn’t stuck in the suite—thanks to his demands in the doctor’s presence. The doctor agreed she needed some exercise and to move about, for the health of the baby.
She could have gone to the kitchen to get something to eat. It was possible she went to sit outside in the garden to get some fresh air. But his insides twisted, telling him that wasn’t it. He knew that wasn’t the answer. Something was wrong.
He hurried out of the room, heading down the hallway. Grux kept from screaming or looking worried as he passed by guards. He feared if he drew attention to this, she would be apprehended forcefully or lose her privileges to walk around. He couldn’t risk anything bad coming of this.
He searched every hallway and in all the rooms. He checked the kitchen and all the upstairs servants’ spaces. His heart was beating double time by the time he stepped outside.
He ran his eyes over the garden. He didn’t see her anywhere. He didn’t see anyone so he dared to shout, “Scarlett!”
An orchard servant jumped as he yelled, stumbling out of a patch of the garden. She turned, looking at him. “Are you looking for someone?”
“Yes!” He walked toward her. “I’m looking for Scarlett.” He didn’t bother describing her with the posters everywhere. “Do you know where she went? Was she out here?”
She thought for a few moments before she nodded. “She was out here about a few hours ago walking around. She looked frustrated, so we left her alone. I haven’t seen her since then. I didn’t even see her leave since I’ve been working.”
Grux’s insides twisted frantically. This wasn’t good. That was hours ago now. God only knew where she could be by now.
“Fuck!” he cursed, running his hands through his hair. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
Chapter 16
