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“Grux! Welcome back. How was the honeymoon?”
He smiled a little, surprised that his father even cared to ask. “It was nice. We traveled a lot. Saw a lot of cool sights around Noxxa.”
He didn’t want to mention visiting Kozien. Not only did he not know how his father would react, but mostly due to how hostile their relationship still was. Grux wanted to keep his father in this rare good mood for as long as possible in order to weasel what he wanted out of it.
“I’m glad you were able to show your new bride the planet’s sights.”
Grux nodded, tucking his hands in front of his waist.
“Yes, while we were traveling, we found a few places we were thinking about taking up residence.”
His father lifted a slow brow, making Grux’s stomach squeeze. “Oh?”
Grux nodded. “There’s a small housing unit right outside of Rosoha. We looked at it, and we think it could be a great place to raise Gruxor.”
The king didn’t say anything for an agonizingly long moment. He slowly took his reading glasses off of his nose and folded the arms together before setting them down on top of his desk.
“Hm.”
Grux remained as still as possible, trying not to fidget. “Of course, I’d still be around to visit and make sure things are running smoothly here.”
The king frowned. “Why not just stay here, then? Does your new bride feel unwelcome? We can certainly make sure she’s more comfortable.”
While the suggestion was sweet, Grux knew the “caring” facade that his father was trying to show was more due to the political influence Scarlett held—and, moreover, her family.
The situation between the Terrans and Lorr was still fresh and could easily be broken by one wrong move on either side. Therefore, Grux was sure the king would be trying to do anything in his power in order to ensure that that didn’t happen.
Which, again, would hopefully work in Grux’s favor.
“Well…” Grux shrugged. “She feels a little stifled here. She isn’t used to court life, and I think that she would do much better closer to a large city.”
“We can move you two into Lorr’s Capital City, Grux. An apartment over on the east side, perhaps.”
“I’m afraid Lorr is too slow-moving. I want Scarlett to feel energized, and I want our baby to grow up in a cultured environment. Which is exactly what Rosoha on Noxxa has to offer.”
The king folded his arms over his chest and sighed slowly. “You’ve really thought about this.”
“I have, yes.”
“There’s nothing I can do to change your mind? That’s what I’m hearing.”
Grux bit the inside of his cheek. “Correct. As I said, I will come back to Lorr to fulfill my duties, but my full-time commitments will be with Scarlett and the baby.”
“I see.”
They stood in awkward silence for a long moment—long enough that it practically drove Grux mad. His father was obviously taking this all in and going over whatever way he could argue with Grux to stay inside of the palace walls.
However, Grux wasn’t willing to give in. He’d been serious when he’d brought up moving back to Noxxa’s city. He felt more at home there anyway and allowing Scarlett to feel the freedom she felt while she’d been in Xoyosis was something he wanted her to have again.
He missed that adventurous nature that she had and could tell she did too while they’d been away honeymooning.
When the king finally sighed, Grux knew he had him. “Well, then I suppose you have my blessing. But I will expect you to be here when duty calls.”
Grux nodded before bowing his head. “Of course. I’m a call away.”
“Good.”
With a dismissive wave, his father settled back into his chair and grabbed his glasses off the stack of documents on top of his desk. When he slid them back on over his nose, Grux took it as his sign to leave and quickly exited the study.
