Page 73 of Royally Arranged

She held my gaze calmly. “Or from something he’s ashamed of. Come inside. There’s hot tea and pastries waiting in your room.”

“I don’t want to sit in my room any longer.”

“Then my room. Or Darla’s. Just come into the castle, please.”

Unfolding from the grass, I dusted off the knees of my soft pink pants. My mother judged me with her eyes—seeing my messy hair, my lazy outfit. But I didn’t care what she thought. Not about that, anyway. What she’d said about Thorne was burning in my mind, refusing to be put out.

What would he be ashamed of?I knew him as a brave man. Embarrassing him was as likely as knocking down a building with a baseball bat; he turned every insult around on his attackers. But her suggestion bothered me deeply.

We ended up sitting in my mother’s room. Darla, Richard, and Larchmont joined us to eat. My father came, too, all of us gathering in a way we hadn’t in some time. I listened to them talk, my mind wandering. The food didn’t register on my taste buds.

From a distance I watched my family. My siblings were sitting across from me, their heads together, voices low. Their discussion was intense, and it drew a severe glare from my father. “Shh,” he finally said to them. “Not now. Nova.” I slid my eyes to him. “Are you feeling better today?”

Putting on a mild smile, I sipped from my cup of tea. “I guess. Less sick.”Just as confused.

He looked satisfied, edging his chair back from the table we’d arranged in the huge room. “I should get going. Lots to do today.”

“Like what?” I asked, stirring my cup.

“Boring, but necessary, business.” Rebuttoning his jacket, he moved to the exit. My mother followed him, speaking in his ear as he opened the door. I was watching, but even if I wasn’t I would have heard the ruckus outside. Something was stomping, drawing closer, multiple voices talking at once.

My parents, standing in the doorway, froze where they were. Shoving out of my seat, I hurried toward them, leaning around to see what they were seeing. Nearly upon us, rolling like a train, were Maverick and Carmina, and at their heels was Glen with two other men I didn’t know following closely.

“Kurtis!” Maverick roared, his voice echoing in the hallway. A few servants slid closer to the walls, heads down, listening as they tried to become invisible. The huge man pulled up short in front of my father, who, as usual, kept his face serene. “Where is he? Where’s my son?”

I inhaled sharply.They don’t know where he is, either?

My father held his head as high as possible. He and Maverick were identical in height, but where one was lean, the other was all bulky power. If Maverick swung, I predicted my dad’s head would fly right off. “Why do you sound like you’re accusing us?”

“Because Iam,” he snapped. “Two days and no word from him! No response to our calls, no one has seen him on the castle grounds, nothing!”

“What makes you think we’d be involved?” Mom asked, standing loyally at Dad’s side.

“When are you ever not?” Carmina had stepped forward, the four of them squaring off in the long hallway.

I’d been blocking the doorway into the room behind me. A hand pressed on my arm; Larchmont maneuvered me aside so he could leap into the mess. His hands were folded behind his back, where I knew he kept his gun. I had a sudden, awful premonition that he was going to use it.

His hand moved; he was not grabbing his weapon but coming forward, covering his mouth as he cleared his throat politely. “This is getting really tense out here. You even brought your personal guards, did you really expect a fight?”

Maverick twisted, eyeing my brother like he was a dirt speck on the rug. “That depends on how you answer our questions.”

“Ask away,” Kurtis said.

Holding out an arm to encourage some space, Glen stood between my family and the others. His green eyes rested on us one by one. When it was my turn, I shivered. “All we’re looking for is a lead. The king has gone missing, that’s a problem for everyone. When did you last see him?”

No one spoke. They were all looking at me.If they saw the papers, they know I was with him the other night.“Don’t dodge around it. You all read the rumors about the pregnancy. Thorne was with me at that restaurant, he took me back here, said good night, then that was it.” Fumbling for my phone, I showed it to them. “He texted me, but never responded.”

Carmina went pale. “He sent these messages yesterday morning? That’s really the last time you spoke?”

Her worry mirrored my own. But when I tried to reach out for her, she closed off, not willing to completely let go of her suspicion about me. I didn’t blame her, but her silent accusation ripped my heart into tiny pieces.

There was motion beside me in the room; Darla had drawn close, her sweet perfume clogging my nose. “You guys have some balls, blaming us for your failing-upward son. He probably ran off when he saw the same rumors splashed across the papers that you all have.”

Maverick breathed in until his chest rose. He eyeballed me, searching my face. “Is it true, then? Are you ...”

“Now isn’t the time,” Kurtis cut him off. “Not when you’ve come to our doorstep with violence on your minds.”

Larch crossed his arms, shrugging. “I don’t know why everyone is stressed. I’m sure Thorne will show up. A guy like him is too annoyingly loud to stay missing for long.”

---