Page 81 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
The king halted when he spotted me. He arched a brow at his son, allmystery solved.
I wiped my mouth with my napkin, attempting to mask my discomfort. This man had used my essay as an excuse to have me watched.
“Hello, Arden,” he said, as smooth as his son. “Lovely to see you. My apologies for intruding upon a private dinner. I wasn’t aware Cyrus decided to host a guest this evening.”
“Hello, King Dolion.” Should I salute? “We were just flirting. I mean talking,” I corrected in a rush. My cheeks burned. I would shut up now.
“I gave express orders that I wasn’t to be disturbed,” Cyrus stated.
“My apologies.” The king offered me a quick smile before focusing on his son. “No one was brave enough to inform me. Since I went to the trouble of realm walking, I’m sure you can guess I come with a matter of importance. Let’s chat before I go.” He strode off, making it clear he’d delivered an order.
Cyrus tossed his napkin onto the table. “Stay here.”
I batted my lashes at him. “I’m happy to act as your assistant. Consider it a sampling of this special access you’ve been trying so hard to sell me.”
“Nice try.” He gently chucked my chin, his eyes glittering. “All samplings will wait until we’ve negotiated our terms.” A tower of strength, he strode off.
Hearing a door shut, I popped to my feet. Cyrus had basically put his stamp of approval on all snooping. As quietly as possible, I snuck around the room, opened drawers, searched under every piece of furniture, and inspected for secret safes. I discovered absolutely nothing. But then, he’d known I would do this, so he’d probably taken precautions. Smart HP.
Before the Dolions returned, I returned to my seat. Might as well eat. I mean, the food shouldn’t go to waste.
I cleaned my plate, then Cyrus’s, then I finished off our juices. Eventually, he returned without his father. He reclaimed the spot beside me, his good humor gone. He radiated fury, triggering a dozen defenses rigged to blow inside my mind. And yet, nothing detonated. I didn’t flee as I would’ve done in the past. An odd sense of calm glued me in place.
“You got in trouble for fraternizing with a Soalian’s target, I’m guessing,” I said.
“I consider you an asset. But no, that wasn’t it.”
Ooh la la. Lady Arden Roosa, an asset. “So. Tell this asset about your conversation with your dad.”
“I can tell you many things, but not that,” he said, dancing his gaze over the table, taking in the results of my feast. A corner of his mouth quirked. “You ate my food.”
“I told you I would.” I ignored the flutter in my stomach. “You mentioned a negotiation.”
He fixed his attention on me and crossed his arms over his chest, flexing well-defined biceps. A definite power play. “Each night, you’ll turn in a report listing any oddities in my behavior. There will be none, of course. While we’re in Theirland, you’ll stay in these quarters with me. You are welcome to sleep in my room, without chains. That’s my preference. There’s a second room if you’d rather be alone. When we return to Ourland, you’ll fulfill your training duties but spend all free time with me. That includes meals.”
“Will I spend the night with you there too?”
“Only rarely. I live off base. I’ll wear a monitor.”
Okay, so, that did sound kind of wonderful. Free weekend room and board, zero chains. But. “You can wear a monitor all the time. You don’t need me.”
“I don’t want to wear a monitorever. No one wants others to know where they are and what they are doing at all times.”
Yeah, that tracked. “The whole idea is thready at best. You yourself have admitted I don’t know you that well. I’m not qualified to recognize an oddity in your behavior.”
“You might not know me well, yet, but you do know plants.”
Seriously, he had an answer for everything. “You’re setting me up for jealousy and trouble with the other trainees. No one will be comfortable around High Prince Dolion’s babysitter.”
“You aren’t wrong, but there’s no other way to do this. No other reason to key you into certain locations you can’t and shouldn’t access otherwise.”
To be honest, I could endure any amount of animosity for answers. “Since this is supposed to be practice for real dating, I should probably call youbunny baby boo. Orsugar bear.Honey buns.”
“I’ll let you render the final verdict, but I’m partial tosugar bear.”
He actually uttered those words with a straight face.
“Don’t tempt me, Cyrus. I might do it.”
