Page 45 of Pregnant at the Palace Altar

Katerina tried so very hard not to react outwardly. Her mother thrived on emotional reactions. But Katerina understood now where she’d heard that name.

Thropos Palia had been one of the ringleaders of the coup that had led to the murders of Diamandis’s family.

“It sounds like you do not quite have your story straight, Ms. Floros. While Thropos was involved in the coup, he was hardly the ringleader,” Diamandis said, calm as ever. “It also seems odd timing to bring this to my attentionnow.”

Katerina was glad for him in this moment because she did not feel calm. She felt...too many things to name.

She turned slowly to her husband and tried to keep her tone very careful—anything to avoid giving her mother the reaction she wanted. Simply a truth. “It isn’t true, Diamandis. No matter what she says, it’s never true.”

“I’m sure we could have it authenticated, Katerina. Thropos is still alive in some Grecian jail, is he not? A king such as yourself could get the necessary tests taken care of, and quickly, I assume.”

Katerina whipped her gaze to her mother. It was a tactical mistake, but Ghavriella had never once, in all her many attempts at claiming paternity for her daughter, offered to have it authenticated. Usually when questions of validity came up, she wailed and threw massive tantrums.

Anything to get what she desired, which was always more about attention than money—though she quite enjoyed monetary payoffs as well.

“And for what reason would we have such a story authenticated?” Diamandis asked, raising a skeptical brow. “He is indeed in prison. Where he will stay. He has no claim over me or my wife, regardless. Pardon me if I do not say this tactfully, but it seems you are creating problems where there are none, Ms. Floros.”

“But you are wrong.” Ghavriella smiled. Coldly. “If you’ll excuse me for saying so, Your Majesty. I told him. Many years ago. Back then he wanted nothing to do with her as she had nothing to offer. But now...well, now she has quite a bit to offer. Doesn’t she?”

A heavy silence followed. Or Katerina assumed it was silence. Her heart thundered so hard inside of her chest it was a wonder the sound didn’t fill up the room. A pain twisted inside of her, all the way down into her abdomen. She smoothed her hand over her stomach, trying to breathe through this.

She had warned him, hadn’t she? Her mother ruined everything. Always. Even things that didn’t need ruining.

Diamandis had already pushed her away. She was his queen in name only, and still her mother would take that little shred of what they’d shared and try to destroy it.

Diamandis took Katerina’s hand in his, squeezing until she met his gaze. “It has been a long trip this morning. Go and rest.” He brushed a kiss over her knuckles.

“She is lying.” She had to be. But there was a small bubble of fear all the same. That this would be the time her mother didn’t lie. This would hurt more than all the lies that had come before—and there had been many, many wounds before this one.

He nodded. “We will certainly get to the bottom of it.” Then he gave her a reassuring smile and nodded to someone. She was ushered away by the staff, led upstairs to her rooms and fussed over.

One of her maids even tucked her into bed like she was a child. Only, her own mother had certainly never done such a thing in Katerina’s memory. Her childhood had been about surviving Ghavriella’s whims.

And now she was here to ruin everything, just like always.

But Diamandis had said he would handle it. That he would get to the bottom of it. No one in her life had ever offered those things, and she knew she was looking for heartache if she trusted it, but she was so exhausted. Everything hurt. She just wanted to cry herself to sleep.

So she did.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

DIAMANDISDEALTWITHGhavriella in the same way he dealt with any scheming beggar. He smiled, he nodded politely, and then had her escorted to a private residence away from the palace where she would be waited on and watched while he decided what to do.

He wanted to check on Katerina, but that would have to wait. These allegations were serious. Diamandis did not think they were true—why not bring them up when he’d first approached her about staying away? But that didn’t mean Ghavriella couldn’t attempt to make them a problem, true or not.

Because what Katerina’s mother clearly wanted was some kind of spectacle. Katerina had warned him of that herself.

So he met with Marias. He could not meet with the entire council over such a potentially dramatic situation, but his oldest adviser and a man who had counseled his father could surely be trusted to keep this information quiet and offer Diamandis appropriate advice on how to proceed.

He knew Diamandis’s deepest secret, after all.

“This is a disaster, Diamandis,” Marias said firmly in response. “You cannot be married to the daughter of a traitor.”

Diamandis had expected disappointment and irritation. He had been prepared for these emotions he tried to avoid, but they were not his actions and he could not undo the simple facts.

“We do not know this as truth, and I am inclined to believe it is deceit. However, we will verify if it’s accurate. What I’m looking for is advice on how to deal with Ms. Floros.”

Marias shook his head. “She is a disaster. You cannot be married to her.”

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