Amelia and Rennick stood in their dressing room after washing off the day’s events to get ready for dinner. She expected to feel some sense of wrongness for what she had done in the woods, but the remorse didn’t come.
She hadn’t killed Ora because the woman wanted her mate. He was six-foot-five of pure muscle, with a handsome face and a throne; everyone wanted him. She did it because even after being rejected time and again, Ora continued to chase Rennick in an attempt to steal him away. That Amelia wouldn’t tolerate.
A steadying hand landed on her shoulder. “You’re pale,” Rennick observed, feeling her clammy head.
“There was a lot of blood,” she muttered, reaching for her trout necklace. “You know it makes me queasy.”
A large hand covered hers. “You don’t have to wear that.” He glowered at the necklace like it personally offended him. “I should have known someone who never fished wouldn’t want a trout necklace.”
“Unhand my necklace.” She lightly smacked his hand, and he snatched it back.
“We can cancel tonight if you’re not up to it. It’s natural to be upset.”
“I’m not upset.” She circled the necklace around her neck and fastened it. “Ouch.” The chain sat upon the still-raw bite mark on her neck. She’d forgotten to replace the bandage after bathing. “I need a new bandage or the chain will rub the scabs.”
Rennick disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a metal box containing various medical supplies.
“Do you dress your own wounds?” she asked, poking around inside of the box.
“When they’re small.” He moved her hair to the side and examined her neck. “Hold up the chain.”
“You’ll be my wife tomorrow,” he murmured when he was done. “I’ve been waiting for this day since we were fifteen.”
She considered his words and pinched her eyebrows together. “Why fifteen?”
His hand fell from her neck and snaked around her waist. “After hearing your name, I felt a sense of duty to you as your mate, but then I saw you, and I knew no one else would do, mate or not.”
“What do you mean, ‘mate or not?’”
He fingered the trout pendant hanging around her neck. “I’d never seen you before, and Finn described you the best he could. I spotted you and Clover leaving the orphanage that morning, but I didn’t know who was who.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “We’re both tall and blonde.”
He nodded. “I tried to focus on my mate’s emotions, but nothing strong stuck out, and the longer I followed you, the more enraptured I became. You had the prettiest smile I’d ever seen, and the way you spoke to Clover about the book you were reading was intoxicating. Excitement shone through your eyes, and even though she barely replied, you kept going.”
Amelia listened with fascination, wondering what she’d done to deserve this man as a mate.
“It didn’t matter who I shared a bond with; it was you I wanted. The two of you climbed the schoolhouse steps, and another girl called your name to ask for something. I didn’t hear what, because when I realized you were my mate, everything fell into place. For the first time since my mother’s death, I was happy.”
Heat pricked the backs of Amelia’s eyes, and she stood on her toes to close the distance between them with a tender kiss. Their tongues tangled together, and she moaned when he bit her softly.
“I’ll have dinner brought to us,” he whispered against her lips, bringing her back to the real world.
“We can’t skip dinner.” She pulled back. “Everyone is expecting us.”
He groaned and released her. “Lead the way, love.”
Amelia clutched Rennick’s hand in hers to ground herself. Not only would Callum and Amos be at dinner, so would the entire staff. At least, she assumed they would be since rumors she was the king’s mate had likely made their way to the other side of Eden by now.
Tonight, they would officially announce her as Rennick’s mate.
Rennick leaned down and hovered near her ear. “If at anytime you want to leave, we’ll leave.”
With a steadying breath, she squared her shoulders and stepped a bit closer to him. “I’m ready.”
A guard opened the door, bowing to them both, and Amelia noticed him pause briefly when he saw her ears. She smiled kindly. They would not intimidate her.
When they entered the large room, Amelia scanned the podium for her friends. She spotted Fawn sitting between Finn and Clover and relaxed.
Amelia’s steps faltered. “Clover?”
She hadn’t meant to draw everyone’s attention, but she’d spoken loud enough to earn the curiosity of those near her, and when her eyes locked with her oldest friend’s, she released Rennick’s hand and ran.
It hit her then, the homesickness. She hadn’t realized how much she needed a familiar face. Clover met her at the bottom of the podium steps and wrapped her in a hug.
“I knew you were my friend,” she croaked against Clover’s shoulder.
Clover pushed her back, looking devastated. “You thought we weren’t friends?”
Amelia waved her off. “It’s an inside joke I had with myself.” She realized how stupid that sounded and added, “You rarely spoke, and sometimes I thought you were simply too polite to tell me to leave you alone, but deep down I knew that wasn’t the case.”
Clover laughed, a sound Amelia rarely heard. “I don’t like to talk, but I like to listen. You always had a lot to say.”
“Did you get my note? I dropped it in your mail slot at the house.” Amelia’s heart sped up at the guilty look on Clover’s face. “What is it?”
“I moved home,” she replied softly.
Moved home? Their home was the boardinghouse. Amelia fought to work out her friend’s meaning because nothing made sense. If Clover hadn’t received Ameliaʼs note because she’d already moved, then that meant… Amelia’s hand flew to her mouth. Surely, she was wrong. Clover wouldn’t do that but, still, she voiced her fear. “You left without saying goodbye?”
Clover’s hands twisted together as she took in Amelia’s crestfallen expression. “I knew where you’d be and planned to visit after you settled in.”
Amos approached them, his eyes glued to Clover. “We need to take this somewhere private.”
Rennick agreed and shuffled them through a side door that led into an elegant sitting room with no other doors or windows.
“What is this place?” Amelia surveyed the room. “Why would a gaudy sitting room be connected to the dining hall?”
Rennick dropped a steel bar across the door to lock it. “It’s a soundproof safe room for the royal family.”
“I really need a map of the palace,” Amelia muttered under her breath and turned to Amos. “Why are we in here?”
“I sent Clover to watch over you,” he said, still staring at Clover, who studiously ignored him.
Amelia blinked. “What do you mean?”
Rennick closed the distance between them and placed his hand on her lower back.
“My father trained me to fight as well as any warrior from the time I could walk,” Clover interjected, her voice softer than usual. “Your brother found me when I was thirteen and sent me to protect you.”
“I don’t understand.” Amelia struggled to keep up. She didn’t know how many more secrets she could handle. “You’re a human, and he couldn’t leave the Desert Kingdom until he was twenty-five.”
Clover shifted uncomfortably and pushed her wild blonde hair behind her pointed ear. “Glamour. I’m from the Desert Kingdom.”
Amelia gaped at her. “What about your family?” she asked, desperately hoping and praying her friend wasn’t ripped from her loved ones. “Did they die?”
Clover glanced at Amos. “They’re alive. They came to visit as often as they could.”
Amelia’s guilt over her brother carrying the burden of protecting her at such a young age was one thing, but forcing a young girl from her home? It was too much.
She whirled on Amos without thinking and slapped him as hard as she could. Clover flinched, but Amelia swore she saw the hint of a smile on her face. Rennick pushed Amelia behind him, and Amos stood open-mouthed, holding the side of his face.
“You forced a thirteen-year-old girl to leave her kingdom?” she shouted, lunging at him, but Rennick held her back. “How dare you? She was a child.”
“It’s okay,” Clover insisted, trying to calm Amelia down and failing miserably.
Amelia stopped struggling in her mate’s hold and stared down at her friend. “Did you want to leave your family?”
Clover’s mouth opened to say something before it clamped shut. When she avoided Amelia’s gaze, Amelia bent over, ignoring Rennick’s hands tightening on her hips. She quickly removed one of her slippers and launched it at her brother’s head, but he deflected the blow with his forearms.
“Enough!” he yelled, clenching his fists.
“Yell at her again, Desert King, and you won’t have a voice box to yell with,” Rennick warned.
Amos threw his hands up. “You don’t think I know what I’ve done?” The pain in his voice took Amelia by surprise and stopped her from grabbing her other shoe. “I didn’t seek her out to send her away. She was training when I found her, and she was more skilled than I was at the time. So, I had a stupid idea to send her to you.”
“Why?” Amelia demanded. “I’d been fine up until that point.”
He stepped forward, as did Rennick. “Because when your mate came looking for you, I knew you’d have a bigger target on your back if anyone found out who you were to not only the Desert throne but to him.” He ran a hand through his messy hair. “Clover was talented and young; no one would suspect her.” He looked crushed beneath his guilt. “I was a kid, and I made a foolish decision.”
She stared at him, waiting for him to continue, but he didn’t. “And when you wised up? Why didn’t you tell her she could go home?”
“He did,” Clover spoke up. “When we were sixteen, he asked me to come back, but I told him no.”
Amelia rubbed her forehead, not comprehending why the girl would stay when she had a family who loved her. “And you were okay with that? You didn’t stay because you thought you owed something to the future king?”
Clover pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I had no desire to be in the Desert Kingdom, and I owe him nothing.”
Amelia glanced at her brother. “I know you were only a child,” she told him, “but that was a cruel thing to ask of her as her future king, and while I appreciate the sentiment, I’m forced to carry the guilt too.”
“No one regrets my decision more so than me.” The deep sadness in his voice made Amelia’s heart break a little.
A bell next to the door rang in a merry pattern, and Rennick removed the steel beam to open it. Callum popped his head in. “Is everything all right?” He took stock of the room, pausing on Amos’s red cheek.
“You three go ahead,” Amelia told Clover, Rennick, and Callum. “Amos and I will be there shortly.”
The others shuffled out, Rennick begrudgingly so.
Amos looked tired, the shadows under his eyes prominent, and Amelia wondered how long they’d been there. “I don’t need another—”
She wrapped her arms around him, cutting him off mid-sentence, and he froze with his arms pinned beneath hers.
“I know you meant well.” She released him and backed away. “All I wanted growing up was a family. I used to dream someone would show up to claim me. Knowing Clover was made to leave her own because of me is a hard bite to swallow.”
Amos seemed haunted by demons Amelia couldn’t begin to understand. “I regret it every day.”
“We’ll make sure she and her family are set for life,” Amelia promised, with an awkward pat on his shoulder.
“I tried,” he replied with a long sigh. “She refuses every time, but she and I will work it out later. We need to discuss our situation.” He motioned between them. “You’re the only family I have left, and I’d like to get to know you better.”
Amelia hugged him again, and he stiffened under her affection. “You’re not a hugger, are you?”
He tried to move, but she held tight. “I despise them,” he said uncomfortably.
She laughed and let him go. “I’d like to get to know you, too.” He smiled then, and she returned it tenfold. “Let’s go eat before my mate hauls me over his shoulder in front of everyone.”
