Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“Sir! Henry,” Genoveve said, appearing at the end of the corridor. I jumped at the sight of her, my head spinning a little.
“Shit, have you been waiting on me?” I asked. “I’m sorry, Genoveve.”
“It’s no problem,” she said. “Sebastian thought you might get lost on your way to breakfast.”
“Sebastian was very right,” I said, smiling at her.
She led me down many halls and flights of stairs until we reached a large, open room with plenty of natural sunlight pouring in. It was completely different from the dining room where we’d eaten dinner the other night. This room was just as grandiose, but it felt lighter somehow. Less medieval.
“Henry, you’re here,” Sebastian said, standing and smiling at me. The sunlight highlighted him from the side, casting him in a halo. It was strange seeing him so upbeat. He seemed so much less stressed, not anxious, and almost… happy.
I hated that it felt so rare to see the man I loved actually happy. He deserved that every damn day of his life.
“Henry Denton,” a woman’s voice said from the head of the table.
My heart nearly stopped cold.
I glanced over and saw Queen Charlotte Ambrose staring back at me.
Her eyes were still as icy-blue as they had been eleven years ago. I would never forget her gaze, like icicles shooting out directly into me. Her hair was pulled back into a prim, tight bun, and she clasped her long fingers in front of her on the table.
My headache seemed to ratchet up in intensity tenfold just from seeing her.
“My mother just returned from her trip to Beloria yesterday,” Sebastian said, watching me from across the room. I could tell he knew how shocked I was.
I also knew that Sebastian very purposely hadn’t told me that the queen would be present at breakfast. He knew I wouldn’t have shown up otherwise. Not in a million fucking years.
Sebastian waved me over to the seat right next to him. “Come. Sit,” he said.
“Isn’t that Emma’s seat?” I asked.
“She’s gone back home,” Sebastian said. “I’d like you to sit by my side now.”
“She’s back in Beloria for a few weeks,” Queen Charlotte said, her eyes staying fixed on me the entire time I walked over to my seat. She was as eerie and lifeless as an ice sculpture. “Princess Emma will be back for the holidays, of course. She and Sebastian have become very close.”
“Right,” I said.
I took my seat next to Sebastian and looked over the table at the array of incredible foods in front of us. A servant came over immediately to begin offering spoonfuls of berries, scones, French toast, and things I couldn’t even name.
Somehow my appetite had drastically lessened since seeing the queen, however.
“I was sorry to hear about your mother’s passing,” Queen Charlotte said, her lips a thin line as she watched me take a bite of a scone.
“It was a peaceful death,” I said.
“That is good,” she replied. “And you’re given her estate, now?”
“Estate,” I said, puffing out a laugh. “Yeah, I’m fixing up the house and probably going to sell the car for parts. Not much else in the estate but that.”
“I’m sure someone will be happy to have a cottage home like that in Berrydale,” the queen said, taking a sip of her drink. “Once it’s cleaned, of course.”
I felt a warm hand on my thigh. I glanced down to see Sebastian was rubbing my leg with his palm underneath the table. He stroked it back and forth, not even trying to be subtle. It was partially hidden, but the queen was like some sort of superpowered witch. She saw everything. There was no chance she wouldn’t take notice.
It was something that usually would have freaked Sebastian out completely, but he was doing it without a care. And I fucking loved that.
“Henry is going to do an amazing job on the cottage,” Sebastian told his mother before taking a sip of orange juice. “I’ve recommended him some of the contractors we’ve worked with. One of them worked on my shower, even, which he seemed to approve of.”
“Henry was in your shower?” Queen Charlotte said.
“Yes,” Sebastian said. “Of course, mother. I wasn’t going to let him come to breakfast without washing up first, was I?”
I saw a flare of disbelief in the queen’s eyes. And I felt it in my own bones, too.
The two of them shared a glance that I couldn’t read, and as I looked across the table, Genoveve was just staring down at her plate.
“And where will you be headed once you are gone from town again, Henry?” the queen asked.
I took a deep breath. “I’m not sure,” I said.
“No goals in mind?”
“Can’t say I have any at this point, no.”
“Well.” Her voice was clipped.
Silence filled the air for the next minute, as if everyone at the table was holding their breath.