Page 134 of Ascendant King

“Darling, I know it’s not ideal. But this is merely a fact of life.” She ran fingers through his hair, soothing him.

Sonja shifted uncomfortably, and Cade’s father, Alexander, shot her an amused look. “He’s always this way before a big event. When he moved out of our rooms and into the prince’s quarters, he was a complete mess. Don’t take it personally.”

Sonja kept her gaze fixed on Alexander, although I could feel the way her eyes wanted to stare at Tyson. She twitched but then straightened. “Of course.”

After a minute, Cade settled, gasping until he pulled away from his mother, wiping his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night,” he said.

“Of course!” His mother straightened his hair. “Now, let’s get down to business.”

The next hour was interminable. Cade’s parents discussed the future wedding, which was apparently to take place next month, with Sonja adding some requests until a soft chime from a clock indicated noon.

“It would have been more convenient for you two to be married before Cade’s position changed,” Alexander said. “But Leon was in a rush to have the line of succession in place.”

“I understand completely,” Sonja said, her smile artificially bright. “If you don’t mind, I must get ready before dinner.”

“Me too.” Chloe stood, forcing everyone else to rise. As the mages headed out, I waited until I saw the other consorts moving, following behind.

Everyone said goodbye at the front door, Tyson and Sonja leaving, and then the mages headed upstairs, Chloe lacing her arm through Cade’s elbow.

“I know, Cade. I really do. But this is important. And you’ll still be able to enjoy yourself. No one is forcing you to give up your consort.” As she reassured him, I caught the other consorts giving me strange looks, although neither one of them tried to speak to me.

When his parents disappeared into a room in the hall, Cade strode straight toward his own bedroom, throwing open the doors with a slam. I closed them carefully behind us.

Cade threw himself into my arms. “My parents…”

There wasn’t anything else to say. What would I do if my parents suddenly reappeared?

I did the only thing I could, wrapping my arms around him and squeezing tight.

Chapter

Forty-Four

Cade and I had been through too much for him to need to explain, but he struggled anyway. “I don’t have any memories of my parents like this.”

He pulled away, wiping at his face, as though crying about parents returning from the grave was something to be ashamed of. This was the first time I had ever seen him like this, weeping and hurting. The damage we had just begun to heal together was torn open anew.

“They died when I was so young…” He drew up his chin. “Maybe they weren’t like this. Maybe they weren’t so…”

I tried to fill in the blank. Loving? Political? Alive?

“It’s not real,” I tried to reassure him, but even that was weak, and he offered me a watery smile.

“It’s not?” His dry delivery made me wince. It might not be real, but it hurt just the same, just as painful to know they were just down the hall, the parents he had always wanted.

“Thisisn’treal.” I kept my voice calm, reminding him, the way I wished he had reminded me earlier when the humiliation of being a slave burned at my neck, at the leather collar I couldn’t take off.

I raised my hand, grabbing hold of the leather, trying to pry it loose again.

Cade’s face blanked, and then his mouth dropped in sympathy. He reached up, covering my fingers with his, and I felt the crawl of magic over my hand as he removed the spellwork before the collar fell away, the buckle rattling as it hit the floor.

“No,” Cade agreed. He stared down at the collar. “This isn’t real. Because you don’t want that around your neck, but youdowant my collar on your throat.”

It wasn’t even a question, and I immediately knew what he meant. This place,thiscollar meant slavery, meant a loss of myself, meant me, a powerful alpha, put on my knees.

But in the real world, Cade’s collar at my neck meant submission, chosen submission, the reality of two people who trusted each other enough to let themselves fall and be caught.