Page 17 of Obsessively Yours (Fae Kings of Eden #2)

17

Roman pounded on the door to the Maekins’ cottage with his parents at his side, but no one answered. Racing around the house, he climbed through the laundering room window and searched every room.

He stopped short when he entered Vivian’s bedroom. Tidy, as always, but nothing adorned her desk or weapons rack. Moving quickly, he opened her drawers to find them completely empty. His plan worked; she’d married her lover.

Roman left the empty house and met his parents on the porch. “No one’s here and Vivian’s room is bare. Did she have her trunks delivered to the palace already?”

“I’m unsure,” his father replied, “but we need to find her. I’ll have someone check with her sister.”

“ I’ll check with Violet.” Roman switched course toward the stables. He rubbed at his chest. It felt strange to not have Vivian’s unwelcomed emotions as background noise after years of trying to tune them out.

“Roman.” Something in his father’s tone made him stop. “Try not to look so happy.”

Roman looked past his father to his mother, who was grinning like a child in a sweets shop. He winked at her and nodded to his father without a word. He could no more hide his happiness than he could deny his love for Violet.

Whether Vivian was dead or married, he didn’t care if it meant the bond no longer existed. His cheeks hurt from smiling. When was the last time he’d openly smiled over something that didn’t involve watching Violet? Years. He knew he deserved hell for his apathetic thoughts, but they couldn’t be helped.

I will suffer the deepest ring of hell if it means one lifetime with her.

At the stables, his mother took her horse from the stable hand and shooed him away when he tried to help her mount.

His father rubbed his forehead with a heavy sigh. “I’ll inform the council.”

War appeared from the direction of the training arena with Tilly, his mother’s lorix familiar, running beside him. Lorix were small monkeys with big round eyes and light blue fur. They looked harmless, but their venomous incisors and claws grew when aggravated. Vicious little things.

* * *

Violet stared at her ceiling, still groggy from sleep. The sun shining bright through her window indicated she’d slept later than usual. The perks of having the day off. A soft knock on the front door startled her, and she sat up in bed, her heart beating wildly.

She took a moment to gather herself, breathing deep. With her father’s help, Violet had successfully begun combating her need to hide at the slightest sound. During their self-defense trainings her father insisted on strengthening her mind. He claimed knowing how to defend yourself from ailments of the mind was just as important as knowing how to protect yourself.

Violet still hid under her bed from time to time, but the impulse lessened with each passing day.

The knock sounded again, and she crept into the front room to peek through the curtains. A man in the post carrier uniform stood on her porch with his hands behind his back. What in the world is a postman doing here this early?

“Good morning, Miss Violet,” he greeted when she opened the door. “I was asked to deliver this to you.” He held out an envelope with her name on it.

“Thank you,” she said with a polite smile and glanced at her post box, wondering why he hadn’t left it there. She’d never had a post carrier knock before.

Understanding her silent inquiry, the man motioned to the letter. “A man came into the post yesterday and paid extra to have his missive delivered to you directly this morning.”

She recognized Titus’ sloppy handwriting and frowned. Why would he mail her a letter yesterday when he could have given it to her himself?

Violet thanked him and shut the door. The letter burned her palm as she walked into the kitchen to put a pot of water on to boil before tearing open the envelope with a pounding heart.

Violet,

This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, and if I were a stronger man, I would have told you in person.

Before I say this, know that I do love you, and part of my heart will always be yours, but the rest has always been elsewhere. That day I walked into your tent and saw your face, I was stunned into silence. You look just like her, but different in your own, beautiful way.

I am ashamed to admit that when I asked you to dinner, it was with revenge in mind. Vivian and I have been in love since late childhood, and when the prince announced her as his mate, I’d never felt such betrayal and heartbreak in my life. She never told me why she wanted to keep us a secret, but I loved her too much to deny her anything.

When I took you out for the first time, you surprised me. You are so full of life, and you made me laugh more than I thought possible. The more time we spent together, the more I realized I didn’t care about hurting Vivian anymore. I cared about making you happy, and bit by bit, I fell in love with you too.

But Vivian still haunted me, and when she came to me weeks ago and begged me to run away with her, it felt right. You must understand that fate forced us apart, not our own choices, and it wouldn’t have been fair to you if I’d stayed.

I will never forgive myself for breaking your heart, but you deserve a man who can give you their all, and that man isn’t me. I wish it had been you.

With Love,

Titus

The paper slipped through Violet’s fingers and joined her on the old wooden floor. She didn’t know when she’d slid to her knees, but she knew the exact moment the shards of her heart pierced her lungs on their way to the ground.

The betrayal didn’t cut deep, it sliced her all over in a thousand tiny knicks, drawing blood and pain from every piece of her.

Her dinner from last night evacuated her stomach, and she alternated between shaking, crying, and cursing the two people responsible.

A strangled sob ripped from her throat as a gaping hole formed in her chest.

She’d never hated someone before, but in that moment, she hated her sister more than anything in the world.

“ Violet ,” a deep voice rumbled on the other side of her front door. “ It’s Roman, let me in .”

Violet hung her head and cried harder. If she ignored him, he’d go away eventually. Falling back on her butt, she leaned her head against the cabinet behind her. A muffled curse followed by footsteps pounded down her porch steps.

Did Vivian leave him a note? Is he devastated like me?

Violet’s kitchen window crashed open, and she screamed, her broken heart beating erratically. She scrambled across the floor on her hands and knees, narrowly missing the vomit, and tried to hide under the table.

Large hands wrapped around her waist and stopped her escape. She thrashed around, but they pulled her against a warm body. “It’s me, princess,” Roman murmured and settled on the ground with her still in his arms. Tugging her into his lap, he moved one of the chairs and tried to scoot them both under the table, but his large frame wouldn’t fit. Instead, he held her tight and whispered apologies.

Fur brushed against her leg, and she lifted her head to see a fuzzy blue lorix blinking back at her. She pressed closer into Roman. Lorix were cute, but they were deadly.

“Tilly,” Roman said sharply. “You’re scaring her.” He ran a soothing hand down Violet’s back. “She’s my mother’s familiar .” The lorix ignored Roman and scooted closer to Violet.

The adrenaline wore off, and Violet tried to move out of Roman’s lap, but he refused to let her go. “What happened?”

Violet sniffled. “You don’t know?” Her watery eyes raised to his.

“Is Vivian dead?” he asked cautiously.

She jerked back. “What?”

“The bond is gone,” he explained. “I thought maybe something happened to her.”

He thought Vivian died and looked not the least bit upset. The bond is broken. Violet’s breath hitched and a fresh wave of tears swarmed her. If their bond broke, then Vivian married Titus.

I fucking hate her .

“Sh-she ran away with T-Titus,” Violet hiccupped. The lorix climbed into her lap and wormed its way under Roman’s arm to snuggle against her stomach.

“She what ?” Roman boomed, making her wince. Funny, he seemed more upset to know she’d married another man than he had thinking she’d died.

“If you’ll let me up, I’ll show you.” Violet was proud of herself for managing not to blubber her words. Roman reluctantly released her, and she retrieved Titus’ letter from the floor. “Last night Titus paid the post extra to hand deliver this to me this morning.”

Roman snatched the paper from her and froze. Without reading the letter, he dropped it to the floor and grabbed her hand to inspect it. “The paper didn’t cut you, did it? I didn’t mean to grab it like that.”

A surprised laugh bubbled out of her. “I’m fine, but you won’t be when you read that note.” She forced back a new onslaught of tears.

Roman picked up the discarded letter and scanned the contents, his face contorting with fury. “How could he do this to you?” He wrinkled the paper in his fist, violence rippling off him in waves. “I will fucking kill him for what he’s done to you.”

Violet leaned forward and took the crinkled paper. Smoothing it out, she held it in front of him. “What they did to us . He left with Vivian.”

Roman pushed the letter away. “You think I care your sister left?”

Violet tried to make sense of his response but came up short. “Um, yes? If your bond no longer exists, then they married . Your mate married someone else .” Right before their wedding. What a fucking bitch.

“And she will lose her head for her crimes,” he said stoically.

She blanched. “You can’t kill her.”

The prince took back the paper and folded it neatly to place in his pocket. “Yes, I can. She committed treason, and so did Titus. They will die for what they’ve done.” Violet shook her head, and he cupped both sides of her face. “What they’ve done to you is unforgivable .”

She ripped her face from his hands. “They’re assholes,” she agreed, “and right now I hate them, but I don’t want them to die.”

The tender look Roman afforded her took her aback. “For you, I’ll let them live, but they cannot go unpunished.”

It was the best she could ask for. As far as Violet knew, a royal mate bond had never been severed, and she didn’t know what it meant for the future. “Thank you.”

A knock on the door made her jump back into Roman’s arms. “It’s just my mother and War,” he soothed and picked her up.

Violet wiggled as he stalked to the front room. “Let me down,” she ordered. He obediently lowered her feet to the ground. Straightening her dress and wiping her nose, she hastened to the front door to open it.

Queen Sarah took one look at her face and gasped. “Is Vivian dead?”

Roman’s chest pressed to Violet’s back. “No. She married Violet’s boyfriend.”

The queen gasped again and looked between Violet and Roman. “How do you know?”

Roman reached into his pocket and held out Titus’ note. The queen skimmed the contents and raised her shocked gaze to theirs. “Oh, honey.” She wrapped Violet in a motherly embrace, squeezing the life out of her. “I am so sorry. We’ll kil—”

“No,” Roman interrupted her, and they shared a silent exchange.

War nudged the side of Violet’s leg, and she released Roman’s mother to squat beside him. He nuzzled her face with his giant head, purring loudly.

She encircled his massive neck with her arms, reminiscent of the day in the woods when she’d broken down over Dominic. Did War remember that day too? A dam within Violet broke, and loud sobs wracked her body.

Roman pried her away from War, lifted her effortlessly into his arms, and carried her into her room.

* * *

After Violet cried herself to sleep, Roman reluctantly released her and crept out of the room.

“Honey, are you alright?” his mother asked when he entered the living room. She reached for him and pulled him into a hug. “I know seeing her hurt hurts you.”

He freed himself from her arms and held both of her shoulders. “She refuses to let me kill them.”

His mother’s mouth turned down. “Why?”

Roman shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’ll not upset her more.”

Violet might not want him to kill them, but that didn’t mean they would get off without punishment. He would send Ares on a scouting mission to find them.

His mother nodded curtly. “If that’s what my sweet girl wants.”

Keeping the queen from killing Vivian and Titus would be a feat. Her innocent face didn’t fool Roman for a second. How many people had his mother made disappear , he wondered.

“If they’re found, I want them brought to me ,” Roman added. “They’re mine to deal with.”

The queen smiled brightly. “As long as I can watch.”

* * *

Low murmurs and a closing door roused Violet from a fitful sleep. The morning’s events crashed into her, and she stared blankly into the abyss. Vivian might not like her, but this was unforgivable. All she’d had to do was tell Violet Titus had once been hers and Violet would have backed off from the start. Instead, she’d waited until Violet fell in love before she ripped him away.

Titus wasn’t innocent either. He’d lied their entire relationship and had the gall to spend time with her and tell her he loved her while secretly meeting Vivian. The hurt in her chest burned to ash, engulfed by her rage.

She sat up and grabbed the closest thing she could reach, her alarm clock, and threw it against the wall with a scream. The metal bells clanged loudly along with the shattering of the glass face.

The door to her room slammed open and Roman’s wild eyes landed on her, assessed her for injuries, then traced the room. He glanced from the broken clock on the floor to her and lifted a brow. “I didn’t take you as a thrower.”

She raised her chin. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.” The smirk on his face taunted her as if to say, No there’s not.

He backed out of the room and Violet fell back on her bed, jumping when War’s tongue coated her hand in slobber. “ Ew .” She shot up and glared at him. “You know I hate when you do that.” She didn’t have proof, but she was certain he could produce extra slobber on demand.

Things clattered in the other room, piquing her curiosity until she climbed out of bed to investigate. The queen and her lorix were nowhere to be seen, and the afternoon sun sat low in the sky. How long was I asleep?

She stalled in the kitchen's doorway and stared slack-jawed at the battlefield of Roman’s making. “What the hell are you doing?”

The four-person rectangular table lay on its side, the flat tabletop surface facing the far wall. Her wall décor was missing, and the shelves on the side wall, once filled with extra dishes, were now empty. Said missing dishes sat in neat little stacks on the underside of the turned-over table.

Roman twirled around with an armful of plates and lifted them. “Getting ammunition.” He strolled to the table and set the plates next to the other dishes, then tapped the floor next to him. “Get down here.”

Too shocked to argue, she grabbed one of the table legs and lowered herself to her knees. “Have you lost your mind?”

In lieu of an answer, he passed her a ceramic teacup. “As soon as you throw it, duck behind the table so the shards don’t bounce back and hit you.”

She stared at the teacup in her hand. “Throw it?” Her brain worked hard to catch up to the absurdity.

“Like this.” He rose to his knees, took the teacup from her, cocked his arm back, and let the very breakable object fly. The cup collided with the far wall just as he ducked back down behind the table.

Violet gaped at him, disarmed by his boyish smile. She peered over the table to where the ceramic shards littered the ground. “You broke my teacup.”

Roman jerked his thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of her room. “You broke your clock.”

Her heart swelled, which surprised her, because she thought it’d been smashed to bits like her innocent little teacup. Holding out her hand, she said, “My turn.”

Chuckling, Roman grabbed two saucers and handed her one. “On three?”

She grinned. “One. Two. Three!” The plates soared through the air, and Roman pulled Violet down behind the safety of the table. The satisfying crash of the dishes shattering against the wall released another sliver of the anger threatening to implode her world.

They locked eyes, and a plate appeared between them, slotted in Roman’s giant hand. Violet held out her own and wiggled her eyebrows. “Again, prince.”

Roman barked out a laugh, and she realized she’d not seen him laugh so freely in years. Sure, he’d laugh, but not like this. It never reached his eyes as it had when they were kids. She’d thought it was who he was now but watching him hide behind an old table with a stack full of dishes, she wondered if he’d been happy with Vivian after all.

Armed with more plates, Roman counted them down, and for the next hour, they broke down the rest of the barrier Violet had erected between them years ago.

* * *

Roman picked up Violet’s massive kitchen table as if it weighed nothing and flipped it upright.

A knock pattern rattled the front door. Announcing their presence for the entire world to hear to keep from spooking Violet wasn’t sustainable, so her friends and family created their own secret knocks. Roman didn’t have one yet, a fact she was reminded of when he frowned at the door seconds before Slayton burst through.

He opened his arms wide to pull her into a hug, but a massive hand shot out above Violet’s head and landed on Slayton’s forehead to push him back. “Touch her and I’ll kill you,” Roman warned.

Violet tilted her head back and frowned. “What is wrong with you?” She pushed his arm away and hugged Slayton, ignoring Roman’s grumbles.

“If I see Titus, I’ll beat the shit out of him,” Slayton vowed. “I knew there was something off about him.”

Marissa waltzed through Violet’s door behind Slayton, her flared hips swaying. She gave Violet the world’s most awkward hug before moving to Roman’s side, running a soothing hand down his arm. “I came as soon as I heard.”

Oh, gods. Had word gotten around to everyone? Violet tried her best not to order Marissa to leave. Of all the people she wanted to see right now, Marissa held firm at the bottom of the list.

“Who told you two?” Roman barked like a guard dog.

Marissa flinched and stepped back. “Everyone in town knows.”

Slayton reached for Violet to pull her away from a fuming Roman, but the prince snatched his wrist midair. “Stop touching her,” he ground out.

Violet held her hands up between the two. “Will everyone calm down?”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Violet’s mother wailed from the doorway, hurrying in a whirlwind of skirts. Marissa and Slayton stepped back to allow Meri to pull Violet into a hug. Violet liked hugs, but if she had to hug one more person, she might throw herself into the ocean and let the sea creatures have her.

Violet’s father, Edgar, walked in next, bringing her into his arms. More pity hugs. “It’s going to be okay, monkey,” he murmured against her hair. The childhood endearment almost made her cry again, but she’d sworn earlier not to shed another tear. He kissed the top of her head and addressed Roman. “We’ll do everything we can to find Vivian and bring her back to you.”

If Violet’s father had slapped her, it would have hurt less. “Bring her back to him?”

“I don’t want her back.” Roman stepped slightly in front of Violet as if shielding her would soften the blow of her father’s words. “I was never going to marry Vivian, and since she married another and broke our bond, she did me a favor.”

Everyone in the room gasped, and all eyes turned to the prince. “The bond is broken?” Violet’s mother asked, her voice barely a whisper. “That can’t be. Her note said nothing about getting married.”

Violet tried to step around Roman, but he held fast, so she pinched his side until he moved with a deep scowl. “What note?” she questioned her parents.

Her father grimaced. “Your sister left a note that she and Titus were leaving together, but we didn’t think she’d be foolish enough to marry the man. If the mate bond is broken—”

“I’m marrying someone else,” Roman finished for him and flicked his gaze to Violet before returning to Edgar.

“I thought the gods made the bonds,” Violet mused.

“If they want to keep the bloodline strong, they’ll bond me to whomever I marry.” His words were absolute, as if saying it made it so.

“You can’t know that,” Violet’s father argued. “Vivian might have broken the bond, but she is still who the gods chose. If you two marry, I’m sure—”

“No,” Roman cut him off harshly. “Vivian and Titus have committed treason. I wouldn’t marry her if she came crawling to me on her knees, royal bloodline be damned.”

Violet’s mother whimpered. “You mean to kill them?”

“The only reason I won’t separate their heads from their bodies for what they’ve done to Violet is because she’s asked me not to.”

A deep line formed between Edgar’s brows, and he and Meri exchanged a loaded look.

The prince’s declaration made Violet’s head spin. The conviction with which he spoke peppered goosebumps down her arms. Why did he care so much? They did the same to him, yet he focused solely on her.

The room filled with tense silence. No one knew what to make of Roman’s declaration, and to his credit, he looked completely comfortable as if he’d told them about a new horse.

Violet’s mother nodded. “We understand, and thank you for your mercy.”

He laughed humorlessly. “Do not mistake me for a kind man. It is not me you should be thanking.”

Marissa and Slayton remained silent, watching the exchange, Slayton with a speculative look, Marissa with one of… anger? What did she have to be angry about?

Roman turned to Violet and bowed slightly. “We’ll give you three privacy, but I’ll be back to check on you later.”

“Okay,” Violet acquiesced. “Thank you.”

Roman said his goodbyes and signaled for Slayton and Marissa to follow him out. Slayton hugged Violet one last time, but Marissa left without looking back.

Violet’s father pulled her into another hug. “Please do not think our concern for Vivian means we are excusing what she’s done to you, monkey. I am ashamed to call her my daughter, but she is our daughter, and the last thing we want is to see her dead for a selfish mistake.”

Violet leaned into his chest to convey her understanding. She had no plans to ever speak to Vivian or Titus again, but she couldn’t bring herself to watch them die, either.