Page 20 of Obsessively Yours (Fae Kings of Eden #2)

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Roman’s panic clawed at his insides as he stood in front of Violet’s cottage, willing her not to go. “Please don’t leave yet. In a little over a year, I’ll be able to leave the kingdom. I’ll go with you.”

“I’ve always wanted to do this,” she said softly, “and with what happened at the festival two weeks ago, it’s not safe for me here right now.”

Maggie, the seamstress Violet worked for, once traveled Eden to learn about the other kingdoms’ clothes, or something like that. Violet had decided to take the trip herself, leaving Roman for a year, if not longer. “I swear on my life, no one in this kingdom will harm a hair on your head again.” He wanted her to be happy, but not without him at her side.

“Don’t make this harder than it already is,” she begged. “I’ll write. I won’t spend as long in each kingdom as Maggie. She’s already taught me a lot, so I won’t need to stay as long as she did.” She threw her arms around his middle and buried her face in his chest. “I’ll miss you. I promise I’ll be back for your coronation.”

Roman wrapped his arms around her, knowing he couldn’t change her mind, and if he chained her to his bed, she might hate him. “Griff and Ares are going with you.”

She stepped out of his hold, leaving him empty. “You’re already sending War with me.” The tigon at her feet nudged her leg. “I don’t want to take them away from their families and friends for a year.”

He’d already spoken with Griff and Ares in the event he couldn’t convince her to stay. He’d been trying since she’d announced her plans shortly after her attack. “This is non-negotiable. I won’t let you leave unprotected.”

“I can go, too,” Slayton offered from behind them. He, Griff, Ares, and Violet’s parents stood around them to see Violet off.

“I will gut you if you set foot in that carriage,” Roman warned.

Slayton’s cat-like grin made Roman want to knock his teeth out. “No, you won’t,” the man retorted.

Violet huffed and pointed at Slayton. “Stop antagonizing him.” She turned back to Roman. “And you, stop threatening my friend.”

“ Best friend,” Slayton added.

Roman bristled. “I’m her best friend.”

“Sorry, prince, I’m her best friend,” Griff goaded with a smile to match Slayton’s.

Violet hiked her thumb toward the tigon. “War is my best friend. Stop acting like children.”

Roman raked a hand through his hair, resigning himself to his fate. “I prepared another carriage to accompany you.”

“What do I need an extra carriage for?”

“You’ll need more than you can carry in one carriage,” he explained.

Violet tilted her head. “Like what? I’m only taking two trunks.”

That morning, Slayton had helped Roman load a carriage with money, buckets of seashells, beads, food for their first leg of travel, and anything else Roman could think of that Violet might need. He’d also written to each king and the human queen to ask that they provide her with extra protection and a place to stay.

The Garden Kingdom was her first stop, and its king, Dean, ensured Violet’s safety. Roman expected the same from Rennick, the Mountain King, Amos, the Desert King, and Charlotte, the Human Queen, but he’d instructed Griff and Ares to keep her in the Garden Kingdom until Roman sent word that he’d received their replies.

Ignoring her question, he glanced over her head at the others. “Violet and I need a minute alone.”

They made themselves scarce without protest, and Roman took Violet’s face in his hands. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against hers. “I’ll miss you, princess. Promise to come back to me.”

Her stillness worried him. He shouldn’t have kissed her, but he refused to regret it. Finally, she nodded. “I promise.”

They made their way to the others waiting by her carriage in time to greet Ares, who’d arrived with the second carriage.

Violet said her goodbyes, and Roman stood with the Maekins and Slayton, watching everything good in his life fade into the distance.

“Protect her, War. If anything happens to her, Eden won’t survive my wrath.”

“With my life,” the tigon vowed.

“Thank you,” Roman responded. “I’ll check in tonight.”

War’s amusement trickled down the bond. “I expect nothing less.”

Slayton’s hand squeezed Roman’s shoulder. “Come on, prince. There’s a bottle of liquor at my place with your name on it.”

Sighing, Roman followed Slayton into town, toward the small loft he inhabited above his father’s grocery store. “She’s going to love seeing the other kingdoms,” Slayton assured him. “You did the right thing by not keeping her here.”

Roman stopped and closed his eyes to call on his familiar .

“War.”

“Yes?”

“When she sees something that makes her happy, call for me. I want to see her happy, too.”

He could feel the tigon bob his head. “You won’t miss anything, Roman. I swear it.”