Page 23 of Obsessively Yours (Fae Kings of Eden #2)

23

Princess,

It seems you misunderstood my last letter. Let me make myself perfectly clear. You are not a replacement for Vivian because Vivian was never going to be my queen. I decided years ago, when you stood in the forest and tried to do right by your kingdom and sister, that no matter the cost, you would be my wife.

I spent years researching ways to transfer the bond from her soul to yours, and when I realized the impossibility of it, I lost my mind. Knowing you would never agree to marry me while still bonded to someone else had ignited a new type of desperation. I would have done anything to keep you.

I waited for inspiration to strike to avoid my last resort plan. I won’t tell you what it was because you wouldn’t approve.

I realized the only thing Vivian loved more than the idea of being queen was herself. I played on her jealousy. She once told me she’d won by being mated to me. I told her you’d won, not her, because you were happy and in love with Titus while she was stuck in a loveless relationship neither of us wanted.

I gave her my blessing to continue with her lover and told her that if she broke the bond, I wouldn’t charge her with treason.

I didn’t know her secret lover was Titus. He would ultimately have had to go, but I never wanted it to be at your expense. If he’d died or disappeared, you would have been heartbroken, yes, but not betrayed. I would have killed them both before I let them hurt you. They will pay for what they’ve done.

You are not a replacement. You are my true mate, and I’m done caring if telling you what’s on my mind scares you. You’re my obsession, Violet Maekin. You always have been, and you always will be. You have owned me completely since we were children running through the palace halls.

Three hundred and twenty-nine days.

Obsessively Yours,

Roman

P.S. You signed Ares’ death warrant when you stepped through that door. I suggest you knock when visiting Griff.

Violet gaped at the letter in her hands, unsure which part to process first: Roman trying to transfer the bond, him threatening to kill everyone, or him calling her his true mate.

She’d thought the same thing when they were kids, that maybe the gods made a mistake, but as an adult she knew it was a childish notion.

Rereading the letter, she wondered if her heart would explode. She didn’t dare question whether he meant it; she could see his conviction in every stroke of ink.

Roman said Violet was his obsession but stated nothing of love; but he didn’t have to. He’d told her he loved her years ago, and she’d pushed him away.

With shaking hands, she set down the letter and called out for War. The tigon stood and stretched before loping across the gigantic room. Slipping from the chair, Violet lowered herself to her knees. “Call Roman, please.”

War closed his eyes.

* * *

Roman examined the shell in Slayton’s hand and grumbled, “Are you purposefully picking out the ugliest ones you can find?”

Slayton scowled at him. “Who made you king of the shells?”

Something slimy brushed against Roman’s calf, and he jabbed his hand in the water, yanking out a flailing rainbow trout. Slayton screamed like a howler monkey and tried to back away.

Roman looked from the fish to Slayton with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Slayton warned.

Roman started after Slayton, who yelled creative threats over his shoulder, but War’s call made Roman drop the flailing fish in the water. “Violet’s asking for you.”

He jogged to the shore and plopped down in the gritty sand. “Show me.”

Violet sat on the floor in front of War expectantly. Waiting for me. It’d been almost seven weeks since she’d walked along the shore, and the freckles on her nose were fading.

His gut churned with apprehension, knowing she’d read his letter. If she rejected him, he’d lock her in his rooms until she fell in love with him again, and he didn’t know how long that would take.

“Is he here?” her sweet voice asked War. The tigon nodded, and she rubbed her palms on her thighs.

“Hey Rome.” She huffed out a laugh. “This is strange.”

Roman grinned when she shook out her hands. Nervous, princess? If only he could speak back to her. Too bad War wasn’t a parrot.

War growled down the bond.

Violet pulled her shoulders back and looked War dead in the eye. “I got your letter.” She waved the paper in her hand, and Roman’s heart stuttered. “You sound like a psychopath.”

You have no idea.

“You should speak with your mother about your proclivity for threatening people’s lives. Someone level-headed needs to calm you down.”

Roman full on laughed, and he heard Slayton, who’d sat beside him at some point, mutter something about Roman being unstable.

Violet leaned forward and cradled both sides of War’s face, holding Roman captive with her delicate hands. “I want you to know that I love you too.”

Every nerve ending in Roman’s body sparked with elation. She fucking loves me.

“She was talking to me,” War uncharacteristically teased.

“I’ll turn you into a rug.”

“Hey man, are you okay?” Slayton asked, sounding far away. “You’re shaking.”

Roman dismissed him with a wave of his hand and concentrated on Violet. Someone knocked in the background, and Ares’ muffled voice called out, “Vi, are you ready to go, yet? We’re starving.”

That fucker. War growled at Roman’s frustration, and Violet narrowed her eyes at the beast. “Did Roman make you do that?” War nodded.

“Where is your loyalty?” Roman grumbled, and War chuffed in response.

“Roman, if you hurt Ares, I won’t marry you.” Violet folded her arms across her chest. “Are we clear?”

“Did she just threaten to not marry me if I kill Ares?” Roman asked War with disbelief.

“I believe she said if you hurt him.”

The little minx. She’d pay for that later.

Violet reached out and tapped War’s nose. “Answer me, Roman Covington. Are we clear?”

She could have asked Roman to bring Dominic back from the dead and he’d have found a way. He’d do anything if it meant she’d marry him.

“Nod your head,” he instructed War, who dutifully obeyed.

The smile that spread across her face would make the gods weep. “ She is beautiful.”

“She is,” War agreed.

Violet leaned forward and placed a kiss on War’s forehead. “I love you, prince.”

“I love you, too, princess.”