Page 42 of Obsessively Yours (Fae Kings of Eden #2)

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“What do you mean she lost her?” Roman demanded.

His mother rubbed her forehead. “Tilly must eat. She stayed close, but somehow Vivian slipped away.”

Roman slammed his fist down on his desk; a resounding crack splintered across the room.

“Do not throw a fit with me,” Sarah scolded her son. “If you had brought her in from the start, we wouldn’t be dealing with this now.”

She was right, but had he brought her in, he couldn’t have discovered her true intentions. He had a feeling Vivian had ties to the rebels, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been there during the border attack.

If they’d captured her, they’d never know. Violet would never consent to the torture of her sister, and Roman refused to hide things from her.

“Send War out to find her,” his father suggested. “He can track her.”

“I’ll not leave Violet unprotected, and I doubt she would willingly follow me around all day.”

“Honey,” his mother interjected. “Violet is a royal now. She can glamour herself invisible.”

True, but he didn’t like the idea of her being alone. “I’ll skip our council meetings, and you can plan her coronation without me,” he decided. “I’ll stay with her and go wherever she wants.”

His father’s jaw hardened. “The council needs their king right now. Our spies think the rebel factions are working together. If they all attack at once, we need to be ready.”

Roman rubbed his temples. This is a fucking mess. “She will not go unprotected until we find Vivian.” Or ever.

* * *

Roman stepped out of the tree line onto the sandy shore. War sat not far away, watching Violet… and Babs? Violet squatted in the sand and dug out a shell with Babs happily at her side, a rope going from Violet’s wrist to a make-shift harness wrapped around Babs’ chest.

“ The hen is a nuisance ,” War grumbled down the bond. “ She should be at the palace farm with the rest of the vermin .”

Roman chuckled. “You’re big enough to eat her, yet she frightens you.”

“ I cannot eat her because of you. She has free rein to attack me with no repercussions, and she knows it, ” the beast grumbled.

“ I need you to find Vivian, ” Roman communicated down the bond, not wanting Violet to overhear. She looked happy, and he’d not ruin that; he’d tell her tonight. “ She has slipped from Tilly’s detail, and we need to find her.”

“ I’ll find her ,” War promised and disappeared into the trees.

Roman took off his socks and boots. “Need help?”

Violet twisted around and beamed at him. “I thought you were meeting with the council?”

Plopping down in the sand, he grabbed the bucket and held it out for her to drop her treasures in. “I left early to find you.”

She leaned forward and kissed him. “I’ll take any time with you I can. You’ve been busy lately.”

“We think the rebel factions are working together to plan a large-scale attack.” He hadn’t wanted to ruin their time here, but neither did he want her to think he’d willingly stayed away during the day.

“Are they going to spread out and attack the entire kingdom at once or will they all attack the capital?” she mused and dropped another shell in the bucket.

“We don’t know,” he admitted. “We have to be ready for both.”

She nodded and brushed sand from another shell. “What can I do to help?”

Roman’s heart beat hard. “If there is an attack, stay in the bunker. It’s the safest place.”

“And leave everyone else out to dry?” she asked incredulously. “Tell those living in the warrior compound to bring the children to the bunker. I’ll keep them inside with me.”

His heart tried to jump from his chest to attach itself to hers. Gods, he loved her. “You are a great queen.”

Pink stained her cheeks. “I am only doing what any other person would do.”

They moved on to other things, talking and laughing the afternoon away while Babs demanded their attention.

He’d always wanted to be the one to hold her bucket.

And now he was.

* * *

Violet and Roman sat around their dining table with their friends before heading to the coronation festival downtown. The coronation wasn’t for another two days, but they held a festival beforehand. Normally people travelled from all over the kingdom to attend, but with the last-minute change in plans, they didn’t expect as big of a turnout this time.

However, the warriors and guards were on high alert, and Roman’s parents were already at the festival to glamour the townspeople if needed.

A celebration provided a perfect target for a rebel attack on the capital, but it also made it easier for the royals to protect their people since they were all in one spot. War had been gone a lot recently, leaving Griff, Slayton, and Ares to stay with Violet, but he’d returned tonight in case they needed aid.

Violet thought the coronation would be a better target for the rebels, but the council wanted to take precautions with the festival too.

Dinner with friends helped them forget their woes, if only for an hour or two.

Violet laughed loudly. “I thought he would cry.”

“It’s not that funny,” Roman muttered and sawed into his steak.

Violet tried not to laugh again, but she couldn’t help it. “It really was.”

Slayton pointed his fork at Violet. “Next time you decide to trick your husband, I want in on the action.”

Roman reached across the table, snatched Slayton’s fork, and pointed it at him. “Don’t point a sharp object at my wife.”

Slayton snorted and picked up his steak with his hands. “I’m more scared of her than you.”

Roman muttered something under his breath and Slayton chuckled, tearing into his steak with his teeth.

War darted through the dining room, followed by Babs flapping after him.

Griff coughed and beat his chest. “Was that a chicken in a skirt?”

“Babs,” Violet, Roman, and Slayton said in unison.

Ares smirked at Violet. “You sewed her an entire wardrobe, didn’t you?”

“She loves it,” Violet said defensively. “If she insists on coming with me, she needs pretty dresses.”

“Do her leashes match her skirts?” Griff teased.

Violet sniffed and said primly, “Roman said she looks nice.”

Slayton, Griff, and Ares slid their gazes to Roman. He stared back and set his silverware down. “I think the outfits are cute.”

Seconds ticked by before the table erupted with laughter.

* * *

The street lamps burned bright around the town square to illuminate the carts and dancers giving life to the coronation festival. Violet held Roman’s hand and marveled at the transformation. It was ten times grander than the small festival she and Roman had attended before she left to travel. A shudder ran through her at the tainted memory.

Roman squeezed her hand. “What’s wrong?” He tapped his chest. “I can feel you.”

“I was thinking how much better this is than the last festival we attended,” she rasped.

Roman stopped them and gently grabbed her nape. “No one will hurt you again. Not only do you have the loyalty of every guard and warrior in this kingdom, but you also have the power of royal glamour. Assuming I don’t kill them first.”

Violet nodded. “I know, but that doesn’t make the memory any better.”

Kissing her forehead, he dropped his hand to the small of her back and led her onward. “We will make new memories.”

They passed a food cart and the man at the front huffed. “What do you mean you can’t serve mayonnaise?”

“ The crown made it illegal to serve mayonnaise, sir. We don’t have any.” The poor vendor couldn’t be any older than eighteen, and appeared scared to death of the ranting man.

Violet gasped and looked at Roman, who dutifully avoided her gaze. “Did you outlaw mayonnaise?”

His scratched his jaw and peered down at her. “That depends. If I say yes, would you be upset?”

She popped his arm lightly. “You can’t outlaw something because I don’t like it.”

His lips quirked into a cocky smile, and she wanted to both kiss him and smack him at the same time. “Yes. I can.”

“You’re incorrigible,” she muttered, but deep down, she loved it. Loved him .

Together they made their rounds and danced the night away, replacing the bad memories with the good.