Page 60 of The Broken Prince

“The time of peace has come to an end, and it’s very hard for me to accept. Instead of being blessed with a long life, I wish I were cursed with an early death, just so I didn’t have to see the horrors that will come to pass. I don’t want to flee the lands my sons worked so hard to take, but I don’t want to watch them die fighting for it either. The reality of your words is hard to swallow…like a tough piece of meat.”

It was hard for me to swallow too.

“The fact that you’re willing to do what’s necessary while I refuse to accept the truth sets us apart, Ian. You’re a better steward than I ever was as a queen—and for that, I’m deeply proud.” Her soft eyes gripped mine and sucked me in deep. “And your father would be proud of you too—both of you.”

I gave a subtle nod in appreciation. “Thank you, Mother.”

She pulled me in for a hug, squeezing me as she rested her face against mine.

I held her for a moment before I pulled away.

“What business do you have in the village?” she asked, trying to lighten our emotions.

“Lila.”

Her eyes fell, knowing I hadn’t spoken to my daughter in a long time. “I wish you the best…”

* * *

My daughter lived in a little cottage alone, getting her own place when Avice had left the castle. Even as an adult, Lila had been fine sharing the space with us because we were a close family, but once Avice and I fell apart…she was gone.

I knocked on the door, my heart a lump in my throat, more afraid to face my daughter than the demons that had nearly taken Delacroix.

When she answered the door, she looked exactly as I remembered her, carefree, a smile on her lips. But once she realized I was the one who’d come for a visit, all that joy was sucked out of her face as if with a sponge. “What is it?”

I kept a straight face even though I felt knocked off my feet. She used to be so happy at the sight of me, happy to give me a hug, happy to tell me about her day. But now…I saw indifference. “Lila, I’m your father, and I deserve more respect than that.” I didn’t want to scold her the second our eyes met, but I was tired of the disrespect, tired of letting her get away with the bullshit.

“That’s interesting,” she said. “Because I think Mother deserved more respect than she got.”

The hardest part about being a parent was shit like this, bottling your anger instead of unleashing it in a firestorm. Because if someone else spoke to me like that, they would be dead. But since it was my daughter, if I got angry, she just hated me more. I had to be the bigger person when she was the smaller person. “I’d like to come in so we can talk.”

“To talk about what?”

“Lila.”

“Fine.” She left the door open and walked inside. “Talk all you want, but that doesn’t mean I have to listen.” She moved to the couch in front of the fire and pulled the blanket over her legs. She grabbed the book she was reading and picked up where she’d left off, like I wasn’t even there.

I sat on the other couch, looking at the cozy cottage she’d made her own. A sweater hung over the back of the couch, and a bottle of wine had been left open on the kitchen counter. My eyes shifted to hers, seeing the same dark hair her mother had. “Your mother and I have decided to give our marriage another chance. She’s moved back in to the castle.”

Her eyes flicked up at that information. “What?”

“You heard what I said.”

“But why would she do that? She’s seeing—”

“That relationship is over.” My own daughter knew about it and didn’t even seem to care that I’d been replaced. “Your mother chose me. We want to be a family again, and I would appreciate it if you also made the effort.”

“You cheated on her—”

“Lila.”

“If I were married to a guy who cheated, you’d kill him—”

“It is way more complicated than you think.”

“Did you or did you not sleep with another woman?”

“Yes, but—”