Page 209 of The Throne Seeker

She didn’t want to cry about it in front of him.

“I need a minute,” she said before she broke. “I’m going to go check on Onyx.”

She hooked a right, turning toward the stables instead of continuing straight.

He continued to follow, his voice careful as he said, “I don’t want you going off on your own.”

“I have my sword.”

“Are you sure?—”

“Please, Roman, I’m just asking for a minute,” Rose snapped, letting him know it wasn’t up for debate.

Before she could feel guilty for his hurt expression, she left.

He didn’t try to stop her this time.

It was as if Onyx had already known Rose would enter the stables with a tearstained face. He pressed his forehead against hers without uttering a word, his mind brushing against hers in a soft caress. She wrapped her arms around his large nose as she wept.

After she felt like she’d shed enough tears, she composed herself and dried her eyes with her cloak.

In an attempt to keep her hands busy, she fetched him food and water. Next, she took the initiative to retrieve the bristle brush and swept it over his large body, grateful for the solitude of such a simple task.

She was in the middle of brushing his back when he asked,Are you angry at your mother for keeping your true lineage from you?

Her strokes slowed as she considered the question. “I should be,” she answered aloud. “Iwantto be. But now I’ve come into my full siren, I’ve discovered it makes me a powerful empath. And I could…feeleverything she felt, everything she had to go through alone. She was barely nineteen when she had me. She fought for me in a way her parents never fought for her. No matter how mad I want to be, it’s hard to be because… I understand her. How could I be so certain I wouldn’t do the same thing for my daughter if I were in her shoes?”

Onyx gave her a knowing look.Still, it hurts all the same.

“Of course.” She stared at the brush as she grazed it across Onyx’s scarred abdomen. “You know, I can’t help but wonder if… if I’d known… maybe I would’ve chosen to do things differently.” Her words faltered as she thought of what the royal family was like before she had disrupted their world. How close they had been. How much happier they all were.

But if she had caused their divide, perhaps she could help mend it.

And she could start with where it all began.

“How fast do you think you could get me to Amernth?” she asked out of the blue.

We could be there in three days if we left now, Onyx replied.

She chewed her lip. Maybe—just maybe—it was enough time to reach Xavier.

She didn’t let herself wonder if she was seeking another escape from this place. Perhaps it was a fool’s errand, but she had to try.

“Do you even think we’d be able to find him?” Rose asked.

“I’m afraid that won’t be necessary,” a deep voice said from behind her.

Rose halted the brush mid-stroke, her fingers clenching around the handle with white knuckles, knowing that voice like the back of her hand she was staring at.

She let the brush slip off Onyx, forcing herself to turn to look toward the open gate of the stable.

“Xavier,” she whispered.

He took one look at her and swore. “You’ve got to be fucking joking.”

CHAPTER 76

Xavier scanned her painfully slow, absorbing every inch of her.