Page 250 of The Throne Seeker

“He’s just inside,” Satin said with drooped eyes. “I’m going back to my room. I’m exhausted… and quite frankly, I’m about to puke my guts out.”

Rose gave her a sympathetic look. “Go. I’ll speak with him.”

Satin gave her a firm nod. She’d only taken a few steps when she spun back. “Do you still love him?”

Rose was startled by the abrupt question, but she responded, “I love Roman.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Rose hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “I care about him. I care about all of them.”

Satin nodded. Her hushed voice carried through the corridor as she said, “I believe you… I’m sorry.”

Without another word, she was gone.

Rose and her mother exchanged glances. “What in Vallor was that?” her mother asked, astounded.

“I don’t know… It’s been a long day for everyone,” Rose said, glancing at the door as she second-guessed her decision.

Her mother raised both hands in surrender. “You were the one who wanted to come.”

Rose rolled her eyes, glad of her support. “I won’t be long,” she promised. She stepped forward through the door, not bothering to knock.

Utter chaos greeted her.

CHAPTER 87

It was as though a tornado had blasted its way through Tristan’s room. The bed lay in disarray, its fabric torn and exposing scattered goose feathers. The wooden bookcase had tipped sideways, slumping against the corner wall. Books were strewn across the floor, fallen open, and the normally well-organized round table was overturned with parchment scattered everywhere. The fireplace flickered as the sole source of light, all the candles either knocked over or snuffed out.

Tristan hardly noticed Rose’s arrival as he grabbed a chair and hurled it against the stone wall with a fierce grunt. He didn’t stop at that; he just kept smashing it into the ground over and over.

“Tristan!” she called. “Tristan, stop, stop!” She rushed over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, stopping him before he hurt himself.

Tristan dropped the chair, his chest heaving. Tears of anger filled his eyes as pain roared deep inside him. He dragged his hands through his hair, yanking it as he sobbed. He staggered backward and collapsed onto the bed’s edge, scattering a puff of feathers into the air.

Tears welled in Rose’s eyes as she felt his aura crashing into her like a tidal wave. His soul was a bottomless pit of darkness—empty and devoid of hope. And he was sinking deeper. Fast.

She knelt between his legs so he’d have to look her in the eye. She gently took his face in her hands, tilting his jaw to meet her gaze, ignoring the smell of alcohol on his breath. “Tristan, it’s me,” she murmured, brushing a tear from his cheek. “Hey, hey, it’s me. It’s just me.”

His sparkling ocean eyes crashed into hers like a fierce storm. However, after a moment, the sea settled, as if he finally understood who he was looking at. When a fresh tear slipped out, she wiped his cheek again.

“They’re gone,” he whispered with despair.

Her eyes pricked again, her heart crippling with his. “Yes… they’re gone.”

He took a shaky breath, pulling his face away from her hands. His expression turned heart-wrenching as he squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head into his hands. His shoulders shook from his shaky breathing. “How am I supposed to do this?” he whispered into his hands.

Rose grasped his wrists and pulled them away from his face. She lifted his chin, making him look at her. “Look at me, Tristan,” she demanded. “You can do this. If anyone in Vallor can do this, it’s you. You are good, and it’s hard for good men to be king. You were born for this.”

He pulled his face from her grasp again. “I’m not good,” Tristan admitted with self-loathing. “That’s why I lost you.”

She froze, taken aback. “That’s not true.”

“You know, a small, foolish part of me still had hope,” he said, his cheeks tearstained. “Hope that you’d tell me you couldn’t live without me. That you’d come back and miss me just as much as I missed you. Instead, I find out you weren’t missingme at all.” His eyes looked up to hers, but she couldn’t meet them. “How long have you been in love with him?”

She gathered the courage to face the deep-blue abyss that matched the sea. “How do you know I love him?”

He glared at her through hardened eyes. “I know you. You look at him like he’s the entire starlit sky… and you love stars.”