Page 114 of The Throne Seeker (Vallorian #1)

R ose woke up late the following morning to find Roman was already gone from the bed.

She sat up, allowing the cool morning breeze to wrap around her bare skin. A distressing ache filled her at the empty space next to her, but her worry was all for nothing.

Roman’s broad figure stood on the large open balcony, gazing out at the ocean. His back faced her as he basked in the morning sunlight, wearing only dark trousers that left his upper body bare. His hair was a tousled mess from her fingers’ relentless strokes.

Wrapping the sheets around herself, Rose followed him onto the balcony. She slid her arms around his warm, firm torso from behind.

He took her hands in his own, kissing her palms before guiding her in front of him into the sun’s embrace. His strong arms wrapped around her as he pressed her back against his chest.

His aroma of cedar blended with the crisp sea air, easing her soul into a relaxed state she could only fall into around him.

He melted into her as he rested his head on her shoulder, kissing her neck in the exact spot that made her weak in the knees. Her eyes fluttered at the feathered touch, resting her head against his chest.

They stayed like that as the light breeze washed over them, gazing out over the distant ocean waves.

Through their contact, Rose felt a mixture of emotions. Part of him brimmed with pure joy—reserved for her—while another held a terrible sorrow, growing stronger the longer he held her.

“What time is the passing ceremony?” she asked, not forgetting what today would mean.

What he had lost.

Roman hesitated, placing a feathered kiss on her shoulder. “At sundown,” he said softly against her skin.

She turned in his arms to look at him. “You know I’ll always be here for you.”

He pressed his lips higher on her neck. “You better be,” he whispered, brushing her hair back over her shoulder to place another feathered kiss below her ear.

A comfortable silence fell.

“I’ve been thinking… and I hate to admit it, but Xavier’s right,” Roman said. “We were fools to think we could take them on without knowing more.”

Rose silently agreed. After last night… suddenly leaving didn’t seem so outlandish.

“He had a clear shot at me last night, Roman,” she whispered. “A clear shot, and he chose you. What if that arrow after the first challenge was never meant for Tristan, but for you? I can’t have you or anyone else getting hurt because of me.” She couldn’t lose him. She’d die from it.

Roman seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “We’ll take your mother and go back to Highland Haven. And I hate to say it, but we may need to pay Moretti another visit. Maybe there is more he could tell us.”

A pit formed in her stomach, but he was right. It was the only lead they had. At least if they went back to Caleede, she could sift through the libraries there. Perhaps there was a hidden book there that could shed more light on this Blood King.

“We’ll leave tonight after the passing ceremony.”

He shook his head. “No—we should leave now. It’s too dangerous to stay any longer. With my father gone, we’re more vulnerable than ever.”

“We’ll stay until it’s over.” Before Roman could protest, she took his face into her hands. “You need to say goodbye. For Harriet’s sake. For your parents’. They deserve that. What could a few more hours hurt?”

He gave a loud resigning sigh. “Fine, but the moment it is over, we are leaving—the very moment,” he stated with a pointed look. “And don’t breathe a word of it to anyone but your mother.”

“And Xavier,” Rose added with a hesitant voice.

Roman’s eyes raced to hers, his body becoming rigid. “What?”

“What does Xavier’s future hold after tonight?

Eternal exile? He needs a sense of purpose again.

He’s lost. Alone.” Rational or not, she knew it was primarily her fault—or more, her siren’s.

“He has just as much right to find these men as we do. If we leave, the court will be safe, but we’ll be more vulnerable than ever.

There are only three of us against these men.

He could help… and there are few I trust more than him. ”

Roman gritted his teeth as his jaw feathered, resentment leaking from him. But another more logical part of him must have seen reason, because he said, “And Xavier, then.”

At that moment, she realized just how desperate they truly were.