Mag-log inTheodore’s POVI looked around the rich wood paneling of the conference room. This was one of the rooms in the royal palace that I had thought to be superfluous at first. Why have a room specifically for business meetings when there were twenty-some other places to gather in this unnecessarily large
Theo stood, and I returned my attention to him as he offered me his hand. I took it, leaning into him more than usual as I stood.Holding me close, pressing our bodies together, Theo tilted his head up to the striking sun. “Do you feel that?” he asked. “The warmth of the sun?”I closed my eyes, a si
Violet’s POVInstead of lunch plans, Theo told Marcy and Aunt Marissa that we would back for dinner with both the families. Then my husband dragged me around the market, picking up a loaf of warm bread, some cheese, dried meats, fruit, and a hand-woven blanket that was the same red and yellows as ou
“You alright?” I asked them both.Colby blinked and gathered himself, nodding once. Sinclair’s gaze snapped to mine with something like rage in them. I wasn’t sure if it was for letting such young kids fight or from hiding this from them up until now.He seemed to remember himself though, remember h
Theodore’s POVThe next morning, everyone gathered at one of Violet’s cousin’s farms in town. It was the only place big enough to showcase what they’d been learning. Apparently, they were used to training on Uncle Caleb’s farm, but since everyone was already gathered here, we would make do.Violet a
Violet’s POVI had to be careful.I knew I had a bias toward women. Everything I’d said to Olivia Bronson at the royal palace had been true. I did relate her.Growing up as an incredibly capable woman in a world where women weren’t expected to be capable was suffocating. I was desperate to change th
I smiled. “I love ruthlessness… I’d like you to keep your investigation and your main arguments as quiet as possible. Knowing Lucas, he’s bound to start slipping up. He feels like he has the upper hand right now, he’ll act like it.” “How do you want to approach his claims about Nora and your suppo
“Tell me, then—what kind of man would I have to be to make you fall in love with me?” My mouth went dry as our gazes met. Something in his gaze held me captive. His tone was tinged with something fragile and vulnerable. I’d never heard him sound like that before, and it pulled at my heart. “Am I
Owen growled and barked at a nearby steward. “Bring it here.” His mother looked furious, but that look of disdain on his wife’s face was gone. She was staring at me in outright shock, like she didn’t believe I was real. She’d probably never seen Owen so helplessly angry. It served him right. The
Violet And there it is. It was almost disappointing how predictable it was. The suspicions and speculations that had been building at the back of my mind all snapped together like a portrait. This visit was never about Theodore. It was about me. It had likely been about me from the moment that







