Prince Fernando
I checked on the beautiful woman sleeping in my bed every half hour. After two hours, I
decided to make my claim, then speak to her afterward. Why would she refuse me, anyway? She always welcomed my presence.
“What is this nonsense?” My father dropped the document to his desk.
“Exactly what you think.” I squared my shoulders and stood taller, knowing I had every right to demand this.
He shook his head with a deep frown, then tapped the parchment. “Focus on attaining a royal wife. Forget about bedding my healer. Besides, she’s ten years older than you!”
Heat prickled beneath my skin. “She’s only two years older.”
Well. Two to seven.
He dismissed my response with a wave of his hand. “She’s a distraction. Find a proper wife and sire an heir.”
He’d vetoed every Astralini noblewoman I considered. I traveled to Lisaire six months prior in order to meet Princess Isabella, but cut the trip short when I discovered she loved the Trestainian crown prince.
“Where shall I find a wife, father? I heard that the eldest Kerulen princess is betrothed to the Damaian crown prince while the younger is too young to consider suitors yet. Considering the assassination attempt, traveling hundreds of miles looking for the perfect princess seems … unwise.”
His scowl deepened. “And you think taking a concubine will improve your chances?”
My lips pinched, and my tone was harsher than I meant. “What do you want me to do, father?”
He eyed me up and down. “I want you to act with your brain instead of your prick. A concubine's child may cause succession disputes.”
I bowed my head, hiding my inappropriate chuckle. Scolding me about avoiding infighting when his queen might be behind the attempt on my life both amused and frustrated me. If I was a concubine’s son, Lorenzo would be the crown prince. No questions asked.
“Progeny from a wife always receive preferential treatment,” I responded.
His hand slapped the desk. “Your stubbornness blinds you!”
I raised my voice to match his. “My stubbornness? What about Valera? Queen Catarina has not allowed the healer to touch my sister’s eyes to give her sight, and I’m the one who’s blind?”
His features flushed as he shook his head. “Don’t bring them into this. You want to be king, but you act like a boy. She will regain her memories, and you’ll be left with a commoner’s leftovers. And you should negotiate with nobles for our late taxes.”
“Taxes aren’t late,” I disagreed, ignoring his disgusting leftover comment. “We lost too many farmers to the new illness, the malaise, and with fewer crops comes less income.” The malaise, a terrifying sickness, emerged out of nowhere. It wiped out entire populations, yet didn’t spread from person to person. Nothing cured it.
“Don’t make excuses for failure, Nando. Not for taxes and not for your lack of marriage prospects. Find a proper wife.”
I clenched my jaw. “No.”
He jerked, his eyebrows almost meeting his hairline.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Does controlling me prepare me to lead?”
He interrupted. “Will fucking this woman prepare you to lead?”
I leaned over to glare at my father eye-to-eye as heat flooded me. “Did fucking my mother make you king?”
His sagging chin jiggled from the repressed rage.
I continued. “Our royal duties don’t depend on who we sleep with, or the twenty concubines you have hidden away along with who knows how many children would be a much bigger pain in your ass than they are.”
My father spoke through his teeth. “Speaking to me that way won't get you what you want, fool.”
I nodded. “You hold me back at every turn and didn’t even ask if I’m alright after a wielder tried to murder me and your healer. The linguist is lucky to be alive. Perhaps I am a fool, but you’re heartless.”
“Fools don’t become kings,” my father growled.
A realization rose in my mind, like a nightmare. I was in his way. He could even sanction the assassins in secret if he wanted me eliminated. We’d never been close. He couldn’t kill me publicly … he’d lose popularity. I stepped back, my chest deflating. My heart pounded in my ears.
He ripped the document down the middle, folded it, then tore again. This wasn’t about the healer anymore. I couldn’t swallow the lump in my throat.
“Get out.”
I bowed and nearly tripped over my feet as I left the room. Rocco waited for me beyond the door. The lines of concern showed he’d overheard at least part of the conversation.
I licked my lips. “Prepare a team to accompany me south. Perhaps Erisundu will have a princess willing to marry a foolish Lisairian prince.”
Rocco’s jaw ticked. “You aren’t foolish.”
I cleared my throat, unable to verbalize it. I’m not safe.
We rounded the hall and entered my room. Stella was gone.
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