Airell waited in the dining room for Rowan and his son's mate to arrive. He looked out the window upon his wife's beloved garden, missing her dearly. Resting his hand lightly on the glass, he murmured, "You should've been here for this, Rose. You would've known how to reign Ro in before he started down the path he did. And you would've known what to do about our son's mate. I know that I was the one to suggest that whole circus, but I'd honestly lost hope by that point."
He sighed, his heart feeling heavy. "I should be happy, but I'm so torn. I shouldn't have pushed the matter on him like that. What if he takes out his resentment for me about the matter on her? What if she is unsuited for him, even with the bond? What if the court eats her alive? You know how vicious they can be at times and without your subtle hand to keep them in check, I'm afraid that they've only grown bolder. I've rushed into things and now I've most likely botched the whole situation up royally."
He could almost hear his wife's lilting laughter at that, but the sound of the door opening drew his attention and he looked over to see if it was a messenger declaring that his son once again couldn't make it to the morning meal with him. To his surprise, both Rowan and his mate entered the room, her arm resting lightly on his arm in a way that told him that they were comfortable with each other. Now, this actually held potential.
A faint flicker of hope flared to life as he crossed the room to them, although he could tell that the young couple were nervous. Hopefully, it was just nerves about this meeting, but he would do everything in his power to help this first meeting go well. Before he could greet them, this was his son's mate after all, the lady untangled her arm from Rowan's and sank into a deep curtsy, her posture both elegant yet simple. None of the overblown manners that some of the court liked to affect.
While she greeted him, he took the opportunity to study her quickly. She was dressed simply but it only helped to accentuate her looks while setting her apart from the court ladies that the royals usually had to deal with. In fact, she appeared to be the farthest thing from the type of woman that he'd thought his son would choose. But given the mate bond as well as the orange rose nestled discreetly above her ear, he felt the flicker of hope morph into a tiny ember.
He greeted her, extending his hand to help her rise. However, when she put her hand in his, he was surprised to feel the callouses. She either did heavy work on a regular basis or was a trained fighter. Interesting. Well, this situation suddenly held a lot more promise than it had just a few minutes before. Pleased with this discovery, he followed the usual pleasantries and invited them to eat. However, as he made his way over to the table, he heard them murmuring quietly behind him. What was going on that would cause the concern that he saw written plainly on their faces?
He was pleased when he saw Rowan's manners and gentleness towards his mate, Rose would've been so proud of their son. He was even more pleased when he saw her eyes following Rowan unconsciously. Even if they hadn't made any official declarations, he would've heard of it right off, they did seem at least aware and courteous of each other.
Feeling much lighter, he asked cheerfully, "I thought it would be better for us to get acquainted without all of the servants staring, don't you? So, was everything satisfactory? I hope that we didn't inconvenience you by moving you to the palace so suddenly, but it was a matter of security."
Alyssa swallowed hard, causing his good mood to falter. Was she unhappy with the measures that they'd had to take? But it was the only way to ensure that everything went smoothly and that she was protected. After several seconds of silence that seemed like an eternity, she answered gently, "Yes, I found my rooms quite lovely. However, there was an incident last night."
Airell turned and scowled at Rowan, what had he possibly done or said now? They'd seemed to be on good terms this morning, but if he had paraded the duchess in front of her or any other asinine thing, they would have words. However, before he could demand an explanation, she hurried to clarify. "Yesterday was very eventful and I found myself fatigued by the end of the evening."
Turning his attention back to her, Airell softened his expression in the hopes of putting her at ease. After all, it was only to be expected to be exhausted after something as big as recognizing the mate bond. If she and Rowan had squabbled, it looked like they had made things right between them this morning. His efforts seemed to work and she nodded before continuing, "Rowan graciously escorted me to my room so that I could rest and we parted ways for the night. But..."
She paused for a long moment and the suspense nearly killed him. If they had parted ways, what could've possibly happened? Before he could ask this, she said firmly, her eyes clear and untroubled, "Unbeknownst to either of us, there was an assassin lying in wait in my quarters. Rowan was returning to ask me to brunch and heard my cries. He was able to intervene and save me, but neither of us had ever thought that I would be in danger."
Her voice was so level and matter-of-fact, that it took his brain several seconds to process what she had just said. But once it sunk in, shock raced through him. How could he not have been informed of something like this! He turned to Rowan, disbelief lacing his voice, "An assassin?"
There was no way that it could be an assassination attempt. Not under his roof, not on a royal pair, and most certainly not upon a newly recognized mate bond. Not only that, but he would've been informed moments after it happened if such an event had occurred.
However, Rowan nodded, his jaw clenched and the muscle in his cheek jumping, informing him that his son was furious. He quickly returned to the table with a pair of laden plates, as if he didn't want to be any distance from his mate if he could help it. Airell was pleased to see Rowan's expression soften as he held out the plates to her so that she could select the one she preferred. Once he was settled next to her, he bit out, anger lacing his words. "Yes. He was taken into custody immediately and secured. He is currently being interrogated and when I find out who was behind this, they'll wish that they'd never been born. However, I am surprised that you weren't informed of this."
He shook his head, trying to sort through why he hadn't been told of an attack. His guards and spies were impeccable in their attention to detail. That only meant one thing. Someone had deliberately kept this news from reaching him. He said firmly, "I should've been informed immediately, even if they had to pull me from bed. I will look into this oversight, I assure you."
It wasn't a threat, it was a promise to his son. Rowan softened, just barely, and nodded his acceptance of the gesture. Feeling more at peace with his son than he had in years, he turned his attention to Alyssa. That she had to suffer such indignities on top of everything else. It was insufferable. Even if he hadn't liked her at all, he would've still been beyond enraged. But from the brief time that he'd known her, he had the feeling that they would become quite close, maybe even a true family again.
Not wanting to force her to relive her trauma, he asked Alyssa as diplomatically as he could, "Were you harmed, gentle lady? I cannot believe such a travesty would happen beneath my roof."
Something about his words seemed to amuse her and she smiled, the smile lighting up her entire face and making it even lovelier. But before she could speak, Rowan broke in, his expression furious, "She received a cut on her arm and it was a miracle that it wasn't from a poisoned blade. If I'd been even a little slower or if I hadn't returned to ask her about brunch, who knows what might have happened."
This seemed to irritate her for some reason, although she didn't lose her smile. Instead, she pulled up her sleeve enough so that they could see the bandage and stated calmly, "It was a small cut and it will be healed in no time. See, the bandages are clean, so there hasn't been any further bleeding. So, you see, I'm fine. And like Rowan said, the assassin was easily subdued and is now in custody."
She took a bite, then added, her expression merely thoughtful instead of upset or distressed, "He seemed most ethical for an assassin. He merely knocked out the maid and guards, didn't kill them. I don't know if he dislikes killing innocents or if too many deaths would have drawn too much attention to him and his employer. However, he did promise me a clean death, so I'm leaning more towards a distaste for needless death."
Airell raised an eyebrow, disbelief flooding him. Surely he had misheard and she did not just call an assassin ethical. He would've expected something else, something more, from a young woman who had nearly been killed when she should've been safe. There should have been distress, fear, anger, something. Not a calm dissection of an assassin's morals, of all things. But even as he stared at her, he thought that Rose would've liked this girl. A lot.
She looked up, eyes widening as she suddenly realized what she had said. Seeing them both staring incredulously at her, she hastily backtracked, "Still, all's well, that ends well, right? I must admit, the palace is beautiful, what I've seen of it. Rowan took me for a stroll this morning and showed me one of the gardens. I've never seen such a gorgeous assortment of flowers before. And this room here, it's so light and airy. If I lived here, it would be one of my favorite rooms without a doubt. Do you know who designed it?"
Despite himself, he couldn't help but smile. Yes, Rose
would've loved this girl, he just knew it.
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