Flame Touched

Chapter Twenty-One - Eian

He'd left Camila again early in the morning. Normally, he'd have gone straight to breakfast with his father. Matt was going away on business again, though. Rather than sit through another meal filled with small talk, he declined under the guise of wanting to spend time with Camila—and then he went to the library to find the Great Lord's newest wife.

The project of unpacking and organizing seemed to lighten Camila's mood significantly. Instead of glowering and grumbling, she hummed and moved with a new kind of grace. Still unhappy, of course. He could smell the rich plumb of her sadness. The emotion wasn't as intense as before. It was more subtle, shrouding the whole house like a cloud. In their new home, he didn't feel quite as guilty or as oppressive as he did in the castle. A guilt that would probably return when he had to bring her back so she could spend time with the other wives at the pool.

They'd get through one more day. Hopefully, he could introduce her to a few new friends and she'd be motivated to participate in the societal norms of his species—at least in part. Outcasting herself too much might raise suspicions. Her loyalty to the empire would be questioned if she refused to try and fit in. There were a lot of reasons he wanted her to at least have one friend; most of them he wasn't sure he should share with her just yet. Camila was scared enough as it was. Why add fuel to the fire?

She swore on the lives of her family she wouldn't run away from him while he went on his errand, and he believed her. He didn't have a reason not to. There were a number of times she could have succeeded at leaving if she'd tried hard enough, and she didn't take the opportunity yet. Besides, his meeting in the castle library would be a short one. If she had a change of heart, he'd have plenty of time to track her down.

I'll bring her here someday. Something tells me she'd love it. The library was impressive. All of the books on the shelves were older than him. New material worth reading hadn't been published in a long time. Too much of his father's propaganda was being circulated around the empire. Eian grew tired of it when he turned sixteen. The classics stayed as historical documents. Most still reflected Lynx's goals for the nation, anyway. They were more tolerable for entertainment, though. Traditional, yes, but still vastly different.

The old books gave the library a wonderful musty smell of paper and leather. Dim lighting on the rich, elegant, wooden shelves, made him feel as if he'd stepped into a time machine. Over the years, the castle had undergone a number of renovations to keep it up to date with the rest of the city. The library seemed to be the one place left untouched with the exception of electric lights installed to replace the candles. Lying across one of the many leather couches was his father's current queen.

"Miss Navi." Eian approached the young woman before him with a respectful bow.

The twenty-year-old beauty stood from where she sat and leaned over to give him a hug. "Don't Miss Navi me," she said with a teasing terseness. "I might be your step-mother, but I'm not old."

"My apologies," he said with a smile. They'd gone through this song and dance before. Protocol demanded he treat her with the highest of honors. While Navi might not have cared, his father did. Anything perceived as disrespect would not be tolerated, regardless of her wishes.

Eian waited for her to seat herself again before following suit. "I'm not going to explain to you again why I call you by your formal name."

Navi rolled her dark eyes and then crossed her legs as she got comfortable on the couch once more. "No one is ever here but Chris and me." She gestured to her bodyguard who stood five feet away from her, leaning against a wall. "No offense to you Chris, but you don't count as a person. At least, not according to my darling husband."

"None taken Miss. I enjoy being an 'it'," he said with a smirk.

She gave him an affectionate smile, glanced towards Eian, and immediately changed her face to a frown. Quickly, she adjusted her skirt to cover more of her legs. Eian saw the looks she gave Chris often, and even if she was married to his father, he didn't fault her for having a wandering eye. Lynx was not a good husband. He liked his women too much, and while he was currently loyal to her just as she was to him, it would only be a matter of time before he cheated. He always cheated. Hopefully sooner rather than later so she could finally be done with him.