Chapter 73 CHAPTER 73
Liam sat in Ethan’s study with his elbows resting on his knees, his gaze fixed on the quiet crackling of the fire in the hearth. The king’s morning meeting with the Council of Elders was taking longer than usual, which left Liam alone with more time than he wanted - time that allowed his mind to wander to places he wished it wouldn’t.
He leaned back in the chair, letting his eyes drift around the room. The study was warm and rich with memory, filled with old books, maps, and relics of rulers before Ethan. A faint scent of parchment and polished wood hung in the air. His gaze moved slowly across the shelves until it settled on a framed portrait resting on a nearby cabinet.
Queen Helena.
Her smile was soft, her eyes gentle, her hair cascading in waves of dark gold. She looked serene, elegant, quietly powerful. And painfully familiar.
Liam stood and walked closer to the portrait. The more he stared, the clearer the resemblance became. Lisa’s cheekbones. Lisa’s eyes. Even the faint curve of her smile when she felt shy.
He felt something shift inside him. He did not understand what was happening to him. This feeling he had in his chest – it was not grief, or the premonitions he felt out of duty as commander. It was something new - something far more dangerous.
His mind flicked back to the training grounds. To the way she looked in the early morning light, her hair tied back, her breathing soft and uneven from exertion. To the way she had laughed nervously when she lost balance. To the exact warmth that had spread through him when she landed on top of him, their faces almost touching.
A warmth he shouldn’t have felt.
A warmth he should have ignored.
His chest tightened at the memory. When had she become so beautiful? When had her presence become something he longed for? When had he started making excuses to come to the castle - just in case he might see her?
He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “What’s wrong with me? She is like my little sister for goddess sake” he muttered to himself.
Lisa would be mortified if she ever learnt that he was thinking of her like that, he thought to himself. She would probably have Liam ban him from ever getting close to her or talking to her.
Another thought crossed his mind. Lisa was bonded. The goddess had chosen someone else for her. Someone whose existence already complicated her life. Someone who’s suffering now echoed through her veins. Why would he complicate things further by placing himself in the already complicated frame?
And him? He mused over his own complicated life.
He had never met his mate. Never even had the slightest clue whom it might have been. He had lived his life like a monk – pure – not wanting to stain himself with irrelevant sexcapades. He knew he should have sensed his mate by now - both Ethan and him had delayed in sensing their mates. He had always trusted the goddess would reveal his mate in time.
He had waited patiently all these years.
So why was his heart behaving as though it had other plans?
Why did seeing her flush that morning make something inside him twist?
Why did he want to protect her from everything - including himself?
He tore his gaze away from the picture and shook his head sharply.
No.
He couldn’t think like this.
He couldn’t feel like this.
Not about Lisa.
Not about Ethan’s sister.
This was wrong.
Not about someone already tangled in a bond strong enough to torture her.
“Stop it,” he whispered to himself. “Stop thinking like that.”
He turned away from the portrait and paced the study, running both hands through his hair. He needed to get himself under control. He needed to…
“Are you practicing going crazy,” a voice said lightly from the doorway, “or is this just how you warm up for a meeting?”
Liam stopped spinning and snapped his head toward Ethan, who stood leaning against the doorframe with a raised brow and a barely concealed smirk.
Liam cleared his throat. “Hey, you’re here…. I was… just thinking.”
“Thinking,” Ethan repeated, stepping inside. “Interesting. Because from where I stood, you were shaking your head at the wall, frowning at my mother’s portrait, and muttering under your breath. Like someone who had received the gift of the spirits and could talk to the invisible. Or someone who was just about to go crazy.” Ethan chuckled lightly.
Liam opened his mouth, then closed it again. “It was nothing.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes playfully and walked closer. But before he reached the desk, something else caught his attention.
He sniffed the air.
Then looked at Liam’s clothes.
Then sniffed again.
“Well,” Ethan said, straightening with delighted suspicion, “someone smells good.”
Liam stiffened. “What?”
“You put on deodorant.” Ethan walked around him like inspecting a soldier. “And you’re wearing… wait… these are your good clothes. The ones you only wear on important occasions.”
Liam felt heat creep into his neck. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“Oh?” Ethan lifted a brow. “Then why do you look like a man heading to a date?”
“There is no date,” Liam said quickly.
Ethan grinned. “Maybe there should be. Liam, if you find someone - tell me. I’d be happy for you. We are too old to be walking around mate-less and alone. At least one of us deserves to be happy before the goddess takes pity on us and bonds us to each other. Can you handle being my mate?” A playful spark appeared on his face as he teased Liam.
Liam stared at him, horrified and flustered. He hadn’t even realized what he’d done until Ethan pointed it out. He had dressed carefully. He had chosen a shirt that fit him well. He had used scent. He had even styled his hair.
And for who?
For Lisa.
His stomach lurched.
Goddess.
What was he doing?
Why was he behaving like a teenager?
He forced a neutral expression. “I’m not meeting anyone.”
Ethan chuckled and lowered himself into his chair. “ If you say so….Then what brought you here this early? You said you had something important you wanted to discuss.”
Liam swallowed, the question hitting him like a stone.
He opened his mouth.