Chapter 83
Chapter 83
“Sometimes it’s easy to forget how much you miss people until you see them again.”
Colleen Hoover
“So, let me get this straight. Joseph showed up at the castle…like today?” I asked my best friend as we stood in the hallway outside one of the guest rooms.
She nodded.
“And he fainted?”
Another nod.
“And now he’s resting in one of the guest rooms? That guest room right there?” I pointed to the closest guest room, the door closed shut so we could have some privacy.
One more nod.
“And before fainting, he didn’t happen to beg your forgiveness for leaving?” I asked.
“Well…no.”
“So, is there a reason we haven’t thrown him outside yet?” I said, “Why is he taking up one of my perfectly good guest rooms when there’s plenty of cold, wet soil he could be lying on instead?”
It still felt a little weird to refer to them as my guest rooms, but technically, they were.
This castle was my home now.
Rae rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to be so harsh, Ollie.”
“Harsh?” I scoffed, “The guy left and broke your heart. I’m a little concerned as to why you’re not being so harsh.”
Although she didn’t say it, I could see the excitement on her face. Her eyes had practically been sparkling when she’d come to tell me the news of Joseph’s return.
The anger and heartbreak had been replaced with hope, and that scared the hell out of me.
It meant that Joseph had the opportunity to break her heart all over again if he wanted to.
“Look, he broke my heart,” she said, “But I’m also the one who lied to him. He had plenty of reason to want to leave, but now…” She swallowed, her eyes brimming with excitement. “He came back.”
*Let’s just hope it was for the right reasons.*
“The guards said he wanted to relay some sort of crucial, life-or-death information,” I said, “There’s a chance that his return might have nothing to do with your mate bond.”
“I know that,” she replied with another roll of her eyes. “You don’t need to treat me like a lovesick schoolgirl.”
“My Queen, I believe our guest is awake.”
The interruption came from one of the guards I’d stationed outside the guest room.
*Well, perfect timing.*
“Thank you, Michael,” I said as we strolled past him.
Sure enough, Joseph was awake, propped up on a pile of pillows and staring out the window.
As soon as the door opened, his gaze turned to us – or really, my companion, I should say. I might as well have been a houseplant for all the acknowledgement he gave me.
“Rae,” he breathed her name like it was a prayer, and I didn’t miss the way my best friend tensed in the doorway. Even the way he was staring at her…
“Well, you look like hell,” I piped up, drawing Joseph’s attention for the first time and earning a glare from Rae. It was the only thing I could think to say to break the rapidly growing tension in the room.
And it wasn’t a lie – Joseph did look like hell. His face was gaunt and pale, and the drooping bags under his eyes told me he probably hadn’t had a good night’s sleep (or a good meal) in at least a week.
But beneath all that, I couldn’t help but notice something…broken about him. I couldn’t explain it, but it was in his eyes. In the time he’d been away, something or someone had broken him.
“Thanks,” he croaked.
“Do you need some water or food?” Rae asked, “We can get someone in the kitchen to whip you up something.” She took a step forward, as if to go to his side, but then stopped herself.
“That would be…amazing actually,” he said, and tried to sit up.
“Do you need some help?” Rae asked.
“No, no, I’m okay,” Joseph said, although he was clearly struggling. “You don’t need to trouble yourself.”
“Yeah, don’t trouble yourself, Rae,” I said, “He’s doing just fine.” Perhaps it was a mean thought to have, but watching him struggle – even just physically – brought me a small sense of joy.
She shot me another glare.
*Rae may not hold a grudge, but I certainly do.*
🌘🌑🌒
“I promise I’m not trying to be a messy eater,” Joseph told us once he’d made it through half the heaping leftovers we’d brought him, “I’m just starving. I haven’t had a warm meal in days.”
“It’s not your table manners I’m worried about,” Rae said, “I just don’t want you to get sick. You should take it slow.” She’d moved from the doorway to one of the spare chairs in the guest room – conveniently the one closest to the bed.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” he told her, pink dusting his cheeks.
“Of course I do, I’m your –” Rae suddenly clamped her mouth shut mid-sentence. “Nevermind.” The pain in her voice was obvious, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.
The word she almost said hung in the air and I scrambled to break the awkward silence – again.
“So, this information you came all the way here to deliver. What is it?” I asked bluntly. “Assuming that wasn’t just some ploy to weasel your way back into the castle.”
“It wasn’t a ploy,” he replied, “And I know I haven’t earned a lot of your trust, but what I’m about to tell you…I’m going to need you to trust me.”
An uneasy feeling nagged at me.
Whatever was about to come out of his mouth, I knew it wasn’t going to be good.
“I have plenty of reasons to dislike you,” I said, and ignored Rae’s eyes trying to drill a hole into the side of my head. “But I’m willing to hear you out.”
He heaved a long sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“So…”
He ran a hand through his dark hair, and leveled his exhausted gaze with mine. “So, in that case, I think you’re going to want to call your mate to join us in here. What I have to say…he’s going to want to hear it.”