The King sighed but rose from behind his desk. "Anything for you Dragotsennya. But it has been a very long time since I have neither lectured nor scolded him."
"I"m aware of that. Tonight your burden to bear."
She led her husband through the castle, the rhythm of her shoes against the floor belying the urgency of his mission as they hurried along the corridors. "In there." She gestured towards the dining room table, dimly lit by the dying fire behind it. Sebastian sat at the head of the table in the King"s chair, staring mutely off into s.p.a.ce.
"h.e.l.lo son."
Sebastian laughed without amus.e.m.e.nt. "I knew she was not done. Left to call in the big guns." He turned eyes to his father. "What can I do for you tonight Your Highness?"
Viktor sighed and brushed the formality away. "Must we?"
"The last time I did not show proper reverence you were very upset. Called me a "losing horse" was it? Kicked me out of my hotel. I err on the side of caution now Your Majesty." He looked away from his father then, down into his drink, and added to himself, "Though there is not much left you can do to me now."
Viktor grumbled stiffly. "I apologize for that. It was wrong of me to check you out of the hotel. But your impertinence always angers me."
"I know Father. I am tiresome."
"I did not say that." When Sebastian looked at the King with a raised brow he did add, "Though that does not make it untrue." They shared a smile.
"What troubles you tonight my son?"
"I am fine," he murmured, "I have no clue why mother is fretting so."
"Come child," Viktor said, "something is worrying you."
"Nothing is worrying me. I have a duty to my country. I will marry to fulfill it. All will be right with the world."
"I understand you know," the King said. "I may be the only person that does."
Sebastian finally looked at his father, really looked. "You love her," he said simply.
"Now," Viktor clarified. "Now I do. I cannot imagine a day without her. But then? Then I did not know her from Adam. My father decided who I would marry. He was unhappy with Vlad"s choice so he took it upon himself to find me the Jewel of Sezynia."
Sebastian sat forward with interest as the King continued. He had never heard this story before. "He did not give me any choice or say in the matter. Two days before our wedding a car pulled up and she stepped foot for the first time in this house." A smile crossed his lips. "I was scared as h.e.l.l. Almost ran. Kept making up plans I knew I"d never carry through. I met her exactly twenty four hours before we were to wed.
"She plays it off now, love at first sight, but she was just as wary of me as I of her. It is still one of the most awkward, interesting, and unforgettable dinners I have ever had. Duty got me to the table; duty kept me there."
"What are you saying Father?"
He shrugged. "I am not saying anything. I am just telling you a story." He gave his son that penetrating stare he was known for. "Have you ever been in love Sebi?"
"No."
"Are you now? With anyone?"
A face swam across his vision but he rejected it. "No."
"So the question becomes country now or love later?"
Sebastian shook his head. "I don"t believe in love Father. It"s all just a haunting illusion."
"Then what troubles you?"
"Nothing. I will do my duty. Willingly. Just do not expect me to be happy about it."
The King patted the Prince"s hand. "Your emotions are your own. Feel however you must son. However you must."
Kat entered the loft and felt world weary exhaustion overtake her. She"d been on an international plane flight all night. She"d raced through customs, through the streets of New York, to the hospital, still rolling her luggage behind her, to see Blaze. And she"d missed visiting hours by ten minutes. But she"d been close enough to a hysterical fit that the nurses had finally relented and let her in to see him.
And there was Blaze, lying wide awake in his bed, looking how dare he? happy. His face was bruised, he winced when he moved to greet her but he was smiling, flirting with the nurses and eating jello, telling her she shouldn"t have rushed back on his account. She"d wanted to scream in relief but instead contented herself with a hug and a lecture. She"d only had a few minutes not nearly enough time to build her rollicking head of steam before they"d shooed her away.
Now here she was, in her empty apartment, and she let the magnitude of everything that had happened to her in the last four days wash over her. Finally let herself think about him. Sebastian.
It was right to leave, she needed to leave. The longer she stayed, the harder it would have been, to watch him get engaged to that girl, make her his wife. Blaze in the hospital was the perfect excuse to get her out of there, away from him, before she did or said something stupid. Because visiting Sezynia had gotten her over that last little hiccup of indecision. Sezynia had her falling in love with him.
But she couldn"t be in love with him. The man didn"t even believe in love! And he was getting married! For a throne! Her childish feelings couldn"t compete with that, with any of that. But if he had touched her one more time, she might not have been able to hide it, not at all.
Kat dropped, right in the middle of the floor, and began to cry.
"Sebi, can"t you possibly try and be in a less terrible mood? You know, for me?" Her brother just grumbled in response. "Okay, how about at least pretending. You know, for the whole country!"
Anastasia threw up her hands at his dead stare and the photographer lowered his camera, the expression on his face trying hard not to reveal his own frustration. "Could you excuse us for a minute Alexei. All of you actually. Thank you!"
The minute the door closed behind them, the calm princess demeanor changed. "Out with it. What is wrong with you today?"
Sebastian just shrugged. "Me? Nothing"s wrong with me. I don"t understand what you"re going on about Stasia."
"Me?" She actually squeaked in surprise. "I"m not the one who"s making our Vozgat photos look like we"re getting ready for a funeral instead of our birthright."
"You"re right. What isn"t there to be ecstatic about? I might lose the throne to Anton, my own father doesn"t think I"m cut out to be king, and to top it all off I have to get married before the end of the month. My life is absolutely perfect!"
"You are a better choice than Anton for King and I"m sure Baba will see that. The Petrescu women are pretty d.a.m.n smart you know."
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why Ana? Why would I make a better king than Anton?"
She came to sit down next to her brother and shot him a kind smile. "Because you"re kind and compa.s.sionate and fun. I know you"ll rise to the challenge. And you don"t have that conniving, h.e.l.lish wife of his."
He shook his head in disbelief. "So pretty much I"m a nice guy who can"t be taken seriously but my wife is the least objectionable addition to the family? Why the h.e.l.l would Baba pick me? My own sister wouldn"t pick me."
"I didn"t say that."
"Its fine, I wouldn"t pick me either. I never wanted to be King. I just don"t want Anton and that siren to get there either. And what if my wife turns out to be just as bad as his? What if I fall into the same trap as Anton? We used to be practically the same person."
Sebastian stopped to take a breath, waiting for her to jump in and disagree, to rea.s.sure him. But she stayed resolutely quiet, averting her eyes from his gaze. "Anastasia?"
"Fine," she snapped, the full force of her att.i.tude propelling her out of her chair. "You want to hear what I think, here"s what I think. Yes, you and Anton are a lot alike and yes, Anton felt up the wrong girl at that party and we"ve been dealing with the h.e.l.lish consequences ever since. But Anton, he went for it, he committed. He fell for her Sebi and no matter how manipulative and cunning she might be, Anton loves her!
"I was at the same crossroads as you. But I had to make a choice between duty and love. And love wins Sebi. Love should win every time."
"What are you saying Ana? That I shouldn"t marry Misha? That I should wait for some b.u.t.terflies and red hearts to cross my path and to h.e.l.l with the throne? Love is an illusion Ana, it doesn"t exist."
"Still sticking to that tired excuse, brother? How can you be so stupid?" A muttering of French involuntarily spilled out of her. Sebastian took a step back, worried that she was going to start hitting him. She took a few deep breaths and then met him square in the eye. "You don"t think Roman and I are in love?"
He squirmed under her intense gaze. "At our wedding didn"t you say that the two of us made you believe in love? Didn"t you nickname us the Royal Lovebirds and use it whenever you talk to the press? Didn"t you tell me that even you could see the fireworks when we looked at each other?"
"Drunk I was horribly drunk that night. If I hadn"t seen the photographs I wouldn"t have known I went."
"Why do you have to be so stubborn Sebi? Why?!"
"I don"t know what you mean," he answered, crossing the room to escape his sister and her temper.
"The American Sebi, I mean the American."
He turned back at that, disbelief etched across his face. "Kat? You can"t be serious."
"Oh but I am. Tell me what"s so wrong with her Sebi." When he didn"t reply she filled in the blanks for him. "Oh it must be the fact that she"s feisty, beautiful and headstrong, just like you. She flew all the way home with you Sebi, on the promise of nothing don"t you think that means she wants to be near you? You turned into a black cloud the minute she left what does that say about you?"
"You"re so far off the mark Stasia, it"s laughable."
"Then explain it to me."
"She doesn"t have feelings for me, for one thing."
"That"s not what I asked you Sebi I want to know what you think, how you feel, about her."
"I like her company. I like her hair. I like her smile. And the way she won"t take any of my c.r.a.p. Or my charm. Or my money."
"How often do you think about her?"
"Always," he answered without even realizing what he was saying.
"So we have a strong, confident, beautiful woman you can"t get out of your head. What do you think that is?"
He was silent for a moment she could see his thoughts flitter across his face. "It can"t be."
"It is."
"She doesn"t feel that way about me."
"If you believe that, you"re right, you don"t deserve the throne."
"What?" His head came up so quickly he might have had whiplash.
Anastasia gave her brother a pitying smile. "Sebastian, Kat came halfway across the world because you asked her to. Helped you find a wife because you wanted her to. Have you not noticed the way she looks at you? She"s in love with you."
"I asked her to marry me before. Many times. She always says no."
"No woman wants to marry because of politics, marry without love, Sebi." He was silent, staring at the floor, processing. She went and put a hand on her brother"s shoulder. "Tell her how you feel and ask again. You might get an entirely different answer."
Chapter 25.
Kat left the hospital, angry that they were kicking her out, again. She didn"t understand why they wouldn"t let her stay she was a delight. Gio respectfully kept quiet when she asked this.
She knew she wasn"t getting much sleep but she stopped in her tracks when she saw him there. She had to be hallucinating, right? If so her subconscious was cruel she saw him enough when she was sleeping, she didn"t need to see him when she was awake too.
"How"s Blaze?" Sebastian asked, stopped at the bottom of the steps.
"Fine. Broke his wrist, messed up his ankle, and bruised a few ribs but he"s fine." When he just stood there looking at her, she added, "How"s Misha?"
He shrugged. "Told her I couldn"t see her anymore."
"And why"s that?" She couldn"t keep her hands from making their way to her hips, a nervous tick.
Sebastian gave her a wry grin. "Told her you might be pregnant. We weren"t really all that careful. It could be true."
Kat just rolled her eyes. "Do you think that"s true? You really think I hang my body and my future on whether or not you decided to suit up? There"s no way I"m pregnant."
"Really?" he asked, a look pa.s.sing through his eyes.
"Sebastian why are you here?" The words burst from her, unable to be contained any longer. Her hands ran through her hair in agitation, skimming her scar.
A grin popped back onto his face. "Now isn"t that a philosophical question."
Kat shook her head in disbelief, let out a bark of laughter though she was not at all amused. She was done with repeating old moments with him she no longer wanted to dance half a tango. "No, it"s not. This isn"t Sezynia, this isn"t a game. This is real life, this is my life. You just you just never got that, did you?"
She pressed her lips together and looked away for a moment, releasing an annoyed sigh before continuing. "You don"t know anything about me, not really. My brother, who"s sitting there in that hospital bed, the brilliant sculptor. He"s bipolar. He goes off his meds and disappears for weeks at a time and even though he hasn"t done it in a while, I live in constant fear that he won"t come home at night.
"So no, I"m not about to get pregnant and bring anyone else into this life. Most of the time I don"t want to be living it. And you know, you and your lifestyle, it was a nice little vacation. I got to pretend at being important and glamorous and daring. But that"s all it was pretend. You play at being grown-up but I actually have to go be it."
Sebastian knocked on the doorframe and, with a nod from Blaze, entered the hospital room.
"Fancy seeing you here," Blaze said with a grin. And then a wince as he shifted uncomfortably.
"I could say the same thing about you. How are you feeling? What happened?"
Blaze rolled his eyes. "Stupid really. I wanted to impress Gio so I decided to play a game of rugby. Got in way over my head and ended up like this. They all decided to gun for the big new guy."