I stuck my head out my door and glanced left and right. No one was in sight…not even my best friend. Perfect. I slipped outside my room, done unpacking my many new belongings. I had one person I wanted to see in this rock castle. I just needed to figure out how to find him without alerting anyone else I was looking for him.
I walked with purpose down hallways.
This was the royal section of the castle.
That much I remembered.
Oddly enough, I didn’t have to look long.
I stopped dead in my tracks at a small alcove carved into the rock. The man I was searching for was sitting on a curved bench cut into the mountain. A plush, crimson cushion rested on top of the bench for comfort. And the bench was made for two people, enough room for me to sit down next to him.
The overlord didn’t look up from his book as I walked forward with hesitant steps—even though he damn well knew I was staring at the top of his head. His red hair had grown since I last saw him over two hundred years ago. His locks were unruly around his lowered rugged face— too damn good looking for his own good. I knew a spattering of freckles dotted his nose and the curve of his cheeks.
My last lover. Who had left me for the crown.
I sat down silently next to him.
Only then, did he place his book on his lap and stop reading. He waited silently, neither one of us looking at one another. We both sat face forward with our hands in our laps, quiet in our own thoughts.
Eventually, I stated softly, “You saved a spot for me.”
He hummed under his breath. “I knew you would come. We left a lot unsaid.”
I fidgeted with my fingers in my lap and peered down to them, picking at my fingernails. “I only have one question I want answered by you, Lord Pippin.”
“I owe you that much.” The overlord leaned back against the cave wall, relaxing further. “I probably owe you more than that, Gwen, if I’m honest with myself.”
I cleared my throat and lifted my head. I turned my blue gaze on his brown eyes, not flinching under his heady, direct regard. I’d cared deeply about this vampire at one time—and it still hurt.
But I kept to the matter at hand. I questioned, “Is it worth it? The crown?”
His cheeks puffed out as he released a heavy breath. “Yes. Yes, it’s worth it.”
“Over everything else?”
Lord Pippin’s eyes flicked back and forth between mine, resolute in his stance—and much colder than he had ever been before he was a royal. “Yes. It’s worth everything.”
For how long we stared at one another in the resulting silence, I couldn’t say. Time merely ticked by in an endless count that neither of us was willing to break.
One side of my lips curved up at the edges. “You’ve changed. It’s all in your eyes.”
His chuckle was quiet. “My reign as king wasn’t as long as some, but it kept me busy for a few hundred years. I’ve learned more than I ever dreamed possible. Experienced even more craziness.” His head of red hair tipped toward me. “As you may too if you become queen.”
I sat back on the bench and pointed at the book in his lap. “I gave you that.”
“I know. I was feeling sentimental, I suppose.”
I poked at the old tome. “I’m surprised it held up so well.”
“Well, I never really liked the damn storyline.” He snorted under his breath. “But you gave it to me, so I kept it.”
I leaned over and kissed his cheek softly. Then I stood up and brushed off my pants—there wasn’t a speck on them though. “It was good to see you again, Lord Pippin.”
“And you as well.” His brown eyes danced with a trickster amusement. “Try not to cause too much trouble while you’re still only a possible candidate. All right, Gwen? You don’t want to get kicked out before you even have a chance.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I’ll try.”
Abruptly, it was an overlord staring into my gaze, all his previous humor gone in a blink. “Try real hard, Gwynnore. That’s your only warning from me.”
I swallowed on a dry throat. I whispered roughly, “Yes, you’ve definitely changed. Good day, Lord Pippin.” Then I turned and walked away, the man I had known no longer in existence.
* * *
I roamed the hallways, attempting to familiarize myself with the layout, and, even more so, trying to forget the man I once knew. Both would happen with time. That was all an immortal had… Time to change. Time to pass. Time to thrive in.
Still lost in my own thoughts, I found a small kitchen at the end of the royal area, the area secluded against all others living in the stronghold. My nose had inadvertently led me here, the smells divine pouring from the space. My stomach growled as I stepped into the adorable kitchen.
“Nope. Fuck no.” Lord Otto jammed a pointed finger at the entrance I had just come through. “You are not allowed in here. Not yet.”
I stopped in my tracks. “Oh.”
All of the overlords, minus a certain redhead, were sitting or standing around the kitchen, munching on some type of noodles with spicy sauce.
Again, my stomach growled. Louder.
Lord Xenon’s short black hair gleamed under the harsh lighting. With no inflection in his tone, he ordered, “Quit standing there like a lost puppy. Turn around. Leave. You do know how to do that, right?”
Lord Otto’s surfer looks, blond hair and blue eyes, were deceiving as he stood from his chair in growing agitation. He snapped his fingers in front of my face hard. “Hello, Gwynnore. Can you hear us?”
“Yes,” I mumbled.
“Then take a fucking walk out of our space.”
“Okay.” Still, I stood there for a moment too long.
Lord Belshazzar’s head tipped to the side as he swallowed a bite of his meal, his long black hair brushing over his left shoulder. He rested a hip against the counter. “Have you run into trouble already, Gwynnore?”
Lord Pippin’s words haunted my thoughts.
Trouble. I couldn’t cause trouble yet.
“Nope.” I quickly turned around and hurried to the door. But I stopped cold…when my father stood in my way. I peered up into his brown eyes. His black, straight hair just like mine, shining under the light, even if he kept his short and mine was long. I cleared my throat and spoke to my father for the first time in almost a thousand years, my voice the most chilling it had ever sounded, “I’m leaving, Lord Cato. If you would move to the side…”
He didn’t budge as he stood with his bowl off yummy food directly under my nose. “I think you’re lying. Your demeanor has completely changed since we last saw you. And not really for the better.”
My nostrils flared with fury.
I needed to leave before I said anything horrible.
I pivoted around him and quickly left.
As if he ever gave a damn about me.