Chapter 3
Tuesday came far too quickly for either of them. He knew that he shouldn't have stayed that long, but after her news, he couldn't leave her side. He did everything he could for her, from grocery shopping to cuddling, but it didn't change the truth. Her legs didn't give out again, but he could see the signs.
When her alarm went off on Tuesday morning, he wanted to smash it. He wanted it obliterated and to snuggle with her forever. But they had a world to face, as much as it broke his heart.
“I will be back as soon as I can,” he said. “And I'm going to leave you with some contacts. My sisters-in-law are here regularly, and should anything happen, and you need me, you can reach out. But Rosa, only if–”
“Only if it's the end.” She looked him right in the eye. “It won't be, Nicholas.”
“I know.” Neither of them believed that. “But if there is….” He wrote down Enya's number and then Yvette's. He was about to write down Ariel's, and then he froze. “No,” he said, and scribbled it out.
“No?” she asked, confused.
“Ariel is a carapace,” he reminded her. “Some exposure to her may have been all right once, but not now. You are to stay away from her at all costs. Her kind has already permanently damaged Alexander. I love my sister-in-law, but you can never meet this one.”
“Right,” she took the paper, staring at the numbers. She swore to memorize them by today, because carrying them around was too dangerous. “Come back soon, my love.”
“Wild horses couldn't keep me away,” he said, hugging her tightly.
Leaving her was the hardest thing he ever had to do. She had to go to work, and he had duties to attend to. She was cold, she was hungry, and there was nothing he could do about it. Worse of all, he had to act as if all was well and he hadn't just spent the weekend having his heart wrenched out by the love of his life. He had to have his usual smirk on his face, strolling through the palace like he didn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders.
He got back to the palace about nine A.M, wanting to change and clear his head before he was to take over. Peter and Alexander would already be gone, doing whatever it was they needed to do, and he resented that it was him that had to sit on the throne today. This was never supposed to be his duty, even when Peter was dead. Alexander was militant about the throne and tried to be there as much as possible. When Nicholas was regent, he only babysat it for an hour or two a few days a month. Now, it seemed Alexander and Peter had constant duties.
He was walking the hallway, lost in thought, when Cole called out to him.
“Brother?” he asked. “I didn't expect you back a good hour before you had to run into the throne room. Something has changed within you.”
“Perhaps I thought I'd be responsible,” Nicholas replied. “You should try it once in a while.”
“Maybe,” Cole answered. “But as the youngest prince, my only job is to keep the line alive. So, stay safe and reproduce.”
“Speaking of your wife in such terrible terms,” Nicholas said. “Are you due to Earth in the next bit?”
“Not until next week,” Cole replied. “Why?”
“No reason,” Nicholas answered, trying to appear nonchalant. “I thought that might be the case, but you seem to be on the trail of something witchy.”
“You have spies everywhere, I swear,” Cole answered. “It's nothing sinister. The witches reached out to me for help. There's been many reports of fading magic. They wondered if it had to do with the Other dropping the veil away.”
“Fading magic?” That stopped Nicholas in his tracks.
“Sure. Once powerful witches not being able to cast a spell for coffee. Usually, it's more of a momentary lapse than a fade,” Cole shrugged. “I haven't noticed any issues, but then, I am only half witch, so it's not quite for me to say.”
Nicholas tried to calm his beating heart. “And do you have any idea what the cause is?”
“Not yet,” Cole replied casually, as if lives didn't depend on it.
“Report directly to me with any new information,” Nicholas said. “It's not specifically dragon business, so there is no reason to bother Alexander and Peter. But we should keep on top of it in case it starts to affect other shifters.”
“Of course,” Cole gave him an odd look. “It's not like you to care about other shifters, though.”
“Perhaps I'm trying to turn over a new leaf,” Nicholas said. “What does it matter, Cole? Just do it.”
“There's the grumpy brother I know so well,” Cole replied. “I will, don't worry. Now, get to the throne.”
“Do I have a queen?” Nicholas called over his shoulder. “If not, find me one, please.”
“I think Ariel is home,” Cole replied. In the absence or ill health of Yvette, the actual queen, they tried to always have one of the girls on the throne as well to represent the equal opportunity the dragons were known for. They made no distinction in terms of inheritance and rank between males and females. The only reason the princes lorded over the kingdom was because they were four brothers and no sisters. Their wives were equal to them in rank, and Ariel had been queen by default for a time until Peter married. “She's always fun to do throne duty with.”
“That's fine, Cole,” Nicholas said. But as he walked into his chambers, he wondered if he should be near his favorite sister-in-law at all. Could carapaces pass on their abilities to take magic through osmosis? Was he hurting Rosa simply by being near Ariel?
He decided to be cautious of it, which made Ariel raise an eyebrow when he didn't take her arm to enter the throne room.
“I'm trying something,” he said to her. “Do you mind?”
“What are you trying?” she asked. Ariel never judged, but she was curious at times. “How to look single while sitting on the throne with a queen?”
To that, he grinned.
“Everyone knows that you are in love with my brother.”
“Everyone does not know that,” she said to him. “Mostly because it's not true. Alexander and I have a marriage of convenience, and I am perfectly happy with that.”
“You must think I'm stupid,” he grinned, “to not see the way you two rejoice in each other’s arms.”
“This is going to be a long day,” she teased him. “Luckily, I like you. But you have been acting funny lately.”
“It's nothing,” he tried to assure her. His sister-in-law was smarter than that, but she said nothing to him. When Alexander returned that night, though, she brought it up.
“Nicholas is up to something,” she said, as they got ready for bed. In the public eye, they were regal, strong, and were often putting on a show for the public rather than talking honestly. No one saw them when all the walls were dropped and they were just themselves. They were usually quiet, honest, and tired.
“He is always up to something,” Alexander replied. “How would today be any different?”
“He said he was trying to look single while sitting on the throne.”
“He said that?” Alexander asked, confused.
“Not in so many words, but yes,” she replied, as she sunk onto the bed. “He's usually the king of affection.”
“He's just moody today, perhaps,” he said, sitting on the bed next to her. “I wouldn't worry about it.”
“Hmm,” she glanced over to him. She was always cautious about the fact that a band of carapaces had ruined his health for good. She knew that her singular energy alone could not do any lasting damage, but it didn't mean she didn't feel bad about it. “All right?”
“Long day,” he answered, shifting down on the pillows. “If you think he's up to something, you are welcome to investigate and report back to me.”
“Pht,” she replied. “What am I, one of your princes to report back to you?”
“No.” He wrapped an arm around her waist. “You are my queen.”
“Go to sleep, Alexander,” she replied, shifting down on the pillows as well. “You're clearly tired if you're being sappy.”
“I must be,” he answered, closing his eyes. She was perfectly happy to snuggle against him, though, letting sleep take her.
Outside their door, Nicholas paused. He had been heading to his room for the night, but his superior hearing perked up at their conversation. It tugged at his heart. They may take a night like this for granted, thinking that it was nothing special. But he would give nearly anything to have a night like that with Rosa.
He wished he could bring her here inside the palace walls. Just last week, though, two guards had died in an attack on the palace treasury, and a third one would likely never be seen again. He couldn't subject her to that; couldn't even stomach the idea of her being near such a threat.
Rosa was currently safe from everyone but herself, it appeared.
He spent half the night staring at his cell phone. They had each other’s numbers in their minds, but they never called or texted each other.
The cell phone was primitive technology on Umora, but it hooked up to the internet well enough. Nicholas had always smiled when the Earth girls were shocked by Wi-Fi here, as if it were difficult.
His hands were shaking, and he knew he shouldn't, but he typed in a few numbers and sent her a voice chat request. He was hoping that at least this way, it would be more anonymous than actually calling her.
She accepted within moments, and he hit the button for the camera to pop up. This was a huge risk, but he needed to know.
“Are you all right?” he asked, keeping his voice low when she answered. She was in her apartment, sitting on the very bed that they had spent most of their time on. His chest ached from missing her.
“I'm fine,” her voice came through a bit crackly. “You're calling me.”
“I know. I know I shouldn't,” he said, “but I needed to check on you.”
“Nicholas, really, I'm all right. It was a good day,” she said. “How was your day?”
“Fine, except you weren't in it, so terrible,” he answered. She smiled, her eyes connecting with him through the screen.
“This is so nice,” she said. “Like a normal couple.”
“Like a normal couple,” he answered. “Just talking on video chat.”
“Ha,” she shifted her position. “Show me your room.”
“My room?” he asked in surprise. “It's just a room.”
“If this is only going to happen once, I want to see every detail of your life,” she said. “Please, show me.”
“All right,” he got off the bed, angling the camera. For ten minutes, he took her on a discreet tour of his room, pointing out where he spent time doing various tasks. She giggled at some of his comments, or mentioned the things that she liked. It was so simple, yet so delightful. “I miss you so much, Rosa. But I should go.”
“I miss you, too,” she said, softly. “But I know you have to go.”
“For you to be safe,” he reminded her.
“Yes, safe,” she said. “I know.”
But her heart ached a little more when they hung up. What was safety without love?