Curse of Blades (Blades #1)

Chapter 2

[Freshly edited July 27th, 2021.]

Second King Shelton was worried, and he hated worrying. He supposed it was his own fault, this time. He had agreed to let Wildas go to Arren when his instinct told him it was a terrible idea. All he could do was remind himself that Varin didn't have the financial or political strength to risk a war by harming a prince, especially the heir to the throne.

Shelton sighed and stopped pacing his office. He had wanted to double the size of the guard traveling with Wildas, but that would only have made Varin think they were trying to force him to bend to them. The conflict between the Earls of Arren and the Throne had been going on for eight generations, and no one had ever used military force in all that time. Now wasn't the time to start.

The fact they still had to bother speaking to the man annoyed him, however.

And Deandre was going to have a fit when Shelton finally had to tell him where he'd sent the heir.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when Deandre himself entered the room. He was dressed in his typical deep blue silk and velvet. His graying brown hair was perfectly arranged and his beard was neatly trimmed.

"You look morose," Deandre observed. "Another magical idea bothering you?"

"Yes," Shelton replied, turning away so Deandre couldn't see his face and catch the lie. Gods, he hated lying to his husband. But making him stress and fret wasn't going to accomplish anything.

"Shall I send for your sister so you have someone to express your frustrations to who actually knows what you're talking about?"

Shelton shook his head. "She's away from the city for the next several days. I'll just have to take my mind off it. Did you need something?" he asked, turning back to Deandre.

"I just thought to check in on you," Deandre replied. "I'm also talking to Yvona about the ball at the end of the month. He will be back by then, correct?"

Hopefully. "He should be," Shelton said instead. "And he's going to hate having to go to yet another ball."

"How else will he meet potential spouses?" Deandre questioned. "We'll have to choose for him this winter if he doesn't choose before then."

"I don't want to do that to him," Shelton stated.

"Neither do I and neither does Yvona, but it'll need to be done. Unless he chooses on his own. It shouldn't be this difficult for him to choose a husband and two wives."

"I'm fairly certain an arranged marriage would kill him like it killed Xiao."

"We all cared about her. We all mourned for her."

"But she was never truly happy," Shelton argued. "She never overcame being the only spouse chosen for you. She was already dying on her own long before the winter sickness took her."

Deandre sat down heavily in a chair. "Three years ago, almost, and sometimes it still feels like last night we all sat with her when she passed."

Shelton went to him and put a gentle hand on Deandre's shoulder. "I feel the same sometimes. As distant as she always was, I still miss her."

"So do I."

Shelton found himself suddenly worrying even more, not only for Wildas's current welfare, but his future. Even if he wasn't Shelton's own child, watching Wildas live in misery would break Shelton's heart. He'd watched his wife waste away in anguish, no matter what any of them did to show her that they did care, did love her and consider her a dear part of their family. Wildas, whether he knew it or not, clearly had his mind set on finding that mysterious figure from his many dreams. A forced marriage would destroy all his hope for finding someone who could love him without wanting money or status.