Queen Regnant ( Ace of Queens #3)

CH.34 Little Boys

Chapter 34

"So you mean to tell me, you had a jinn block his silver blade ceremony?" Xavier asked Manya as he sat at the dinner table with the Radacovicks and his daughter.

"Well, not block it completely," Manya said looking around. "The ceremony worked, up until Owen kissed Mavi. The kiss was the antidote in a way to the blade ceremony."

Owen reached out under the table and squeezed Mavi's hand. He could feel her anxiety and stress as they sat discussing how it was possible for them to be mates.

Xavier closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. His head was pounding from all the information he had just learned.

"Why me?" Owen asked suddenly.

Everyone around the dinner table, including Mavi, turned to look at him.

"Why did you pick me?" Owen asked Manya.

Mavi tried to remain calm and tell herself he deserved an answer, but him asking such a question angered her.

Why did it matter why she picked him? Why couldn't he be happy and be thankful he had her?

"You deserved it," Manya said quietly. "You always did what was right for everyone else. Even when things that went south weren't your fault, you always tried to fix it. You are selfless and kind.....Owen, I wanted you to be happy and not think you had to pay for your father's mistakes."

Mavi sat still staring at the glass of wine in front of her. She felt Manya's words resonate with her thoughts and she wanted to give the woman a hug for saving her mate. But there was suddenly a nagging worry in her mind that was growing by the second.

Did Owen not want a mate? Did he prefer to be matless....

"I would like for you to pass me all the information about this jinn, please," Xavier told Manya.

"He did his work," Manya said quickly. "He owed us a favor and he did his work. He has no ill will."

"I just want to make sure there are no strings attached to this deal that you made with him," Xavier clarified. "This is my daughter's life and I will not leave it up to a hunch that this will stick."

Mavi turned to her father, "What do you mean?"

Xavier sighed, "I need to make sure this is permanent......sweetheart, I am happy for you. Don't get me wrong. But what if the jinn's magic has an expiration date? What if you wake up tomorrow or even years from now and your bond is blocked again, what then?"

Mavi's heart sank in her chest. She felt her father's words swim in her head like a raging whirlpool. Under the table, Owen squeezed her hand again, but she was numb and cold.

"I've loved her madly without the bond," Owen pointed out. "Even if it's gone tomorrow, I won't stop loving her."

"But you're staying because of the bond," Mavi suddenly said.

"What?" Owen's brows furrowed in confusion.

"You loved me before the bond, but you wouldn't stay with me," Mavi pointed out as she slipped her hand away from Owen's. "You can't stay away from me now because of the bond.....If.....if I hadn't almost drowned, you would have never kissed me and we would have never found out and you would have gone on pushing me away."

"Mavi...." Owen gazed at Mavi with hurt in his eyes. "That's not true."

"Yes, it is!" Mavi leaped up from her chair. Suddenly, she couldn't breath. She felt the weight of everyone's gaze on her. She placed her napkin on the table and walked around her chair.