Chapter 193

Violet’s POV

I had spent what I had determined to be the right amount of time at Lucas and Nora’s wedding. I had been present for every aspect of the celebration, I’d witnessed Lucas and Owen being served their matching lawsuits, I’d been seen presumably drinking, and several other noble people had already left. By the Goddess, I had even collected evidence against the king while I was at it.

Now the festivities were devolving into drunken debauchery, a part of the night that held no purpose nor appeal to me.

The trick was basically to stay long enough to avoid the press claiming I’d fled at the first possible opportunity. Even though that’s all I had wanted to do. Especially since it had been over a week since my last hallucination, and I was nervous that the next one could hit at any moment.

But it hadn’t yet. I nodded to Kincaid that it was time to go.

I’m going to head home, I informed my mate through our magical connection.

Everything okay? The concern that came back through was both endearing and heartbreaking. I wish he didn’t have a reason to worry so much about me.

But he did. He had reason to worry for both me and our child.

Yep, just the right time. Heads up, I was able to record a pretty damning conversation between Owen and Lucas. Kincaid said he was able to get the backup recording to Dahlia with instructions to get it to Bennett to bring back to Henosis.

Theo’s chuckle rumbled toward me through the connection. Is there any event you don’t use as an opportunity to strategize?

What would be the fun in that? Kincaid offered me his arm as we stood to leave, and I took it. By the way—

“Leaving so soon?” Owen’s slimy voice pulled my attention before I could finish my thought. As I turned to face him, I caught sight of Theo noticing the interaction.

“I think I’ve seen and heard everything I needed to,” I replied smugly.

Owen glared at my forehead band briefly before locking eyes with me again, his own smug smile giving me pause. “Me, too.” Then he glanced pointedly at my stomach and whispered, “Congratulations.”

I kept my exterior collected as my stomach sunk, and Owen strutted away with a smirk.

I forced a smile, and Kincaid followed my lead with one of his own, though the color had drained from his face, having heard the entire exchange.

Alari? Theo’s concern echoed in my mind as Kincaid and I exited the venue.

As I was saying before Owen interrupted me, I found a solution to the delay in our plan. We should expect to be reunited in just over a week instead of months now.

Theo’s feelings flooded through the connection before his words: relief, joy, and fear of getting his hopes up. Really?

Really, I replied. And it’s a good thing, too, because Owen just made it very clear he knows I’m pregnant.

Theodore’s POV

I slept terribly.

Knowing Owen knew about our child brought on devastating nightmares ranging from being forced to listen to Violet die through our bond as I raced, unable to make it in time to save her and our unborn child, to getting there in time only to be restrained and forced to watch him kill them both.

Every time I woke up, I checked our mate bond, trying to avoid waking up Violet while I prodded for indications of distress. I never found any.

I had been so impressed with Violet and Kincaid’s champagne illusion. I wondered who figured it out. Then again, maybe no one did.

Other than me and Violet, there were eight people at the wedding who knew about the pregnancy. The Haywards and Vainthotts would be devastating betrayers, but more believable than Dahlia, Kincaid, or Bennett. That left one person who I had never trusted to begin with.

Olivia Bronson.

I wanted to wring her neck.

Violet spent most of the morning talking me out of it through our bond.

You know it was her, I told her again as I meal prepped my magical foods.

Mostly likely, yes.

Then why aren’t you going after her?

Because I trust her desire for what I’m offering outweighs anything else. This will work out in our favor somehow.

I groaned into my pan of boren mushrooms that I was cooking down. Even their heavenly smell couldn’t lift my spirits today. Violet must have sensed my emotions down the bond.

One more week, she reminded me.

Assuming we survive, I shot back. Now that Owen knew she was pregnant, she was a huge, screaming target. One that I couldn’t rush to protect without ruining all our plans.

Silence ensued down the bond for long enough that I began to feel bad for my reaction. She was trying to make me feel better, and the fact that we didn’t have to wait months to be reunited anymore was good news. Before I could figure out how to apologize, her energy shifted.

Turn on your TV, Theo.

Without question, I turned off my stove burner and made my way to the living room to follow her instructions. There was only one channel that would incur such a reaction from Violet: the news.

I switched to the correct channel and listened as the news anchor introduced the king for his last-minute press conference. My half-brother quickly filled the screen in a secondary set of royal robes different from those he had worn at the wedding yesterday.

A few steps behind him stood his wife – and Olivia Bronson.

That snake.

“As of this moment,” Owen spoke into a microphone, “the succession laws have been officially amended as follows: a successor to the crown must be related biologically or legally to the previous monarch. In the event that the successor will be related by marriage instead of by blood, the successor shall be chosen from all eligible candidates by a majority vote of the Alphas of each territory.”

Owen smiled warmly into the camera. “There is no reason to believe we will need a successor any time soon as I am in excellent health. This law was amended merely as a precaution for the good of our country.”

He thanked the press for their time, then disappeared behind closed doors. His wife trailed behind him, demure as always, but Olivia smirked at the cameras before following them.

It was brilliant. The press would think this move was due to the now decades for which Owen and his wife had been unable to produce an heir, when in reality it was to avoid the crown going to my child.

It was honestly a relief to know I would not be burdening my child with the duty of the crown. Forcing it on my child was the only fate worse than having to take it on myself.

As I tried to imagine what relevance this new law might have for what Violet and I were planning to do next, it occurred to me what exactly this change meant.

“Interesting.”

I jumped at Eva’s voice, not having realized she was standing just behind me, watching the announcement with me. I did not appreciate the pensive little smile that appeared on her lips as she slowly turned and walked away.