She smiled.
When the door closed behind her, Ksar sagged back in his seat, staring blankly at the wall.
It was a perfect solution for everyone involved. Harry would be free and could eventually reunite with his human after the pre-TNIT law was repealed, Seyn would get what he wanted—freedom from him—and Ksar…He would just exchange one unwanted bondmate for another, significantly less annoying one. And he had far less qualms about manipulating Leylen’s mind than he had about manipulating Seyn’s.
It really was a perfect solution.
It was.
The knot of unease in his stomach was irrational, so largely irrelevant.
“Borg’gorn, tell Prince Seyn’ngh’veighli to come here at his earliest convenience.”
Chapter 13
Seyn was surprised when just a few hours after he had been basically kicked out of the Second Royal Palace, Borg’gorn contacted him to tell him that Ksar was requesting a meeting “at his earliest convenience.”
The nerve of that asshole.
Seyn fumed, considering just ignoring the request after the way Ksar had treated him, but in the end, his curiosity won out. What did Ksar want? Why would he request a meeting after telling him just a little while ago that he’d overstayed his welcome?
So Seyn waited until the late evening, not wanting to appear eager, and headed back to the Second Royal Palace.
“How is Harry, Borg’gorn?” he asked as strode toward Ksar’s office.
“The young prince is in his quarters with the King-Consort and the palace physician,” the AI replied.
Seyn perked up. “Have they found a solution?”
“I am not in a position to share with you the contents of their conversation, but I can reveal that the physician has confirmed my earlier findings.”
Seyn deflated. A part of him had hoped the AI’s conclusions regarding Harry’s health had been wrong, but it probably had been stupid of him: Borg’gorn had the combined knowledge of the best medical minds in history. There was no doctor on the planet who could have given a more accurate medical diagnosis than the Second Royal House’s AI.
“Your Highness?”
Seyn looked up. “Yes?”
“May I ask you to be more civil when you speak to the Crown Prince?”
Seyn blinked incredulously. “More civil? Me? You should be having this conversation with Ksar, not me.”
“I am aware that the Crown Prince can be rather…ill-tempered where you are concerned,” Borg’gorn said diplomatically.
Seyn smiled. “The understatement of the century.”
“But he has been working non-stop since you left, and I believe he is currently in a rather foul mood. Any confrontations with him when he is in such a mood are highly inadvisable, Your Highness.”
Seyn rolled his eyes. “Is he ever not in a foul mood?”
The AI’s silence was quite telling.
“He has never been a happy child,” the AI said at last. “And he is not a happy man.”
Ignoring the twinge of something, Seyn said, “If he isn’t happy, that’s entirely his own doing. He’s the one who keeps even his own family at arm’s length.” To be fair, now Seyn had a better idea why Ksar might have done it. In the past few months, he’d found that it was difficult to be honest and close to his family when he had to keep such a huge secret from them.
“Announce me,” Seyn said, stopping in front of the closed door leading to Ksar’s office.
“The Crown Prince is otherwise engaged right now,” Borg’gorn said apologetically. “But he said it would not take long.”
Unimpressed, Seyn folded his arms over his chest, glaring at the door. Did Ksar think he had nothing better to do with his time?
Finally, after what felt like forever, the door opened and Councilor Vehmer emerged. He looked pensive, but his expression changed to surprised when he saw Seyn. He bowed. “Your Highness.”
Seyn nodded to the Councilor, curious what he was doing here at such a late hour. “Councilor.”
“The Crown Prince says you may come in, Your Highness,” Borg’gorn said.
With a last curious look at the Councilor, Seyn entered Ksar’s office.
As the door slid shut after him, silence fell over the room.
Ksar was seated behind his desk, his expression serious and hard to read.
Seyn eyed him, something akin to trepidation churning in his gut.
“Take a seat,” Ksar said quietly.
The anxious feeling became worse. Something wasn’t right.
Seyn did as he was told, searching Ksar’s face for clues. When he found none, he reached curiously with his senses. He could feel a vague impression of other people’s emotions—it seemed there had been a lot of people in this room today—but he couldn’t read Ksar at all.
When Ksar finally spoke, his voice was flat and disinterested, contradicting the sharp intensity of his silver gaze. “I’ve found a solution for Harht’s—Harry’s problem.”
A relief like no other rushed through Seyn. He grinned, leaning forward in his seat. “Really?”
Ksar stared at him strangely before looking away. “Yes,” he said in a stiff voice. “At least I hope so.”
Seyn blinked. “You hope so?” It was the first time in his memory that Ksar was less than confident about his plans.