What if I’ve earnedbadkarma?
“Besides, consider the source. Who is more likely to tell you the truth—that asshole or Falkor?”
Sotonwasan unquestionable douche. Falkor treated her like a queen.
Did she wish to live a life ruled by fear and insecurity?
No. She should trust that the Goddess and the universe intended good things for her.
“You’re right.” She gave her sister a hug. “You’re pretty good at the pep talk.”
“It’s one of my lesser-known, but exceptional skills.”
“Next to your modesty.”
“Of course.” She grinned.
I’m not going to allow Soton to undermine my marriage. I’ll let Falkor know what happened today.
Chapter Twelve
It was rare for a member of the royal family to venture into the mercantile when a servant could be dispatched. However, this mission was too personal and important to assign to a member of the palace staff. Besides—what he wanted didn’t exist on Kaldor. It had to be fabricated. A servant could not accurately convey his requirements.
After trying several shops, he got lucky at the fourth. The proprietor assured him he could do what he requested. “For you, Your Highness, I will put a rush on it and have it delivered to the palace by the day after tomorrow,” the vendor said, eager to please. “Will that suit?”
“Perfectly. Thank you very much,” Falkor said. “I assume I may count on your discretion?”
“May I be struck dead should I breathe a word,” the vendor said.
He chuckled. “That’s a little extreme, but I do appreciate you not mentioning this to anyone.” He left the shop with a bounce in his step. The plan was coming together.
Slipping away without his wife’s knowledge had taken finesse and subterfuge. Fortunately, her sister had been eager to help him.
“This will mean so much to her,” Kismet had said. “She’ll be over the moon.”
“I hope so. I want to show her how much I love her.” She’d become the most important person in his world, and he hoped she felt the same way. He assumed she did, but old insecurities lingered. He’d been second his whole life. The backup plan. The unneeded spare.
Seeing Soton with Karma the other day had dredged up memories of how often he’d taken a backseat to his friend—time and again, women had preferred his friend to him.
Business completed, he sped to the palace in the hoverlimo, his heart leaping upon discovering Karma had returned from lunch. He greeted her with a kiss. “You’re back earlier than I expected. Did you have a good time?”
She melted against him, and, for a fraction of a second, clung to him in the way that made him feel needed and loved. “I had a good time with my sister. Did you get all your business done?”
“Everything went satisfactorily. Shall we sit?” He led her to the conversation area and took a seat. She curled her legs under her, knees touching his thigh.
She inhaled an audible breath and then exhaled. “Is it really necessary to keep the business a secret from family?”
“You mean, like your sister?” he guessed.
She nodded.
He sighed. “The problem isn’t with your sister. If you confided in her, I trust she would keep the confidence to herself. But it would place her in the uncomfortable position of keeping secrets from Jaryk. I don’t want to come between a man and his wife. So, if you told Kismet, I’d need to tell Jaryk. He would then have to lie to the king and queen. And if my secret is ever discovered, ignorance grants him innocence. The king would have a fit if he discovered I was involved in a commercial enterprise. He could order me to liquidate the company.”
“Oh.” Her mouth turned down. “I understand.”
“Let me think about it, okay?” He wished to avoid coming between his brother and his wife, but he didn’t want to divide the sisters, either. They shared everything. Kismet was keeping one secret for him—would one more matter?
Her brow remained furrowed.
