Lochlan felt a pang of… betrayal, maybe.
“And what about what she wants?” he asked. “If you care about her, if you miss her and want her back, this doesn’t feel like the way to fix things.”
For a moment, Wulfric’s confident exterior faltered. A faint shadow of regret passed over his face before he turned away, walking back to his office.
“It’s the only way,” Wulfric said, softly.
The doors closed behind him, leaving Lochlan alone with more questions than answers.
CHAPTER 6
Nia
“THE DUCHESS OF CHARITY STORMED OUT OF THE SWORD’S OFFICE TODAY! WHAT DOES IT MEAN? DID YOU SEE HER OUTFIT? A TWEED BLAZER WITH A SILKY DRESS? SWOON!” —DUTCHESSLOVER3000
Nia rested her head on a makeshift pillow of event flyers, the colorful papers crinkling beneath her cheek. They advertised a pancake breakfast to raise funds for better gear for local police dogs. But how could she focus on pancakes and pups when she’d just come face-to-face with the man she despised more than anyone?
It hadn’t always been hatred her father inspired.
For the first seventeen years of her life, she’d adored him—he had been everything to her. He’d hidden her away in the grand manor that loomed in the shadow of the Videt, overlooking the sea, always claiming it was to protect her. He had said no one could know she existed, or she’d suffer the same tragic fate as her mother. Only later did she uncover the bitter truth: he’d lied about everything. Her mother’s death had never been an accident.
It had been his fault.
Nia wiped her eyes against the sleeve of her jacket—or rather, Lochlan’s jacket. It smelled faintly of fresh grass, lingering embers from last night’s fire, and him. Not that she wanted to recognize the scent of her new husband.
Husband.
She was married, and she couldn’t get unmarried unless she proved to her father that he was wrong. It should have been easy: Nia wasn’t right for anyone. And she suspected Lochlan was already in a relationship with someone named Jade.
Easy.
So why did she keep revisiting the look on his face when he’d called himself a mistake? Or the way her stomach had twisted when she saw him take in the loss of so many family members? Or, worst of all, the way her heart ached when he’d wiped away her tears.
At that moment, she’d almost confided in him. It was an instinct and urge she had never felt before. She wanted to tell him all the fears that came bubbling up after seeing her father again, fears that stemmed from her mother’s death and had led to her vowing to never marry. But she had six weeks to prove her father wrong, and confiding in Lochlan wouldn’t help her case.
Nia’s head snapped up as the foundation’s double doors flew open.
Ivy stormed in, her hair and the loose fabric of her skirt billowing behind her. “Where have you been?”
Nia groaned and put her head back on the desk.
“I’ve been worried sick! No text, no call, no freaking cat. Nothing. I wouldn’t know if you were dead or alive, if it wasn’t for that damned social channel where fans follow your every move.”
“Are you done?” Nia grumbled.
She heard Ivy huff, and imagined her nostrils flaring like they sometimes did.
Nia didn’t lift her head, but her hand, and summoned a mess of dark flowers and leaves.
“Oh. My. Goddess!” Ivy squealed. Nia winced at the sound. “You have shared magic! You’re married! I never thought it would happen. Was it that strapping man you were hanging around with all night?”
Nia whipped her head up and the room spun. She really needed to find food. And coffee. Quickly. “You saw him?”
“Nia! He was so handsome, and his hair was so dark, and his scruff…” Ivy practically swooned into a chair.
“Ivy. Why do I drag myself to those parties?”
“So I won’t get in trouble or get married accidentally again.”
