Chapter 449: Terms

Ayla left Deira the following morning, believing she had successfully convinced Arik not to interfere.

Liam knew better.

He also knew there was no point in warning her.

By early afternoon, Arik was in his office with the doors locked and Lucien’s face projected across the secure communication screen.

The imperial study overlooked the winter gardens, their hedges buried beneath fresh snow while a low gray sky pressed over Deira. Arik had abandoned his jacket somewhere after council and sat behind the broad blackwood desk in a charcoal shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms. He looked outwardly calm.

That was usually when people should worry.

Lucien apparently understood that.

The newly crowned King of Lirya sat in his own office beneath a wall displaying the restored royal standard, dressed in a dark formal coat that still looked slightly too new on him. Coronation responsibilities had left shadows beneath his eyes, but his posture remained composed.

He took one look at Arik.

“I assumed this call was coming.”

Arik leaned back.

“That means you understand the problem.”

“I understand that Ayla told you.”

“She told me yesterday.”

Lucien exhaled quietly.

“I expected you sooner.”

“I was occupied with my pregnant husband.”

“That probably saved me several hours.”

Arik did not smile.

Lucien’s attempt at humor died naturally.

For a few seconds, the only movement in Arik’s office came from the snow drifting beyond the windows.

“When did this begin?”

“We started talking while I was still in Nuria. Properly talking, not whatever she considers the first time we met.”

Arik’s fingers tapped once against the arm of his chair.

“And when did you decide that secretly dating Liam’s sister was intelligent?”

“I never decided that.”

“Yet here we are.”

Lucien leaned forward, forearms resting against his desk.

“I did not approach her.”

Arik’s expression hardened.

“That is not the defense you think it is.”

“It is not a defense. It is context.”

Lucien held his gaze.

“I knew exactly how this would look. Gerard was still alive. I was living under your protection, training to replace him, and Ayla was the sister of your consort. If I had pursued her, every possible interpretation would have been ugly.”

Arik said nothing.

Lucien continued.

“So I stayed away.”

“How successful.”

“Not very.”

That almost earned a reaction.

Lucien rubbed a hand over his jaw.

“I told her it was a bad idea. More than once. I told her I was going back to Lirya eventually, that my life was about to become complicated, and that anything between us would become political whether either of us wanted it to.”

Arik’s eyes narrowed.

“And?”

“She disagreed.”

That sounded unfortunately believable.

Lucien’s mouth moved faintly.

“You know the Ravenwoods.”

Arik stared.

Lucien corrected himself.

“Actually, no. I should say the Armstrong side.”

There it was.

Enia Armstrong had produced Liam.

Mirelle Armstrong existed.

Ayla had inherited enough from both women to make the point difficult to dispute.

Lucien continued carefully.

“I told her to stay away from me. She asked whether I was ordering her.”

Arik closed his eyes briefly.

“I can imagine how well that went.”

“She informed me I was not her king.”

Despite himself, Arik’s mouth twitched.

Lucien noticed and wisely said nothing about it.

Arik folded his hands over his abdomen.

“None of that changes what happens next.”

Lucien’s expression became serious again.

“I know.”

“If you manipulate her, politically or personally, I will know.”

“I am not going to.”

“If you use her connection to Liam, to Wrohan, to Nuria, or to me to strengthen your throne, I will know.”

Lucien’s jaw tightened.

“I don’t need her for that.”

“That is the correct answer.”

“It is also the truth.”

Arik rose.

The movement changed the entire room despite Lucien being hundreds of kilometers away.

He walked toward the windows, one hand settling against the edge of the desk as he turned slightly back toward the screen.

“Ayla has already had one king use her name because he thought she was politically convenient.”

Lucien’s face changed.

He knew exactly what Arik meant.

“I am not Gerard.”

“No.”

Arik’s gold eyes brightened faintly.

“But if you ever make her regret believing that, I will erase the distinction.”

Lucien remained still.

Arik’s voice never rose.

“If she becomes a bargaining chip, if you keep her beside you because Wrohanian blood and a connection to Nuria make your reign easier, if you pressure her into marriage, children, public appearances, or anything else because your court decides it would be useful, I will not merely remove you.”

The gold in his eyes sharpened.

“I will wipe Lirya off the map so completely that future historians will argue over whether it ever existed.”

Lucien stared at him.

Arik meant it.

“I understand.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

Lucien sat straighter.

“And I would expect nothing less from you.”

Arik’s eyebrows rose.

Lucien continued before that became another threat.

“I care about her. That is precisely why I spent months telling her this was dangerous.”

“Yet you stopped telling her.”

“She stopped listening.”

Arik almost laughed.

“She does that.”

“She is very good at it.”

Lucien looked away briefly, and something in his expression softened enough to irritate Arik all over again.

“I am not going to use her,” Lucien said. “I don’t want her because she is Liam’s sister. I don’t want her because Henry Ravenwood is an old Wrohanian noble or because Enia comes from the Armstrong line. I certainly do not want her because she has access to you.”

Arik crossed his arms.

“Why do you want her?”

Lucien hesitated.

That was the first answer all afternoon he seemed unwilling to phrase politically.

“Because she is Ayla.”

Arik stared at him.

Lucien gave a tired half smile.

“She is loud when I need quiet, argues with me when everyone else has learned not to, reads half the documents on my desk if I leave them open, and tells me exactly when she thinks I’m behaving like an idiot.”

“That sounds terrible.”

“It frequently is.”

The affection in his voice was unmistakable.

Arik disliked that considerably less than he wanted to. He returned to his chair.

“This conversation never happened.”

Lucien blinked.

“Ayla believes I am not interfering.”

Lucien nodded slowly.

“I see.”

“She should continue believing that.”

“I have no intention of telling her.”

“Good.”

Arik reached toward the control to end the call, then paused.

“One more thing.”

Lucien looked wary.

“If she comes home crying because of you, leave Lirya before I arrive.”

Lucien considered that.

“Would it help?”

“No.”

The screen went dark.

Arik sat alone in the quiet office for several seconds.

Then the door opened.

Liam entered, one hand supporting the underside of his very pregnant belly.

He looked at the blank screen.

Then at Arik.

“Finished threatening him?”

Arik frowned.

“You knew?”

Liam walked farther into the room.

“I married you.”

That was apparently answer enough.