Finding Her Magical King novel · Chapter 4 of 24

Chapter 4: The Balcony

"Don't," I said. "You don't get to be sorry at me."

"All right."

He stayed where he was, with his hands open at his sides.

I looked at the balcony above us, the stone rail and the iron lamp.

A seventeen-year-old boy had stood up there beside his father, and I had spent eight years hating him for it.

"Say what happened," I said. "I'll decide if you're lying."

"That's fair." He looked at the pale square. "My father had the order signed three days before. I found out that morning."

"You found out."

"They told me to stand beside him because heirs attend. I didn't know what for until they led two people into the yard." He swallowed. "I shouted at him to stop. Then I shouted at the guards. They took me inside and put a hand over my mouth."

"That's very convenient."

"It's very true. He had me whipped in the tower for it, and he did it himself."

I said nothing.

"Do you want to see?"

"Yes," I said, and I meant it.

He turned his back to me and pulled his shirt off his left shoulder.

Across his shoulder blade ran a pale scar, thick and ridged, from the base of his neck to the middle of his back.

It was old, and it was real.

I was eighteen years old and I had never touched a man's bare skin, and I stared at it much too long.

"It doesn't prove you tried," I said. "A king can whip his son for any reason."

"No," Anselm said. "It doesn't."

He pulled the shirt up and turned to face me.

His face was calm, but his jaw was tight.

"Then here's what I'd like," he said. "We have until Wednesday noon. I'd like to ask you some questions and tell you what I know, and you can leave any time you want."

← Chapter 3 · All chapters · Chapter 5 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend