Chapter 81

ASHER

Chapter 81 A taste of jealousy

When Ca ssandra Keller arrived at my study for the health check the next day, was still thinking about Adalyn’s accusatory words. I wasn’t st upid enough to fall for the claim that the healer was somehow entangled with the king of Yurene. There

was no way she had anything to do with him..

I knew Adalyn’s words had come from jealousy.

And yet, I couldn’t help but consider Kaleb. The way the king from the North treated Ca ssandra bothered me greatly. There was something there in the way the tall, foreign man studied her. There was an affection that I didn’t like, one that even now, I couldn’t deny.

But a spy? No. There was no way that the beautiful healer I’d plucked all the way from Wild Crawler was an operative.

“Is everything okay?” she asked me quietly.

“Sure,” I remarked simply.

She spread her supplies out on my desk and then got to work. As she poked. and prodded me, my mind began to wander until I finally sl*pped back into reality. Ca ssandra was engrossed in her work. I watched her closely as she made notes about my blood pressure and then moved on to the next task with ease.

I wanted to make small talk, but I had the sense she didn’t want to speak with me at all after what had happened between us in my chamber yesterday. What could I say, and what could I do about it all?

A sigh escaped me before I could stop it.

“You can sit closer,” I said-softly.

Ca ssandra looked up from her notes and seemed taken aback by the offer.

“Excuse me?” she asked as her brow furrowed.

“You can sit closer,” I repeated myself, and then I took a breath. “I promise, I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to.”

Her cheeks flushed scarlet and then she nodded. She scooted in a little closer, but I could tell from her b*dy language that she was still too nervous to be around

“About yesterday,” I said after I cleared my throat. “About Margaret. I just wanted to apologize for what she did. There was no reason why she should have shown up to your chambers and tried to seize you. Her guards had no reason to lay a single hand on you and I promise it’s being dealt with. I’ve always tried to play nicely with her for my brother’s sake, but clearly, there’s no reason for it.”

I didn’t mean to say the last sentence aloud, though it was true. I’d always wanted to send Margaret away, and now since my father was gone, there was really no reason for her to remain in Anemond. But I resisted the urge to exile her for Kane’s sake. I didn’t want to damage my relationship with him by sending his mother

somewhere else.

But clearly, I’d been too lax with her. I needed to punish her for what she’d attempted to do to Ca ssandra.

“It’s okay,” the healer remarked quietly. “After all, Your Majesty, Adalyn was wounded in my laboratory. I understand why Margaret would be angry that her daughter-in-law was wounded.”

I wanted to say something in response but didn’t know what. I was reminded of

an earlier conversation between us where Ca ssandra had asked me if I cared about

my relationship with Adalyn, and I’d said no.

The unease in my heart grew stronger.

“I heard that Kaleb was the one that stopped Margaret,” I continued.

Ca ssandra nodded and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“I also heard that the king had a private conversation with you,” I said. Ca ssandra stopped what she was doing and raised her eyes to meet mine.

“Yes,” she said. “He did”

I waited for her to elaborate, but when she didn’t, I decided I needed to pry a little bit more. Why wasn’t she sharing any of this with me? Did she really trust me so little and the king of Yurene so much? Why was she being so coy?

“What did he talk to you about?” I asked her directly as my head began to pound.

Ca ssandra remained silent and then her eyes fell to the ground.

“Nothing of great importance,” she said. “The king of Yurene wanted to make sure that I was alright out of his courtesy as a gentleman. He brought me some salve from his country to soothe my burn. I don’t know if he’s sent any to Lady Adalyn, but the stuff was quite useful. It took much of my pain away.”

“I checked on Adalyn last night,” I said. “At her family’s estate. She said she was feeling just fine.”

Ca ssandra fell silent. She stopped making notes in her journal and her mouth

drew into a thin line. Her hands shook a little, but she managed to steady them quickly and offer me a response.

“It’s nice to hear that, Your Majesty,” she said quietly.

Normally, I didn’t object too much to the formalities that came with my position, but I didn’t like hearing the words “Your Majesty” coming from her l*ps. They were too cold, too courteous, too/polite. As absurd as it seemed, they almost felt like an insult coming from her.

Did she speak with Kaleb in this manner? Or was she closer with the King of Yurene? Did they have a closer friendship? Were they more than acquaintances?

I then pictured Kaleb in her room. Had he sat down beside her and applied the balm directly to her skin? The guards had told me that the king had spent quite a deal of time in her room. What had gone down there?

Had he sat on her bed? Seen her in a more intimate light than I had in my chambers last night?

I knew it was childish to think this way, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stop

myself from these feelings of jealousy. I cared too much about Ca ssandra, certainly,

I

and I wanted to make sure that she was safe.

But it wasn’t my job to do so.

Whatever was going on, I needed to trust that she could handle it. Ca ssandra

I was a capable woman who could easily handle herself. If the king of Yurene had been improper to her, she would have taken care of it or at least told someone else. All of these were made-up possibilities in my mind.

“Did you speak of anything else?” I wondered.

“No, Your Majesty,” Ca ssandra replied.

As she sorted through her things and continued the health check, I felt a knot forming in my stomach. With every instrument and notepad she stashed away in her. kit, I considered different things to say. I wanted to press further, beg her to tell me more. Hell, I’d even demand it if I had to.

But even though I was the Alpha King of Wegalla, I couldn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to do. The more I forced her, the less she would trust me.

So instead, I nodded and let her continue her check. I sank back into my chair and closed my eyes.

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