Page 90 of The Royal in Room 3

I stared, not sure how to address him, either as a king or the father of the man I loved. Behind him were four men dressed down in jeans and polo shirts—probably a disguise, but I couldn’t see it working to fool anyone. Their demeanor and presence said that if anyone got too close to the man in front of them, they wouldn’t live long enough to regret it.

My gaze drifted back to Soren’s father. The online photographs had made him appear stern, and in person, he looked the same. He was taller than I expected, broad shouldered, with silver threaded through his dark, curly hair. In all the photos I’d seen of him, he wore formal attire, but today he was dressed similarly to his bodyguards, in dark jeans and a leather jacket over a polo shirt. With the brim of his cap covering half his face and the dark shades shielding his eyes, I wouldn’t have recognized him if I hadn’t seen as many photos of him as I had of Soren, trying to decide how much resistance I would face from him to be with his son.

We were closer in age than his son and I.

“You’re sick,” I blurted out.

The king frowned. “I beg your pardon?”

I immediately regretted saying anything. I had one shot to leave a first impression on the man, and I was pretty sure I had just blown it.

“The Belvarian news today said you were sick,” I hastily clarified, lest he thought I meant another kind of sick.

He removed his glasses and studied me with a frown. “You read the Belvarian news?”

“Yes,” I answered truthfully. “Please excuse me for not greeting you properly. Your presence was unexpected. Come in, please.”

One of the bodyguards entered first, followed by Soren’s father, then Vale. The other three remained outside, like sentries at their posts.

I wasn’t sure whether to close the door or leave it open, but Vale took the decision out of my hands by closing it firmly for me. I gave him an accusatory glare for not giving me any warning that he was bringing royalty to my door, but he just shrugged and grinned.

We ended up in the living room, where I offered them a seat. The bodyguard ignored me, walking around the room silently as though checking that there was nothing that would hurt his king.

I sat next to Vale on the long couch and barely refrained from stepping on his foot out of spite.

“Your Majesty,” I said, then stalled because I had no idea if that was the proper address for a king.

His eyes, so like Soren’s in their shape and color, landed on me. “You may call me Azari.”

“Is that appropriate?” I asked.

For the first time, a hint of amusement crossed his face. “You tell me. Is it appropriate to refer to a possible father-in-law so formally?”

I sucked in a deep breath. “Father-in-law?”

“I’ll cut to the chase, given I am supposed to be in bed back in Belvaria recovering,” he said. “I am here on behalf of my son, though he doesn’t know that I am here. Officer Vale was kind enough to guide me to your home.”

“Yes, how kind of him.” I couldn’t quite help the sarcasm in my voice.

Vale grinned. “I was already on my way to talk to you, so it made sense.”

“Actually, Your—Azari,” I said. “I was hoping to make contact with you or someone in your court who could assist me.”

“Oh? You would ask me to help you after you deeply hurt my son?”

At least I no longer had to wonder how much of my relationship with Soren his father knew about.

“I didn’t mean to hurt him. I loved him enough to set him free so that my past didn’t drag him down. We are from two different worlds.”

“So were Soren’s mother and I,” he said, his voice going soft. “I loved her deeply and insisted on marrying her despite her being an orphan who lived in foster care for most of her life. Let me tell you, when we got married, she got criticized for not being fit enough to marry a prince, but she was bold and took every blow on the chin. She didn’t retaliate or argue. She merely showed them the kind of person she was. When she died, she’d touched so many lives that the people mourned her for a week, even though it is customary to mourn for just three days. Now every year on her birthday, every home lights a candle to remember her kindness as queen.”

“She must have been an amazing woman. Soren misses her terribly.”

“My son has lost one too many people he loves, Jude,” he said quietly. “He is far stronger than he looks and will not be broken by your relationship, but I also know he would be much happier if you were in his life. I take it you feel the same way about him?”

“I do,” I replied quickly. “And I’ll admit that I still don’t think I deserve him, but I love him, and if he will have me, I will do my best to be the man who can stand by his side proudly.”

“I do not usually meddle in my children’s love lives, but I’ve made an exception after seeing the changes in Soren because he spent time with you. I believe you are exactly who he needs to be the king he will need to be when I vacate the throne.”