Derek set the flowers down in front of his parents’ niche in the columbarium and stepped back.
He stood there a long moment, saying nothing, simply looking at the two names carved into the cool stone. There was so much he might have said, so much he could not. In the end, he said none of it. He turned and walked out.
Declan was waiting for him just outside.
Without a word, Derek held out his hand. Declan placed the scent suppressant pills into his open palm. Derek popped them into his mouth, swallowed, and let out a measured breath, his eyes settling on his Beta.
"How do I look?" he asked.
"Like shit," Declan said. "But presentable." He shrugged. "The scent suppressants should successfully mask your grief, so that our enemies won’t be able to smell the state you’re in."
Derek gave a humourless chuckle and walked past him. "You’re still being your paranoid self, Declan."
Declan fell into step beside him. "I prefer to call it cautious."
They reached the car, and when Derek pulled open the door, his eyes landed on the jar of herbal mixture sitting on the passenger seat, the one he had made himself, for Nana. He picked it up carefully and moved it to the back seat.
"Has Kai replied to any of my messages yet?" he asked over his shoulder.
Declan sighed, rubbing his neck. "No."
"And his soulbond? Has he managed to find her?"
Declan shook his head solemnly. "Not a trace. She and her family have gone completely to ground."
Derek exhaled and climbed into the car without another word.
***
A few minutes later, he stood outside Nana’s door, the jar of herbal drink cradled in his hands.
Since his terrible fallout with Kira, Nana had refused to see him, refused to speak to him and refused even to take his calls down the mind-link.
And he could not bear it a moment longer. The disappointment of the one person who had never given up on him, even when he was a feral thing chained in a cellar, was a weight he could not carry. Slowly, he pushed the door open.
Nana sat propped up against her pillows, Dr Adah beside the bed, taking her blood pressure. Dot, her personal maid, stood quietly in the corner while the doctor murmured instructions about what Nana should and shouldn’t be doing.
Nana’s eyes flicked to the door as Derek appeared.
Dr Adah unwrapped the cuff, straightening and began to pack away her things. "She’s getting better," the doctor said. "But she needs plenty of rest. No excitement." She turned, saw Derek standing there, and bowed her head slowly before gathering her bag and leaving.
Nana said nothing as Derek stepped further into the room.
"I’ll go and see whether the cook has finished with the meal," Dot murmured, slipping past him. The door clicked shut behind her, and then it was only the two of them.
Nana did not say a word. She did not even look at him. Her gaze had drifted back to the window, as if he were not there at all.
Derek cleared his throat, feeling out of place. He crossed to the bed and set the herbal drink down gently on the bedside table. "How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.
"I’m fine," Nana said, her voice flat. "But I don’t want to see you."
"I know," he said. "I expected as much."
He sat down slowly on the edge of the chair by her bed. For a moment, he just looked at his hands.
"Nana," he began, and his voice was low and rough. "I feel so stupid about everything. For how I made you feel."
"You sure are," Nana mumbled, still not looking at him.
He swallowed hard. "I acted rashly. I let my anger take the wheel, and I drove us all off a cliff with it. I wasn’t thinking. I was just... hurting, and I wanted everyone around me to hurt the same. That’s no excuse. I know it isn’t. But it’s the truth."
Nana said nothing.
"You’ve never given up on me," he went on. "Not once. Not when they wanted to lock me away forever or when they wanted to take my birthright away. You fought for me when no one else would. And I repaid you by deceiving you. I can’t undo that. But I am begging you, please. Don’t hate me too. I don’t think I could survive losing you on top of everything else."
Nana finally turned her head and looked at him, and her eyes were wet.
"I don’t hate you, Derek," she said softly. "I could never hate you. But I am so disappointed. More than I have words for."
Derek nodded. "I know."
Her voice trembled. "I trusted you. I thought you’d healed. I truly believed it. I watched you these past months, and I thought, at last, my boy is coming back to himself. He’s found something good. He’s letting himself be happy."
A tear slid down her cheek. "And it was all a lie. You deceived me, your own grandmother, just to get your hands on a throne. After everything. That hurts me, Derek. More than you know."
"I know," Derek said, his own voice cracking. "I know it does. And I’m sorry. Truly."
He leaned forward. "And for what it’s worth, I don’t even want the throne anymore. Not like this. If it’s cost me everything good in my life, then it was never worth having. If you want to dethrone me, Nana, then do it. I won’t fight you. I won’t say a single word against it."
Nana studied him for a long, long moment.
"I won’t be making any decisions," she said at last, "until you bring your wife back to Dravengard. Fake or not."
Derek’s head came up.
"You two made this mess together," Nana went on, her voice steadier now. "The pair of you. And the pair of you are going to undo it together. That is the only path forward I’ll accept. You find that girl, Derek. You bring her home. And then we’ll talk about thrones."
Derek held her gaze, then gave a slow, single nod.
Before he rose to leave, Nana reached over to her bedside drawer and drew out a small stack of documents. She held them out to him.
"Give these to your uncle Crane," she said. "They’re to go before the council of elders."
Derek took the papers and nodded. "I’ll see to it."
***
Crane stood in his study, his back to the door, a burner phone pressed to his ear.
"You’re certain?" he murmured. "You’ve actually found her?"
On the other end, his contact confirmed it. He had located Brian’s mother.
A slow smile spread across Crane’s face. "Good. Very good. Now listen carefully. Keep eyes on the bitch, but don’t harm her, yet. Do you understand?"
A pause.
"She’s the bait. The moment I have her, my dear son comes crawling out of whatever hole he’s hiding in." He lowered his voice. "I’m keeping my head down for now. Things are rather tight and highly suspicious here at the palace. But the moment the timing’s right, we move. Just hold your—"
A single knock sounded at the door.
Crane spun around, already snarling. "I told you to fuck—"
He stopped dead.
Derek stood in the doorway, the door pushed slightly ajar, watching him.
Crane froze for a heartbeat. How had he not perceived him? How come none of his servants informed him first that his nephew was here?
Then, he regained his composure, thumbing the burner phone off and lowering it out of sight. He arranged his face into something pleasant and curious.
"Son!" he called out, his voice a bit too loud. "My goodness, you startled me. How long have you been standing there by the door, dear boy?"
Derek’s eyes stayed on him, unmoving and unreadable. "I just got here."
He crossed the room, dropped the file onto Crane’s desk, and stepped back.
"Nana said to give you these," he said. "They’re to go before the council of elders."
Crane glanced down at the documents, then back up. "Oh. You should have sent someone to bring them. Why go through the trouble yourself?"
"I wanted to," came Derek’s stiff reply.
"Of course. I’ll see to it at once."
Derek held his gaze a moment longer. Then, without another word, he turned and walked out.