“It was a long and tiring day,” Luke admitted stifling a yawn. He turned his body at an angle enough to touch the device and make it lie on its smooth glass backside. If Tobias was still watching, he would have a very beautiful view of the v-shaped constellation of Andromeda. The royal guard may not be physically present, but it still irritated Luke that his cousin found a way to preserve modesty while still spending time with Rhiane in the spa. “Thank you for your loyalty and dedication, Tobias. Lia and Octavia are stationed nearby should anything happen while Rhiane and me are here. You may take the night off. Nolan already did.”

If it had been another royal guard, it would have been easy to rotate assignments and replace him. Tobias was selected for his affiliation with the crown and its crown prince. The two boys were near inseparable when they were kids that the queen had hoped Tobias had cultivated loyalty to her son. And if Tobias was loyal to Luke, then the royal guard was bound to be loyal to Luke’s future queen. In the world of prestigious titles and power, loyalty was everything. Good for Tobias, because there was no question about his loyalty, it was his intentions that Luke was not happy with. Rhiane would be his queen. She was his fiancee, and one day she would be the mother of his children. He might have told her that he wanted to live separate lives, but honestly the prince did not want anybody remotely touching what was his.

Then, he caught wind of the conversation between the ladies. The word “ring” slipped from his finacee’s lips and suddenly he knew what they were talking about, what Rhiane and Tobias were talking about. Carefully, his eyes left the night sky and slowly descended into the moonlight reflecting on the smooth skin of her shoulder and back. It glistened with the droplets clinging to her skin. He remembered holding her in his arms while she fought against the nightmares that visited her at night, thought about the look on her face that morning when he kissed her. If she was not a farmer and he was not a prince, would he kiss her again? He looked away as Callie’s high-pitched question betrayed the supposedly confidentiality of the conversation.

“Your engagement ring?” There was an engagement ring. Callista remembered touching it, fitting it on her finger, imagining that magical moment when her prince would kneel on one knee and with hopeful eyes finally ask the question that ladies long to hear. There was an engagement ring designed for whoever was selected to be the crown prince’s bride. “What are you talking about? It is important, so very important that without it, the engagement doesn’t feel real. I will not say yes to a proposal without a ring.” She raised her slender hand in front of her face.

If the royal tradition would be followed, the ring should have been fitted on the princess elect’s finger during the night of the engagement ball. Yet the whole kingdom was aware that the ball was cut short after the unfortunate accident of the future bride and the urgent departure of her future groom. 

Frowning at her own ringless fingers, the princess kept her lips pursed. If she hadn’t known any better, she could have told Rhiane that her ring was with Luke, but even she was unsure that her brother would hold on to something that symbolizes everything stood against. The most plausible answer was that the crown prince intentionally lost the piece of jewelry as his final and most resounding statement against the breeding ritual. Callie dropped the subject after that, redirecting the conversation to the retelling of the experiences that Rhiane collected during the time away from the capital. Same as her older brother, the princess lacked the freedom to roam the kingdom freely. She was curious about what she would find. Luke too. But the princess thought her brother had more pride than what was healthy therefore his enthusiasm would not show.

The same enthusiasm was held back, tightly leashed, and sealed away at the farthest recess of his brain. After the threat named Tobias Lavanchy was neutralized, he found a man-made stone bench where the water reached up to his chest when he sat. His broken ribs were healing well that he had foregone wearing the silicone brace. Again, he stole a glance at Rhiane, wondering if her injury had been kind to her as well. 

After a few more minutes of being alone in his thoughts, he heard the women say their goodbyes and promises to talk to each other again. Luke lifted his head from the smooth rock that cradled it to raise a brow at his fiancee across the pool. Awkward silence blanketed the area. Now that there was only the two of them, what do they do? 

“I lost the ring,” he finally admitted in a matter-of-fact way. Silence was worse than their squabbles. Besides, they were already mad at each other, what else could he loose after he admitted that he lost the engagement ring. “If you want one, show Luce a photo of the ring and she will buy it for you. I already asked Tobias to rest for tonight. He’s been working really hard lately.” So, it was just him and her, was what he wanted to say. He would stay with her and keep her awake, so she doesn’t hurt herself, were the words forming at the tip of his tongue, yet he did not have the courage to say. Luke shrugged. “Men are not that thoughtful,” he added, more to himself than to her.