Twined (The Grim Tower Duet: Part Two) by Renee Rocco

Author:Renee Rocco [Rocco, Renee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-01-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

I am not an easily flustered man, but I am awestruck as I watch the woman enter my hall.

My God, Rapunzel is Anne reborn.

Of course, I must look past her hair—that glorious, golden hair—to see the resemblance, but it’s there. With each step she takes toward me, the hand of grief tightens its hold around my heart. It’s a reminder of the day when my Anne told me she was with child. That day, I was a man elated. But it was a joy that ended the day this woman took Anne from me.

This woman, Rapunzel, owes me a debt.

A life for a life.

I sit proudly on the throne, crowned head high and jaw set. I want her to see me. Behold the king who burned his kingdom to find her. That is the power I wield. Yet, this slip of a woman—my daughter—refuses to lift her eyes. She stares at the ground as she marches through the crowd of curious courtiers. Her false display of docility does not trick me. Any dolt can see the strained majesty in her graceful movements. The room crackles with the force of her courage. No, I am not fooled by her façade of timidity.

Not at all.

Nothing can break a noble spirit, not even a lifetime in a tower.

Finally, she and Sir Walter reach the dais. She lifts her head. Her eyes meet mine, and Anne is again in the large emeralds that pierce through me. Those eyes see beyond my crown and throne and fine garb. They behold the grief that chaffs me raw whenever I think about my wife. And even deeper still. To the sickness slowly rotting me to death.

Before I address her, I first give my attention to Sir Walter. Let her wait. It’s an act of power, this, to put her in her place. Also, to allow me to compose myself before speaking directly to her. Blast the woman for having this irksome…unnerving…effect on me.

I may not like the man, but Sir Walter is steadfast in his devotion to Rygard, so I say, “You have the crown’s appreciation for delivering the lost princess to us.”

Sir Walter inclines his head. “It is my greatest honor to reunite her with Your Majesty.”

“I trust we did not lose many good men during this endeavor?”

“Regrettably, we did, Sire.”

“Terrible shame,” I say with a somber tsk, as if I care about the loss of a handful of soldiers. Anyone and everyone were expendable against the need to get Rapunzel safely to me. And when I finally angle toward her and extend my hands, she takes them, and I note how she trembles. Good. She should be frightened. “Welcome home, Daughter. I have waited for this moment since the day you were stolen from me.”

“As have I, Your Majesty,” she whispers.

“You are not what I expected,” I admit to this stranger staring at me through Anne’s eyes.

Her small, shy smile is, I hate to admit, captivating. “Nor are you.”

I drop her hands and clasp mine behind my back and puff out my chest.

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