A harsh laugh left Ksar’s throat. No, there was nothing fucking natural about it. He should have been glad to be rid of the needy presence at the back of his mind. He should have been relieved to no longer feel the guilt that presence had always caused in him.
He had no business feeling this ugly possessiveness twisting his stomach and urging him to crush Denev for daring—
Ksar grimaced. Seyn was a free man now. Seyn was free to choose whomever he wanted. And apparently, it was Denev, the ambassador of a planet half a galaxy away from Calluvia. If Seyn married the man, he would move away—which shouldn’t be allowed. Seyn’s place was here, on Calluvia, where Ksar could see him and look at him even if he couldn’t have him.
Ksar stared unseeingly at his desk, disturbed by his own thoughts. Perhaps it was a good thing that Seyn had chosen Denev and would live on another planet. Perhaps it was exactly what Ksar needed to get rid of these…these insane thoughts—especially since he wasn’t sure he could handle seeing Seyn with another man without arranging an accident for that man.
Sighing in exasperation and disgust, Ksar ran a hand over his face. This was ridiculous. Seyn wasn’t his. Seyn was now engaged to Denev, not him. And there was nothing Ksar could do about it. Seyn was free to choose whomever he wanted.
Whomever he wanted.
Ksar lifted his head.
And then he almost laughed at himself for entertaining such a thought. Seyn would never choose him even if Ksar asked him to. Why would Seyn choose him when being free of him was all he’d ever wanted?
Not to mention the not insignificant fact that Ksar was marrying Leylen in eight days. The invitations had been sent out. The preparations for the wedding were in full force. It would create an enormous scandal if he were to cancel the wedding now. Even his political standing might not recover from it. Entertaining such a thought was beyond reckless and irresponsible. He was the Crown Prince of his grand clan. He was the Lord Chancellor of the planet.
What the man behind those titles wanted was largely irrelevant.
Chapter 25
Harry was nervous.
He hadn’t seen his family in over a month. Well, he had seen Ksar once a few Terran weeks ago when his brother had come to check on him, but the visit had been brief and Ksar had seemed distant and distracted, his behavior even colder than usual.
Not that Ksar looked any more approachable now.
Harry eyed his brother with concern, taking in his straight posture, the hard set of his jaw and the stay away vibe he radiated.
“Adam is coming with me, Ksar,” Harry said, as firmly as he could. He didn’t have the combative, stubborn nature his older siblings had, but this wasn’t something he was budging on.
“Yes, I am,” Adam said in a hard voice, putting his arm around Harry and pulling him closer.
Harry leaned into him, trying to hide the burst of happiness inside him. It was neither the time nor the place to get “saccharine” as Ksar had called them a few weeks ago during his visit. Harry didn’t think they were all that “saccharine”—he was just happy with Adam—but Ksar had been oddly irritated by the mere sight of him and Adam cuddling on the couch while they watched the TV, as if it was a personal offense to him. It had been odd. For all Ksar’s standoffishness, he wasn’t normally allergic to people’s happiness. Harry hoped Ksar’s grumpiness had nothing to do with him, but it probably did. He could only imagine how the society had taken the news of Harry going to Earth and Ksar marrying Leylen.
The latter was something Harry still wasn’t sure what to think of. He knew Ksar and Seyn had never been on the best of terms and that Seyn had wanted to break their bond for years, but Harry still felt weird about it—and guilty for saddling Ksar with that burden. Ksar would never admit that it was a sacrifice on his part, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t. Leylen would never be Ksar’s pick if he were given a choice.
Harry wondered if that was the reason for Ksar’s dark mood. If it was, Harry could hardly blame him.
“No,” Ksar said curtly, tearing Harry away from his musings. “You showing up on my wedding with a member of a pre-TNIT civilization is the last thing we need.”
Before Harry could disagree, Adam beat him to it. “I don’t care,” he said, pulling Harry tighter to him. “I’m not letting Harry go back without me.”
Inwardly, Harry winced. Adam was…a little paranoid that someone would force him to stay on Calluvia and never come back to him. Harry could understand: if he didn’t come back to Earth, Adam had no means to contact him or go after him. If something happened to him while he was on Calluvia, Adam would never know. It must be incredibly frustrating for Adam to feel so helpless, and Harry could totally understand why Adam didn’t want to let him leave without him.