34. 34

34

Kalle

I feel a bit out of control. I wish Edie was here.

She's gone when I wake up and for a moment, I wonder if it was all a dream.

And then I know it's not because she left my T-shirt on the bed and it smells of her.

By the time I make it out of my room, Odin is back. And I'm not surprised when I find out it was Edie who picked him and Camille up at the airport, immediately dropping them off at the hospital to see Dad.

Dillon brought them back to the castle just in time for a late breakfast.

"I don't remember the last time we had breakfast together," Gunnar muses as he stabs sausages with his fork. The kitchen staff has set up a buffet for us in the dining room—eggs, bacon and sausages, toast with three different kinds of jam, and a stack of pancakes that quickly disappears thanks to Bo and Camille.

"I was thinking the same thing," Odin says, taking a seat beside me.

"I feel like I'm in some sort of regency romance with the setup." Stella waves at the sideboard with the silver chafing dishes, the tea service at the end. "Like this is a party at the country home. Not a party, obviously, because of the king…"

"Your dad would fit right in," Bo says, taking pity on her. "With all those novels he's been on the cover of, he'd think it was another photo shoot."

"I think he should do more modelling." Camille grins at Stella. "I think the books are better when he's on the cover."

Odin raises an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that you've read his books."

"I'm getting through them, thanks to Stella." Camille lifts her cup to Stella.

"That was good of Edie to come and get us," Odin says to me as Camille begins to talk books with Stella.

"When did she leave last night?" Lyra asks with a smirk, like she knows it was daylight when Edie made her escape.

"She crashed here," I admit. "I wasn't letting her drive down the hill in the storm."

"Isn't it convenient that it stopped storming, or we could be asking her all this," Lyra says slyly.

"Edie? What am I missing?" Camille demands. "Are you finally getting out of the friend zone?"

It feels like nothing is wrong, like Dad isn't lying in the hospital. It also feels like we're all doing everything we can not to mention what's going on. I may be relieved that Dad is out of the woods, but things need to be mentioned because things need to happen.

"Is Duncan still at the hospital?" I ask Spencer.

"Kalle really doesn't like talking about his personal life, does he?" Gunnar whispers to Camille and Stella .

I don't, but if I ease back into thinking about Edie, I'll be useless today. Plus, I'm looking at it like a reward—if I get all the king stuff done today, I can focus on Edie tonight.

She deserves my full attention.

"He is." Spencer sets his tablet on the table. "He'll stay there until one of us relieves him."

"Dad is going to hate being waited on hand and foot." Odin frowns.

"He already does. Apparently there was an issue with one of the nurses showing a bit too much respect when she started her shift and found out the king was there. Dropped a perfect curtsy right there in the hall." Spencer grins. "Your dad is already demanding to be sent home if people are going to start bowing to him."

"And he's been awake for how long?" I ask.

"About two hours," Odin puts in. "He was pretty groggy when we stopped by so we left so he could go back to sleep. I'll head back in as soon as we get settled to relieve Duncan."

"I can do that," Gunnar says.

"Let's check schedules to see who has what going on and get someone to the hospital to take over from Duncan," I say. "He's going to need some sleep."

There's a flurry of chatter while we set up who will head to the hospital and who will take over some of Dad's duties. I keep things on track, and the conversation off my personal life, and when we finish eating, Gunnar and Stella set out.

When the room empties, I stay at the table for an extra minute of quiet because I suspect I'm going to need it .

Odin pops his head back in as I finish my coffee. "Too bad you had to cut your trip short," I say as he snags the last piece of bacon on the platter.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here last night."

"Nothing you could have done." This is the first time I've been alone with my brother since he got married—and since he told the world he was abdicating. It's a little awkward.

It was a good wedding; originally, Odin and Camille had been an arranged marriage. Camille needed a husband to take over as prefect for her country of Saint Pierre, and Odin had been humiliated on reality TV, sent home before he had a chance to do much but announce to all that Camille has been the-one-that-got-away. Telling the world he was engaged to be married to her seemed to settle his embarrassment, plus he got the bonus of falling in love with her.

And Camille loves him. They pushed their wedding off a few months to have the time to get to know each other, and it really helped.

It's good to know the person you're going to marry.

I know Edie so well, so that's got to be a plus.

Odin must feel the awkwardness, because he doesn't waste any time. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He's always been truthful and real, and I hear the sincerity in his voice.

I shrug. "You don't owe me an apology. It's your life."

"But it affects your life. If anything happens to you…"

"I was surprised," I admit. "I thought you would have said something to me first."

"It was a last-minute decision." Odin sits down beside me, an earnest expression on his face. "Camille and I had talked about it because Lord Arnaud will be retiring due to health reasons and Camille really wanted to move back. And I want to help her."

"She's your wife."

"Yes, but…" He trails off and I know what he's not saying.

"And you'll get a country to run," I finish for him.

He gives a rueful shrug. "That sounds bad when you say it that way. But it's true. And I never really expected to take over here."

"Just thought you might."

He shakes his head. "Not really. When we found out about Daulton going to the press about Camille's father and how we started out as an arranged marriage, I knew Gunnar bringing over Fenella for a distraction wouldn't be enough. I went to Dad before I even talked about it with Camille—I told her about ten minutes before I announced it. I needed to do something big and I thought that might work."

"It did. You did the right thing."

"I wish I'd talked to you first."

"No, you don't, because you were afraid I'd convince you not to do it."

Odin grimaces. "You're not that good at persuading, you know."

"Really?" I lean forward. "Who convinced who to go up on the greenhouse roof?" I thrust a thumb into my chest.

"And Gunny fell off and ruined it for all of us." Odin grins.

I laugh. I love my brothers because they are my brothers, but I always like them as my friends. "Are you happy?" I ask and Odin's grin widens.

"I am. Married life is pretty good so far."

"Married life, or being married to Camille? "

"Well, Camille." He drops his head, suddenly shy.

How do you know? I really want to ask how Odin knew it would work with Camille. What gave him the courage to make such a commitment?

But I don't ask him any of that, because while Odin is married, I'm still the big brother and I'm not about to admit I don't know everything.

I've got an image to protect.

"It was good seeing Edie this morning, under the circumstances," Odin continues. "Camille really likes her."

"So do I."

Odin studies me, his expression showing a lack of emotion that I wish I could copy. "Is she on board?"

"I have no idea. I hope so."

"It's a big step," he says. "It's better to figure the personal stuff out now."

"That's what Dad said."

"Dad." Odin toys with a fork. "I really wish I'd been here. If things hadn't gone well—"

"No sense thinking about that." I get to my feet, towering over Odin still seated. "And there's no sense to apologize to me. I want you happy, little brother."

Odin stands, only a half inch or so shorter than me. "Not so little."

I slap him on the shoulder. "We should get Gunny in here then,"

Odin laughs and then he hugs me. Hard.

I let him because I could use the hug too.