Free Unlocking Void (Book 3) by Jenna Van Vleet

choice.”
    He closed his eyes, remembering that awful night. He thought Nolen had wrought all the havoc he could fathom, but the Prince’s imagination went far deeper.
    She eventually broke away from him, drying her eyes. “What will you do with me?”
    He pinched the bridge of his nose and clenched his eyes shut. “You can’t stay here,” he finally said.
    “I know,” she whispered. “I can devise a reason to return home.”
    “I am so sorry to be this selfish to you.”
    “I was going to suggest it if you did not. You need to tell Robyn.”
    He sighed. “I know.”
    “Now, before you convince yourself otherwise.”
    “Or I could not tell her at all.”
    She gave him a stern look. He knew she would never be able to return to Anatoly or Jaden if he did not confess. “Go now.”
    He gritted his teeth and marched out into the anteroom. Lael and Shayleen were still in heated debate, and Mikelle leaned against one wall, thumbing through a box. “I am going to Anatoly City for a while,” Gabriel announced. “I will return before nightfall.”
    “Is everything well?” Shayleen asked, looking passed him in search of Lace.
    “Exceptionally,” he muttered and returned to his study to buckle his cloak on. Lace already had the Air pattern laid, and he quickly finished his four pieces and pressed them together. Soon they appeared outside Robyn’s anteroom. The guards at the door let them in. “Wait here,” he instructed, lowering her into a couch. “This will take precious little time.”
     
     
     
     
    The knock Robyn’s study door usually announced anyone but Gabriel, so Robyn was all the more surprised when he entered. The expression on his face reminded her of the day she found him with his wrist slit in his washroom, giving up on life. She instantly instructed her guard to leave them, and rounded the desk with a concerned look and took his hand.
    He led her to a chair and sat her down. Folding his arms, he took a defensive stance if ever she saw one. He chewed his lip as he stared at the floor.
    “I need to tell you something,” he said quietly meeting her eyes. “I should have told you months ago, but I couldn’t, and I still can’t bear to. I lied to you, Robyn.” He took a deep, shaky breath and shut his eyes. “When you asked if I laid with the Arconians, I did.”
    Years of practice had taught her to be controlled, and months of ruling honed her technique, but it all fell away as she breathed “What?” and the tears rose. “You couldn’t have.”
    “I did.”
    “How many times.”
    “I didn’t count.”
    “Then how many women.”
    “Nine.”
    “ Nine ?” she shrieked, the tears finally escaping. “But why?”
    “I didn’t have a choice.”
    “Of course you did,” she said a little more harshly than she intended.
    He narrowed his gaze. “I really didn’t.”
    She put her head in her hands. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered. Her mind raced with a hundred questions, and some she did not want answers to, but they all came to one conclusion. “You cannot be mine.”
    “Not fully. Not anymore.”
    She wiped the tears as anger replaced grief. “I cannot believe you did not have a choice, and I cannot fathom why you proceeded. I cannot understand why you lied about it, and I don’t believe your audacity in coming here to tell me.”
    His hurt face turned to surprise. “What?”
    “You dare come to me a sullied man and declare betrothal.”
    “I beg your pardon?” he said evenly.
    “You dare lie to me!”
    “I had hoped you would—”
    “I should be the one person you trust above all others! I know you better than anyone! I should have been the person you confided in, but you drive me away with every seldom visit! I hardly know you!”
    “Don’t yell at me!”
    Her hand flew up to slap him, two months of anger and frustration behind it. She didn’t know what she was doing until the sound echoed in her ears. His head snapped to the side, eyes closed, and his