Emilia’s POV

I froze.

The door stood open, and in its frame was him.

The King’s beta.

My stomach dropped like a stone in water, dread crashing through me so violently I nearly choked on it. His eyes—sharp, stormy, unflinching—locked onto me where I sat with the King’s head still resting in my lap. His gaze flicked from me to Maximus, back to me again, disbelief flaring like lightning in a storm.

I scrambled for words, for air, for sense.

“I—I can explain!” My voice cracked, too high, too desperate. The words stumbled out before I could catch them, tripping over each other like frightened children. “I didn’t mean—I wasn’t...