A Princess in Theory (Reluctant Royals #1)(40)

“This is unprecedented,” Thabiso said. His stomach tightened as if preparing for a blow. “And shows a lack of respect that cannot be tolerated.”

“What will you do to Alehk Jarami to put him in his place? Right now you court his niece, a niece he does not know is still alive, while he spreads malicious rumors about you to your people.”

Thabiso got up and began to pace.

“Do you know what my meeting with Omega Corp was about?”

“I do not know the details, sire.”

“They want to dig. They want to excavate. Every plan they proposed involves uprooting some portion of our people from their native land and doing damage, likely irreparable damage, to our environment.”

Likotsi looked at the ground, a frown tugging at her mouth. “Minister Jarami has promised them this? How can he plan such an affront to the goddess?”

Ingoka aside, Thesolo was a small kingdom. Disturbing even a portion of it for such an endeavor would have ecological ramifications. The worship of the ancestors was sacred, but so was preservation for those to come—Thabiso wanted to be worthy of any worship given to him by an accident of birth.

“The man is persuasive. He makes it seem as if this is our only choice,” Thabiso said. “But it isn’t. We have fought off colonizers and invaders for generations. I am not yet king, but I will not have my legacy be ‘the man who let Thesolo be ravaged.’”

“And to think I thought you’d rushed from the meeting because you had a date with Naledi,” Likotsi said. “I hadn’t realized the gravity of this matter.”

“It is indeed more serious than even I imagined. And I have nothing definitive planned with Naledi at this point in time,” Thabiso said. That wasn’t entirely false, or rather it was more true than several other things going on in his life.

“Will you tell her today?” Likotsi asked, seeing right through him.

“It’s not quite that simple,” Thabiso began, then stopped at the chilling look his assistant gave him.

She sucked her teeth. “Telling her is simple. Her reaction, which is what you fear, is what will not be simple. But how long can this farce go on? Actually, I can tell you–exactly four more days.”

The same thought had been circling in his mind all morning. He had to tell her as soon as possible, or he risked losing her trust for good.

“How is Annie doing?” he asked. It wasn’t smooth as subject changes went, but it was something he needed to know.

“Another two people from her tribe have fallen ill,” Likotsi said quietly. “They do not know why. Yes, our medical specialists have been working themselves to the bone trying to figure it out.”

Thabiso stood and began pacing. Between this and Alehk’s scheming he had a definite sense of unease. “Should we go back?”

Likotsi shook her head. “As you said—you are not yet king. Your parents have the problem in hand, though you should let them know about your meeting with Omega Corp yourself. The only thing you can do apart from that is make sure that your decisions here reflect well on Thesolo, and that they are being made with our people’s—and Annie and Makalele’s granddaughter’s—best interests in mind.”

She didn’t have to add And not your cock’s—the lift of her brow was enough.

“I will.”

Just then, the hideous buzzer squawked and Thabiso’s heart thumped harder in response. He turned and jogged to the door and opened it before it could sound again.

Ledi stood there, eyes wide and a nervous smile gracing her lips. The unease that had seized him after hearing the news from home receded just a bit. There was something comforting about her presence, in the way she always seemed to know what to do if presented with a problem. It made him think maybe he could do the same if put to the test.

“Hi,” she said.

The word was barely a whisper, and the rasp of it unlocked the desire to draw her into his arms and kiss her. It was as if she’d made him her Manchurian Candidate when she’d moaned and shuddered in his lap only hours before, and now she was calling him to action. But there could be no more shuddering, or anything else, until he told her the truth.

“Hey,” he replied, gripping the door frame instead of her hips.

Her hair was down, a billow of curls that framed her face. She wore a purple T-shirt with a cartoon image of a brown-skinned woman in a lab coat holding a test tube on it. Tight black jeans accentuated her curves, and he supposed she was wearing shoes of some sort but his gaze had retraced its path back up and over the formfitting jeans and T-shirt. Desire stirred low in his belly, but when he met her gaze there was that distance again.

Thabiso’s Adam’s apple suddenly felt too large for his throat. What was this nonsense? He wasn’t a boy being asked to go to the flower festival for the first time.

“Are you still up for a train adventure?” she asked. “I’ve been studying and doing Western blots since five a.m. and I could use a break.”

“Yes. I’ll be just a moment.”

He walked back inside, grabbed his keys and wallet, and rubbed a dab of scented oil on his neck. It had been blessed by the royal priestesses of Thesolo and was supposed to bring luck. He’d need it if he was truly going to reveal his perfidy.

“Make sure you tell her,” Likotsi whispered harshly. “And remember that your schedule is packed before the gala tomorrow evening. No running off like a boy shirking school.”