The King's Lover-Chapter 507: Here

He placed his hand on the handle and turned it. He was hesitant to step into the room, as he was certain it would make him even more aware of just how much he missed her.

However, being in his bedchamber all by himself was completely out of the question. He was going to be awake anyway; he might as well spend the time surrounded by the things that reminded him of Rose.

Though painful, he knew it would be comforting to be in her room. He wasn’t trying to forget, he wouldn’t dare.

Caius pushed open the door and was surprised when he saw a burning candle on the desk. The desk wasn’t in disarray, but things were laid out as if she would be back any moment now. Caius remembered that she had packed very lightly while leaving.

Books were stacked on top of each other, and a quill lay ready to use. Piles of paper that she could use for her lessons were also on the table. Caius winced at the familiarity of it all.

He approached it and, taking his usual seat by the desk, stared longingly at the empty seat beside him. Without even meaning to, Caius began replaying numerous memories of Rose sitting next to him as he tutored her.

She had several expressions on her face. A scowl when he mocked her. A pout when she was confused but too proud to ask for his help. And his favorite part was the smile she let out when she unexpectedly got a question right.

Caius didn’t feel better. One might say he felt even worse, but he couldn’t dare leave. It was as pleasant as it was painful.

Caius searched through the table—because what else was he going to do?—and he found the last task he had given her. A lot of things had happened in the past few days, and they hadn’t had a lesson in a while.

The last lesson was after the incident with Caira, and he had spent the entire day in her bedchambers with her. Caius could remember how fun it was and how she had made him forget he was hurting and wounded.

Caius chuckled to himself as he marked it wrong. She was not going to be pleased. She hated it when she failed his tasks. Caius pulled open the drawer as he finished. He was going to keep it safe until she returned.

He was still smiling as he closed the drawer, and he had an idea. He was going to give her more tasks than she could ever finish. She deserved it for leaving him. He picked up a paper and reached for the quill.

"You only smile like that when you have a terrible idea, Your Majesty."

Caius froze, holding the paper, as he heard the familiar voice. For a moment, he was too scared to turn his head to see. He was certain the voice was only in his head.

Caius didn’t take too long to turn in the direction of the voice. There was no way he wouldn’t. He had to know.

He didn’t have to strain to see her. Rose was standing beside him, dressed in her usual nightdress. Her hair was braided in pigtails, one resting on her chest and the other over her back.

He was certain he was hallucinating. He had missed her so much that his mind was conjuring up images. His vision blurred, and he worried that she would disappear and he would realize he was only dreaming.

"Rose," he whispered, his voice sounding hoarse.

Caius didn’t realize when he stretched out his hand to see if he could touch her, to make sure she was real. Her arm was warm under his palm. He pulled her closer so he could wrap his arms around her waist and bury his face against her torso. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Your Majesty," Rose said and lightly touched his head.

Caius pressed his face against her, soaking in her familiar smell and relishing the fact that she was really here with him. "Rose," he called her name again.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Her hand on his head felt warm, and he wished she would never stop touching him. She really was here, with him. If this were a dream, he didn’t want to wake up.

"You’re back," Caius mumbled. He didn’t care how that was possible; all that mattered was that she was right here with him.

Rose’s hand on his head stopped moving, and Caius wrapped his arms around her tightly, worried that she might pull away from him.

"I am sorry, Your Majesty, but I never left."

Caius forced himself to snap out of the joy of seeing her in the same room and lifted his face to look up at her staring down at him.

Her eyes glittered in the candlelight, and for a moment Caius forgot what he was so worried about. There couldn’t possibly be anything more important than this moment.

"I am sorry, Your Majesty," Rose whispered and cupped his face. "I just wanted to be sure you would be willing to do something I want even when you don’t like it, but you would be willing to do it for me."

She was apologizing. Caius didn’t care about the crime she had committed. She could be a murderer, and all he would still think about was how happy he was right now, with her here.

"You weren’t going to leave me?" he asked.

Rose shook her head. He looked completely different from when she had seen him last night. It was almost as if he had aged, and his stubble had grown out a little.

Rose yelped as Caius pulled her into his lap, holding her in place so she wouldn’t escape—not that she had any plans to.

"Explain yourself, woman," he said as he stared down at her while holding her across his legs.

Rose put her palms over her face, but Caius wasn’t having it, and he pulled her hands away. "I’ve had the worst day, and you mean to tell me that you were here the entire time?"