Eyes wide, Gera pinned her with a condemning look that actually scared her. “You’ve already been with a man today?”

“Relax, Gera. It’s mine.”

Her skin turning as red as Zarya’s, Gera faced the door where Darling stood, and bowed low. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. I meant no disrespect to your mistress.”

Zarya would have covered herself with the gown, but Gera had tossed it out of her reach. She had no choice except to sit there completely naked while Darling’s gaze burned into her with a powerful hold she couldn’t break. How she wished she could hear his thoughts.

That look felt like hatred, and yet…

Why bring her here and declare her his mistress if he hated her guts? Was it to humiliate her? Or did he honestly want her here with him?

Nothing he did made sense.

Finally, he blinked and looked at Gera. “I forgot to tell you that she’ll need an entire wardrobe purchased. Not just boudoir, but clothing for inside and out. Formal, business, and casual.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Is there anything else?”

“If you have any questions, confer with Lord Maris. He knows my tastes intimately.” He gave a curt nod to his servant and before Zarya could speak a word, he was gone again.

Darling paused outside the room that had been reserved for the governor’s mistress for hundreds of years, and tried to sort through his ragged feelings that assaulted him with conflicting emotions. He felt so lost and confused, and at the same time…

He finally felt like he was home.

It didn’t make a bit of sense. Even though he’d been born here, this particular palace had never felt that way to him before. No place had. For most of his life, the Winter Palace had served as his prison. So much so that he couldn’t bear to walk past his old bedroom or the ones his family used whenever they were in residence—he wouldn’t even go near those wings. The memories there were just too brutal to face.

But being here didn’t bother him as much as it had before. Something inside him was different now. It seemed ludicrous that it would be from the presence of a single person.

I’m just getting used to the fact that Arturo’s dead.

Darling was assuming more and more of his duties, and becoming the emperor his father had trained him to be.

That was it. It had to be. His mind was finally accepting the reality that he was safe, and that his life was finally his own.

It has nothing to do with Zarya.

This was about him. His was transitioning on his own. This was who he was always meant to become.

I’m the governor…

Stepping away from Zarya’s room, he headed for the stairs.

Before he could take more than three steps, Maris met him from the opposite hallway. Maris beamed a smile of smug satisfaction as he pranced and preened a circle around Darling like a child who was overly pleased with himself.