Chapter 58: Less Roses

Laurel left the parlor after having a light meal and several stories about Adolph in his youth that made her reel. It was hard to reconcile a little boy chasing frogs in the garden with his sister with King Adolph the Vampire Destroyed. She had tried to avoid thinking any more about Olivia and Adolph's relationship, but Raven’s words were echoing through her mind.

A marriage of convenience? How could a marriage of convenience have such a love story around it? What about the portrait in the office?

*Easily made and easily broken…* It sounded a lot like her marriage and bond to Basil. When Olivia died, had Adolph felt it at all?

She walked with Lynn quietly around the grounds, just trying to get some fresh air until she reached a pair of gates that hadn’t been there when she’d been in the castle as Laura. She looked up at the gates. They were heavy iron and new.

“Where do these gates lead?” Laura asked.

“To the late luna’s orchard.”

Laurel gasped. She knew Basil issued a decree again