The King's Inamorata (A Queen's Tale #1)

The Imperian Insignia

*Chapter Six Remastered*

Hello everyone! From now on, this novel is undergoing edits. At the top of every chapter, if you see the little stars that means that this part of the novel has been remastered. It will NOT always be faithful to the original. In addition to grammatical edits, there will also be revisions regarding plots, characters, and locations to make this a neater and more coherent story to follow. The blurb has also been remastered. All original chapters will be LOCATED AT THE VERY BOTTOM in case you want to compare changes or reread anything! Thank you so much for your love and support and I hope you enjoy The Imperian Insignia Remastered!

*****

How strange, Lukas thought. Vivia is never up this late.

A fire was burning upstairs well past midnight. Perhaps she was unable to sleep or had her head buried in one of her medical books. He went through her little library upstairs once and while Vivia's collection was well-maintained the books themselves were outdate, the information practically useless. Being in Canta sometimes made him feel helpless. If he were back in Calais he'd be able to take her to the library in the Palace or even better—the Millennium Archives where all the information in the world was kept. She would flourish in Calais.

He kept devising excuses to go upstairs—complain that his side was aching, his head was pounding—and it even occurred to him to fabricate an ailment. But every pretext he concocted seemed abysmal. Vivia would probably give him a tonic and send him off to bed. Part of Lukas wondered if Vivia thought of him as often as he thought about her.

***

Vivia's shoes were discarded on the other side of the room as she paced the length of the lost. Every once in a while she swung her head over the railing to steal a glance downstairs but all she caught sight of was the lantern by the windowsill. Luc had to have been awake but she wasn't sure why. If it was something serious then he would've come upstairs already. Vivia thought up every excuse in the book—it was cold upstairs and she wanted to tend to the fire in the hearth, she wanted a glass of water, needed to take a walk and get some fresh air after a nightmare.

Every single one of them felt ridiculous. Luc would probably think nothing of it and go right back to whatever it was he was doing. Possibly composing a letter to his soldiers in Calais. Neither of them had talked about his return home in a while but Vivia knew that sooner or later the topic would come up. And then what would she do? Break one of his bones again and force him to stay? The truth was Luc Fernbrooke didn't belong in Canta.

And most importantly, he didn't belong to her.

She collapsed on the edge of her bed, resigned to the idea. Maybe it was better if she just forgot all about Luc. Let him heal and take off for Calais where he could go back to living a normal life. She was sure that he hated being in Canta, away from his family and friends. Something struck Vivia just then.

Canta must've been a nightmare for him. How hadn't she realized it before? What if he had a girl waiting back home for him? She shook her head. Finally grasping onto the idea that Luc had an entire life beyond the four confining walls of her cottage absolutely gutted her. What was she thinking getting so attached?

Now Vivia really did need to go out for some fresh air.

Just as she leaped to her feet and rushed down the first two steps Luc came into view. He was on his way up as well.

"Luc." The words got stuck in her throat. She couldn't say anything else.

"I'm sorry," he said then paused. "Did I wake you?"