“Nik, is everything all right?”
Nikolai wouldn’t call out of the blue at this hour unless it was an emergency.
“I’m afraid not.” Exhaustion weighed down his words. “It’s Grandfather.”
Panic exploded in my stomach, and I had to hold on to the side table for support as Nikolai explained the situation. No. Not Grandfather. He was the only living parental figure I had left, and if I lost him…
Rhys moved toward me, his face now dark with concern, but he halted when I shook my head. The more Nikolai spoke, the more I wanted to throw up.
Fifteen minutes later, I ended the call, numb with shock.
“What happened?” Rhys remained a few feet away, but there was a certain tenseness to his posture, like he was ready to murder whoever had been on the other end of the line for causing me distress.
All thoughts of our stupid argument fled, and the sudden urge to throw myself into his arms and let his strength carry me away gripped me.
But of course, I couldn’t do that.
“I—it’s my grandfather.” I swallowed the tears threatening to spill down my cheeks. Crying would be a horrible breach of etiquette. Royals didn’t cry in front of other people. But at that moment, I wasn’t a princess. I was just a granddaughter scared to death about losing the man who’d raised her. “He collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, and I…” I raised my eyes to Rhys’s, my chest so tight I couldn’t breathe. “I don’t know if he’s going to make it.”