Page 92 of Loved By The King

I turn to see Max standing in the doorway, tears streaming down his face. He clutches the toy soldier tightly to his chest, his little hands trembling.

“Max,” I start, but he shakes his head, his sobs coming in short, frantic gasps.

“Don’t hurt her!” he cries.

“It’s okay, Max, go find Aubrey. You don’t need to see this. I did the wrong thing, sweetie,” Mavis tells him.

“What? I don’t understand?” Max cries.

“She let Rhett and King Alaric in on the day Jacinta was killed,” I tell my mother and the look of shock on her face is evident.

“It wasn’t her! It wasn’t Mavis! It was the bloodsucker! The one from the news! I remember his face; I saw him before Mavis took me away,” Max says.

I freeze, his words slamming into me like a physical blow. My heart stutters in my chest. The bloodsucker. He said something similar when I was searching for Aubrey; we just thought he was talking about seeing Alaric on the news. I didn’t realize he actually saw Alaric that day.

Mavis’s face pales, her hands trembling as she presses them to her mouth. “I didn’t mean to,” she whispers, her voice barely audible. “I swear to you, I didn’t know!”

Max looks at her confused.

Before I can respond, Aubrey rushes into the room, her hair disheveled and her eyes wide with concern. She takes one look at Max’s tear-streaked face before scooping him up into her arms.

“What is going on?” she demands, her gaze snapping to me.

“I found the traitor,” I say, my voice flat and cold.

Her eyes widen, darting to Mavis, who stands frozen by the window.

“Mavis?”

“I didn’t know!” Mavis cries, her voice breaking. “I didn’t know! Please, Your Majesty, you have to believe me!”

Max lets out another sob, burying his face in Aubrey’s neck. “Dad, please don’t hurt her,” he begs, his small voice muffled against her shoulder.

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to regain control of my emotions. My hands are trembling with the effort it takes not to lash out, not to let my rage consume me.

“I’ll deal with this,” I say finally, my voice cold and detached. “Take Max and leave, Aubrey.”

Aubrey hesitates, her eyes searching mine, but she nods and carries Max out of the room. My mother following close behind. His cries echo down the hallway, each one tearing at me as he thrashes in Aubrey’s arms.

“You opened the gates for Rhett. You let him in!”

Her lips tremble, and for a moment, I think she might cry. “I went to get Jacinta’s and Max’s breakfast when the bell for the gates rang. I opened the display panel to see the truck, its logos. I didn’t realize it was Rhett, I assumed it was his father,” she says quickly, her words spilling out in a rush.

“You didn’t think to verify? You let him in! Do you even realize what you’ve done?”

“I didn’t know! By the time I realized, it was too late. They were killing everyone. I used the hidden stairways to get back to warn her, but then…” she wipes a tear that falls down her cheek.

“I heard King Alaric’s voice; Jacinta was arguing with him and Rhett. So, I did all I could. I got Max who was hiding in the cupboard, and hid him in the stairwell behind your walk-in cupboard until you got back.”

Damian wanders in hearing everything, “And your excuse for helping Clyde? For calling Bianca’s parents?” I ask. Her bottom lip quivers.

“I would never betray her, that wasn’t intentional. You think I would kill my best friend? Look at me, Soren, look at what has become of me. I’m dying, I have been since I lost her.”

“That isn’t what I asked. Why did you help them?” I shove my aura over her, flooding her with it, forcing her to answer.

“Because I didn’t want to lose Max! He is all I have left of her. Clyde told me if I didn’t keep him in the loop on what was going on, he would leak the stolen footage of that day of me pressing the intercom.”

“That’s why there was no footage in kitchens,” Damian murmurs.