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“You sure you aren’t hoping I fail so you move up the ladder?” That was dark, but thankfully he didn’t take it wrong.
“Gale, I am rooting for you. And not just because you are my baby cousin or because I do not want to go to any more funerals.”
“Then, why?”
“I don’t want it,” he said seriously, and I knew he immediately meant the crown. “When I was fourth, my daughters were allowed to go to a normal school, we went to parks, Lydia was thinking of opening a store, no one really knew our faces that well. We lived as close to normal as anyone in our family could. Then everything changed. The girls changed schools, Lydia had to put her plans on hold. I want you to succeed so I can fall back down the ladder and live a normal life with my family.”
“I remember once back when we were younger, talking to each other about what it would be like if either of us became King. Now you hate the thought of it altogether?”
“Now I have people I want to protect,” he corrected. “You are our shield, Gale. If you want to rest or talk, that’s fine, by all means. But I’m going to push you back out there for my family’s sake. Just know that.”
“Noted. Goodnight.”
“Night, Your Majesty.”
When I hung up, I laid back on the couch, trying to figure out what I was going to do, how I’d fix this, when I heard a knock at the door.
A small spark of hope lit in me as I sat up.
“Come in,” I called for the door to open, and the spark fizzled to nothing as Iskandar stepped inside.
“Sir, she is home,” he replied to me.
The she he referred to could only be one person.
“Did anyone see?”
“No, sir.”
“Then how did Odette find out?” Part of me wanted to blame him.
“Wolfgang.”
I was not expecting that answer. “Wolfgang? How? Is he spying on me?”
“No, sir, he’s spying on me,” he said with a grimace.
“On you? Why?”
“He’s nosey,” he muttered angrily, and I felt sorry for the back of Wolfgang’s head.
Then again, no, I didn’t. I wasn’t going to be able to yell at him. Odette would be angrier should I try it. So it was up to Iskandar.
“Speak with him,” was all I could say.
“I shall, sir.”
“Goodnight,” I said as I lay back on the pillows when he left.
I wanted to sleep; however, just then, I felt my phone buzz. Lifting it, I expected it to be Balduin; however, it was Odette, which made me sit right back up.
“I don’t want to talk. But you can’t stay where you are. People will gossip. Come to bed.”
It wasn’t what I was hoping for, but it was better than nothing.
I stayed on my side of the bed, staring at the wall in darkness, when I heard the door open. I could hear Gale fumbling around, trying not to trip over in the darkness as he changed. I heard him go to the restroom and wash his face before I finally felt him get into bed beside me.
“Goodnight,” he said gently, knowing I was awake but nothing more than that.
