AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good morning, my delinquent brother.” Flora is dressed to the nines in a pale blue shift, matching sweater, gloves, handbag, and hat.
“Is there a parade today?” I slur. “Everyone’s dressed in that color, it seems.”
“What are you babbling about?” Flora doesn’t wait for me to answer but hands over a coffee thermos. “Nevermind. Torben is coming home with his fiancée, and we are meeting them at the airport like the supportive siblings we are.”
I stare at her, blinking several times before pointing out, “But we’re not supposed to leave the palace grounds. We’ll be found out if we’re all together.”
Flora lifts her eyebrows. “Ah, but Mommy and Daddy can’t punish us if we’re publicly appearing as a happy family. Besides, now that Torben has a fiancée, we can relax. Probably.”
I harrumph and stare out the window as the car leaves the city limits.
Now that Torben’s found someone…
The coffee steams as I carefully unscrew the lid and take a sip. Bitter and strong, meant to sober me up. Not Irish coffee. Dammit.
I suppose the arrival of Torben’s new squeeze means that poor, pathetic Kala will be left in the dust. The king and queen have always preferred her as a match to the Favored Prince. Now, what will she do with herself?
Pity wells up in me. I can’t help it; sometimes, actual human emotions bubble to the surface when I sober up.
Gods bless her; I could never understand the appeal of Kala St. Rain. I mean, she’s pretty. But she’s such an overachiever. She’s just so…so…put together. Polite. A “try-hard,” as the kids say. She’s utterly exhausting to think about.
Usually dressed in monochrome pantsuits or conservative skirts, the woman is so stuffy, exhibiting practiced court manners.
Tonight, however, she looked…enticing. Doesn’t matter. Her eyebrows and scandalous sweater can tempt me all they like, but it doesn’t change the fact that she was practically groomed from birth to be the wife of a future king.
The current king and queen cannot stop dangling that poor woman in Torben’s face.
Maybe pity is the wrong feeling. Perhaps she’s eating up all the attention and adoration from the monarchs. Who wouldn’t?
Putting Kala St. Rain and her cleavage out of my head, I turn to Flora. “Why do you care so much about supporting the arrival of an American woman we’ve never met? She doesn’t yet have the king’s blessing.”
Sig interjects from the driver’s seat, “If the pressure’s not on any of us to squeeze out heirs, we’re going to encourage the match as much as humanly possible.”
“You? Squeezing out heirs, Sigurd? Excuse me,” says Flora, smoothing down her dress. “In your case, it won’t be you squeezing out heirs. That unfortunate duty will belong to whoever agrees to marry you and bear your massive spawn. All you have to do is be there with ice chips and a spectacular push present.”
Sig barks out a laugh and Flora smirks.
Staring out the window and taking another frowning sip of coffee, I mutter, “Let’s hope she’s got the pelvic fortitude for twelve-pound babies with five-pound heads.”
This gets a stifled snort from Flora and a punch in the arm from Sigurd.
“Ouch!” I rub the spot. “Keep your eyes on the road, gorilla.”
My brother grunts as he steers into the private driveway at a tucked-away section of the airport.
“I see your dislocated shoulder has recovered,” I point out, recalling when our sister’s life hung in the balance.
Sigurd growls, “Recovered enough.”
I cast my gaze over at Flora. Judging by the look on her face, she remembers what exactly caused Sigurd’s shoulder to pop out of joint.
“Hey,” I say to her. “Don’t feel guilty about that.”
She peeks up from her phone and swallows, eyes shining. “I know. Just a bad memory,” she says with a tremulous smile that tears at my chest.
Clearly, she’s still shaken from that event.
“If people wouldn’t pick fights,” Sigurd begins.
