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A study in nature versus nurture.
“Enough of this. You waste my time.”
My father stood up and swept out of the room, letting me know that, no, it looked like there was no end to the war in sight at all. I wasn’t shocked at the revelation, but I’d certainly hoped for better.
My mother made some upset noises before downing the drink she’d been offering me, while Amelia just laughed. She was amused, of course. She lived for drama.
“That didn’t go well at all,” she mused, flipping another page of her magazine. “But as fun as this was, I’m afraid I have an engagement to get to. Queen Mother, watch the little one for me.”
Like a mirror of my father, my sister left, too, leaving me, my niece, and the queen.
“I just don’t understand why this has to be such a point of contention.” My mother’s lip trembled slightly. I did feel bad for her, as it was pretty clear she just wanted grandchildren.
Kneeling down in front of her, I took her hands in mine. “Mother, I love you, I do, but you can introduce me to as many Felicities and other women like her, but I’m not going to be with anyone for political gain or power. Honestly, the only reason father is pressing me on this is because he wants to control me in whatever way he can, to prove I will always be below him and under his thumb.”
“I-it’s not like that,” my mother objected, her voice warbling.
“But it is. You know it, and I know it. He and I have been a ticking timebomb ever since I hit puberty, and it’s only going to increase because I refuse to roll over for him.”
“We just have your best interests at heart,” she said before she paused. “At leastIdo. I want to see you happy, my love. I justdon’t believe you can be happy sequestered all by yourself, so far away from your family. You deserve so much, my son. If I could give you the world, I would.”
She was so sweet, despite all of her years being exposed to my father’s poison.
“Thank you, Mother, but I don’t need the world. What I need is for you to respect me as an individual outside of what I can do for the crown. If you keep pushing what I’ve told you I don’t like, it’ll make me unhappy.”
“I… I understand. But could you perhaps at least give it a try? For me, your mother? If you have no interest, I’ll send the girl away myself and make sure you never have to interact with her again.”
Finally, a compromise I could work with.
“All right, Mother. I’ll meet her again, at least for you. But I’m telling you ahead of time, I feel nothing for her.”
My mother threw her arms around my neck, and it was so nice to just be held. For a second, it was like I was a kid again, able to soak up her comfort like I was meant to.
But such sweet things could only last for so long, and when she pulled away, she daintily wiped away a few tears before they ruined her impeccable make up.
“Anything for my little Nikki.”
I stood, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Don’t forget to take care of yourself, too, Mother.”
After another handshake with my niece, who hadn’t said so much as a peep since her mother left, I let myself out.
I certainly had a lot to think about.
Chapter 23
Kai
I tossed and turned in my bed, unable to fall asleep. After the day I’d had, I wanted nothing more than to slip away to Ayla’s room, to remind myself what it was like to be in the arms of someone I loved.
But she’d been so busy with her studying, the infirmary, and whatever else with my sister, I figured she needed her rest. Besides, the entire infirmary staff had figured out we were together, and while they seemed to be keeping a lid on it, it was only a matter of time before something leaked. I should have worked hard to minimize the risk of people seeing us interacting in a way that was… untoward.
It hurt how much I longed for her, eating away at my sanity, but at the same time I felt so blessed I’d someone to care about so deeply. Someone real who didn’t care about the artifice of the courts. It was as I returned to my favorite daydream of the two of us retiring together, blissed out on our own little homestead in the countryside, that I finally settled down, my eyelids growing heavy.
Yet right when I was about to drift off, I felt something was wrong.
My eyes opened just in time to see a flash of silver. That was it, just a streak of metallic flash, but it was enough for my body to take over in an instant. I rolled out of bed, baring my teeth and snarling, fully roused.
Sure enough, there was someone in my room, and they had not one, but two silver daggers, one in each hand.
