Page 184 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

“You don’t need to be annoyed,” he assures me. “I didn’t bring you here to hurt you. I brought you here to protect you.”

I let out a dry laugh. “You have a weird way of doing that.”

“I wanted to make sure no one knew where you were … because if anyone found out—if someone figured out what I think might be the truth—then you’re in so much danger, Maddison.”

His words send a surge of uneasiness through me.

Does he know about the necklace?

I play dumb. “Why do you think that?”

He rotates the empty glass around in his hand. “Because … because …” Shaking his head, he sets the glass down and sits up straighter. “Because I think I might be your father, which would make your aunt Ellie your real mother. And if this is true, and anyone else has found this out, you’ll be in much danger.”

I stare at him. And stare. Then a laugh bursts from my lips. “My aunt Ellie isn’t my mother.” I rise to my feet. “And I’m done here.” I start to leave, but he rushes after me.

“Does the name Everford mean anything to you?” he calls out in a panic.

I slam to a halt, my breathing quickening as I twist around. “Am I here because you want to kill me?”

He shakes his head as he steps toward me. “No, not at all. Like I said, I want to protect you.” He swallows audibly. “Because if you are my daughter—which I really do believe you are—then protecting you is going to be hard.”

“Why?” I wonder as I face him. “Your last name isn’t Everford.”

He hesitates. “Before I can tell you more, I need to have you take a DNA test.”

The thing is, he doesn’t have to tell me anything—I can see it all over his face. It takes me a moment to put it together, but it makes sense. People do it all the time in northside, especially when running from the police.

People may know him as Grey Devenport, but his actual name is Everford. And if he is my father, that means I am, too.

But how?

How can this be possible?

I could run, refuse the DNA test, and try to live my life. I mean, how could this be the truth? That means everyone in my life has lied to me.

It’s that thought that gets me to agree to it, because my parents—fake or not—have always lied to me. And I just found out my aunt Ellie has, as well.

“Okay,” I agree. “I’ll take the test.”

The sad part is I’m not even sure if I want it to be positive or not. Do I want to keep my old life that was full of secrets, lies, and corruption? Or do I want to enter a new world, full of the same things? In the end, I’ll still always be at risk of being hunted, either by royals or by people my “father” has pissed off.

Will I ever be able to live my life without being afraid of being hunted?

I have no idea, and that is more terrifying than anything else.

River

I’m freaking out, veering toward a meltdown.

“We have to go after her,” I tell Finn as I pace in front of the SUV.

We’re still at the apartment, and the men who showed up to haul Maddy off have cleared out. I don’t know what to do. I want to go after her, but for some reason, her watch isn’t tracking her location. I worry the battery might be dead.

I yank both of my hands through my air, trying to keep my breathing even, but to no avail.

“I think we need to go to the cops,” Finn replies, worry lacing his tone. “It might be—Shit.”

My gaze darts to him. “What?”

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