Page 2 of Royal Reluctance

Not all of them, just the most important one.

Mom’s smile drops into a frown. “Is this about more than the magazine? I didn’t expect you back for another few days. Did something happen in Wabush?”

The royal family has a hunting lodge in the forest, halfway across Laandia. As soon as I could make the trip—first making the eight-hour drive with Kalle, and then getting my pilot’s license at seventeen so I could fly—I would disappear into the woods for as long as duty let me.

I rub the back of my neck. “I gotta talk to you.”

“Then you better come and talk then.” She motions to the couch beside her. “But I have to warn you, I need to leave in a few minutes to pick up Lyra.”

“I can wait,” I say automatically. That might be better because I have no idea how I’m going to get the words out. How is it possible that talking to my own mother is more difficult than talking to that reporter for the magazine?

She studies me carefully. “No, I don’t think you can. What is it, Bo? Did something happen?”

“It’s about Hettie.”

I don’t recognize the flash that crosses her face. My mother assured me she’s happy that I’m with Hettie, but there’s no ignoringthe chaos of the Crow family. If I were a regular guy, I could fall in love with whomever I wanted to, but because I’m a prince, there’s so many things to consider.

Not that Mom would ever bring them up, but everyone in Battle Harbour is well aware of Hettie’s two brothers in jail, her uncle who protests everything Dad stands for, and a grandmother who refuses to seek help for substance abuse and would rather live on the streets of nearby Mary’s Harbour than let anyone help her.

Mom would never say anything, but Hettie would—and has, on many occasions. It took me nearly a year to get her to agree to go out with me. Even now, she still reminds me how we shouldn’t be together, how it looks bad for the royal family.

I tell her I don’t care. I love my family, but I would rather be anything other than a prince.

“How is Hettie?” Mom asks politely. Hettie has refused every invitation to the castle, so Mom has never met her. Not officially, anyway. Not as my girlfriend. And not as my—

“She’s good.” I press my palms on my knees and take a deep breath. “I married her.”

The tick of the clock is the only sound in the room. Mom sets her tea cup gently on the coffee table before responding. “I’m sorry?”

“We got married.”

A deep inhale. “Bo… Okay. When?”

“Two days ago.”

Her face is expressionless and I know she’s in queen mode, not mother mode. Which is better because I’d much rather disappoint Queen Selene than my mom. “Was it a real wedding?” she asks.

I frown at the question. “What do you mean? I said ‘I do.’ So did she.”

“Who did you say it in front of?”

“A justice of the peace.” I pause again. “And Spencer.”

“Then it’s legal.” I can’t read anything on her face. Is she furious? About to throw me from the room? Call for my father, which would be better because he’ll be much easier to tell.

Spencer, the lawyer-to-be, has followed in his father’s footsteps in protecting the royal family and already makes it a point to ensurei’swere dotted andt’swere crossed. Although many would say letting me go through with a wedding to Hettie Crow isn’t really protecting the family. “It’s legal,” I say gruffly. “She’s my wife.”

Even saying the words brings about a rush of happiness. It also brings on another wave of terror, but still—happy. About my wife.

Hettie is my wife.

“Why?” Queen Selene? Or maybe this is Mom.

I’m not sure because there’s real distress in her voice. I knew Mom would be angry but that she’d eventually understand—because she always understood. “I love her,” I say because there’s no other reason. I love Hettie. Hettie loves me. Marrying her was the one way I could show her that she truly mattered to me, that she was my life.

She’s the most important thing in the world to me and now everyone will know.

“I know, Bo, but why not get engaged, get used to the idea of a future with her? This is such a big step.”

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