Page 13 of Royally Arranged

Maverick’s nod was ponderous. “The real issue is that, ten years ago, it became clear that Austere wasn’t going to produce an heir.” He studied me closely. “How much did you listen to what I told you about the rule of succession to the throne?”

“Let’s not make this about me. Get to what matters.”I want to talk to Nova.

His forehead tightened with new stress lines. “Hester has no children. His death means that the next in line would be me or Costello, in that order.”

The stomping in my veins grew into a parade. My mother covered her mouth. “That’s why they threatened us ... why they kept interfering with our lives. The Valentines were benefiting greatly from Valencia’s sister being the queen. They knew she’d be removed from the throne if someone with a better claim appeared.”

My mind was working through the details. I felt a bony hand clutch my heart. “All this time they’ve been worried we’d come back to Torino and take the crown?”

Maverick was looking over my head. I followed his eyes; the entire Valentine family was watching us from the same wall they’d been lined up against at the start of the funeral. “Yes,” he said grimly. “They’ve been in the shadows, observing us, knowing this moment was coming. Without an heir, the Valentines have no claim to this kingdom.”

“Unless all of us are dead and out of the way,” I said. “This was what their bullshit ‘truce’ was all about. They wanted us to stay far away from Torino, they probably thought Dad was aware of the situation and was just biding his time until he could return. And here we are. Just like they were afraid of.”

I was suddenly counting the number of guards in the room. I didn’t think the Valentines would do something so rash as to try to kill us in front of an audience, but after learning how long they’d been watching us, I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

Nova.

Why had she spent so much time with me? What was her part in all of this?

A firm hand clasped my shoulder. I looked up at Maverick curiously. “Come on,” he said. “It’s time for us to find out what they want.”

“We know what they want. They want us dead.”

My mother gave me a somber look. “They had this whole time to attack us again, and they didn’t.”

“They knew we were on edge,” I said, chasing reasons. “It’d be suicide to attack us so soon after the mess with Darien and Gina.”

She reached for me with that familiar pity that I was so sick of. “Thorne ...”

All at once I had to get out of the room. I couldn’t stomach a conversation with the Valentines. I was resistant to the idea that talking could solve anything with these people.

But mostly ...

I couldn’t face the woman who’d looked into my eyes, held me close, and kissed me while knowing how stupid I was.

“Hawthorne!” My father kept calling to me as I walked away. Ignoring him, I strode through a side door of the cathedral. I didn’t know where it led, just that it would take me away from that stuffy room with its grand art and two-faced people.

A small set of steps—weathered by the salty air and coated with moss—took me into a tree-shaded graveyard. The monuments were all huge, many of them decorated with swords or life-size men in crowns. This was the cemetery that Hester would be buried in.The place my corpse will be laid to rest if Maverick takes the crown.The idea made me shiver.

I sucked in the clean air like it could heal me. I was too many things at once. I couldn’t settle on feeling angry, or betrayed, or dejected. Pressing a hand to my ribs, I looked up at the foliage spreading over me. A few small birds chirped, darting around and back again, free of the weight of family affairs. Leaning against the cool stone of the cathedral, I shut my eyes and listened to my heart. It sounded like the ocean waves I’d heard last night.

When I’d first kissed Nova.

She’d been so welcoming ... her mouth hungry, pliant, and silken. I’d wanted to kiss her until the stars rose above, then beyond that, until they sank into the sea for the last time in eternity. Ocean spray had made her taste like a wonderful secret from the abyss. A treasure discovered by me andonlyme.

“Hawthorne?” a voice called gently. As if it had escaped my daydream.

When I opened my eyes, I saw it wasn’t my imagination.

Nova was standing in front of me.

- CHAPTER SEVEN -

HAWTHORNE

The shadow of the church made her look muted and gray. It reminded me of how my mother had appeared the other morning as I’d left our home. That same vibe of empathy...of a sadness that wasn’t entirely about me.

I didn’t move off the wall. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

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