Page 26 of Royally Arranged

I reached my room on the third floor without taking the elevator. I didn’t mind the effort—I was buzzing with too much energy and needed to burn it off. Richard had left my mind swirling. I made myself focus on something better.

Hawthorne.

Talking to that man was one thing, but kissing him ... having sex with him ... it had taken my brain and stretched it out to dry in the sun. I’d been flayed open and Ilovedit.

The memory of his hard muscles made me shiver deliciously. I opened my door and stopped on the threshold. Sitting on my bed were two women: my mother, Valencia, and my younger sister, Darla. She was a carbon copy of my mom. Slender, with the same golden-red hair, except she kept hers curled into big, bouncy ringlets, the kind a little girl’s doll would have. Even though she was twenty-two, she loved to wear a mix of childish ribbons, stockings, and Mary Janes, all while her hems were too high, or her necklines too deep. It was oddly perverse. Darla appeared half-asleep, the way a lazy cat that always got what it wanted did. “Look who’s finally back,” she said, kicking her feet at the edge of the bed.

By my large window I saw a third figure. Austere was still wearing the same black lace she’d worn at the funeral. “Auntie,” I said, acknowledging her. The older woman glanced once at me, her smile sad, before she stared out at the city again. Watching my mother, I popped the buttons open on my coat. “Were you all waiting for me?”

When she swayed onto her feet, my mother reminded me of a willow switch blowing in a light breeze. Those beautiful, slim branches could be used to burn cuts into sensitive skin. “Where did you go after dinner?” she asked.

“For a walk. I told Darla I was going out.” She’d caught me in the hallway outside my room after I’d slipped into my jacket. Now she was watching me with the kind of glee unique to those who enjoyed their siblings getting in trouble.

My mother didn’t even look at Darla on the bed. She kept her burned-maple eyes firmly on me. “You’re saying you’ve been wandering around for the last three hours?”

Heat started to swim up my body. I did my best to keep it from showing in my face; I willed myself to remain neutral. “It was lovely by the ocean. I lost track of time.”

She judged me, and I knew she was trying to see where my lies began and ended. Finally she sighed, giving me some relief when she turned away to fix her hair in the dresser mirror. “You should have called me. You could have gotten lost, and then where would we be?”

I tensed up, hearing what was being said between the lines about my capabilities. “I wouldn’t get lost. I’ve been to this city a number of times. I’m not scatterbrained.”

My mother studied me as she spoke. “Perhaps. But you’re clearly not aware enough to have noticed that this city is full of unseemly types these days.”

“Iknow,” Darla gushed, wrinkling her nose. “Did you see all the dirty people sleeping next to our hotel? Disgusting.”

Clenching my fists was all I could do to keep myself from shoutingIt’s our fault they’re homeless!My parents had been siphoning money from the royal vault for some time, and the effect on the country got worse every year.

“Anyway,” Darla said, leaning eagerly toward me off the bed. Her lips were pulled back in an excited grin. “I heard you were there earlier when Larch and Rich got their butts kicked by Hawthorne. Tell me all the gritty details.”

“Don’t gossip about your brothers getting injured,” my mother huffed.

Darla rolled her eyes. “Mom, maybe you and Auntie should go to bed. Leave us two girls alone, hm?”

“Watch it, young lady.”

“That’s soon-to-be youngqueen,” my sister chuckled. Her words made my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth. “And when I’m married to thatviolent fool, as I heard him described, you’ll be the ones who have to watch out.” She winked.

Off to the side, Austere angled her body, scrutinizing my sister. I wondered what she was thinking about all this—did it hurt to have us casually discuss that we’d be replacing her?

Drawing to her full height, my mother stared down at Darla. Quickly my sister threw up her hands, laughing. “Kidding! I’m kidding. I’m not going to try and push you around, Mom.”

Hanging my coat up by the door, I fingered the cuff, speaking more to it than them. “You think he’ll choose you?”

“Of course he will,” Darla said. She’d jumped to her feet and was adjusting her dress. “Look at me. I’m his dream girl.”

“Why would you want to marry someone you just met?” I asked, mirroring Thorne’s question to me in the cemetery.

Darla squinted, as if I’d started spinning on my head. “That’s a stupid question. Who would turn down a chance at being a queen?” Studying her nails, she picked at one. “Besides, he’s kind of hot.” Her eyes shot back to me, her smile faltering. “Wait. Wait wait wait. Don’t tell meyouwant to marry him?”

Before I could respond, my mother came to stand beside me. Her hand was solid on my shoulder. Her affection was a recent thing. I was still adjusting to it. A greedy part of me was hungry for any kindness she’d offer, after going so long without it. “It doesn’t matter what either of you want. Darla, you’re the obvious choice, and if he picks you, I’m sure you’ll know what to do. But Nova ...” She trailed off, then tightened her grip. “I expect you’ll accept your duty all the same.”

I touched her hand, then walked over to sit on the bed and pull off my shoes. “I knew what I was getting into when you and Dad told us the plan.” I’d had to control myself from smiling too much at the time. The idea of marrying Hawthorne Badd ... It was wild. More than I’d ever thought would happen. But any uncertainty I’d had, any doubt, had vanished after our first kiss.

“Darla?” Mom pried.

“Yes, yes, I know.” She flipped her hair over her shoulders. “But an arranged marriage isstilla marriage, and we all know that I’m the one the guys chase. Unless ... have men been chasing you that I don’t know about, Nova?”

Her jab was meant to be cruel. She wanted to nail me on how I’d never dated anyone before. But I was busy smiling at something on my leg. Touching the bandage Thorne had pressed to my scrape yesterday, I shrugged. “Who knows.”

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