Page 61 of The Prince of New York

“A pair of ponies for them won’t be a bad idea, especially with the reality of having to take them to parades. Do they like horses? I don’t know. We’ll find out. I’ll give Texas a call and put in a request for two ponies. Jane’s ponies are perfect, so hopefully they’ll have some other animals available. I’m sure Montana has ponies, but I’d rather not add to his workload when he has two new kids he’s trying to settle.”

The Texan monarchs could handle the pony problem with ease and grace. “Call Daphne; she can handle the transport issues. I’m not sure if the Californians are going to be happy with me bringing so many horses to their palace, though.”

“My parents will be fine with it, even if they have to set up a temporary pasture for the ponies right in their front lawn. Expect my mother to cry, though. You’re all grown up now, Ian.”

I rolled my eyes. “Your mother cried when I got exposed to wine, Ethan. It was not the end of the world.”

“Ah, but to her, she made a little baby sick, and she cannot handle that.”

I slapped my forehead. “Good grief. Seriously, Ethan? Maybe your mother needs even more therapy than I do. However, that reminds me. We’re going to need to get a case of the wine we can have to take to California with us.”

Ethan nodded. “I’ll actually order a few cases and have them load it into the plane. The kitchen will probably want to use it exclusively in order to prevent my mother melting down again over the alcohol. I’ll handle that tomorrow. I’m going to have to order this stuff by the barrel for you two, I swear.”

“It beats throwing up, and Madelyn liked it, too.”

“I’m not going to judge, Ian. At least you’re better than Rachel, who melts down because she bought wine because she wanted the bottle. She tries to drink it so she doesn’t waste money. She is not clear on the concept of corking the bottle and saving it for later.”

I stared at my sister. “I love you, but you’re an idiot.”

She laughed. “I really am. I’m sorry. I get anxious, and then my common sense flees the building. Just make sure you order your grape juice, too. You can’t lie to me, Ian. If you could pick between the wine and the grape juice, you’re taking the grape juice every time. You love that stuff.”

I got up, and as Melody had been working, I offered my hands to haul her to her feet, which she accepted. “Let’s get back to the palace to make preparations, Rachel. Melody’s dad isn’t going to let anything happen to the girls, and we both have a lot of work ahead of us.”

“That we do.”

* * *

To keepDr. Stanton and Melody happy with me, I hunted for Terry, found out where my components had been stored, took off my suppressors, donned my gloves, and went to work while both physicians and my sister observed. Unlike before, the money I’d earned from separating the metals would serve a purpose: providing for the little girls I’d decided were mine. If they wanted to go to college, they could—and I’d help them any way I could to prepare them for the entry exams.

Wealth wouldn’t buy their way in, although they wouldn’t need to worry about debt. Anything they accomplished, they would through their hard work, effort, and skill. I would encourage as much as I could without overly pressuring them. No matter what their magical aptitudes were, they would have opportunities.

It would be up to them what they did with their opportunities.

Being part of the succession, after my siblings and any children Ethan and Rachel might have, would send shockwaves through the Royal States and beyond. It was one thing for Montana’s royal family to adopt children. Montana had already transitioned to merit rulership.

New York had not.

I had no doubts no one in the New York line, before me, would have even considered adoption for any reason, and as such, there were no laws on the books regarding untraditional entry into the royal lines. While I set up the molds to catch the metals I planned on melting out, I allowed myself a grim smile over the chaos destined to sweep through the political scene of the next few days.

Rachel would enjoy tearing down their arguments, leveling accusations of supporting abuse until she got her way. If the politicians were wise, they would surrender without a fight. I foresaw a long battle, one Rachel would win through common sense.

No children would be ruling New York, so the girls wouldn’t be eligible for the crown for at least ten years, and our half-siblings were eligible. Should I have children, Baby and May would bounce down in rank due to blood ties.

New York had rules in place already for adulterous royalty.

In good news for my sanity, once I started working, I needed to concentrate on what I was doing, gradually heating the components and pouring the metals into the appropriate molds. Terry had arranged for most of the supply to be transferred to the palace, which cost me four hours to melt down into the appropriate molds, cool, and stack as bars so I could sell them.

The entire time, both doctors kept a close and careful eye on me. Only when I took off my gloves did Melody grace me with a round of applause. “That wasfascinating.”

I raised a brow. “How so?”

“Your finesse is remarkable. You can literally isolate metals by temperature and remove impurities. Terry came to watch, confirmed you have metalweaving, and left laughing over having been outclassed in more than a few ways. He’s great with iron. You? You’re unconsciously manipulating individual metal types. You’re using your flameweaving to extract the metals you’re identifying with your metalweaving. That level of skill is a joy to watch. Right, Dr. Stanton?”

“I’m impressed,” the North Dakotan admitted. “How is your talent? Are you fatigued?”

“Not particularly. I won’t need to wear suppressors for at least a week, but I can still do strong workings if needed. I just won’t be at any risk of combustion for a week.”

Rachel examined my bars, clapped her hands, praised me, and bounced off, likely to dodge having to attempt the same level of work.

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