Page 151 of The Unlikely Heir
“Conspiracy to murder…you tried to hurt Callum?” Nicholas looks at me, then back at Amelia.
Amelia’s eyes are wide. She stands and steps toward us, but immediately one of the police officers puts out an arm to restrain her.
Restraining my sister from coming near me because they think she’s a threat.
My brain can’t cope with this right now.
“Why?” It’s a simple word, and I ask it in an almost plaintive voice because I really need to know this.
I need to understand why my sister would hurt me.
“I couldn’t stand by and watch a man become king.” She says the words almost calmly, like we’re having a normal, everyday conversation.
A chill goes down my spine. “What’s wrong with having a king?”
Even as I say the words, memories slide into my mind. Amelia’s Boudica brooch. Her Yennenga pin. Her fascination with Cleopatra. I suddenly remember one of the interesting historical facts about Cleopatra. She was involved in the death of three of her siblings as part of her attempt to cement her power.
“Have you seen what’s happening in the world?” Amelia’s eyes meet mine and anger lurks in her features. “The rights of women are going backward everywhere. Even the basic right a woman has to autonomy over her own body is being eroded. One in three girls in the Commonwealth still doesn’t attend secondary school. Nineteen Commonwealth countries still allow child marriage!” Her voice rises, her chest heaving, her face flushed, and I can see how adamantly she believes her own words. “At this time in history, we do not need a king. We need another strong queen to fight for the rights of girls and women.”
Nicholas’s face is ashen.
“But even if Callum had been killed, you still wouldn’t have been heir,” he says. “Or were you planning to get rid of me too?”
Amelia’s gaze is cool as she appraises her brother. “I figured you’d last a few months before you’d do something stupid and have to abdicate. And then the throne would have been mine, and all the girls in this world would have had another strong queen to look up to. I would have been compassionate and regal but fierce and influential. I would have made my mark on this world, joined the ranks of the great queens in history.”
My mouth is dry as I stare at my sister, at this person I thought I knew, who suddenly feels like a stranger.
“You were prepared to kill me.” I try to say the words matter-of-factly, but they still come out shrouded with hurt.
Amelia looks at me, her expression set halfway between regret and defiance.
“History is littered with leaders who had to make sacrifices for the greater good. You would have been collateral damage,” she says. “It wasn’t personal.”
Shit. Somehow it feels even worse to hear her say that. She conspired to take my life. If that’s not personal, what the hell is?
“The man I love is in surgery, fighting for his life. And I would be laid out on a slab in the morgue right now if he hadn’t jumped in front of me. So forgive me if it feels incredibly fucking personal to me right now.” My voice vibrates with anger.
Amelia meets my furious gaze with a cool one of her own.
“I believe I would have made a better sovereign than you,” she says.
Nicholas moves closer to me, his shoulder resting against mine.
“No, you wouldn’t have,” he says. “You can cloak it in as many justifications as you want, but really, you just wanted the power and glory. Callum doesn’t want it, which is why he’ll make a great king.”
Amelia looks like she’s about to argue, but then the detective steps forward.
“You need to come with us now, Princess Amelia.”
Amelia turns to look at the police officers. She hangs her head, the fight going out of her. I can’t rip my gaze away from my little sister.
I see Amelia’s security team trade uncertain glances. I guess there’s nothing in their protocol on what to do when the person they are protecting is arrested.
But based on the number of arrests my family has managed in the past few months, perhaps they need to add this into the training for the royal protection squad.
As Amelia is escorted out, one of the obscure rules of royalty slips back into my head.No one is allowed to be arrested in the presence of the monarch.
It explains why they asked Gran to leave. I feel a sudden ache for my grandmother, who has already had to deal with so much, and now has to deal with the betrayal of her granddaughter too.
