Page 8 of Royally Hacked Belle & Flame
“We can’tnothelp.” Her eyes flick up to mine, dark and urgent. “But also, I don’t want to disappoint my mom. She’s already suspicious that you don’t exist, I don’t know how much longer I can get away with her believing I live in ‘Ireland.’” She makes quotes with her fingers.
The thought hangs over us: we’ll either be the kind of rulers who let kids vanish on their watch, or the kind of daughter who ditches her own mother for a political crisis. Is there a third option?
“Maybe we can do both?” I say, not believing it even as I say it.
She gives me a look that is somehow affectionate and exasperated at the same time and shakes her head. “No, the only thing to do is for me to go visit my mother and you stay here andfind the kids. It’s not perfect and my mom will definitely think I made you up, but…” she trails off and shrugs.
I grimace. She’s right, but this also means that we’ll be losing even more time together over the next day or so. At this rate, the next time I’m going to see her is when we’re saying our vows.
“Focus on the honeymoon,” Alix says, seeming to read my mind. “Just two more days.”
I groan. Two days has never felt so long.
