Theirs Ever After

by Katee Robert

  Alys opened her mouth and seemed to reconsider. “Two things.”

  “Keep those and reschedule the rest.” She headed down the hall. “Things are changing, Alys. Starting today.”

  If Noemi Huxley rushed to make it to breakfast, there was no evidence of it as she walked through the doors of the informal dining room. Her blond hair was done up in a series of braids that, on anyone else, would look messy, but on her just seemed chic. Her lipstick was even a pink that coordinated perfectly with her deep rose dress. Her smile died a terrible death when she caught sight of Meg. “Consort!” She caught herself almost immediately, moderating her tone and stopping her rush forward, but she couldn’t quite recapture the easy smile.

  She hurried over to the table and lowered her voice. “Meg, are you well?”

  “Kind of a silly question, don’t you think?”

  Noemi made a face, the expression the first crack in her perfect presentation Meg had ever witnessed. “Yes, I suppose it is.” She glanced over her shoulder and then marched to the door and shut it firmly. Another pointed glance at the camera situated in the corner of the room. “I would have thought that Mr. Kozlov would be taking his responsibility of keeping you safe more seriously.”

  Meg blinked. Of all the things she’d expected the other woman to say, a snippy comment aimed at Theo’s head of security didn’t number among them. “You know Isaac?”

  “We’re acquainted.”

  Which could mean anything from their having exchanged two words to their banging in supply closets every chance they got. If the palace even had supply closets. It was something Meg would have to investigate at some point. She tilted her head to the side, trying to picture it. Noemi was so… perfect. Obviously she couldn’t be that perfect—she was human, after all—but she had just as much practice keeping the facade in place as Theo did.

  Isaac Kozlov was… less so. For one, he was even bigger than Galen, and he wasn’t attractive in the conventional sense of the word. Meg couldn’t decide if it was because of his features—rough and carved with a brutal god’s hand—or because he rarely smiled. The scar ringing his neck, thick and gnarled as if someone had attempted to garrote him, definitely didn’t help matters.

  “You and Isaac…” She gave herself a shake. “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.” No matter how much the strange look on Noemi’s face sparked her curiosity. “I actually asked you here so we could pick up where tomorrow should have gone.”

  Noemi took that in stride just like she seemed to take everything in stride. “Of course, Consort. I had arranged tea because…” She hesitated, her hands doing something resembling a nervous flutter in her lap. “I’m sorry. This just feels rather strange. We’re adults, and we should be able to have a conversation like adults.”

  Meg wasn’t sure whether the woman was aiming that comment at her or at herself. “Won’t know if we can have a conversation like adults until you broach the topic you’re dancing around.”

  “Right. Of course.” Noemi gave herself a little shake and straightened her shoulders imperceptibly. “I get the feeling you don’t like me much, Consort, and I’d like to know why.”

  Oh wow. Noemi was just full of surprises. Meg leaned forward and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Coffee?”

  “Please.”

  She poured a second cup and watched as Noemi methodically doused it with several spoonfuls of sugar and a healthy dose of cream. Huh, she would have pegged the woman as fake sweetener and no cream. Apparently her people-reading skills as a former bartender were getting rusty. Meg waited for her to finish stirring before she spoke again. “Why does it matter whether I like you or not? Plenty of deals go down within these walls, and liking a person never enters into the equation.”

  “I’m aware.” Noemi cupped her mug and inhaled slowly. “This sounds childish, and my father wouldn’t thank me for saying it, but I had hoped we’d be friends.”

  Meg blinked. “Friends.” Why in the hell would this woman want to be friends with her? Surely there was some other element involved, some kind of manipulation. Meg had learned months ago that no kind overture came without some sort of strings attached, and this one couldn’t possibly be the exception to the rule.

  Maybe she’s involved in whatever plot had me being shoved down the stairs.

  Noemi gave a self-deprecating smile. “I know what you must think of me, but once upon a time Theo and I were quite close. I care about him and his happiness, and I would like to get to know you better. I had always thought he and Galen would…” She shrugged. “But I suppose they did, in a way.”

  “You knew about him and Galen?” As best Meg could tell, half the court had suspected something was going on, but Theo and Galen kept certain aspect of their relationship under wraps for the entirety of their adult lives… until now. Until Theo had come back for the throne and named both Galen and Meg as Consorts.

  “I did.” Noemi met her gaze steadily. “I’d like to know more about the woman special enough to matter to both of them. You’ve done a good job of keeping me at a distance, but it’s rather exhausting not having anyone in the palace you can trust, isn’t it?”

  It was. She constantly felt like she was under attack—or surveillance, at the very least. There were times when she missed her best friend back home, Cara, so badly that she couldn’t stand it. The only people she had to talk to without worrying about misstepping was Theo and Galen… and there were some conversational needs they couldn’t meet. She missed having a friend.

  That didn’t mean Meg could trust Noemi.

  Noemi nodded as if she’d responded. “I know. This place is a cesspit of vipers, and you have no reason to believe my intentions are true. I’m sure plenty of the other noblewomen have sidled up to you with the intention of getting closer to the crown.” Noemi made another face. “I’m not making a good case for myself, am I?”

  “Not really.” But Meg laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Let me ask you a question.”

  “Of course.”

  “Why do you think someone pushed me down the stairs yesterday?”

  There it was again, the shock that went all the way to Noemi’s blue eyes. If she was faking her response, she was the best damn actress Meg had ever come across. Since Meg couldn’t rule that out, she kept her expression even while Noemi worked through her surprise. “Someone pushed you?”

  “Yes. Down the back staircase while I was on my way to tea with you.”

  “There are cameras.” Noemi twisted to look at the one in the corner again. “Surely Isaac—Mr. Kozlov—saw the person who did it.”

  There it was again, that little slip of the mask. There was definitely something there beyond a casual acquaintance with Isaac. Meg filed that away to examine later. “They knew where the cameras were, and they avoided them. We’re not even sure if it’s a man or a woman.”

  “That’s unfortunate.” Noemi took a tiny sip of her coffee. “May I be frank with you?”

  “I would prefer it.”

  “Okay.” She nodded. “You could have been targeted for a number of reasons, but there are two options more likely than the others. The first is that the responsible party doesn’t like that you’re a foreigner and so close to the crown. You have Theo’s ear and, if you were an enterprising woman, you could use that influence to benefit both yourself and parties who aren’t Thalanian.”

  Meg shook her head. “I would never.”

  “As I said, this is just potential motivation. The other option…” Noemi sighed. “The other option is that they either want to scare Theo back into exile—something that will never work—or they think that losing you will weaken him and make him more pliable.”

  She snorted. Theo being pliable was a laughable concept. “I think they’ll find that reality doesn’t match up to expectations.”

  “He’s rather stubborn, isn’t he?”

  “Is water wet?” Meg finally picked up her coffee and took a long sip, letting the taste linger on her tongue. “If we
’re still being frank, I have no reason to trust you.”

  Noemi nodded. “You really don’t. I wouldn’t in your position.”

  Being what amounted to a princess was such a complicated affair, but in the end some of its skillset matched up with being a very good bartender. It was all about reading people and anticipating how they’d react in any given situation. In the pub back in New York, the worst she had to worry about was a bar fight or some drunk idiot getting handsy and having to be dealt with. Here, the stakes were so much higher. “Why help me?”

  “Theo—”

  “Yeah, you said that already. But if you and Theo were such great friends before all this began, he would act differently around you. He barely looks sideways at you, and it’s not because I’m acting the part of the threatened, jealous girlfriend.”

  Noemi looked at her, really looked at her. “No, I suppose you aren’t.” She sighed. “My father is the head of our Family. As progressive as Thalania is in many ways, the Huxley family drags behind the times. He won’t give his blessing for me to take over operations. He intends to pass on the Head of Family title to my cousin instead.”

  Frustrating, but it didn’t explain what that had to do with Meg.

  Noemi nodded as if she’d spoken aloud. “I know this seems a small thing in comparison to what you’ve been dealing with since named Consort, but it’s my life. My Family’s life, even, since my cousin is a fool. If I had your support—support from all three of you—I could take the position before my father has a chance to give it away.” She gave a tiny little smile that sent chills down Meg’s spine. “Of course, the Huxley Family will remain a staunch ally to both Crown and Consorts for the duration of my time as Head of Family.”

  “Of course.” Meg stared into her coffee. She had no business making these kinds of deals. She was…

  She was Consort.

  All this time, she’d felt like she was playing a role, a little girl in a princess gown and shoes she’d never manage to fill. If she was going to stay, if she was really going to do this, it was time to take charge of this little corner of her life.

  She took another sip of her coffee. “I can’t promise to do more than talk to Theo and Galen about supporting you.” She continued before Noemi could speak. “But I will support your claim after you’ve enacted your coup.” And she had a feeling Theo would as well. They needed allies. Several of the Families had come out in support of Theo, but it was more to hedge their bets than out of any real loyalty to him. Many of the younger generation of Families idolized him, and that would be useful in a few years, but the others saw his exile as proof that he wasn’t infallible, and that was dangerous for everyone.

  “Thank you, Consort.”

  She could let this stand, could keep the careful distance between them. Hell, she probably should. But since coming to Thalania, Noemi had never set off Meg’s internal alarms the way some of the nobles did. She was beautiful enough to give a movie star a crippling case of insecurity, but Meg would have to be a particular brand of asshole to hold that against her. No, it was time to start putting down roots here. Real roots.

  And that meant allowing for the possibility of friendship. “If we’re going to be friends, you should call me Meg.”

  7

  Theo spent the day getting everything into place. As King of Thalania, he could theoretically call any citizen he wanted to the palace, but the reality was that he had to tread carefully when it came to the Families. The seven noble Families could muster up a significant amount of power if they put their petty squabbles aside and focused on the throne, but they’d never bothered to try. With the attack on Meg, that may have changed.

  Perhaps.

  The problem was that he didn’t know enough. Dorian Mikos was the puppeteer pulling someone’s strings, but everything else lay shrouded in mystery. No telling who else intended to muddy their hands with Meg’s blood, and certainly no telling their final goal. Civil war would serve no one in the immediate future, but there were members of the Families capable of playing the long game that numbered itself in decades instead of years. Occasionally even lifetimes.

  He wouldn’t know for sure until he forced them into the light. Once he knew who Dorian was working with, he could take it from there.

  He just had to play things painstakingly carefully in the meantime.

  The door to his private office opened and he looked up as Galen stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He looked as tired as Theo felt, his shoulders drooping just the slightest and the corners of his mouth pulled tight in what had become a permanent glare. A flip of the lock to ensure they wouldn’t be interrupted, and then Galen stalked to the chair across from the desk and dropped into it. “This is a shitty ass plan.”

  “Yeah, you mentioned that last night.”

  Galen dragged a hand over his face. “It’s not too late to change your mind. I don’t like leaving you alone here—either of you.”

  He knew. Of course he knew. If Galen had his way, he would have bundled up both Theo and Meg at the first sign of trouble and left Thalania in the dust. Theo might be loyal to his country, but those two were only loyal to Theo. It was both an asset, and a danger.

  For a moment, he let himself picture how it would play out. They’d take the tunnels from the palace into the city, where Galen would no doubt have a car waiting. A couple hours’ drive would bring them to the border, and then across. They could be at Galen’s home in Greece before the sun sank beneath the horizon the next night. There, nothing mattered but the three of them, and the only power plays they indulged in happened in bed.

  Most importantly, no one would be trying to kill Meg.

  It couldn’t happen. To run now was the equivalent of going to his knees and offering his enemies his throat. All their throats. To protect her, he had to stay and he had to fight dirty while appearing untouchable. A difficult balance to handle, but he had Galen by his side. He’d had been playing dirty for as long as Theo had known him. The only reason Galen hesitated now was because he didn’t like letting either of them out of his sight.

  Theo leaned forward and braced his elbows on the desk. “Last night you told me I don’t have to bear this burden alone. Have you changed your mind?”

  Galen’s dark eyes went flat and cold. “Don’t you dare pull that fucking shit on me. I’m not some ass-kissing retainer who needs to be manipulated into doing what you want.”

  He wanted to indulge in harsh truths? Theo had more than his fair share to throw out like the weapons they were. “I need you to step the fuck up.”

  “What the hell did you just say?” Galen reared back like Theo had reached out and hammered an uppercut into his jaw.

  “You heard me. I know you didn’t want to be Consort. The whole damn country knows you didn’t want to be Consort. You’ve spent the last six months brooding and throwing silent hissy fits every time you have to do something outside your comfort zone. Guess what, Galen? We’re all outside our comfort zones in the current situation. This is bigger than us, as you were so fond of telling me when we were in exile. Or did that only apply when it was my sacrifices we were talking about?”

  Galen shot to his feet. “Fuck you.”

  Theo shook his head, suddenly exhausted. Or maybe he’d never been anything but exhausted since taking the crown. Maybe if he and Galen had been out at that point as a couple…

  No use thinking about it now.

  He couldn’t afford to display weakness, not even to Galen. For this to have a chance at working, they needed the two-pronged plan he had formulated yesterday, and for that he needed Galen. People underestimated him, thinking that his size and brutality meant he was an idiot. Even though many of the nobles were scared of him, they would say things to him that they wouldn’t say to Theo. Especially if they felt safe in their own territory and homes. If Theo could pull off this step alone, he would do it, but one of the many drawbacks of being king was that people were instantly on guard when he walked into a room. He could u
se that in most situations. Not this one.

  Theo stood slowly. “Are you going or do I need to send someone else?”

  “I’m going.” Galen stalked to the door and yanked it open with enough force that it bounced off the wall and he had to catch it. “This is a fucking mistake, Theo.”

  “Possibly.”

  And then he was gone, striding out the door without looking back.

  There were times when Theo took great pleasure in provoking Galen. His Consort was wound too tightly, and breaking through the carefully controlled exterior to the turmoil of emotions beneath brought him great joy. No longer.

  He resumed his seat and got to work. Theo liked to take a portion out of his mornings and do the various paperwork that seemed to multiply overnight. He delegated things where he could, but he’d be a fool to pass off this responsibility entirely. Two of the Families were pushing hard for a new policy regarding their international relations and, while Theo agreed that Thalania’s old policy needed to be reworked, he didn’t like the direction they were headed. Better to temper it now than to run the risk of trouble later.

  It all took so much damn time.

  His office phone rang and he looked up to realize he’d been working far longer than he’d intended. No doubt someone was calling to gently remind him that he should have been somewhere an hour ago. He sighed and answered. “Hello?”

  “Your Majesty, I…”

  It took him several long seconds to identify the woman’s voice on the other end of the line. “Alys? What’s wrong?” Where’s Meg?

  Alys took a shuddering breath. “Your Majesty, I can’t find the Consort. She’s gone.”

  His heart dropped into his stomach. Meg couldn’t be gone. She was in the middle of the goddamn palace, and there were hundreds of cameras around the property to ensure that something like this didn’t just happen. For her to be attacked and then taken… Stop that. You don’t know what’s happened yet.