by Nana Malone
"It’s just that it's complicated."
Lina brought him his beer, and he took a sip. "Well, you know, when you mix business and pleasure, it does get a little more complicated. But I'm sure you guys will work it out."
"You don't know how messed up it all is."
"Look, you and I were just starting to get to know each other. But I do know Tristan. I know that when he wants something, he goes after it, fully committed. And you know, I started piecing together some of the bits and bobs and realized that maybe you knew him from before since you grew up here. So, I get it. He was a choice you couldn't help but make. No biggie, but you know, maybe he remembers you from then and not you now. Because now, you are a full-tilt woman. There is no mistaking it. You are badass and grown and gorgeous and sexy. In his head, he's all about that. But there is another version of you that he remembers, and he can't let go of that, so he probably has a hard time with new extra-hot Ariel."
I frowned. "That's surprisingly astute."
He flashed a grin. "Hey, I'm aware of things. I know stuff."
I had to laugh at that. "Yeah, I guess you do."
"Look, at the end of the day, you deserve someone who sees through you. All parts of you, the things you're afraid of, things you want, your dreams, your hopes, your goals, but who also accepts you as you are. Not a version of you that you can never attain. Whether it's the past you, or the future you, or some ideal of you. And you should probably tell him that."
"Yeah well, he'd have to be talking to me first."
"Well, he's an idiot if he doesn't realize, that you're fantastic and he's lucky to even be in your orbit. It'll be fine. In the meantime, have your drink. Take your time. Whatever business and pleasure is intertwined, you'll work it out."
"Yeah, you've been surprisingly helpful."
"You keep saying that, but I am helpful. And just remember, if he's a fuck-up and doesn't see you, I'm still here."
I shook my head. I found that hilarious. "Noted." As surprising as Ian's help was, it was also true. Tristan could keep not speaking to me, which was fine, and he was totally within his rights to do that. But I still had a job to do. At least, I was good at that. Eventually, he'd have to talk to me, and we’d have to work it out. In the meantime, I could do the job I was hired for until I was taken off the assignment. That meant figuring out why the hell Ashton wanted to kill his brother. I had my guesses, but I still needed proof. And if I could get that proof before I was sacked or taken off the assignment, then at least I could protect Tristan, even if he didn't want me to. I gave Ian a smile. "You know what? For your help today, you deserve a beer. I'm buying."
He grinned at me. "Now you're talking."
Tristan…
I hadn't seen Ariel for four days. She was avoiding me, which was fine. I supposed I deserved that. We hadn't spoken since our fight. And honestly, I had no idea what to say. She had gone to fucking Stanstit.
She had checked my goddamn text messages.
You weren't exactly talking to her.
No, but damn it. She had come this close to finding out. She had seen all my text messages from Ashton. She was probably painting a picture.
The truth loomed on the edges of my consciousness and still, I blocked it out. But threads of it broke through, reminding me of the real reason I was pissed. She was going to find out my secret soon. And then she wouldn't want me. Not now, not ever. And then what was I supposed to do? She would stop loving me. And yes, I understood that there was a certain irrationality to that, but there was also a certain element of truth. She would never be able to look at me the same way.
Or maybe you just tell her the truth and let the chips fall where they may. At least she'll know.
Nope, no can do.
"There you are."
The gym was empty. Usually, I could at least find Roone in here. But I'd had the place to myself for a while. A couple of rounds on the body bag and I still couldn't release the tension knots. But Lucas was here, which meant he was going to talk me to death. I unwrapped my gloves. "I was just leaving."
"You mean off to go brood somewhere else?" He chuckled softly. "I'm up for sparring if you are."
I narrowed my gaze. "You can spar?"
He chuckled softly. "You realize I wasn't a prince my whole life, right? And I'm probably better at sparring than you are, as I've actually been in a real fight."
I had to chuckle at that. "Is that a dare?"
"You're the prince with the soft hands. You and Sebastian. At least Roone's hands are rougher."
Trash talking. The age-old way to communicate between men. Fair enough. "You like a bit of rough, don't you? All you pretty boys do. I hate to break the news to Bryna."
Lucas's grin was quick but deadly. His swing came quicker than I anticipated, and I had to duck and then back out of range. Once I had one glove off, it was easier to get the other one off, and I tossed it aside. "Cheap shot. Okay, I'll play." Through the next bout, we attempted to trade blows. But we were too evenly matched, both of us blocking easily.
And then Lucas did something with his feet, and I missed it. The next thing I knew, I tripped on one and was down on my back, and he had my arm locked in an armbar.
Shit.
I tapped out. "Okay, fair enough. You're fast. I’ll give you that."
"I'm pretty too. Don't forget the pretty part."
Surprisingly, I felt better. Attempting to hit something moving was far better to release the tension than an inanimate object.
I channeled my rage and went for it.
I don't know how long we went at it, blows, kicks, knees, elbows. He landed more hits. I landed a few kicks. The one to the sternum sent him flying back and sprawling out. I expected when he got up that he'd be pissed, but he just laughed. "Nice one. Nice one."
He was shuffling his feet again. The son of a bitch had boxing experience. That was the only thing that could explain the fast footwork.
I was getting my ass kicked, but it felt good. I could finally let out the aggression and not carry it around with me.
My cousin's laugh filled the gym. "You’ve got to try and hit me, cousin. You're not taking it easy on me because I'm second in line to the throne, are you?"
"You’re a twat. That's what you are."
"Yeah, but you can call me Crown Prince Twat, if you don't mind."
Despite myself, I laughed. "Jackass. You're a real wanker."
"I've been called worse. But I do like it when you talk ragey Brit at me."
More blows, elbows, grunts, wrestling. Finally, we both ended up flat on our backs, panting, coughing, and laughing. I was sweat-soaked, but God, it was the best I’d felt in days.
"See, you just needed to get it all out. Now, do you want to talk about it?"
Uh-oh. "Nope."
Lucas turned on his side and grinned at me. "Come on, you'll feel better. And you know how I love good gossip."
"No gossip. Nothing to tell. I just feel shitty."
"Ah, because Red is avoiding you?"
I sat up. "She's not avoiding me." Even though I knew the truth of it.
"Oh yeah? Is that why yesterday, while you were in with Sebastian and she asked if I had seen my brother, I told her he was with you, and she did a full about-face in the exact opposite direction? That's not avoidance at all."
I frowned, considering what he’d said. "Is she seriously avoiding me?"
"Well, have you sought her out?"
"Not exactly."
He rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ. You're almost as bad as Seb and Penny. Penny is not avoiding him, mind you. She's just freezing him out. Which is... I'm not sure if it's worse, better... whatever. You guys should talk and shit."
"Nothing to talk about."
"Okay sure. So, no one's mad about Ariel's little trip to Stanstit Prison?"
My mouth fell open. "How the fuck do you know about that?"
"Seriously, you guys act like I'm not a prince. I know shit. I have also been working to make myself more ava
ilable to Intelligence. So yeah, the girls took a little girl's trip, huh?"
"Shut it."
"Well, I mean, you don't have to talk to me. As long as you're talking to someone. You're talking to your fiancée?"
I hung my head as I shook it. “Fuck. I will regret telling you forever, won't I?"
"Okay, sorry. I'll stop being a dick."
"I'm not entirely sure you're capable of not being a wanker, Lucas."
"I might not be. But I can be helpful. Look, if Ariel went to Stanstit, it means she's got a hunch. You think Ariel is a dumbass?"
"No, she's fucking brilliant."
"Yeah, so maybe you ask her why she went?"
"I know why she went. I just didn't want her to do it."
"Well, you forget, her job is to protect you. If your dickhead brother is trying to kill you, maybe she wants to know why and stop him. Because obviously, he's had help."
I narrowed my gaze at him. "Just how much do you know?"
Lucas shrugged. "I know about their trip. I extrapolated from there. If she was in Stanstit, considering your brother dearest is the only inmate of any consequence, it had something to do with Ashton. And if she's there looking for dirt on Ashton, it means he's probably the one trying to kill you. Which, since he's behind bars, means he has hired someone to do it. So she's looking at the guards assigned there and wanted to keep it quiet so none of the Royal Guards know."
"But now, the Guard knows."
Lucas shook his head. "No, just Ethan. And obviously, Ethan is not trying to get you killed."
I shrugged. "I'm not really used to trusting anyone."
"Well, Ethan is Penny's dad, and he was King Cassius’s right hand. He is also Sebastian's right hand, so you can count yourself safe there."
"Yeah well, I'll believe it when I see it."
"You really don't trust anyone, do you?"
I met his gaze. "No, I really don't."
Lucas shrugged. "I get it. I was the same way until Bryna. And to be honest, Sebastian and Penny. I didn't grow up with anyone having my back. There are other people you have in your corner. Ariel is the best of them. If you're not going to talk to her, you're going to lose her. So, you might want to buck up, buttercup, and talk to the woman. Because she might be the one who will save your ass."
I shook my head. "She's the last person I want saving my ass."
Lucas shrugged again. "Well, we don't always get what we want. But sometimes we get what we need."
"Shall I call you Mick or Keith now?"
His mouth hung open. "I'm sorry, but I'm better looking than Keith."
I rolled my eyes. "Humble too."
There was that grin again. When he smiled like that in the right light, he looked a lot like my uncle. And then it occurred to me that he had never even met his father, which was just sad. "It's just raw. All of it is just… She's not what I expected."
He laughed. "They usually aren't. If they were what we expected, life would be boring. And we wouldn't be so fucking obsessed with them, would we?"
"Yeah, maybe you're right."
"No, I know I'm right. Come on." He hopped up on his feet. "Let's go again."
"Aren't you tired?"
He shook his head. "No, I could go all day. Just ask Bryna."
"Ugh mate, no visuals please."
"What? You're intimidated because I'm that good? Yes, you should be intimidated. Because I'm excellent."
I shook my head, trying to dislodge the imagery Lucas had planted in there. As he kept talking, we sparred some more. And his words hit home.
Ariel might just be the one to save my life, whether or not I wanted her to. This was her job, and she took it seriously. The woman I loved was not the woman I remembered. So I either needed to embrace this new woman and let the other woman go, or maybe lose her forever. That idea didn't sit well with me. But in order to have her, I'd have to talk to her. And I wasn't sure if I was ready to do that yet.
Well if you don't, you won't have her for long.
In order to be able to hold her again, she'd have to know the truth. And that meant risking her walking away from me forever.
Ariel…
Sebastian shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Was he nervous? I couldn’t imagine why he would be. Roone was an obvious choice. And he was an earl now. There was no reason why the Council wouldn't approve him. Maybe he was nervous because he wouldn't be able to use all his votes for Roone?
Normally, a monarch had only one vote. But thanks to some fancy dealing from his grandfather, Sebastian had five votes. Plus, his mother, Penny, and Ethan. Lucas and Jessa still haven't been back long enough to get seats on the Council. Any prince or princess wanting a seat had to reside in the country for five years, and then they would be automatically allowed a seat. That would work out fine in a couple of years. But right now, Sebastian needed Roone.
Several of the Council members gave their vote. Out of the five so far, there was only one with a no vote.
Lord Tressel, Bryna's estranged father, gave a yes, then it was Ethan's turn for his yes vote and around they went. I had my orders. Watch and assess. See who our opponents could be when it came time to strip Ashton of his title.
When finally, all the Regents had given their votes, I could see Sebastian's shoulders visibly relax. He'd done it. Roone was a full-fledged Council member.
During the vote, Roone wasn’t allowed in the room since it affected him, and nobody wanted any retaliation. And then, of course, Tristan was also out in the hallway as the Council needed to vote on his exile. Sebastian was hoping to get away with stalling the vote until a special vote could be done. In this case, considering the intricacies of Court, that was likely what was going to happen.
If Gilroy was going to make an accusation and needed it to stick enough for an exile, he'd have to have proof, and we all knew for a fact he didn't have it. We didn't have any evidence to the contrary either, but Gilroy had enough friends on the Council to make it an uncomfortable prospect. They could make it impossible for Tristan to stay and rescind his Guard too. Although, Sebastian had taken care of that with the formation of the King’s Knights. But there were enough rumors circulating that would make things difficult for him.
So it was urgent for us to prove Ashton was trying to kill him and to discover why Gilroy thought that Tristan had anything to do with his daughter’s disappearance. Luckily, Zia and I were very close to finding Amelia Gilroy. Her father said he’d sent PI teams after her, but either they were inept or didn’t look that hard. The girl had no trade craft skills.
I’d find her though, because she was the missing link. Without her, we were no closer to finding proof that Ashton was after his brother. So tonight, Sebastian and Penny were going on recon.
It's a team effort. You'll find her.
I'd have to believe that because there was no other option.
I refocused my attention on Sebastian. "And so the Council has voted. Roone Ainsley, Earl of Dorset, has been so named to the Winston Isles Royal Council.” One of the Guards was signaled to bring in Roone at that point. He walked in full of confidence and pep. Pure cockiness.
I knew him well enough to know that he took this seriously, but he was having some fun with it. Good for him. He'd certainly worked hard enough. And he was more than loyal. He had a way of tempering Sebastian's flares of temper. He'd make a good addition. Besides, when it came to making final decisions, we needed all the help we could get.
Roone took a seat at the other end of the table across from Ethan. Sebastian sighed as he read down the list of topics. "Next item on the docket, brought by Lord Gilroy, is a motion for the exile of Prince Tristan Winston."
There were some murmurs amongst the group. Those who wanted to know why, those who had no idea, though I doubted Gilroy had been quiet about his discontent. But even though he was on the Council, he still had to be careful about accusations he made against the royal family. Even with his closest confidants, when it came to political
intrigue, it was always better to keep all your cards close to the vest, trusting very few.
Sebastian continued. "Lord Gilroy, since you bring the motion, please stand and inform the Council of your reasoning."
Lord Gilroy pushed back from his seat and marched over to the small dais. "Fellow Lords, Your Majesty, the prince has recently returned despite the Council’s strong advice that he should continue to reside outside of the Winston Isles."
The best part about this was only the king could interrupt anyone while they were speaking. And Sebastian had zero fucks left to give when it came to Tristan. "Why are you bringing forward this motion? He wasn't on official exile. It was just a suggestion from the Council that Uncle Roland and his family stay away. Not a full requirement. It's not an official exile."
"Yes, Your Majesty. But the family is not to be trusted. Obviously, his brother is in Stanstit Prison for crimes against the crown. His father abdicated, showing he didn't have the commitment to the crown or the people of this country. Do you really trust your cousin walking around the palace? Need I remind you that Ashton had a hand in your father's death?"
"You need remind me of nothing. I know why I sit on this throne and my father doesn’t. I'm going to ask you for one thing. Proof. I will not sanction official exile, and I urge the other Council members not to call for an official exile until we have that handy little thing called proof. Obviously, due to the turmoil we have endured the last three years, we are inclined to be more cautious. But we also have to be cautious in our judgments. Tristan Winston is still a prince of these Isles. He has returned as a national treasure. What reasons do you have for requesting a vote to officially exile him?"
Gilroy shifted on his feet. I meant to keep my eyes forward, but it was hard not to watch him sweat a little. He'd probably thought Sebastian wouldn't let him have his say, let him sit down and then say something. Oh no. The king was in no mood.
"Your Majesty, as I have tried to discuss with you, and as all of the Council members know, my daughter went missing around the time the prince went to go and play abroad. I have evidence to show that they were involved intimately."
