“It’s been that long?”
“Yes,” he said. I wrinkled my brow. I didn’t have that many people left on my staff. How could I have gone so long without even knowing his daughter had given birth?
“Answer me,” I said. “Why did you do this?”
He shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. Frustration washed over me.
“Don’t cry! Explain to me why one of my most trusted servants would betray me so hideously!”
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in!” I shouted.
The door opened and Riot and Slade entered, dragging a young man by his collar. He was dressed wildly, with a spiked black leather jacket, his hair dyed a multitude of unnatural colors, his big chunky black boots dragging on the ground. A ribbon of blood streamed down the side of his face.
“We found Willa. She’s with Clara and Eva now. She was with this young punk, who was chasing her through the woods,” Slade said, shoving him towards me.
I raked my eyes over his body, appalled that my innocent daughter had been with this deplorable disgusting kid the last few days.
“She’s safe?” I asked. “Uninjured?”
“She’s fine,” Riot said. “This guy is the one that got injured. Your daughter is one tough princess. She’s the one who drew blood.”
“Thank you, gentlemen. I’ll be right out. Please tell Willa I will be there shortly.”
“Do you want us to stay and help kick some ass?” Slade asked, his voice as hopeful as a boy asking for candy.
“Leave,” I seethed.
“Right, gotcha,” he replied, nodding. They walked out and I turned back to Harold and the boy.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Dragon,” the boy replied, lifting a defiant chin. I raised a brow in surprise.
“It’s Artie,” Harold said, glaring at him. “Arthur.”
“I hate that name,” he said.
“I don’t care what you hate!” Harold yelled at him.
“Silence!” I shouted.
They snapped their heads back to me and I shook my head.
“Harold, I’m going to ask you one more time. If you don’t answer me honestly, I am going to feed you and your grandson to Sandy.”
“Who’s Sandy?” The kid asked.
“A very hungry lion,” Howard answered, before looking back at me.
“May I answer honestly, Your Majesty?”
“I demand it!” I shouted.
He hesitated, and before he could speak up his grandson spoke.
“He did it because you’re an asshole!” My eyes widened as I looked down upon him. I tried to decide if I should rip his head off here or wait until I took him down to the dungeon.
“Artie!” Harold shouted, mortified.
“He’s going to kill us anyway, GP, why not tell him the truth?”
“And what is the truth, boy?” I asked.
“My grandpop has worked for you for decades! Twice as long as I’ve been alive! That’s like…forever! And you don’t even know what he’s been going through!” He flung his words at me, and I couldn’t believe the courage he had to do so.
“Tell me,” I demanded.
“My mother’s sick. She has cancer. Breast cancer. My father left the island years ago and left us alone to fend for ourselves. Grandpop has been taking care of us since then. He works for you all day and comes home late at night. He’s exhausted and you won’t even give him a day off. I’m the one that has to pick up the slack! I have no life because I have to take care of my mother all the time, while my grandfather is here granting your every wish every single day!”
“I have a limited number of staff,” I said. “Days off aren’t really an option.”
“Exactly. You treat him like a machine. Like he’s not even human.”
“What does all of this have to do with my daughter?”
My stomach churned when I thought about his hands on Willa.
“Your Majesty, if I may? My grandson cares deeply for his mother. She and I are all he has. He sees her wasting away every day and she’s not getting better. In fact, the cancer has spread. She can’t work and my salary is stretched thin trying to care for all three of us.”
“Again, I don’t see what this has to do with Willa.”
“It was my idea,” Harold admitted. “I found Clara’s phone in the kitchen one day. And one thought led to another and I planted it in the guest house so Willa would see it. I recruited my grandson to help me. I knew if we could lure her away, we may have a chance to get a little more money, to get a little bit of relief.”
“Fifty million finis, Harold?” I asked.
“The amount was just random. I didn’t care how much we ended up with. I just needed help. I tore through all my savings a long time ago and I was worried about the future. I’m getting old and I don’t know how much longer I can work. I was worried my daughter would die and my grandson would be left with nothing.”
“Harold, you could have asked me for money at any time. I would have given you a raise.”
“You’re hardly approachable in that manner, Your Majesty, with all due respect.”
I scoffed, turning away and thinking about all he’d said. He’d lured my daughter away. Put her in danger.
All for money.
It was such a simple solution and he’d felt unsafe to talk to me about it. I thought back over the past years and realized he was right. I’d barely talked to anyone. And if someone did try to talk to me about their own problems, I would have bit their head off.
I turned back to them, looking at them both.
Willa was okay.
She was back home, safe and sound, waiting for me.
“Your Majesty, I am so very, very sorry,” Harold said. He was trembling in fear, his entire body shaking.
I walked over to the door and flung it open.
“Sullivan!” I shouted. The man appeared in an instant in front of me.
“Sir?”
“Take them away!” I shouted.
“Down to Sandy, Sir?”
I looked at him in disbelief.
Did everyone really think I was a murderous monster?
I’d never once fed a human to that lion.
“No, Sullivan,” I sighed. “Take them home.”
I left them there and went to find my daughter.
Chapter 49
WILLA
Eva wouldn’t stop hugging me.
Clara wouldn’t stop smiling.
The Gods crowded around, unwilling to stray too far away until they’d handed me off to my father. I wanted to enjoy being back home, but I knew I couldn’t do that until I’d faced him.
When he appeared at the door to my bedroom, I stood up.
“Father,” I nodded.
Sternly, he looked me up and down without saying a word.
“Please leave me alone with my daughter,” he finally demanded. The room cleared out in seconds, leaving us standing in front of each other.
My entire body trembled in fear as he closed the distance between us. I knew I would have to explain myself. But I remembered that I’d decided to stand up to him, I remembered what Slade had said, how I deserved to live a full, happy life, and I remembered everything I’d gone through out there. I remembered what it felt like to be out of the confines of these palace grounds and be around people, to go to a restaurant and go shopping and just live.
I wanted that.
But I also wanted my family.
It didn’t seem fair that I had to choose between the two.
“Willa —.”
“—I know, Father. I’m sorry, it’s just that I—.”
“Stop.”
“Yes, I know I’m in trouble, but I —.”
“—Willa,” he interrupted again. “I love you.”
I stopped, stunned at his words. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d said such a thing to me and tears welled up in my eyes. He gathered me in his arms and held me cl
ose to his chest, his arms tight around me.
“I was so worried about you, darling. I owe you a huge apology. I never should have kept you and your sister locked away all these years. It was so wrong of me. I promise things will be different from now on. I’ll be a different man. A real father. You’ll see.”
His voice cracked and I raised my head. To my surprise, tears were running down his face.
“You and Eva are all I have left, Willa. I could never live without you.”
“Oh, Father!” I cried, throwing my arms around him. He kissed my cheek, holding me tightly.
“Darling, from now on, I will do whatever it takes to make you two happy. Even if you don’t want to be princesses any longer.”
“Of course, we do, Father!” I whispered, searching his eyes. “It’s in our blood.”
Chapter 50
CLARA
After leaving Willa and Joe alone, Eva went back to her room and Stryker and I strolled out into the garden. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. I was so relieved Willa was home and safe.
“You’re so happy,” Stryker said, grabbing my hand and bringing it to his lips. He brushed a kiss across the back of my palm, his touch reassuring and warm.
“I really am,” I said. “I’m so glad you all came to help.”
“So am I,” he said, his voice low and thoughtful.
Moonlight washed over his face, illuminating his square jaw and sparkling blue eyes. He bent his head, kissing me gently.
“So, what happens now?” he asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I said. “Somehow, though, I don’t think anything is ever going to be the same again.”
“Sometimes that’s a good thing,” he said, pulling me in close and kissing me again.
“Sometimes it is,” I agreed, between kisses.
“What’s going to happen with you?” I asked, dreading the answer. I knew he was going to go home. I knew this wasn’t going to last forever. What I didn’t realize was just how hard it was going to be to say goodbye to him. It was the last thing I wanted to do. I’d been ecstatic when the girls chose a school close to him.
Getting to know him was going to be amazing. The things I already knew about him were so enticing, I would have probably given up my job if I needed to. Luckily, somehow everything was working out, even if it was all going to be so very different.
“I don’t know, either,” he said, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. “But somehow, I don’t think I’m ever going to be the same.”
We laughed and he kissed me again and again, the moon and Poppy the only witnesses to our madness.
Epilogue
The fire sputtered and sparked under the moonlight. The owl that had followed Willa out of the woods stood guard, perched on a branch high in a nearby tree, he watched with his big yellow eyes as the bonfire roared up towards the sky.
The castle loomed in the background, lit up like it hadn’t been in centuries.
Before the Gods left to go home, Joe had decided to throw a grand party, inviting the public and opening the gates of the castle for the first time in his life.
He’d done just as he said he would — he put away all his misery and over-protectiveness and decided to be a proper father to his girls, putting down the bottle for good and giving them all the attention they could handle.
He’d taken the time to listen to their desires and although it was the hardest thing he’d ever have to do, he’d agreed to allow them to go study in the States for a year. They’d attend a prestigious and proper private school, of course, but for the first time in their lives, they’d be allowed to live a somewhat normal life.
As normal as could be for the heirs to the throne.
He’d forced Harold into retirement, giving him a hefty severance, hefty enough that he would never have to worry again. And he’d given everyone else on his staff huge raises, along with installing an open door policy for them. He’d made it clear that if any of them ever had any kind of problem, large or small, they should come to him first. He’d decided to go easy on Dragon, sentencing him to spending his weekends cleaning the park, and insisting he never come near Willa ever again.
The energy in the castle had turned jovial and celebratory now that Willa was back and the party was just what they all needed.
There was just one last bit of business to attend to.
Joe had a surprise.
He nodded to Sullivan and the curtains parted. A hush fell over the excited crowd and all eyes fell on him. On easels on the stage stood four marble plaques — each with one of the Gods' names on them.
He walked up to a microphone in the middle of the stage, drinking in all the people who’d shown up, their eyes shining up at him with love and adoration.
He knew he didn’t deserve it. Not yet.
He’d been selfish and self-centered. Blinded by his own misery. Blind to all the love and beauty and blessings that had been bestowed upon him and his girls.
He’d spent a lifetime hating the blood that coursed through his veins, considering it a curse that had been laid upon him.
But he had every intention of changing that.
He was going to be the best father, the best king, the best employer he could possibly be until the day he died and left his kingdom to his children.
His eyes landed on Willa and Eva, glued faithfully to each other’s side once again, the way it should be. His heart swelled with love for them.
He knew in his heart that things may have gone a different way entirely if it weren’t for the arrival of the Gods.
Those four men had earned his respect ten-fold. His gaze fell on them, huddled together in a corner, with Diana and Clara close by. He’d seen the way Clara and Stryker looked at each other. He’d even caught them kissing in a dark corner yesterday. He was pleased to see Clara so happy and when she agreed to accompany the girls back to the states for their last year of school, he was thrilled. She’d been an extremely trustworthy friend to them and he knew they still needed her.
The girls had chosen a school in Oregon, and it was obvious Clara and Stryker, both, we’re excited to be so close to each other.
He’d even agreed to give Diana her interview and she couldn’t have been more thrilled with the news. He was coming to Oregon himself next month to deliver the girls himself and do the interview at Diana’s offices.
He stood on the stage, in awe of how wonderful it felt to make others happy. He’d been so lost in misery, he couldn’t see a way out. He was so thrilled to have finally seen the light.
Looking up at the stars, he knew it was Poppy who’d made all this possible.
“My friends,” he shouted into the microphone, “thank you for coming. I’ll allow you to get back to the party shortly, but there’s something I need to do first. I’d like to call a group of wonderful men up to the stage. Riot, Slade, Stryker and Wreck, will you please come up here?”
The men looked confused for a moment, then ascended the stairs to join him on the stage. He nodded at them, then continued speaking into the microphone.
“Gentlemen, I could never truly repay you for what you’ve done for me. So, in return, I’d like to recognize your bravery and valor by bestowing upon you one of our country's highest honors — a Knighthood.”
“Bitchin!” Slade shouted, his face full of joy. The others looked shocked, but they were all smiling.
Joe smiled back at them, then picked up his sword and gestured for them to kneel in front of him. One by one, he stood in front of them, touching each of their shoulders with the edge of his sword, blessing them solemnly and offering his deepest gratitude.
“I bestow upon each of you the honorary title of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the Lilivanian Empire. You are each given the title of ‘Sir’.”
“This is so fucking rad!” Slade gushed, grinning ear to ear, and whispering over to the others. “Call me ‘Sir’, bitches!”
“This may just make his ego explode,�
� Riot said.
They all laughed and the crowd erupted in applause as they stood up and King Joseph presented the new Knights to the people of his country.
The Gods may not have shared his blood, but they were his new family. Now that he had a new outlook on life, he knew that was all that mattered.
Eva and Willa rushed up on stage, followed by Clara and Diana and the group of them celebrated together, their smiles shining as bright as the moon watching above.
THE END
About the Author
Honey Palomino lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two hilarious dogs.
She’s best known for her Gods of Chaos Motorcycle Club Series, which follows a group of golden-hearted bikers on their journey to help people get out of troubling situations when they can’t turn to traditional resources for help.
Most days, she can be found sitting under the towering pines in her backyard and dreaming of twisty new plots to entice her readers with.
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BLOOD PRINCESS: GODS OF CHAOS MC (BOOK 17) Page 15
