Royally Ever After (Royals of Valleria #7)

by Marianne Knightly

  “We’re here to help, however we can,” Cat said.

  “Thanks, Kitty Cat,” he said, using Cat’s nickname. “I’ll let you know. I’m just heading back for the Council meeting now, and I’ll keep everyone updated. Could I have a moment alone with Rebecca?”

  Cat nodded with a knowing smile and they all left.

  Alex pulled her into his arms. “You know I’ll take care of this nonsense with the Council, don’t you?”

  “I do. I’m still worried, though. I feel like everything’s conspiring against us getting married. Aren’t you worried?”

  “Not about the Council, or about the wedding. I know we’ll get married. I’m going to do my damnedest to make sure that happens. Even if I have to fire every fucker on the Council to do it.”

  “Thank you for working so hard for our wedding. I love you.”

  “I love you, darling.” He kissed her, and the light touch of lips was a balm to her anxious nerves. “Now, what did my grandmother really say to you?”

  She looked away. “It’s not important.”

  He tilted her face back to his. “It is.”

  “It isn’t.”

  “Rebecca.”

  She sighed. “What she said may not be as important as what I said back. I threatened to ban her and Henrietta from the palace, and from you. Do you think I went too far?”

  “No, and Mama won’t, either. None of us are under any illusions about them. It’s difficult when you have family – particularly in your immediate family – who don’t respect you, and continually undermine your confidence. I don’t want that life for you, or for our children. If that means we don’t see her, that’s fine with me.”

  Rebecca toyed with his tie. “But she’s your grandmother.”

  “Darling, I might have loved her because she was family, but that doesn’t mean I like her all that much, or at all. Her words are hurtful and they aren’t healthy. We need to distance ourselves from that. I don’t want to be around that, and I sure as fuck don’t want you around that. So, we let her go. If she changes, we can reevaluate, but I’m not expecting that to happen.”

  Rebecca lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed Alex. “Thank you for protecting me.”

  “You protected yourself quite well, it seems, though I’m happy to provide backup. You’ll make an excellent queen, as I’ve mentioned before. Though, if you had any doubts about that, you shouldn’t anymore.”

  She gave him a broad, breathtaking smile. “Do you need to head back?”

  Alex nodded. “Time for another fucking Council meeting.”

  “Here’s a kiss for good luck.”

  She pressed her lips against his, and he deepened the kiss, pulling her tight against him.

  “Holy hell,” he said after he pulled back. “Are you wearing anything under that robe?”

  “Not really.”

  “Fuck. You expect me to go to a Council meeting, knowing you’re essentially naked right now?”

  She gave him a wicked smile and fingered the lapels of her robe. “Shall I drop the robe? Would you like to see your fiancée one last time, before she becomes your wife?

  “Fuck, yes, I do. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to appreciate it.”

  She giggled. “Another time, then.”

  He kissed the giggle from her lips. “Yes, darling. Another time.”

  He took a deep breath before they walked back into the main sitting room of the suite.

  “Where did everyone go?” Alex asked, as the room was now empty.

  “Probably to their own rooms or back to the palace. We were pretty much done with spa day. I guess they thought when you needed a few moments alone with me, that we’d probably prefer privacy.”

  “Are anyone’s rooms close by?”

  She leaned up to him again. “No, they’re on the other side of the hotel. So, we could make as much noise as we wanted.”

  He growled. “Don’t give me ideas.”

  “I love giving you ideas.”

  “Well, save them for tomorrow night. Though, I’ll warn you, I have plenty of ideas of my own for our wedding night.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  “Bye, darling.”

  After another kiss, Alex went towards the door, Rebecca staying behind to watch. He paused again in the doorway.

  That’s when it happened.

  An explosion.

  Rebecca felt herself lifted off the ground in slow motion, her body propelled backward.

  Her head cracked against a wall.

  Spots of debris flew past her vision.

  She slid down towards the floor.

  She thought she heard her name in a booming echo.

  Then there was nothing.

  Alex sat beside Rebecca’s hospital bed, his leg jiggling nervously.

  She hadn’t woken up.

  Why wouldn’t she wake up?

  The doctor had said she was fine. Just a bump, a few bruises. Nothing serious.

  A fucking explosion.

  The day before their wedding.

  Holy hell.

  Marcello knocked softly, then came in. “She still out?”

  Alex nodded. “Any news? Was Gerald behind this?”

  “We don’t know yet. Edward’s bringing Zinnia to the hospital, though.”

  “The fuck you say. I don’t want her anywhere near us.”

  Marcello told Alex what had happened to Zinnia at the prison. “When Eddie told me, I couldn’t believe it.”

  “That could have been an act for our benefit, to throw us off Zinnia’s scent.”

  “I don’t think so. Eddie told me some other things, too, which we’re trying to corroborate now.”

  “What things?”

  “I’ll you and our parents together. It’ll be easier that way.”

  “Easier for who?”

  “Easier for me.”

  After a pause, Alex nodded. “It’s just so hard to believe that Gerald, or another anti-monarchist group, isn’t behind this. How the fuck did the people who did this get past our security in the hotel?”

  “From what we can tell, it was an inside job. A butler on another floor planted the bomb in the piano in Rebecca’s room. We know that, because local police just found his body.”

  “Murder?”

  “Suicide, by the looks of it. We won’t get any answers from him, but we’re digging into his files and past now.”

  “Jesus.”

  “I do have a bit of good news.”

  “I’ll take it.”

  “The explosion’s the top spot on the news right now. The entire country is rallying behind Rebecca, and they’re very suddenly appalled at anyone who speaks out against her.”

  “The Council?”

  He nodded. “And they’re ready to vilify whoever was behind the attack. Their future queen almost getting killed the day before her wedding is apparently unacceptable to Vallerians. They’ve even started a vigil outside the hospital.”

  That was good news; he could turn that to his favor at the Council meeting.

  He glanced at his watch. The Council meeting should have started an hour ago. He’d had it delayed, but his time to resolve the issues before the wedding was running out.

  Alex dragged both of his hands through his hair. “We’re supposed to get married tomorrow.”

  “You will get married. She’ll wake up soon, and you’ll get the Council to see sense.”

  “Holy hell. Holy fucking hell.”

  Marcello put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “She’s fine. No lasting injuries. The damage to the hotel was localized, and no one was hurt. They’ll need to redo that suite, but otherwise everything’s fine.”

  “I love her.”

  “I know, Alex.”

  “What do I do without her?”

  “You won’t find out,” a weak voice came from the bed.

  Alex shot up and went to her side. “Rebecca? Oh God. Oh my God.” He pressed a series of kisses to her face, ending with a soft one t
o her lips.

  “I’ll get the doctor,” Marcello said and left.

  “You scared me. Holy hell, but you scared me.”

  She sat up, wincing as she did. “I’m all right. At least I think I am.”

  “You are.” He gave her a rundown of what the doctor and Marcello had said. “He’ll just want to examine you to be sure.”

  They were interrupted by the doctor, who again confirmed Rebecca was okay. “You’ve got a bump on your head, but you should be fine. Take some ibuprofen, and get some rest tonight, if you can. If you have any additional symptoms, give me a call, especially if you start to feel dizzy or nauseous. We don’t want you getting sick on your way down the aisle.”

  “That’s for sure,” Rebecca agreed, and the doctor left. “I know we don’t get a honeymoon, but I’ll be glad for some peace and quiet all the same once the wedding’s over. Ugh.” She collapsed back on the bed.

  Alex felt as though he were being torn in two different directions. “Darling, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to get to the Council meeting. I’d much rather stay here with you.”

  “I know.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “I understand, Alex.”

  “I do have good news. The doctor said we could bring Papa home tonight.”

  “That’s wonderful!”

  Alex nodded. “It is, but he still won’t be strong enough to go to the wedding.”

  Rebecca looked away for a minute, then turned back with a smile. “I think I might have a solution.”

  It was nearing evening, and all Alex wanted to do was make sure Rebecca was fine and bring his father home from the hospital. However, he was still trapped in the Council meeting.

  Nate, who seemed just as exhausted as he, had been at his side the entire meeting. He was excellent at political maneuvering; a compliment he wouldn’t have liked, but would accept just the same. When it came time for Alex to fully assume the throne, he’d considered having Nate as his second-in-command alongside Rebecca.

  Now, he was sure of it.

  If Cat had wanted the job, he would have provided it to her. But now, with a life she was building with her Edward, in a small town away from the palace and a burgeoning career in fashion, he knew she’d happily step aside.

  Alex, however, did not have that option.

  He’d been young when he’d finally accepted what his future would be. A future that was saved from his siblings by a fate of birth. He could not change his fate, had not really wanted to, truth be told, until now.

  Not until a Council full of several prattling idiots tried to keep him from marrying the woman he loved.

  “That is an inappropriate clause. I will not approve it in this bill,” the Minister of Education said.

  “We need to pass it at some point,” the Minister of Energy and Transportation said. “We might as well include it here and be done with it.”

  “But it’s a clause to tear down a school to build a road! What has that to do with the wedding of an heir? Besides, I would never approve such a thing anyhow.”

  “We often tack on clauses to new laws. Everyone knows that.”

  “Well, we shouldn’t! How dare you destroy a school beloved by the community?”

  “The building is in such a terrible condition, that it should probably be condemned.”

  “If it is in bad shape, it’s because we have not the funding to modernize it. We need to put our schools first! Education will lead our country towards prosperity.”

  Alex exchanged an exasperated glance with Nate. This had been happening through the entire meeting. One minister proposed an erroneous clause, another argued, and down the rabbit hole they went, far fucking away from the discussion about his wedding.

  “Enough,” Alex boomed, for not the first time, from the dais. “You will keep your discussions to the matter at hand, or I’ll fire all of you.”

  “Threats do not become you, Your Majesty,” one minister said.

  “That was a promise, not a threat, and it’s the same one the people have asked me to make. Need I remind you – again – that your incompetence is weighing heavily on the people. Particularly since their future queen was admitted to the hospital just hours ago. They’ve asked I break the secrecy veil for Council meetings and have the minutes of this one posted for all to see. They want to know why the Council cannot do its job.” The room broke into an outcry of anger.

  “However,” he said, and paused long enough for everyone to quiet. “I will not do it unless you cannot stop squabbling about matters that are not currently at hand. You serve at the pleasure of the king – which is me – and the will of the people. Neither of those things are currently in your favor.”

  Alex glanced at his watch, then stood. Once more a king rising above them all.

  This time, however, he’d be a king who wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  “You have exactly five minutes to conclude these discussions. If you cannot agree on a law by that time, then the will of the people will be done.”

  “Your Majesty–”

  “Four minutes and fifty-two seconds,” Alex replied, and the tension in the room rose threefold.

  After a few moments of silence, a cacophony of voices broke out and people scrambled over to each other to compare versions of the law.

  “That got them moving,” Nate muttered.

  “Third threat’s the charm,” Alex replied as he sat down again. “I went too easy on them the first two times. Clearly, threatening to fire them is not enough of an incentive.”

  “But exposing their idiocy is. Good to note for the future.”

  “Hmmm. I have begun wondering more and more though, about shifting the Council to elected positions.”

  Nate blinked. “Really? What does Papa have to say?”

  “That we should keep the Council as is.”

  “What would be the benefit of shifting it to elected positions? Marcello and I would probably be out of a job, if that happened.”

  “I don’t think so. I think the both of you would easily win, but we could create exemptions for family members willing to serve on the Council. Both of you, and myself and Papa for that matter, take a modest salary–”

  “To say the least,” Nate murmured.

  “–and that would work in your favor. You’d be saving Valleria money. I bet if the public realized how much some of the Council members were paid, they’d have something to say about it.”

  “That might be the better way to go, Alex.”

  Alex sat back and considered his brother. “Release their salary information?”

  “Either officially, or leak it unofficially. After what they’re pulling now, the public will force them to donate at least part of their salaries back to Valleria, or to a charity. It could be a sobering experience for the other ministers on the Council.”

  “Perhaps. I’ll think about it.”

  With just seconds to spare, one of the ministers ran up to the dais with a hastily printed document. Alex gave it a cursory glance, then handed it over to Tavin and Corrado for review and comparison to the earlier versions before voting.

  Just a little bit longer, and this would finally be done.

  Alex needed to see his father. He had sent Nate home to spread the word about the Council meeting to everyone else, but Alex wanted to tell their father himself. He’d already let Rebecca know.

  The new law had been passed, voiding the previous two Marriage of Royal Heirs Acts.

  He was free to marry his love, and any future heirs would never have to go through this.

  No more Royal Marriage Notification Years.

  No more needing official approval from the Royal Council before a couple could be wed.

  No more could the Council control the love lives of Valleria’s heirs.

  No more.

  Alex had made some concessions, but he had taken more from the Council than he’d given. In this task, he had been unashamedly ruthless.

  Now, sitting on the bed facing his father, their
mother napping on a bed nearby, they spoke in hushed tones.

  “So, it’s over and done,” Alex said. “We’ll be married without further hindrances, and you don’t need to be in attendance.”

  “I’ve wondered about that. Should I come? I’d have to be in a wheelchair, is the only thing.”

  Alex knew the public wanted to see him, but would they ever forget the vision of their stalwart leader looking weak? A wheelchair never made a person weak, but their ignorant enemies would not see it that way. “I’ll stand behind whatever decision you make, Papa.”

  “Meaning, you don’t think it’s a good idea. I understand.”

  “Papa–”

  “I’m sorry, Alexander.”

  Alex blinked. “Sorry? Whatever for?”

  “For my behavior since my heart attack, for interfering while you assumed the mantle of responsibility. You’ll be a fine leader. You are a fine leader. I shouldn’t have interfered. It’s difficult for me to lie here and do nothing. My mind and body are so used to being engaged all day, every day. Now, I can barely walk. I feel so weak.”

  Alex took his father’s hand, remembering when it was so large it completely engulfed his. Now, Alex’s hand engulfed his father’s. “Papa, it’s fine. You’ll get strong again, and you don’t need to apologize for anything.”

  “No, it’s not fine. Your future wife did a fine job reminding me of that.”

  Alex blinked. “Rebecca said something to you?”

  “Nothing untoward, I assure you. During one of her many visits, she merely reminded me how I felt when I was in your position. When my own father had been sick in the hospital, and I’d taken over his duties.” Gabriel shook his head. “It was so long ago. You children never got to meet him, but he was an excellent man. It was difficult to lose him, particularly so soon after your mother and I married. Rebecca helped me realize that history was, in a way, repeating itself.”

  “It’s not the same. You’ll recover, where your father did not.”

  “Yes, I know. I’ll live to see my grandchildren, to play with them and enjoy them. My father, unfortunately, never got the chance.” Gabriel stared off into the distance.