“No way,” Constance said, shaking her head vehemently. “We are not on the same side.”
“Aren’t we?” Duke Mackenzie asked. “Victoria, I’ve saved your life on several occasions.”
Once,” I said. “I wouldn’t call holding Ramsey back in the limo saving my life. I held the panic device. I had the upper hand there.”
“You threatened all of us, and if he would have sunk his claws into you, there would have been no letting go. You would have been mauled beyond recognition before the first guard arrived.”
“Stop it! Just stop it!” Lady Ramsey cried. “That is enough.”
“What, you can accept it just as long as you don’t have to hear about it?” Constance asked.
Lady Ramsey didn’t reply.
“My men will be arriving shortly, all taken from the palace,” Prince Byron said. “Your services will not be needed.”
“I hope they have a little more skill than you,” Duke Mackenzie said with a sneer.
“Would you like to find out?” Gabriel asked, still at a good vantage point from the stairs.
The kids were now on the stairs as well, hiding behind Gabriel.
“Haven’t we all seen enough violence and death lately?” Lady Ramsey said, sounding exasperated. “This is my house, and a majority of you are guests here, including Duke Mackenzie. So if you want to leave, then there’s the door.”
This whole conversation was going so terribly. I didn’t want to see Duke Mackenzie any more than the rest of them, but he did have value the others couldn’t see.
“Can’t you see when you’re not wanted, Father?” Constance scoffed. “You can’t always be in the center of everything.”
“But I can if I retain leverage or useful information,” Duke Mackenzie answered.
“Then too bad you turned over Piper,” Prince Byron said.
“She was goodwill, not leverage,” Duke Mackenzie clarified.
I thought back to what Kale had said in the car on the way over here. “His leverage is Princess Amelia,” I said soberly.
Duke Mackenzie’s smile grew bright. “Victoria always brings the surprises. How did you hear about that?”
“I told her,” Kale said, walking up from the roundabout. “My mother mentioned it before she died.” He stalked through the door, Ariel trailing timidly behind. As he walked past, he threw up an elbow, which connected squarely with Duke Mackenzie’s nose with a sickening crack. “That’s just for being an asshole.”
Duke Mackenzie’s hands flew up to his face, blood quickly dripping through his fingers. He staggered backwards, but didn’t fall. A blood-shot rage filled his eyes, but he didn’t lunge for Kale, though Kale steadily stepped out of arm’s reach.
I pulled Ariel behind me. Kale stood by the stairs and Gabriel had his gun up again.
“Okay,” Duke Mackenzie said, his voice nasally and muffled. “That was your one free shot. I hope it felt good.”
“It felt amazing,” Kale said with a huge smug grin on his face.
With one hand, Duke Mackenzie squeezed his nose and yanked it to the side. It cracked again, which made my stomach churn.
“Is he really gone?” Duke Mackenzie asked, wiping some of the blood from his nose, which continued to flow over his lips and down his chin.
“The whole village is gone,” Kale said.
“I’m sorry. Your father was a great man.”
“I used to think so, too.”
“Just remember, you don’t have him to hide behind any longer.”
“That goes for you too,” Kale retorted.
Duke Mackenzie gave out a deep laugh, a blood bubble bursting from one nostril. “You’ve always amused me, kid.”
Lady Ramsey pushed past me, now holding a navy-blue towel, which she handed to the Duke. She glanced over at Kale and shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Duchess Ramsey,” Kale said, but he was still beaming. “I made the mess; I’ll clean it up.”
Duke Mackenzie held the towel to his still gushing nose and Lady Ramsey led him by the arm down the hall.
“You don’t get to kill him,” Constance said to Kale, stabbing a finger into his chest. “I do.”
“We can flip for it,” Kale said, nonchalantly.
“It’s not up for discussion.”
“No one’s killing him until we get back Princess Amelia,” I said.
“Victoria, don’t be such a killjoy,” Constance said.
29
Byron
“Is your arm okay?” Victoria asked once we were alone in some extra bedroom, one I think she set aside for me.
It wasn’t exactly something I wanted to talk about. “Yeah; it’s fine.” I didn’t want to tell her my shoulder was a little tweaked, especially not after Kale’s explosive entrance.
“We’ll have to go into town for some clothes, because we don’t have a lot of choices here. I don’t think you’d really want to wear anything of my father’s.”
“I’d rather burn his clothes,” I said. “Actually, we should. Take them outside and burn them all.”
“I’ll put it on my list of things to do. We’ll need to get groceries in town too. The food we have left won’t last long, not with all these new mouths to feed.” Victoria wandered around the room like she was examining it. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever been in this bedroom,” she said.
“I imagine you didn’t explore much as a kid.” I stopped her from behind and wrapped my arms around her, sliding my hands under her shirt to rest on her bare stomach.
At first she tried to move away and continue pacing, but then she settled into me. It just felt good to hold her. We’d had so little time together, and none since she got back to the palace. This was one of our first moments alone without some impending emergency, since… I couldn’t even remember.
“We both need to get some sleep, but I don’t want you to leave,” I said. “I just want you here with me.”
“I keep thinking about Princess Amelia. And Bethany as Princess Amelia. And the Queen lying in her bed…”
“Victoria, come back,” I said. “Be here. You need to rest or you’ll drive yourself crazy. And resting isn’t picturing all those things before falling asleep. Let them go—just for a little while.”
“I know,” she said and tried to suppress a yawn.
“I saw that,” I teased and kissed the side of her neck.
“Please don’t,” she said, squirming out of my arms.
“Okay; I’m sorry.”
She turned and gazed up at me with sorrowful eyes. “There’s just so much going through my head, and I’m trying to block it out. I truly am. And now I’m back here—you’re here—it stirs up a lot of—of conflicted emotions.”
“About me?” I thought I had won her back, but now I wasn’t so sure.
“Not about you specifically, but about everything,” Victoria said and nuzzled herself back into my arms, burying her face in my chest. “We’ve invited another monster into our house—into our lives, and we need him. It’s not fair. It makes me feel terrible. And I feel terrible for Constance.”
“He won’t hurt anyone here,” I promised, if I could really do such a thing. “And we won’t need him forever—hopefully, we won’t need him long. When we get the Princess back, we’ll let Constance have at him.”
“That will be a sight,” she laughed.
I laughed in agreement. With all the negative emotions swirling around in her head, the laughter momentarily eased her anxiety.
“Let’s get some sleep now,” I said, pulling her over to the bed. I kicked off my boots and bounced down onto the plush mattress, then scooted over and patted the empty space beside me.
She balanced on a foot at a time as she removed her shoes, then crawled onto the bed beside me. When she lay down and repositioned herself, we fitted together perfectly. I smoothed her hair down and nuzzled my face to the back of her neck, wrapping an arm around her waist. She rested her arm over mine and lightly caressed the ba
ck of my hand.
“This feels so normal,” she said.
I wished I could see her face, but didn’t want to move. “Normal is good,” I replied.
“We’ve never really had the chance to be normal.”
“Then let’s relish it now.”
She let out a long breath like she’d seemingly been holding it in—well, holding everything in. Maybe she was finally allowing herself a moment to relax. I wanted to believe that was true because there were still hard times ahead. I wanted her to put her trust in me, to lean on me and not insist on doing everything herself, but she was stubborn that way. I knew she hadn’t been able to count on anyone in the past, so that kind of reliance was difficult for her. But I hoped she’d see me as that new constant—that pillar in her life she could always rely on. But the truth was, I needed her as much as she needed me.
It was only a few hours later when I awoke. Victoria was still fast asleep and I didn’t want to disturb her. I quietly slipped out of bed, tiptoed out of the room with my boots in hand, and eased the door closed.
As I walked down the hallway, I heard the squeals of young voices behind one of the other closed doors. I stopped and listened for a moment, but carried on when I heard another door opening. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Johanna emerging from a room several doors away.
“Did you just get up too?” she asked in a soft voice.
“It’s always hard to sleep in a new place,” I said.
“That’s how I felt about the palace,” she said as we walked together down the stairs. “I’d always wanted to visit there, spend time there—the fantasy of living there. But after seeing the other side, it kinda killed the illusion for me.”
“The staff there don’t have such a bad life,” I said. “They work hard, but they’re well taken care of. I know you used to have staff here as well.”
“Yeah; and I would never want to be in their shoes again.”
“It should make you thankful for your position. Did you find that to be true?”
“I know I was not always the nicest to our servants. I don’t think I could have admitted that before,” Johanna said, giving a small, guilty smile.
“Well, that certainly is a start,” I said, squeezing her shoulder and continuing in a different direction from her.
I passed through the dining room and heard work going on in the kitchen, so I peeked in. Kimera was cleaning some dishes while pots steamed away on the stove.
“Kimera, you don’t have to do all this,” I said. “You don’t work here.”
She looked up from her work, startled by my sudden appearance. “You scared me. Sorry, I didn’t hear you, Your Highness.” She turned off the faucet. “I want to do something to help. It’s no trouble. In fact, it’s better than sitting idle. It’s so much quieter here than at the palace. I like it.”
“Okay; if you insist. Can I help you with anything?” I asked.
Kimera shook her head and turned the water back on. “If you’re hungry, some pasta and vegetables will be ready in a few minutes. I had to scrounge; there isn’t much of a selection.”
“Victoria mentioned something about going into town for groceries. I’ll ask her about it when she wakes.” I left Kimera to her self-imposed work and wandered about the first floor.
As I passed some floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the back lawns and garden, I noticed a few of my men outside, so I searched for the nearest door.
Lady Ramsey was talking with Grant and a few of my other soldiers.
“Is everyone settling in okay?” I asked, walking up to the group.
“The Duchess is showing us around,” Grant said. “We need to learn the grounds quickly to minimize casualties in case of an attack.”
“I appreciate your proactivity.”
“I’ve shown them the servant quarters,” Lady Ramsey said. “Since it’s now empty, there is plenty of room for all of your soldiers.”
“Good to hear. Grant, later, please come and find me. I’d like to talk with you more about the losses suffered in leaving the palace.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Lady Ramsey, for taking the time to show them around,” I said. “They will show you every courtesy they show me.”
“Hopefully, we will have enough this time,” she said, sounding sad and reminiscent.
I had a feeling she was referring to the slaughter at the Mackenzie estate. I didn’t know how much security Mackenzie had, but doubted it was anything near to what I’d brought. But I didn’t want to be lured by overconfidence.
I let them finish their tour and went back inside. Johanna and a few of the kids—or all of them since I didn’t know how many were there—were seated at the dining room table while Kimera served them. Kimera seemed happy to do it, right at home in her familiar role, but the sight still made me cringe.
“Are you hungry, Prince Byron?” Kimera asked. “I can set out a plate for you.”
Even though I was, I didn’t want to reinforce her role by having her serve me, and something chilled me to sit around the table with those four kids. I was apprehensive about Johanna as well. “No, thank you,” I said. “I’m not hungry at the moment.”
“Will you join us anyway?” Johanna asked sweetly—a little too sweetly.
“I need to check on Victoria,” I lied, smiled, and kept walking.
As I floated through the rooms, I found myself at the threshold of Ramsey’s wood-paneled den. The high-backed chair by the hearth was taken. Mackenzie stared at the blackened logs.
“Did you see her?” he asked, almost too low for me to hear from the doorway.
“Can I assume you’re referring to the Queen?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“No; I didn’t see her. But yes, she’s dead.”
30
Byron
Mackenzie looked like a shell of a man sitting in that armchair, staring at a dead hearth. I could almost see Ramsey sitting there, scolding anyone who dared disturb him. The room was dark, the only light coming from the hallway. No windows adorned these walls, only trophies.
“Even after everything I did to her in the end, I knew she hadn’t sent that group to my house,” Mackenzie said, his voice sounding tinny from his broken nose. He now also had a taped bandage across the bridge of it. “Sure, she’d exact her little revenge—punish me in some way—but nothing like what happened. I was there when it happened, when she thought she’d killed the King. Initially, I thought he was dead too. I was a young soldier in the palace guard, and there I was, given the most important choice of my life.
“I was willing to dispose of his body quietly, like she’d asked. But when I discovered he truly was still alive, I chose him instead. He’d always given me good marks to my superiors. The Queen was always above me; she never really noticed me. But after that day, I made sure she noticed me.”
I looked back to see if anyone was around. No one seemed to be within earshot. I stepped further into the room. “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I have no one left to tell,” Mackenzie said, his eyes still glued to the dark hearth.
As I drew closer, I saw a nearly empty liquor glass dangling in his far hand.
“She wanted to dispose of me as well—actually both of us who’d helped transport the King’s body. Thomas, his name was.” Mackenzie paused like he was trying to remember more about the man than just his name. “He died from his gunshot wound shortly after the incident. Infection. If he’d gone to a proper hospital, he would have lived. But at least he got the King to my friend’s house for safekeeping while he recovered. I killed all the guards who’d been sent to kill us and went back to the Queen and told her what I’d done. Her secret was safe with me and I’d kill anyone who posed a threat to her. She needed to know she could count on me for the jobs she didn’t trust to anyone else. Suffice to say, she was shocked, but impressed—and she sure noticed me going forward.”
“That’s why she trusted you so much,” I
said.
“That was the start of it,” Mackenzie said, taking a final swig from his glass. “I proved myself numerous times over the years. How do you think I got from a palace soldier to the Duke of the 23rd Ward? Violet Davis’s—previously Violet Ramsey—husband died and she was looking for a suitor. The Queen introduced us and put in an extra good word for me. I obviously didn’t know about Violet’s sadistic fetishes at the time—seemed to be a Ramsey family trait—but let’s just say, I could handle her. We complimented each other well.”
“And here I always thought you had a little something on the side with the Queen.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t, though that was her doing. She needed some, well male companionship from time to time with the King’s departure, and she chose me to fill that void. I wasn’t going to turn her down.”
“So why didn’t she marry you? You were practically together anyway.”
“She trusted me with nearly everything… but not her daughter. For some reason, only those Goddamn doctors were good enough for her. Queen Dorothea didn’t want a new King. She didn’t want to be overruled.” He pushed up from the armchair. “I need another. How about it, Prince Byron? Have a drink with me. I never was one for drinking alone. That was more Ramsey’s style.”
I hesitated, but finally agreed, thinking of where else this conversation could go, or where I might want to steer it.
Mackenzie handed me a newly-filled glass and sipped loudly from his. “I know you didn’t agree with many of his tastes, but you can’t deny Ramsey’s taste in scotch.”
Royal Threat Page 16
