by Nora Cobb
If it was, then I could understand why he had done it. “Let’s poke around,” I said, turning away from her. “You’re looking for some papers.”
“Papers?” she asked.
“Yeah.” That was all I could offer her. There was something down here, I just knew it.
It didn’t take us long. “I found something,” Anna said, reaching into one of the empty catacombs. I sauntered over and grinned as I saw the name across the top of the envelope.
Alexei Kameno.
“My father,” she breathed, looking up at me. “This is from my father.”
I tried not to get suckered in by that look on her face, swallowing hard. “Well are you just gonna fucking stare at it or open it?”
She frowned, shining the flashlight on the envelope. “Of course I am going to open it.”
The tone of her voice told me that I had pissed her off with my own tone, which was what I would like to keep it like between us. She was getting to me and I fucking hated it. “Over there,” I offered, pointing at the flat slab in the corner, almost like a long shelf. “I’ll hold the light.”
Anna pushed the flashlight into my chest before walking over and forcing me to follow behind her. I watched as she slid the packet of papers from the envelope and smoothed them on the slab, the papers looking fairly new compared to everything else in sight. “It’s a will,” she breathed.
Just as my father had thought. A fucking will.
I forced the flashlight to remain steady as she skimmed the first page, then the second before gasping. I watched as she ran her finger over the page, seeing it tremble slightly. “I’m in here.”
Peering over her shoulder, I saw that there was a paragraph added under beneficiary. The child of I. Komita is entitled to the following: to be recognized as the legitimate child of Alexei Kameno and entitled to all the rights as such. The child will also be enrolled in Weissmore Academy when it comes of age, with the tuition and any further expenses paid by the funds directed in this will to be set aside for the complete duration of those years.
“Now I know how I got here,” she murmured, more to herself than to me. Hell, it answered a great deal of questions I had for myself, but in those words, Anna was now truly the heir to the Alexei Kameno name.
No wonder Isauros hated her.
“Look at this, Royce!” Anna said suddenly, pointing further down on the page. “In the event that the child has come of age, he or she will receive the sum of 30,000,000 pounds if they marry from the lines of sovereign.” I cleared my throat as she looked over at me. “What is that? The lines of sovereign?”
Her question was easy to answer really, but I was struggling to find the words, my throat suddenly tight. She wasn’t going to like my answer, but fuck, that was a lot of money. I hadn’t anticipated this sudden turn of events, but I was glad I was the one here to find out first.
“Royce?”
I met her eyes as I lowered myself to one knee, remembering the words that I had been taught long ago, before I had ever set eyes on Anna. “Give me your hand, Anna.”
“What the hell are you doing?” she whispered furiously, complete shock on her face. “What does all this mean?”
“Your hand,” I insisted. “Then I will tell you.”
“Fine,” she muttered, thrusting out her hand toward me. I took it in mine, holding it lightly while trying to ignore the fire it ignited in my gut by just a light touch. “The sovereigns are high-ranking members of their political governments,” I explained, my thumb rubbing over the back of her hand lightly. It wasn’t necessary, but I couldn’t help it. “There are very few in the world left.”
“Royce,” she said in a small voice. “What are you saying?”
I drew in a sharp breath. “France hasn’t had one in years, since probably before we were born. The Karlings were destroyed generations ago, no longer part of any royalty or lineage.” Now came the hard part. “The Whitehalls are connected to the queen and therefore have the closest ties to sovereign leadership.”
Anna’s hand tightened on mine and I nearly dropped the flashlight. “So you are saying that I should marry you.”
This was the moment I had been waiting for, bowing my head as a sign of respect. “Your Imperial Majesty, I humbly ask for your hand in marriage.”
A sound escaped her and she wrenched her hand away from mine, taking a few steps backward. “This is crazy, Royce! I mean, oh my God, this is not happening.”
I rose from the dusty floor, pointing the flashlight at her. Damn, she looked like she was going to bolt at any moment. “This has to happen, Anna.”
“You called me Anna again,” she whispered.
“That’s a shitload of money,” I reminded her, taking a step toward her. “All for you. I won’t touch a fucking cent.” I wouldn’t need to once we made it official.
Was I really considering marrying my pauper? I had to. The will deemed it necessary.
That meant Anna would be in my bed, her long hair spread across my pillow, those eyes wide-eyed as she watched everything I did.
She would be mine. “You need to consider this,” I tried again.
“I-I can’t do this right now,” she stammered, hastily gathering up the paperwork. “I mean we don’t even like each other like that.”
“I can learn,” I murmured, knowing that I was already halfway there. “Please.”
Anna gave me a look before she hurried back in the direction we came, leaving me in the crypt.
Great. Just fucking great.
Chapter 5
Anna
I hurried down the hall, keeping my head down and desperately hoping that Royce was not following me. Had he really just asked me to marry him? He hated me and I hated him.
Okay, maybe not hated, not anymore, but he wasn’t in my top ten people I liked either.
I crushed the papers to my chest, my heart pounding in my ears. My father’s will. I had found it. The pieces were falling into place, just like I wanted them to, but his words had muddied the waters once more and had me more confused than ever.
I had to marry a sovereign, and by the way Royce had made it sound, he was the only one for the job.
Royce. It had to be Royce.
Turning the corner, I found one of the many alcoves that were used by students as a place to lounge and ducked inside, pulling the curtain before cutting on the low light attached to the wall. With shaking hands, I sat on the comfortable chair and laid the papers in my lap, scanning the words again.
Most of it was legal jargon, but it was clearly spelled out what I had to do to get the inheritance that he had set aside for me.
The child of Alexei and I. Komita.
My mother. It was a heck of a lot of money he was leaving me, further bolstering my suspicions that he actually did love my mother. A warmth spread over me as I thought about them together, about how excited he must have been to know she was pregnant with me. Clearly, by the words he had put in this will, he thought my birth was a good thing.
Well, right up until the point where he wanted me to marry a sovereign leader. I was too young to be married, no matter how much money he was throwing my way. I mean, I was barely out of high school and my most recent relationship had fallen to pieces.
Heck, I wasn’t even ready to have sex again, much less have someone put a ring on my finger.
“This is crazy,” I whispered, rereading the words that were clearly printed on the paper. The money was more than I had ever seen before and I knew that it was even more in US dollars. I could do anything I wanted to with that kind of money and never have to rely on anyone.
The problem was, I would be married, with a husband.
Johanna was never going to believe this.
Carefully, I folded the papers back into the envelope, biting my lip as I did so. The look on Royce’s face had been so earnest when he had asked for my hand, something I hadn’t seen on him before. It was as if he truly believed that he was the only one who could fit the descriptio
n that my father had set forth.
And he had called me Anna. I hated when he did so, making him seem real. When he called me “pauper” there was a barrier between us, that wall I had carefully built still intact.
But my name on his lips threatened the very foundation.
I placed my head in my hands, not believing this turn of events. This was crazy. This wasn’t what I had been expecting.
And now, I didn’t know what to do about it.
**
It didn’t take long for Arthur to find me. One minute I was walking along with Johanna, heading to dinner, the next I was pulled into one of the alcoves by a fuming Arthur, slamming the curtain closed. “What the hell, Anna?” he asked, his expression furious.
I shook off his hand, glaring at him. “What are you doing?”
“You went with Royce anyway, even after I told you not to.”
“You told me not to?” I asked, my head hurting. “I don’t remember asking for your permission, Arthur. I was asking for your advice.”
He slammed a hand above my head. “Dammit, I told you it was not a good idea to do so, yet you did it anyway.”
I wasn’t about to ask how he knew I had gone with Royce. Was Royce already touting what he had found out in the will, how he had claimed me for his wife?
Or had someone seen us together and come to their own conclusions? Arthur had yet to mention the will, which was a good indication that he didn’t know about it.
And I wasn’t about to tell him either. “Again,” I repeated. “You have no right to ask me anything, Arthur. You are merely an acquaintance, nothing more.”
He leaned close. “I was the one who took your virginity. Don’t forget that.”
“I live with it every day,” I shot back, wanting to hurt him. He had taken it under false pretenses, when I had thought he had actually cared about me.
Some of the anger faded from his expression and he just looked tired. “You gave it freely, Anna.”
“I’m not the one who is arguing the fact,” I countered, crossing my arms over my chest. “I didn’t drag you into this alcove. You dragged me in here, remember?”
“You are Alexei’s heir.”
Ah, so someone was talking. Great. “Yes, I am.”
He swore. “Royce will use you too, Anna. Before he didn’t give a shit about you or who you were, but now that it’s on paper, he’s going to be all over you for that title.”
His words didn’t hurt me. In fact, they sounded a great deal like what I had thought about him in the recent weeks. “It seems like that’s the theme of my life,” I said, pushing at him until he moved out of the way. “But it’s my life, not yours, Arthur. You will do well to remember that fact.”
He started to say something, but I was already walking out, finding Johanna waiting for me down the hall. “You okay?” she asked as I approached her.
“Yeah,” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “But I’m not hungry. I’m just going to go for a walk, okay? I need to clear my head.”
“Want me to come along?”
I shook my head. “Thanks, but I need to be alone.”
“Okay, I will bring you some food for later,” she said as I walked away, finding the door and pulling it open so that I was out in the evening air. The cool wind tore through my hoodie so I tucked my hands in the pockets, heading toward the lighted trail that I knew would be safe to walk for a few minutes. What did Arthur think he still had over me? His jealousy was starting to get highly annoying. He had nothing now when it came to me and now, I was wondering if I would have to push him out of my life completely for him to get the picture.
And Royce. What was his agenda with me now that he knew what was in my father’s will? Would he propose again? I hadn’t lived with that money for the first part of my life so if I didn’t fall for what my father had set up, I wouldn’t know what I was missing if I never had it to begin with.
Still, the good I could do with that in my bank account. I had never had a lot of money to my name, barely enough to scrape by, but knowing what I could have now was burning a hole in my heart. With those sort of funds, I never would go hungry. I never would not have something at my disposal. I could travel the world, build my own orphanage where children were treasured.
I could disappear off the face of the earth and no one would ever find me.
“So, the prodigal heir finally shows her face.”
I frowned as Max sauntered up to me, his hands in his pockets. “What?”
“I heard you found out the truth about who you are and have it in black and white.”
I was going to kill Royce. “So?”
“Now that it’s confirmed, you will have an even greater target on your back,” he said, stopping a few feet away. “Now you will know what it’s like to live like us.”
“I really don’t want to talk about it right now,” I muttered.
“All right,” he said. “Then don’t.”
“Can I resume my walk?”
He moved aside and I started past him, groaning as he fell in step beside me. “I meant by myself.”
He chuckled but made no move to leave me alone. “You know, Anna, if you just told us all to fuck off, we would.”
I smiled, unable to help it. “No, you wouldn’t.”
“Yeah, you are right, but I would like to hear you tell me anyway.”
“Fuck off, Max.”
He stopped. “Good night, Anna.”
I watched him go, wondering if it really was that easy. Maybe for Max, but now I had a jealous king tracking me down at every opportunity and another that wanted my hand in marriage.
No, it wasn’t going to be that easy at all.
**
That night I lay in my bed, trying to decipher in my head what the kings wanted, each separately. After what had gone on, I doubted they were really functioning as a trio these days anyway.
First there was Arthur. If what everyone was saying was true, then he desperately needed to make this alliance permanent between us. Maybe that was why he had broken apart from the group’s plans in the first place. From what I could tell, Arthur was desperate, and he hated the fact that I was hanging out with Royce now.
Speaking of Royce, I didn’t know what to think about him. Clearly, he needed for me to marry him too, but only because he was the only one for the job. Well, that was what he was saying. I hadn’t proved anything, yet.
And Max. He seemed to be the only one in the group that wasn’t trying to go out of his way to get close to me. Sure, he showed up at the oddest of times, but something told me it wasn’t on purpose.
I knew I shouldn’t trust any of them, but eventually I was going to have to trust one of them to get through this.
Which one should it be?
Pulling the blanket over my shoulder, I knew I couldn’t make that decision yet. I was just finding out what Arthur wanted from me, which meant there were two other kings that I had to figure out before I could make any decision.
I sure as hell wasn’t going to marry Royce though. No matter what kind of money was sitting on the table, ripe for the picking, I wasn’t about to put myself in any sort of alliance just yet. Maybe I would get there eventually, but while Royce was gorgeous in a brooding sense, I wasn’t about to marry a man I didn’t know.
Ugh, how had my life become so crazy? What would have happened if I had refused to go into that crypt with Royce, and never found that will? God, it had been less than twenty-four hours and I was already regretting my decision!
Wasn’t that what I wanted to find out? What had I been expecting to see in that will, anyway?
I had seen exactly what I had been expecting, and now the truth was slapping me in the face.
Well, with a heck of a lot of stipulations.
I turned over in the bed, staring up at the darkened ceiling. I would have to figure out what I was going to do when this was all said and done, but until then, I needed to remember to keep my head up and my walls strong. I had
learned my lesson with Arthur.
Now, I only wanted to look out for myself.
Chapter 6
Royce
I pulled myself up to my chin, grunting as my arms screamed for release. I held the position for a few moments before slowly letting my body back down to the ground, shaking out the burn in my shoulders. One important rule of a sword fighter was to be both strong and agile and not just good with a sword.
