*Isla*
“You did the right thing,” Poppy says to me the next day over breakfast as I am contemplating whether or not she is correct.
For the last eighteen hours or so, there’s been a manhunt all over the castle as Commander Pepelos is being searched for like a rabid dog on the loose. He hasn’t been found yet, and I hope that he will not be because I don’t want to have to explain to Maddox the truth of the situation—that he is my cousin. For now, Antony is hiding in a cabin in the woods about eighty miles from here. It’s not the same one I was almost killed in, but from his description of it, the place isn’t much better.
I only know where he is because he has sent me hundreds of messages over the mind-link begging me to come with him to the islands, telling me about how the weather will be bad soon, and if we don’t go now, we’ll have to wait until later. Later—when I am about to give birth.
He is adamant that this is a good thing, that I should leave my “cheating boyfriend” behind and go to the islands to claim my native land for myself as queen, and I think he’s lost his mind.
Unless of course, he’s always been like this. I honestly have no idea….
“I know I did,” I tell Poppy as I spear a piece of sausage with my fork. “But I am worried about this whole mess. I had to lie to Maddox last night on the phone when he called to see if I was okay.”
“Yeah, well… he’s the one who waited a good six hours after your stupid cousin was being chased out of the castle. I mean, what if it would’ve been a similar situation to what happened before? This maniac could’ve killed you will Maddox was out there… chatting up the other Alphas and listening to them tell stories about how hot their daughters are.” Poppy rolls her eyes and scoots her chair back so far, I’m afraid she might topple over.
“While I do agree with you that Maddox did take a long time to call and check on me, I’m pretty sure they were never actually chasing my cousin since he was gone long before they realized it. I mean, they were just nonchalantly asking around for him until last night. By then, his friends in the village had him halfway across the kingdom.” I pop a grape into my mouth, trying to make my stomach feel a little better. Greasy sausage, eggs, and hash browns hadn’t been the best choice for an upset stomach. I am really beginning to get nervous about this whole situation. Not because I care so much about what happens with Antony but because I am afraid that Maddox will discover the truth and be pissed at me for not telling him.
“My point is, you could be dead, and he was like, ‘Hey, how’s it going? Anything menacing happening at the castle these days? Someone else lied about being trustworthy, and I made him your personal guard and the leader of my castle guards? Cool.’”
She says the whole thing in a laid-back voice that reminds me of a guy who might hang out at the beach all day or sleep in his parents’ basement.
“Listen, Poppy, it wasn’t quite like that. He did have the other guards keeping an eye on me. He just didn’t find the time to talk to me himself right away, that’s all.” I say the words like they are no big deal, but the truth of the situation is that it stings quite a bit that Maddox didn’t bother to call me himself to see how I was as soon as there was any sort of evidence that Commander Pepelos wasn’t who he said he was. Why wasn’t I the priority? Or if not me… perhaps the baby I am carrying?
I already know the answer to the second part of the question. It’s been clear from the way that Maddox is acting that he is afraid to love this child.
I talk about our baby’s future with positivity and hope.
He speaks about “the child” like he’s not sure he will ever be born alive.
I can’t walk around with this living, moving, growing being inside of me and even consider there’s a possibility that he will not be born alive and healthy and grow into the young man I saw in my dream.
“You’re not having second thoughts about leaving though, right?” Poppy asks. She reaches across the table and grabs a piece of toast off my plate and starts chomping on it. I don’t say anything because I wasn’t going to eat it anyway, but she acts like we are sisters sometimes instead of me being her boss, or whatever I am. Sometimes, I like that, but other times, it is annoying.
“I am not having second thoughts about going to the island. I am finished and wipe my mouth on a napkin. I really wish there was more for me to do around here than wander the gardens or stand around in the library. If I’m going to visit those places, I need to do so while I can. Soon enough, I’ll be locked up in my room by my own choice.
I don’t want to see the other women.
“The way you said that….” Poppy pauses, contemplative. “Is there somewhere else you’re thinking about going? Home?”
I nod. “I don’t really want to be here while Maddox is parading around his women. I haven’t told my parents about it yet, but I bet they know. Now that my father is an Alpha, he probably knows what’s going on.”
Poppy nods. “Yeah. Probably so. I bet your brothers would love to come and stay with you at the castle for a while, see if they can pick out a potential bride from someone that is rejected by Maddox.”
I think she’s trying to be funny, but I glare at her. “You make it sound as if you think there’s a possibility that not all of the women will be rejected by Maddox.”
“No! Of course, I don’t think he’ll choose someone. I mean… unless….” She shrugs and takes a drink from a glass of water she’s poured herself from the pitcher of ice water on my breakfast tray.
“Unless what?” I ask her, my eyebrows knitting together as I try to avoid the twitch that wants to begin thrumming in my eye.
“Unless. I don’t know. Unless… someone… reminds him of… her.”
Poppy has said the one sentence that I haven’t wanted to dwell upon this entire time. It’s been spoken aloud, and I can’t unhear it.
I can’t unregister it in my brain.
“Do you think that’s possible?” I ask her.
“No!” Poppy exclaims, but it’s a little too late for her to attempt to backtrack. “No. Of course, not. I’m just angry at him. That’s all. I think he’s been acting like a big stupid jerk!”
“Who’s been acting like a big stupid jerk?”
My bedroom door opens, and Maddox is standing behind my maid, one eyebrow cocked as he looks down at her.
Poppy tips backward to look at him upside down, her chair teetering on the edge of plummeting to the floor. Perhaps she would prefer it if it did. Then, she could claim to be injured and limp away to Mystica and not have to answer that question.
“Uhm… this butler I know,” she says, swiveling around to face him. “Hello, Your Majesty. It’s… surprising to see you.” She finally remembers her duties here and hops up out of the chair to show him some respect with a little bow.
“Poppy,” he says with a polite nod. I don’t think he believes her, and he shouldn’t, since he is the big stupid jerk in question. Granted, Poppy would get in trouble if he knew that she was speaking of him, and I don’t think he heard enough to know that she wasn’t speaking of someone else.
I hope he didn’t hear us speaking about anything else at all because if he did, then he might know that I am afraid he will find another version of Rebecca and leave me for her.
“I was just going to head upstairs and help the other maids get the rooms ready for the visitors,” Poppy decides as she slides past him out the door.
“Who was she talking about?” Maddox asks me.
I get up and cross the room to wrap my arms around him. He might be a big stupid jerk these days, but for now, at least, he is my big stupid jerk.
“Oh, I wasn’t even listening if I’m honest,” I tell him as his arms come around me. “I didn’t know you were heading back so soon. Is everything finished at the front?”
“It is for now,” he says, seeming to forget about Poppy for now. “Some of the Alphas we fought against are angry that I won’t let them keep their titles, but that’s what they should’ve expected for going against me.”
“That sounds like it could be problematic in the future,” I say, hoping it doesn’t lead to more fighting.
“Yes, I know it could be. So I’ve left quite a few warriors there to keep things settled down. If fighting starts back up again, I’ll have to go back. But for now, I’m here for a bit.” He kisses my cheek, and I can tell by the way his mouth lingers that he wants more.
I’m not sure I’m ready for that. The last time we made love, it was in the middle of an argument, and I don’t want to dwell on those feelings for him right now. I want to be amicable and happy and pretend that I can trust him, which I’m not sure I do.
I pull away. “Did you find the commander you were searching for?”
He sighs, but it has nothing to do with Antony. He is disappointed in my reaction. I cross over to my chair by the window, and he comes with me, sitting down next to me. “No. Not yet. It’s all so peculiar. I trust Commander Vember completely, and he vetted the man himself. I mean, I really can’t spend all of my time doing background checks myself on every person that comes into the castle. Anyway, as far as we can tell, he didn’t intend to hurt anyone. He simply wasn’t who he said he was. Maybe he comes from a poor background or something or didn’t actually attend the schools he claims to have attended, so he lied about it.”
“Yes, that makes sense. How old was he?” I am just curious as to how big of a lie my cousin constructed in order to fool everyone.
“Well, that’s the thing I did notice. He looks so young. He says he’s thirty-three on paper, but… I don’t think that could be true. Perhaps he’s a talented young warrior who simply wanted to rise in the ranks higher and lied a few times to get there. At any rate, he’s gone now. If we find him, we’ll make sure he is punished, but I don’t think he poses a threat.”
“Thirty-three?” No, that definitely wasn’t the case. Not even close. “Punish him how?”
“Well, technically, he’s committed treason.” Maddox shrugs nonchalantly.
My breath catches in my throat. “What’s the punishment for that?” I already know, but I need it confirmed.
I’m not surprised when Maddox says, “Death.”