Maeve
Waves beat against the pristine white sand of the private beach a short walk from the fabulous vacation house Maddy and Isaac now call home full time.
I cross my arms over my chest, resting them against my belly as a warm breeze ripples through my flowy sundress and sigh.
Well. I guess I deserved the shocked looks and whispers when I’d reached the house, stormed inside, changed, and let the family dissolve into chaos before racing toward the beach to gather my thoughts. It’s barely midmorning when I splash through the surf, watching the glittering, crystal clear water rush around my increasingly swollen ankles. The sun warms my skin, making it prickle with the promise of a tan, or sunburn, depending on how long I plan to spend hiding.
“Maeve.”
I hesitate before turning toward my dad’s voice. He’s walking beside Mom, who looks like she spent the last two days crying her eyes out, which makes me feel worse than being stabbed repeatedly in the heart.
I hug my stomach and slowly turn to face them, walking out of the gentle surf, careful not to slice my bare feet on any of the large seashells scattered across the shore. Dad’s dark green eyes hold mine as he closes the distance between us, Mom only a few steps behind him, struggling to keep up with his long stride.
I wish I’d known them when they were young–before I came into the picture. To be totally honest, I often wonder how two people with such differing personalities ever found love and common ground. Mom is so gentle and soft. She’s prone to anxiety and deep, unwavering emotions, but she’s also the most loyal, loving person I know.
Dad is… quiet and stern. He thinks through every word he says. He’s calculated and hard as nails. But I’ve seen them in quiet, stolen moments. I’ve watched him smooth his thumb over her hand while they sat together in the evenings while Mom told him about her day, about us, while we played loudly and made an insane amount of noise and mess in the room around them. I’ve seen him calm her with nothing but a touch to her arm, a hand on her lower back, a whispered word not meant for anyone else to hear.
He’s a strong man but not a proud one. He’s humble. Honest.
The idea that I’ve disappointed him is gut wrenching.
“Dad, I–”
He takes a step into me and pulls me into an embrace that totally catches me off guard. I stand perfectly still for a moment, my heart hammering, before sinking into his arms and burying my face in his shirt.
Mom sniffles beside him, gently patting my back like I’m five again, and I’ve just gotten railed on by Aris for stealing his toys, like he’s called me a monster, which I likely deserved.
Dad pulls away, holding me at arm’s length to look me up and down, then sighs, trying to hide the grimace.
“I know you’re disappointed–” I begin, but he shakes his head, unable to find the words he wants, and needs, to say to me.
Mom, however, has had two days to decide what to say and immediately jumps in with both feet. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“It’s complicated,” I rush out. “I–I understand my duties, Mom. I know you understand them, too, both of you.”
“You’re so young,” Dad says in a voice like gravel.
I purse my lips to stop a rattling breath from leaving my lungs. “I’m a Firestone. The only one of my kind. You both knew–you had to know, based on what Aviva and Misty have told the family–that my purpose is to have daughters, right? I’m having a girl, Mom.” I turn to her, teary eyed. “I’m due in about a month, give or take.”
Mom looks down at her sandals and closes her eyes.
My heart sinks to my bare toes. “I–I didn’t tell anyone because–because I didn’t know how to.” It’s true, at least. “I didn’t want the public to know. I had the tour, and I wanted both of us to be safe. I didn’t want to deal with the paparazzi swarming us and the public questioning my every move and who the father is.”
“And who is the father?” Dad asks sternly.
This is where I lie, I guess. This is where I spin a web of deception I’ll be trapped in my entire life. “You–you don’t know him. But he’s–he’s exactly what I wanted in–in a breeder–”
Dad turns around, unable to look at me. Mom, however, is staring up at me wide eyed. “Why?
“Why, what? Why would I use a breeder?” I understand how bad this is. I’m lying to my parents, but I have to. Soren’s life is at stake otherwise. Dad would know who he is. I know that much. He’d remember someone like Soren. He’s impossibly hard to forget. “I’m the queen, Mom. I… I have other things to worry about right now other than finding a husband. But I needed an heir first and foremost. You have to understand. The public is already torn about my ability to rule, my ability to give them stability, and now I have. I am having an heir for Eastonia, the next Firestone queen. She has powers like me. She’ll be a full-blooded Firestone. In a month, I will have completed my destiny.”
“What about you? Is this really what you want? Raising a child on your own?” she asks.
“I won’t be alone. I have–I have Jane. I have you,” I say, but my words wobble over the last part. “If you’ll forgive me for keeping it a secret.”
“Of course you’re forgiven,” Mom says tearfully. “But I–you shouldn’t have gone through this entire pregnancy on your own.”
“Brie said the same thing,” I murmur, sniffling despite my eyes remaining dry. I’m not sure I have any tears left at this point. “I’m fine. I’m healthy. She’s healthy. I’m well taken care of by a midwife you trained, Mom.”
“And when, exactly, are you due?” Dad asks, but his voice is soft. I can tell he’s going through it, carefully keeping his back to us so I can’t see the emotions flaring behind his eyes. Grief, I’m sure. Disappointment, maybe a pinch of anger.
“Three weeks, but my midwife thinks the baby is going to take her sweet time. I’m not showing any signs of labor whatsoever, so… a month, perhaps.” I turn to Mom as guilt rages through my body. “Will you be there when she’s born?”
“Yes,” Mom says with a tearful nod. “Of course, I will.” She squeezes my hand, her tearful smile lighting up her face again.
“Is… Grandpa mad?”
“Ryatt would like to speak to you, but I don’t think it’s wise,” Dad says, turning to face us.
I furrow my brows.
Mom purses her lips, shaking her head. “Ev, come on. Everyone else is excited. My mom said–”
“Ryatt’s right,” he tells her, bringing up whatever tense conversation I’d blown past when we’d first arrived at the house. “Maeve isn’t safe unless she’s back in Moonrise. She can’t stay for the Solstice.”
I blink, looking between my parents. “What?”
“Grandpa made a good point,” Mom says somberly, wincing as she looks at Dad. “While you and Brie were traveling, the news spun the paparazzi pictures out of control. It’s a mess, darling. Isaac and Maddy have been fielding off reporters for days, here, in Maatua. Someone got a hold of the manifest about where the yacht was going. The whole continent knows you're here.”
“That doesn’t matter–”
“It does,” Dad says under his breath. “For your safety, you need to return to Moonrise immediately and remain there until the baby is born. Blake is going to stay with you.”
“What does Blake have to do with this?” I snarl, letting go of Mom’s hand. “If he’s in on this plot to ruin Solstice it’s because he doesn’t want to come here and spend time with the family!”
“He’s been in Moonrise dealing with the fallout. You need to return and prepare a statement about the photo and the pregnancy. You need to announce it.”
“I don’t have to do anything. I am the queen. It’s up to me,” I cut in bluntly, my voice sharpened to a fine edge. “Do you both really agree with this? Making me go back? I just got here!”
“We’re going to go with you and spend Solstice at the castle,” Mom says. “Brie, Logan, and Kieran, too–”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Everyone has been looking forward to this for months. Maddy planned everything out–”
“You are in danger,” Dad says harshly. “Now more than even.”
I shake my head. “Is that what Grandpa told you to convince you of this? He’s mad at me, guys. That’s all. This isn’t about my safety. I can write and release a statement from here.”
Mom and Dad exchange looks that tell me my fate has already been decided.
I might be Queen of Eastonia… but Grandpa Ryatt’s word is law.
I whirl from the waves, stalking away from them.
“Maeve, wait!”
I stop, my powers simmering as rage whispers through my body, untangling a knot in my brain. I lose focus as I whirl back to my parents, who look stricken and guilty even though I’m the one lying and scheming.
To hell with it all.
I’m tired of this. This secret.
“Tell him,” I growl, balling my hands into fists. “That this wasn’t some plot of my own design. Tell him I fell in love.”
Mom gasps, grabbing Dad’s fingers.
“Tell him,” I continue, “that her father isn’t a breeder. That I didn’t pick him out of a lineup. I didn’t choose him for traits I wanted in my bloodline. No, I wanted him, and I can’t have him because he’s enslaved to the Roguelands just like Grandpa was. And he won’t let me help him out of it.” Tears of rage and grief burn down my cheeks. I’m so sick of crying. I’ll never cry again after this. I swear on the Goddess Herself. “Tell him that I loved a man and had to let him go because of the talons wrapped around his heart that forbid him from loving me back! Tell him I’ve spent the last nine months in a hell Grandpa Ryatt designed–a hell where I am queen and the burden of my birth has separated me from the only man I’ll ever love! Tell Grandpa Ryatt that, and then tell him to never look me in the eyes again!”
I’m gone in a flash, the beach replaced by empty nothingness that I reach for, thankful for the silence for a few precious, quiet moments. The stillness is ripped away as quickly as it came, depositing me in an office I haven’t stepped foot inside in several months.
I slowly turn to the neat desk of dark wood, where Blake blinks at me, tilting his head ever so slightly as he looks me up and down and sighs.
“Well,” he begins, leaning back in his chair, “you’ve really done it this time, Maeve.”
“I’m going to prepare a public statement about the baby and read it tomorrow morning. I want all eyes on me when that happens.”
“Noted.”
“From there, nothing. No interviews, no meetings, not until this spring.”
“Am I suddenly being demoted to your assistant?”
I wave him off, shaking my head as my mind tries to grasp what just happened, what I’ve done to my family. My heart lurches when I think of Grandpa Ryatt. Mom will repeat what I said word for word, knowing her.
I take several seconds to compose myself before asking, “What would you like for Solstice dinner, since we’re both now the outcasts of the family?”
“It’s not like that for you. Ryatt will calm down. I’ve heard Ella has already given him a mouthful about his opinion on the matter. He only wants you safe.”
“He’s just proved he’s never trusted me and doesn’t trust I can lead this kingdom.”
“That’s not what this is–”
“Then what is it, Blake?” I sneer.
Blake doesn’t reply.
I turn out of his office, saying in passing. “I’ll see you in the morning. We have work to do.”