Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
He gives a nod of understanding. “I first learned of her existence one night when my mother was in a drunken rant after my father’s death; she’d accidentally brought Lily up. I’d never heard a word about her before then. She told me she died in infancy. A fire was the only real record I could find, but no burial site. But my father kept a locked drawer I found after his death. Letters to a woman named Elena, who I was able to find out was a maid at the palace long ago. There were references to a child.” His jaw tightens. “My father was a coward, and I’ve spent the years after his death cleaning up and fixing his mistakes. I will not allow him or my mother to taint the name of Grandeurs. This is not the Grandeurs way of things.” He drops his head, taking a breath. “I want to make this right, not only for my country but also for Lily. My sister.” He says her name carefully. “She’s alive. You’ve had her all this time.” I can see the relief in his eyes. His concern seems genuine.
“I have her.” The words come out possessively and as a warning. “She’s safe. She’s mine.”
Julian’s eyes narrow. Then, unexpectedly, he laughs. “Christ. You’re in love with her.”
I don’t deny it, but I won’t go into that with him either. He might want to be an ally, but I don’t know him. Maybe one day if that’s what Lily wants.
Instead, I cut to the chase, wanting some kind of information. “Your mother?”
His laughter dies. “She’s been hunting Lily again. I’m not sure how she found out she was actually alive.” I watch his expression change, and I can see the anger and grief all jammed together. “I believe she might have killed my father too.”
“Your father was murdered?” That thought had crossed my mind. In my research and what I could find on Queen Amelia, she appears to be slowly getting crazier and crazier. You can see that by looking up the news in their country. They don’t outwardly say it, but you can see the progression as you lay it all out.
“Officially, they said it was heart failure.” The go-to story, it seems. Julian’s voice goes flat. “Unofficially, I found the toxicology reports she had hidden. My mother has been cleaning house for years, and now she’s gone quiet. I sent her to stay in the family estate down south, but she disappeared three days ago. No explanation.” He meets my eyes through the screen. “I believe she sensed a shift in me towards her, and now she’s running out of time.”
Protectiveness surges, animalistic and immediate. If the queen’s in the wind, she’s desperate. Desperate people make mistakes, but they also make corpses.
“I would like it if together we could take her down. If she has gone stateside, I worry this will turn into a conflict,” Julian says. “Help me find her before she finds Lily. My sister deserves to live her life without this looming over her. She was an innocent child that my own father did not properly protect; instead, he protected my mother and his own selfishness. I will not be him, and I will not allow history to repeat itself. But more than that—my mother needs to answer for what she’s done.”
I agree before I can second-guess it. “We’ll coordinate. But Lily stays protected. No meetings, no public exposure, not until the queen is contained.”
“Understood.” Julian’s shoulders drop, relief visible. “Thank you. For keeping her safe.”
I end the call before I have to respond to that. I don’t need to be thanked for protecting Lily. There is nothing in this world I want to do more.
The screen goes dark. I sit there for a moment, processing that Julian is an ally. The queen is missing, which means she’s desperate.
I turn to find Lily still on the chaise, hugging her knees to her chest. Her eyes are wide, processing all that was said.
“He seems nice,” she says finally.
“Lily.” I cross to her and crouch in front of the chaise. “Talk to me.”
“All of it,” she laughs, but it sounds brittle. “I have a brother. He’s been looking for me. His mother killed my father. Or his father. Our father. Then my other father, likely.” She shakes her head. “This is insane.”
I take her hands. They’re cold. “We’ll handle it together. I won’t let anyone hurt you...”
She looks at me then, really looks, and something in her expression shifts. Softens. “You’d never let anyone take me from you. You’re my obsessed stalker who is in love with me.”
“Hopelessly,” I say without hesitation. I will not hide what she means to me. I did that for long enough. It’s the only regret I have when it comes to her. That I didn’t act sooner.