Royally Not Ready(22)

I nod gently. “Pala’s the oldest. She married Clinton, who happens to be the Prince of Marsedale, next in line to the throne. Because of his duty to his family, being the only child, she abdicated and is living with him now.”

“Okay.”

“Rolant is the second born. He wasn’t necessarily built to be a royal.”

“What does that mean?”

“He caused a lot of trouble. Was never doing the right thing and was more of a liability than a help. He never truly appreciated the culture and spent many nights out partying. He ended up being exiled because he haphazardly rolled around on sacred moss.”

“Wait . . . the thousand-year-old moss?”

I nod and watch as the crease in her frown disappears.

“What an idiot.”

I chuckle, feeling better, that maybe this might not be too bad, given the ridiculousness of the family’s history.

“And then there was Sveinn. He married a woman named Kristin.”

“Where is he? Did they have kids?”

I shake my head. “Kristin turned out to be a lesbian and ran away with her lady-in-waiting.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Sveinn did not handle it well and took off on a boat. We haven’t heard, seen, or found him yet. It’s been six months.”

“Oh God.”

“Yeah, which brings us to your mom, Margret. And you.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” She looks away and leans back on the headboard of her bed. “This is all kinds of fucked up, you realize that?”

“I do,” I answer.

“I had no idea any of this even existed, and then one day, I’m hosing people down and you show up. I thought coming here was just going to be one giant family reunion, you know?”

I nod. “I do. I’m sorry if it was misleading, but you must know, I was not at liberty to tell you anything until you spoke with King Theo.”

“I know, but it’s just . . . God, I wasn’t expecting any of this. It makes me, well . . . it makes me mad.”

“Mad?”

She brings her legs to her chest and nods. “I’m mad because my parents should have said something. Why did they hide this from me? And why did it take ten years after my mother passed for my grandfather to reach out to me? Why leave me all alone and then . . . not?”

I stare down at my hands, keeping them posed together as I think . . . I know why they hid it from you.

“Wait . . .” Lilly’s fingers slip under my chin and force me to look at her. “Do you . . . do you know, Keller?”

Hell.

I swallow hard. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Don’t,” she whispers. “Please don’t start with that bullshit. I know we barely know each other and that your loyalty doesn’t lie with me, but, please, Keller, if I’m going to consider this, I need to know the truth. Why didn’t my mom tell me anything about this part of her life?”

Fuck. She’s right, my loyalty rests with King Theo and Queen Katla, but those crystal-blue eyes are pleading with me. I can see the pain in them, the confusion. They’re a window to her very soul and it’s messing with my head.

She tugs on my arm, her eyes blinking. “Please, Keller.”

They’re mesmerizing, truly a color that feels like it’s piercing to my very core, sweeping through my veins, and bringing me down to my goddamn knees. From the moment I met her I’ve found her to be a flighty, independent free spirit. Someone who doesn’t have responsibilities and therefore doesn’t take much in life seriously. But she’s surprised me with how deeply she’s allowed this to affect her. And if I’m honest, seeing how vulnerable she is, how despondent, it feels like . . . a fracture is forming.

A fracture in where my loyalty rests. I want to protect her.

And despite the trustworthy, honest, steadfast man I’ve grown to be, I find myself faltering, and I’m unable to stop from speaking the truth.

“There was a fight,” I say. “Between your mom and Queen Katla.”

“What kind of fight?” She scoots closer to me, her body nearly pressing against mine.

I shouldn’t be telling her this, it’s not my information to tell. Then again, I already cracked, and if I have any luck in this moment, then maybe what I’m about to say will help her understand why she’s here now.

“You must know, Queen Katla has taken her role within the royal family very seriously. Her self-proclaimed duty was to have children, to raise them, and to make sure they contributed to the country in a positive way. When Pala came home with Prince Clinton, the dynamic of the family changed. Queen Katla had been priming her to take the throne, and when they found out her intentions, of leaving Torskethorpe for another country, it felt like a betrayal to the queen, especially because of how hard she worked.”

“I can understand that,” Lilly says.

“The scandal behind the firstborn leaving was almost too much for Queen Katla to bear. So, that night, there was a proclamation made by the queen, that no one was to betray their family again. That their duty, their service, their lives belonged to Torskethorpe.”

“And did my mom not take that well?”

I shake my head. “From what I’ve been told, your mother loved her country more than anything. She enjoyed the rich culture, the simple traditions carried on from generation to generation, but she also was a free spirit, and before she dedicated the rest of her life to the country she loved, she wanted to explore. Queen Katla was so worried that she’d lose Margret just like she lost Pala that she forbade it.”