Forbidden Honor (Dragon Royals #1)(110)

As I walked towards the big coral house, guards watched me from where they were stationed in the shadows. Hanna wouldn’t be climbing those big trees anymore or surprising me by slipping out of one.

I hadn’t realized that time in our lives was coming to an end. I hadn’t had the chance to appreciate those days before they ended, just as had happened half a dozen times in my life already.

One day I’d been a girl with a newborn sister, my mother gathering us both into her lap; I’d loved Hanna from the beginning but felt anxious they’d love her best. The next thing, my mother’s maid was tying black ribbons in my hair and I rocked Hanna against my shoulder.

I’d missed my mother, worried over Hanna, trying to make up for her loss as I chased her through the long marble halls in our house. Then Alis was in our home, her presence like an unpleasant odor in every room even I couldn’t see her.

I’d hated half of being a Posselbaum girl, then I was rocking in the carriage as it turned up this long drive, my trunks loaded onto the back, wishing I could return. And with every turn, I’d had no idea I was about to lose something I loved until I wished I could twist the hands on the clock back to where they’d once been.

Those guards worried me. Maybe Henrick had enemies. Maybe I’d be lucky and one of those enemies would take him out. Or maybe, his enemies meant Hanna’d be in danger from outside the house and within.

As much as I thought Alis was a villain, Henrick seemed to put her to shame, judging from the fear in Hanna’s eyes, and it made me feel guilty that I hadn’t been home much lately. I felt torn between my role as one of the dragon royals, now responsible for hunting down the hybrids, and how that had kept me far away when my sister needed me.

The house was quiet as I walked up the front steps, but a prickle up my spine made me feel I was being watched.

A servant whipped the door open and half bowed as I stepped into the entryway, though the gesture never seemed all that respectful. “You may go to the conservatory.”

“Thanks,” I said dryly.

Two guards stepped into the hall, their boots ringing across the floor, and followed me. I glared at them over my shoulder, which didn’t seem to faze them one bit. Why was I being stalked by guards in my own home?

I reached the old addition, which always seemed a little warmer than the rest of the castle, and stepped into my mother’s conservatory—which Henrick had so rudely invaded.

In the doorway, I almost collided with Alis. She carried her gloves, and she seemed to be on her way out.

“Why Honor, what a nice surprise,” she said lightly. “What are you doing home?”

“What’s going on?” I asked tightly, looking between her and my sister, who sat perched at the edge of one of the wingback chairs, her eyes half wild.

“You didn’t tell me why you were back yet, Honor,” Alis said, ignoring my question.

“I had some free time tonight, and I thought I’d come get some of my things out of my room,” I said. “It’s been hard to leave so many of my treasures behind. The doorman asked me to come into the conservatory.”

The lies fell easily from my lips, as they did with anyone who wasn’t all that worthy of the truth. I missed my things, but I’d leave them all behind for Hanna.

“I see,” Alis said. “Well, don’t let me stop you. We have missed you so, Honor.”

That was entirely insincere. “What’s going on?

“It’s none of your business,” Alis said with a smile to soften her words; she might’ve been trying for kind, but she never quite hit that mark.

“Now, sweetheart,” Henrick said, his voice saccharin. “Honor is a very bright girl. Doubtless she can tell that her sister is anxious right now. There’s no reason not to tell her why.”

When Henrick faced me, his gaze seemed to rake over my figure in a way that made me stiffen, even before he said, “Your sister has made some poor choices. She stole from your mother.”

“Stepmother,” I said automatically before realizing that might not be a helpful distinction to draw at the moment.

Henrick inclined his head. “Stepmother. Though it hardly seems necessary to note that as insistently as you do, when Alis has been nothing but good to you.”

Bullshit.

“I’m sorry,” I said, because I didn’t want to make things any worse for my sister. My heart galloped at the sight of her teeth digging so hard into her lower lip, it was beginning to bleed. “What exactly are you planning to do, because I don’t like seeing my sister so anxious.”

“Neither do I, my girl,” he said. “But punishment is supposed to be painful.”

“Is it though?” I asked. “Can’t we guide and teach without there being any pain involved. I think my father and mother did a pretty good job with me.”

Alis offered up a small derisive laugh. I ignored it, for the moment.

“When you have children, you can raise them how you see fit,” Henrick said. “I know how I was raised and it worked just fine for me. Your sister obviously needs a firmer hand, given that she’s started stealing. I intend to make sure that she doesn’t continue forward along a path that will only bring her pain.”

“Right, but this path is bringing her pain because you’re deciding to inflict pain on her.” I pointed out.