Chapter 48
forty-eight
“My brother’s mad at me,” I tell the ghost of Naomi. Her shadows loom in the corners of the mansion. It’s where I brought her memory so I always have someone to talk to who doesn’t want to turn the conversation into one about the genetics of insects.
Don’t get me wrong; Valen fascinates me.
Bugs do not.
Though I haven’t even needed my butterfly, I still have it. In my pocket. Just in case. In fact, I haven’t really thought of Reggie Blackwell at all. When I’m reminded of what happened, it feels like so long ago. Or perhaps it happened to someone close to me…
But I’m not her anymore.
“Of course he’s mad at you. Everyone knows Aiden’s a dick. When is he not angry?” she asks.
“True. But I think I messed up big time. I promised Ashlyn something she shouldn’t have had… And now I think I caused an issue.” I sigh, glancing out at the soft snow falling on our lawn.
Giggles bubble up my throat at the thought of having a lawn. It’s more like acreage. And it’s gorgeous covered in its white blanket.
Formidable arms slip around my waist and tug me back into a firm chest. Valen hums low against my neck as he presses a heated kiss there. “Mm, talking to Naomi?”
I smile. “Yeah…”
“It’ll be Christmas soon. I’m sure it will be hard on you and her family more then, too. Why don’t we do something special for the Adesanyas?”
My fingers lace through his, holding him tighter. “That sounds like a perfect idea. Maybe I’ll start a scholarship just for women in journalism.”
Valen spins me to face him and presses his lips to my forehead. The gesture warms me up until I shiver out all the cold air from the living room. Or what will be the living room. “That’s so fucking smart. Love that idea.”
“Of course, that would mean as soon as we graduate…aiming to become members of the Board of NU…” The thought rattles in my mind, anxiety making my heart race.
“We’d have an easier way to dismantle them by being on the inside. If we work together, we could turn the entire board against the president. I know that my aunt would agree.”
I blink at him. “You think your Aunt Livia Friedenberg would agree to dismantle them, but not your Uncle Max?”
His lips purse for a moment. “He’d be a tougher sell, but we’d win him over…”
“And the others… Could get them all to help topple the current system?”
“With some time.”
In frustration, I sigh and take a step back. “We don’t have time. Our siblings don’t have time.”
“Especially with the cloaked man still out there with an unknown identity.”
“GNU. His name is GNU for all we know.”
“Code name or real… Either way, he exists, and we don’t know what his motives are.”
I sigh as the memories of the president’s last moments flash through my brain. “Nor what Septum… What were his final words?”
Valen’s brow wrinkles as he recalls. “Something about a blood sacrifice, maybe.”
“It’s all just a muddled mess…”
Reaching for me, he soothes my worries with another embrace, then rubs his thumb over my cheek. “We’ll get it done. Cardell Enterprises. West Tech Industries. Possibly Freidenberg Foundation… It’s a start. And we’re not going to stop until it’s over.”
His resolve settles me until I’m nodding against his chest. “Then let’s tear it down together.”
Things have been smooth in our life, despite the impending threats from the new administration. My family and his are getting along. There’s peace between my brothers and Valen, though precarious. All it took was Dad’s talking to and my threats of violence against Ryan and Aiden.
But here, in our mansion, I’ve found a new family. A new home. It’s ours. The place I feel safe and can grow fully into the person I want to be.
“Despite their setbacks, the Monarchs keep coming back every summer. It’s in their DNA—”
“I love you, Valen…” I interrupt, a tear glistening in my eye.
This will be my life now. That and working on finishing the stories that Naomi had prepared with her evidence. And Valen’s…
“I did come up here to give you good news.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
He grabs my ass and lifts me into the window frame, winter light shining on his smiling face. In a swift motion, he kneels before me and holds out a black box. When he pops the top, I gasp.
The ring is so unique… It looks as if it’s a Monarch butterfly crafted of several types of jewels.
“I had it made for you. Lab-grown. UV-reactive ink with an inscription…and a nano-engraved serial number that I have tattooed on my back. So we’re always in sync.”
My hand trembles as I offer it, and he slides the ring on, holding it there like a vow unspoken.
The ring is very Vanq. And now…it’s mine, too.
Elliot…Valen… For the first time in my life, he made me feel wanted for who I am. Never treated me as blemished or damaged in any way. He saw my strength. Even the darkest parts of me, he identified with them.
He swallows, then says quietly, like it’s sacred, “The new president signed the appointment. You’re officially my appointed. And now, I’m making you my wife… If you’ll agree to it, my queen.”
Stunned, I smile. “Of course, I will.”
“Then I’m your peasant until death do us part.”
With a laugh, I slip off the window frame and kneel with him, gathering his face in my hands until we kiss each other like that first time.
He breaks away for a moment, his green eyes searching mine.
“This is what I wished for.”
My brow furrows with confusion. “What?”
“The day that I brushed your eyelash off your cheek… I told you I’d tell you someday what I wished for. This was it. To have you as my appointed, my wife, here in our home. To love you forever, the way you deserve. And that’s what I plan to do.”
I can’t stop the quiver in my chin as I release a little sob of happiness.
Now that I’ve become the Monarch… I won’t need that butterfly in my pocket anymore.
I’ll keep her anyway.
Not as a shield, but as a relic.
A reminder of who I was before I burned it all down.