Chapter 17 #2
Damn it, he made the right call. The only call.
If Theo couldn’t have what he wanted, then he’d make damn sure the people he loved could.
They were both too stubborn by half, but they’d figure it out.
Galen just needed to learn to give a little instead of stepping onto the battlefield, and Meg needed to be coerced into believing that bending was better than throwing herself against every problem she came across until she broke.
They’d figure it out.
They had to.
Isaac cleared his throat. “You’re sure about this, Your Highness?”
“Yes.” He checked his phone again. The heads of the seven noble Families in Thalania formed a Parliament that worked in conjunction with the King or Queen.
They didn’t have the power of the sitting monarch, but that wouldn’t matter in this scenario.
There was no sitting monarch, and there wouldn’t be for months yet.
All he needed was for the majority of them to publicly confirm that the marriage between Theodore Fitzcharles II and Mary Mortimore was legal based on the documents they’d seen with their own eyes.
Phillip couldn’t fight both the public and the Families, and Theo had already taken steps to get the public on his side.
One thing at a time.
“I’m not talking about taking the throne back—it was always yours. I’m talking about Galen.”
He didn’t look up from his phone, couldn’t risk Isaac seeing the way his whole body clenched in agony at Galen’s name. “There’s nothing to say about Galen.”
“He’s one of your greatest assets and you put him on a plane heading in the wrong direction.”
“Galen is much more than an asset and he deserves to be treated as such.”
Isaac exited the highway and stopped at a light at the bottom of the ramp. He turned to face Theo. “Forgive me for being blunt—”
“If you’re not blunt, there’s nothing to forgive.”
Isaac ignored that and kept talking, each word a hammer chiseling away at the wall Theo fought so hard to build around himself when he walked out of the airport and left behind what had become two of the most important people in his life.
Isaac cleared his throat. “Forgive me for being blunt, but you made a dumb ass move leaving him behind. Probably the girl, too, based on how you looked at them. A king needs allies, people he trusts beyond all political machinations, people who are there for him and him alone. Do you really think you’re going to find it in Thalania when you just sent the only two people that applies to away? ”
“I don’t remember asking your opinion.”
Isaac snorted. “Galen’s not here to offer his, so I figured I’d step in. You already know what he’d say.”
Yeah, Theo knew what he’d say. The same thing Isaac had. The same thing Meg had. That they wanted to come with him to face this together. He couldn’t allow it. If he let himself, he’d find a way to convince them to stay. To try to find a way forward.
He’d destroy them all in the process.
They would be happy together, damn it.
“What if there was a way?” Isaac kept going, kept outline possibilities that were beyond impossible.
Now more than ever.
Ten minutes after they hit the capital city, Ranei’s, limits, Isaac checked his phone and cleared his throat. “I need to make a stop.”
“What?” Theo twisted to look at him as he turned and then turned again, guiding the car into a little alley between two tall buildings.
They weren’t far from the palace—another thirty minutes or so—but there was nothing in this area of Ranei that should have required Isaac to stop.
Theo took a slow breath, centering himself like Galen taught him. “My uncle’s orders.”
His door was yanked open and strong hands gripped his shoulders and pulled him out into the alley. Theo swung. He wasn’t going down without a fight. If he had any say in it, he wasn’t going down at all. His fist connected at the exact moment he registered Galen’s angry dark eyes.
Galen’s head snapped back and a feminine voice cursed. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Theo?”
He turned, nightmare slow. Meg. “You’re supposed to be on a plane.”
“Yeah, well, plans changed.” She smacked his arm and slid between him and Galen to check his friend’s jaw. “Any loose teeth?”
“I’m fine.” Galen picked her up and set her aside so he could turn to face Theo fully. “Stupid move, letting Kozlov take you somewhere you didn’t want to go.”
Yeah, it had been. He glared. “You aren’t supposed to be here.”
“You’re not king yet, and I stopped being your head of security when we went into exile together. I don’t take orders from you.” He opened the back door and waited for Meg to climb in, and then he followed her and shut it with a snap.
Theo stared. “What are you doing?” When Galen ignored him, he jerked open the back door and leaned down, getting in his friend’s face. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“You need witnesses. I’m titled. Meg’s a civilian, but she works as a second witness.”
“Gee, thanks,” she murmured.
“Hush.” Galen turned back to him. “Phillip doesn’t care about the truth. He cares about being the puppet master behind the next king. He’ll kill you if he thinks he can get away with it.”
Theo clenched his hands to keep from reaching into the backseat and strangling the man he loved.
“That’s wonderful, Galen, I most certainly hadn’t thought of that.
Just like I hadn’t thought to arrange to have the entirety of the sitting Parliament at the palace waiting to witness the evidence I’m presenting. ”
Galen gave him a long stare. “Be a shame to make them wait.”
He wasn’t going to get them out of this car without an all-out brawl. Theo looked at Isaac, but the other man seemed to find the steering wheel intensely fascinating. “You’re going to be punished for this.”
“Can’t wait.” Galen crossed his arms over his chest and nodded at the front seat. “Shall we?”
“I’m going to throw you in the fucking dungeon.”
Meg leaned over to peer out the side windows, taking in the city. “Kinky.”
Galen snorted. “That threat would be a lot more effective if the dungeon hadn’t caved in and been walled over about fifty years ago.”
“Don’t you dare say another word—either of you.
” Theo turned around to face the windshield and pressed his fingers to his temples.
Walking into this confrontation with them was out of the question.
How the fuck was he supposed to keep them safe when neither Galen nor Meg seemed that concerned with following his expertly-reasoned orders?
The drive to the palace felt like it took ten times as long as it should have.
Isaac parked in one of the lots several blocks away and led them into the apartment building that was manned entirely by security staff.
No one looked directly at their little group, which told Theo all he needed to know—everyone was waiting to see how things fell out before they declared their allegiance one way or another.
He didn’t hold that against them.
This wasn’t their fight.
Isaac used his fingerprints to open a padlocked door that led down a narrow set of stairs.
Theo had frequented this path more times than he could count as a teenager, usually with Galen by his side.
Whenever palace life got to be too constricting, the large rooms filled with too little air and too many needs, they’d sneak out and spend a few hours walking the streets of Ranei.
Theo’s father always sent someone to shadow them, but he’d given them the freedom they needed.
Fuck, he missed his father.
Ghosting their way through the tunnels that ran beneath the palace grounds felt like walking back in time.
He half expected to come out the door at the end and find his father in his study, glasses perched on the edge of his nose, embroiled in some ancient history book.
Theo rubbed a hand against his chest, as if he could physically draw away the pain blossoming there.
After his father died, everything happened so quickly. Phillip’s coup. The exile. The plan to reverse the exile and retake his birthright.
This chapter would be over soon.
For better or worse, he’d have to deal with the consequences.
A hand on his arm drew him back to the present. Meg looked up at him with those pretty hazel eyes, her smile warm. “You aren’t alone, Theo. I get why you sent us away, but that’s not what this is. We’ve got your back.”
“What is this, then?” A question he should know better than to voice now.
Her smile went soft. “It’s love. And love doesn’t stop when it’s no longer convenient. This isn’t a battle we can fight for you, but we can stand at your back and support you while you fight it for yourself.”
The aching in his chest increased tenfold.
In all his scenarios, he’d never once stopped to think that love might actually be the result.
He’d loved Galen since they were kids. That relationship was as known to him as his own heartbeat, steady and sure and always present.
Even when he sent Galen away, he never doubted their feelings for each other.
Meg was different.
She had a life that didn’t include him. She had goals and a plan that he didn’t factor into—goals and a plan that she’d staked her entire future happiness on.
When this started, he never planned on derailing her. He’d just wanted her and a window of time where they could all enjoy each other. Crossroads were supposed to be temporary, after all.
“You love me.”
“Yes.” So simple, that answer. No dicking around, no playing hard to get. She just met his gaze and gave him the one thing he never dared hope for. “And you love me, too.”
It was not a question, and why should it be? Of course he loved Meg. How could he not? “You know I do.”
“Yeah. I do.” She gave him another of those achingly sweet smiles and squeezed his hand. “You’ve got this, Theo. And we’ve got you.”
In front of them, Isaac slowed. They had reached the door to the palace.
It was time.