26. Chapter 26
Fitz
A fter a fitful night of sleep, the last thing I needed was an early wake-up call. My solo date wasn’t supposed to happen until the afternoon, and I had planned to take advantage of the quiet until then. Instead, I threw back the blankets and stalked to the door, ready to give my intruder an earful. Ripping open the door, I glared at Tom. But he simply smiled in return.
“Oh, good. You’re up. We need to talk.” He pushed inside without asking, leaving me to stare after him as he carried a stack of folders to the table. “We got a call today.”
I let the door fall shut, instantly suspicious. “What kind of call?”
“The kind that changes everything.” He pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket and perched them on his nose before he started shifting though the stacks of papers. “We aired that bit with you and Michaela from the snow day. The views smashed all other records we’d set, but more than that, the videos went viral.”
“And that’s good?”
“If you want Nolcovia to step up to the international table with everyone else, then yes.” Tom stared at me over the top of his glasses. “American networks called. They want to air the rest of Royally… Yours in their country. They’re absolutely floored by Michaela. She’s a gold mine for you.”
All because of one snowball fight?
“Sorry, no. I’ve decided I’m sending her home tonight.”
“You can’t.” It wasn’t a request; it was a definitive answer.
Did he realize who he was talking to? This wasn’t about ratings or even international connections. This was my life.
“I won’t keep her.” I spoke with the conviction of a king issuing a command. This was nonnegotiable. I’d made up my mind.
Tom removed his glasses, clearly exasperated. “You’re giving up a huge opportunity.”
Anger sliced through my chest at the idea of being forced to comply. I was the Crown Prince. Since when had everyone forgotten what that meant?
“All I’m saying,” Tom handed me a sheet of paper, “is think about it first. I’m not asking you to marry her, just keep her around until the top three.”
I glanced over the projections on the paper. He wasn’t kidding. Thousands of viewers from other countries had become invested the second they saw my interaction with Michaela.
“You told me,” Tom spoke slowly, “you wanted to change this country and bring it out of the Dark Ages.” He tapped his finger against the page. “She’s your ticket.”
Michaela
The whole day felt like a waste. Too much worry. Too much introspection.
I didn’t regret spying on the queen because I still wasn’t sure how I felt about her. We never checked the other crates. Maybe there were answers in them.
Or maybe there was twenty-five pounds of birdseed.
I would never know. And Fitz wasn’t willing to listen.
“Milady,” Dahlia snapped her fingers in my face, “are you sure about the blue dress? I think the lavender one is warmer.”
She wasn’t wrong. Strapless, fitted, flared at the waist where it spread into cascading folds of sparkling teal fabric. It wasn’t warm. But it was gorgeous.
If Fitz was sending me home, I was gonna look good leaving.
Fitz
“Thank you, Carlisle. That’ll be all.” I excused my valet after he selected my suit and tie. I wasn’t in the mood to feel like a show pony getting groomed. I’d gotten lost all day in my thoughts, nearly mentally absent during my date with Minny. We’d gone on a sleigh ride through the country. Hot cocoa, a fuzzy blanket over our laps, the horses pulling us through the winter landscape. It should have been incredibly romantic, and yet, I couldn’t find it in me. Minny’s bubbly nature only highlighted my brooding, and the date had ended earlier than expected.
For as much as Tom gushed about the footage with Michaela, I knew a lecture waited for me over my performance with Minny. I couldn’t help it. The choosing ceremony weighed on me all day long. How was I supposed to decide about Michaela?
I buttoned the last button on my shirt and started to work on my tie. Could I really keep her around for the ratings? More importantly, could I see her every day and not shatter each time I looked at her?
“Blimey, putting on the ritz, aren’t you?”
I whirled around, shocked that Bishop had the audacity to enter without permission. “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Cousin. I came in as Carlisle left. And he held the door for me.“ He put his hands up to signal innocence. “But I’m not looking for a fight. I have other reasons for being here.”
I turned back to face the mirror. “You know, that’s what I’ve been asking since you arrived.” I stared at him through the mirror. “Why are you here?”
He wouldn’t look at me for a moment, secrets too much to share. “I’m here for the crown. Nothing more.”
It was a standard line for the family. Everything we did was for the crown, but I had sincere doubts when it came to Bishop.
“And how exactly does seducing Michaela serve that purpose?”
His stare came back full force, seemingly angry that I’d brought her into this. “I thought you were friends . That’s what you told me. And yet here you are, positively blind with jealousy.”
“It’s complicated.” My answer felt like the shortsighted whining of a pouting child. “And now it’s worse because of you.” I went back to wrapping my tie, frustrated that I’d sent Carlisle away too soon.
“I don’t understand. If nothing has ever happened between you, and nothing ever can because she’s American, why are you—“ Bishop crossed his arms over his chest, mouth parting with realization as he stared at me. “Oh, I see. That’s not exactly true, is it? Been snogging long?”
I slipped the tie through the final loop and tightened it on my neck, but it was his unspoken accusation that left me feeling like I was wearing a noose. “It was a kiss, that’s all.”
Bishop’s mouth moved like he meant to make words, but nothing came out, too caught in disbelief to voice any of it. His left hand came up to rake his nails over his head. “That explains a lot.”
“Hardly.” I left the mirror and crossed the room to retrieve my vest from the bed. I was needed downstairs within ten minutes. Going the rounds with Bishop wasn’t a part of that timeline. “Because she left me to meet you—“
“It wasn’t a date,” Bishop interrupted me. “We overheard plotting in the halls and your Coco wanted to be sure no one was going to hurt you or your father. The delivery was set for midnight, so I helped her get there. That’s all.”
I held my vest in my grip for a moment as I tried to process the implications. “What kind of plotting? Who was it?”
Bishop shifted uncomfortably. I wagered he wanted to keep it to himself. “Your mother. It sounded as if she was poisoning your father.” He stretched his jaw. “I thought she was the one making him sick.”
My heart sank at the thought. Was that why she’d shown so much ambition recently?
“Before you jump off that cliff,” Bishop pressed on, “it was nothing. She secured a Craboon Blackwing somehow. You know how she is about lore.” Bishop shrugged. “Turns out, she wants to save him, not hurt him.”
I struggled to keep up, not just mentally, but emotionally. “And the rest of it?” I was, of course, talking about the way he was holding her when I found them.
Bishop’s discomfort only grew. “I was doing what I always do, but she wasn’t having it.”
I turned around, curious about what he meant. “Explain.”
“I mean,” he sighed, “it isn’t me she wants, Leo.”
That wasn’t enough. Just because she was smart enough not to fall for his lines didn’t mean…
“Believe what you want.” He waved me off, sensing my doubt. “But don’t discard her because of me. If you’re certain you can’t marry her, send her off. But if there’s a chance that she could… If you could be happy with her, you can’t let her go.”
“And what do I do about the crown?”
“Oh, come on, then. I told you.” His normally jovial grin turned a bit wicked. “I’m here for the crown, Leonidas.”
Wisps of suspicion curled into my thoughts like smoke as I looked at that phrase in a new light. He didn’t mean he was here to serve the crown.
Bishop meant he was here to steal the crown.
From me.
Everything had changed.
“It’s easy.” He laughed lightly. “You get the girl. I get to rule.” He shrugged. “Or, if you’d rather, I’ll take Michaela and you can have the throne. But you can’t have both. You know that, right?”
Bishop spoke as if it was the most logical conclusion, as though he was doing me a great service. But, in essence, he’d been lying in wait, watching for this very moment to line up before he pounced on the opportunity.
“Get out,” I whispered. I didn’t have the strength to yell. Not when I felt like he’d sucker punched me with his true intentions. “Get out now.”
“I’m doing you a favor, Leo.” He backed out of my room, both palms up as if I were arresting him. “You’ll see. Everything has been for your own good.”
I stared at the open doorway, long after he’d left.
I’d always thought my father had landed on a hard sort of luck, but, for the first time, I considered the alternative.
What if someone was poisoning him?
Someone who knew me and knew how difficult it would be for me to choose a wife with limited time. Someone who stood to gain the throne if I abdicated and moved out of the way.
I’d always assumed a playboy like Bishop planned to follow his father’s path, but what if that was all a ploy?
An act to cover up the hostile takeover he’d been planning all along.
Michaela
Much of the production related to Royally… Yours had become commonplace to me. The lighting, the decorations, the ice on the windows, even Corbin’s entrance and introductions paired with the theme song.
I felt strangely out of sorts as Fitz entered. He wore a smile, but I saw the conflict in his eyes. He hadn’t made his decision yet. It was the same look he had the first time we took him to the ice cream shop with thirty-one flavors. He’d ended up with eight scoops of random flavors in a waffle bowl, and I had to help him finish it.
I felt like the forgotten cotton candy ice cream in the far-right corner of the case. Cute enough to look at, but no one really wanted it and it didn’t actually fit with anything else.
I was probably the only decision he had made.
Blair took her place in the victor’s section, earned earlier in the week on her date. Then one by one, he called their names. One by one, he fastened a small platinum charm to their bracelets.
Chantal.
Esme.
Gwen.
Dagny.
Each name dashed any hopes that he’d changed his mind. Only two more charms remained. I blinked back my tears, not wanting to make a scene. Fitz wouldn’t appreciate it. Instead, I remained numb and disconnected from the whole ordeal. The lights, the drama, even Corbin’s rousing comments between selections, it all felt like I was watching from behind a glass wall. None of it belonged to me. It never had, but once more, I felt the sting of not belonging.
“Sadie, please step forward.” Fitz’s newest declaration broke through my thoughts.
Relief flooded her expression. For a second, she thought she was going home. She’d been rescued from that awful fate, and her excitement and gratitude showed in every step she took toward the prince.
I was happy for her. She would be good for him. And considering how things with Fitz had ended, I wouldn’t have to worry about maintaining my friendship with him. I would bow out without a sound, get on a plane, and be back home before the holidays. It would all become a memory of another life, something I replayed on lonely nights to assure myself I’d done something daring once upon a time.
Minny and Eirene filled in beside me, each taking one of my hands. It wasn’t only Fitz that I would miss. Many of us had become close in this short time. I’d made friends and I likely wouldn’t see any of them ever again. The thought nearly broke me in my already weakened state.
“Yes, Your Highness” Blair answered the scripted question like it was her first time hearing it and no one else existed. I stared at the ground as my leg bounced silently beneath my dress. I just wanted it over with. He would either pick Eirene, because she was easily the most intelligent and influential, or Minny, because she was a ray of sunshine captured in a model’s body.
It wouldn’t be me. I had his word on that. The best I could do was keep my head down and wait for the inevitable end.
“Michaela,” Fitz said my name and my head popped up, eyes wide.
Was he going to humiliate me on live TV? Did he need his people to know that I’d been caught with his cousin? He hadn’t allowed me a chance to explain last night, but this was cruel. With this many cameras focused on me, I couldn’t admit I’d spied on the queen or that she’d smuggled a rare bird into Nolcovia against the law. My heart hammered in my chest, but I didn’t move.
“Please step forward.”
I glanced at Minny, looking for help, but through her teary eyes, she urged me to follow through. She thought I’d won the spot, but there was no way. Still, I couldn’t exactly ignore him either. Feeling trapped, I took the first steps toward him. Any hope that he would spare me the humiliation I knew I deserved faded as I watched his face harden with all the irritation he’d shown me last night.
Not even Chantal had been served this kind of spite.
After a walk that felt like it spanned the length of two football fields, I curtsied at his feet, careful to stay low until his touch captured my fingers and pulled me back to standing. His dark eyes watched me, evaluating and weighing my worth. More than his anger, I felt his pain, even emotional agony. This decision hadn’t come easily. For some reason, that made me feel a little better. I couldn’t be cast off without some regret.
“I’m still mad at you,” he whispered.
“I understand.” I made no excuses. I could only hope that he was trying to preserve our friendship somehow, even if I couldn’t stay.
“But,” that word from his lips was like a match on a box, sparking hope to life in my heart, “I’m not ready to lose you either.”
Was he saying what I thought he was? He wasn’t sending me home yet?
His fingers brought my hand higher. “Michaela, will you take this charm as a symbol that your heart is true, your intentions are pure,” he stalled, a little overcome by a rush of emotion. Clearing his throat, he began again, “And you are willing to serve the people of Nolcovia as their future queen?”
“Yes,” I whispered, “Your Highness.”
He didn’t let go of my hand. Cameras pulled in on every side. They’d never paid me any attention in the past. I felt like the center act in a freakshow. Since when did I matter? But Fitz’s thumb rubbed over my knuckles and my mind flashed back to that perfect moment when I was wrapped in his arms, against his lips, with the fire roaring in the background like our blossoming connection.
Yes, he was still mad at me.
But I wasn’t leaving.
And more importantly, I didn’t want to.