Chapter 14 #2
I snorted and set down the card. “I wouldn’t trust Kole Conley with a coffee order much less any secret.
I don’t know why you bother with that fool, but he’s already embarrassing you from what even I’ve heard.
” I studied her. “You know he just wants to be prince and…” I felt small when she looked away.
“I’m sorry. Truly. I thought—you always knew when—”
“Apparently not always.”
“I’m sorry,” I said gently. “I thought he was the right connection.”
“No, but…” She swallowed loudly.
“What?”
“I’m not sure I know the answer,” she sighed. “He was easy, and I think it was more I didn’t care enough to care much.”
I nodded knowing fully what she meant. I decided to focus back on what I could help her with. “So you’re asking me to…”
“I don’t really know, Myriam,” she admitted, her voice small and sounding nothing like the confident Sagan De la Rosa I’d known for years and years.
“I need help and can’t handle this on my own.
Not without getting caught, people finding out the mess my parents made and handling all I’m supposed to. ”
“Small things like running a nation,” I drawled.
“You don’t know the half of it and there was already a coup.”
I felt ill when she caught me up on what happened. “Thank fuck for Treena. Really.”
“She’s amazing, but she can’t know about this. She’s heir to her throne too.”
“That’s really great of you, but you know she wouldn’t care and would help,” I told her firmly. I nodded when she did. But Sagan wouldn’t ever ask that of her. “I’ll help, but I have my own fucking situation.”
“Tell me how to make this work,” she said, changing gears. “I won’t let your father use me to try and legitimize his position. No. I’d rather go through the royal family and make it clear I want to try and save you from your father’s influence—there is a better way.”
“You’d do that for me?” I whispered, two seconds from falling off my chair in shock.
She blinked at me and slowly nodded. “Myriam, I would have done it even if I didn’t need you. Of course I would have. If you asked for help or to get out—the rumors aren’t always accurate and you’re crafty. I figured if you really wanted out you would have gotten out.”
“No, it’s been bad and Father’s lost his mind,” I admitted.
I cleared my throat. “Thank you. I never thought—thank you.” But it gave me an idea.
“I think that’s the play though. Not that you’re pulling me out, but that the royal family is pressuring you to have someone from Protesia closer to you and I’m the only one you would trust.”
She gave an elegant snort. “They are, and you are the only one I would trust. I might be friendlier with them than most would like, but trust is a stretch.” She rubbed her neck again. “So what do we do now?”
“How far are you willing to go with this, Sagan?” I asked her, truly curious.
She swallowed loudly. “Whatever it takes that I can still look myself in the mirror and not betray my people. I might curse my parents for the rest of my life for this mess, but I have to clean it up and not let this ruin their memory. I need—I can’t see past the betrayal.
There has to be a way to get out of it long-term, but right now I’ll do fights—whatever I have to. ”
I nodded, fully understanding where she was at. “Okay, I’m in.”
We talked back and forth and she wasn’t going to make me an advisor or whatever like Treena. That would be ridiculous given my family. I was going to be a financial aide of the De la Rosa family, so not even associated with the government.
The framing was to update the efficiency and logistics of everything behind the scenes from how the castle ran to every expense in between. As Sagan said, I was known for having a head for numbers and being honorable. It worked.
What didn’t work was the spin to Father. He wanted more. Way more and way too much.
Finally, Sagan lost patience and took my phone from me, regally laying into him that she was shocked an educated man from such a prosperous country could hold such antiquated ideas.
The king of his country was pushing for her to have more tigers in her orbit, and instead of being honored that she chose me, he was risking the chance with his greed.
Basically, she played him like a fiddle and pushed every button perfectly to get what we needed.
And more. She even got him to agree to work on cleaning up some of his more unsavory dealings to fix his image to not ruin this opportunity for his amazing daughter he better treasure. That his king would hear of it otherwise and would probably have words for him if Sagan was disappointed.
Wow, she was beyond amazing.
“She’s good, incredible even,” Father grumbled when I was back on the line. “Damn brat.”
I snorted. “She’s normally the smartest one in any room, but you can’t hate her because she doesn’t gloat or register it. But she’s honorable in the same way we are, so I’m safe here and this is real. She gave her word. She wants this to work, Father.”
He was quiet several moments. “It’s not what I wanted and—I heard you before you left. I’ll allow it but don’t make me regret it. Text your mother what you need sent.”
And then he hung up.
“Love you too, Papa,” I said to the finished call. I let out a slow breath and ignored the sympathetic look Sagan gave me. I went over to my suitcase and pulled out a new burner.
“How do you even have one of those?” she whispered. “Like is there a store you just get those at?”
I snorted, thinking she was pretty adorable when she was out of her depth.
“I’m going to use one of my personal hidden accounts that Father doesn’t even know about for all of this.
It bounces around the banks of a few nations and is completely untraceable.
I was working to squirrel away money in there for… ”
“If you had to run,” she muttered. “I’m sorry, Myriam. Really. I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“You’ve been busy and we weren’t friends,” I muttered as I also grabbed my laptop and got everything set up. “How did you leave things with the manager and bookie?”
She told me, but the problem was then that I was going to be publicly working for her and couldn’t be out and about handling a new fighter that was all the rage. Yeah, that would absolutely raise too many questions and get us caught.
“We need someone to act as a go-between like I set it up since I was coming into town and am now working here,” I muttered.
“Wanted in on the local scene and dipping into the action since I’m away from Father.
” I thought about it more and realized it could work.
“We could do a paper trail like you’re my ringer who’s done fights in Protesia. I brought you here because I am.”
“However you think it will work and not get us caught,” she said when I looked at her.
“I need to see the glamour or whatever you can do,” I admitted. “I need to know how solid this is and the chances it could fail.”
She hesitated for a moment and then I felt magic before she looked completely different. Gone was Sagan and before me was a standard female dragon who was attractive but not overly and honestly pretty forgettable.
“This isn’t possible unless you’re a magical dragon though, right?” I whispered.
She ignored that and answered my other question. “It won’t fail unless I’m unconscious and even then my dragon can hold it for a bit. So if I’m ever knocked out—I won’t get knocked out.”
“Never say never. First rule in doing anything shady,” I warned her.
“Fair.”
“Okay, I need an ally in the castle. Who do you have in your pocket and can trust most?” Pity filled me when it was clear she had no one and she was an island. “Who is most loyal to your family? Your parents.”
“Raquel,” she answered immediately. “Her whole bloodline, but she doesn’t even like me. She prefers Elira.”
“I’ll handle it.” I gave her a firm look. “I’ll handle it, Sagan. Keep your deniability and focus where you should be. I’ve got this. Keep your hands clean and just do the fights.”
She swallowed loudly. “That’s not fair. I don’t want to be a hypocrite.”
“You’re not.” I bounced that around. “No more than any leader and it’s needed.”
She seemed to accept that but also looked so defeated. “I want to legalize it. So did Father. It’s all so corrupt. One day I’ll legalize it.”
I believed her but left it alone, focused on my own agenda now. Most would have questioned how fast I was jumping in and not even flinching at shifting gears or that I was moving to a different nation, but… It was what I was raised on.
We reacted fast. Cleaned up messes—and evidence—before breakfast. We handled what others couldn’t, and there was never an emergency or problem that made us crumble under the weight of it.
Or that we showed.
I found Raquel and waited until she was alone to introduce myself. “Let’s chat.”
She studied me. “I understand you’re a guest of the princess, but I’ll find—”
“I’m now her aide because she finds herself without a single ally in her own home,” I said bluntly. “I’m here to fix that and more, so as I said—let’s chat.”
The woman was smart enough to know when the shit was hitting the fan and led me to her office. She noted when I didn’t take a seat but then relaxed when I did after she sat. I wasn’t here to disrespect her.
I wanted to get her on the team.
“So we’re clear, Sagan didn’t badmouth you. She made it clear that you and your family are loyal—undyingly loyal to the De la Rosas.”
“Of course. It’s our duty and pride,” she accepted.
“Except you don’t like Sagan and that worries her.
You prefer some outsider that the queen took under her wing.
I hoped that wasn’t really the case because that would be horrible for her, right?
” I felt better when the woman adjusted how she sat, clearly feeling guilty.
“That would be when help is called in and positions are changed up.”
She definitely was smart enough to catch the threat there.