Page 64 of Wicked Queen

“There’s one more issue.” Clara took a deep breath, then her eyebrows furrowed. “Ouch! Sorry! The baby is wide awake and elbowing me.”

“The issue?” Georgia prompted. She hated when she had to deal with Clara’s pregnancy. It’s why I still found Clara’s decision to ask her to be her primary bodyguard confusing.

“Anders,” Clara said, her eyes darting to me.

“What about him?” I said calmly.

“Sarah was throwing herself at him earlier,” she explained.

“I assume he didn’t get her phone number,” I said in a flat tone.

“He didn’t know what to do.”

“He’ll steer clear of her,” Edward said. “He doesn’t have much interest in the family.”

“She should know,” Clara insisted.

“What good will that do? She’s volatile. Unpredictable. She’s a fucking teenager.”

“I don’t disagree, X, but she’s your sister and that makes Anders her brother.”

“In case you failed to notice, he doesn’t want to be our brother.” I didn’t have all that much interest in having him around either. Not while he harboured feelings toward my wife. I trusted Clara, but I couldn’t stomach watching Anderson covet what belonged to me. “He has his own life. Our father saw to that.”

“I still think she should know,” Clara said stubbornly.

“I’m glad someone does.”

It took me a second to figure out who’d spoken. Everyone in the room studied each other. It wasn’t until a panel next to the fireplace began to open that I realized my mistake.

Sarah had grown up in these rooms. Many things had changed, but the fundamentals had not. She stepped into my office, her mobile still turned to flashlight mode, and slid it shut behind her.

There was no sign of the manic behaviour she’d exhibited earlier, according to Edward and David. She oozed fury in a terrifyingly rational way. That, coupled with her ability to navigate the dark secret passages that connected my grandmother’s suite to the King’s study, told me we’d been played. I couldn’t imagine why. Unless she’d wanted this all along.

“The benefit of losing ten years and having…what did you call it?” She looked at Georgia. “The emotional capacity of a teaspoon? Is that I still remember my childhood games. Hide and seek—don’t you remember, Alex?”

Her words stuck all the more when she called me by my old nickname. “No one’s called me that for years.”

“They wouldn’t, would they?” she seethed. “You grew up, unlike me. You have your secret meetings and make decisions about my life! Your American wife wants me gone and that’s that. You never asked me if I wanted to come back in the first place. But I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. You could have pulled the plug on my life support years ago, but then that’s one less life for you to control, isn’t it?”

“I don’t want to control your life.” I stood and moved to stand before her. “I want to control my own and I can’t do that with you here.”

“Where do you want me to go?” She laughed as if considering the possibilities. “Maybe my new brother will take me in. But wait! He hates you, too. I wonder why?” She tapped her finger thoughtfully on her cheek. Then she tilted her head to Clara. “Thanks for stopping me before I fucked him, by the way.”

“Anderson knows he’s our brother,” I said.

She cocked her head, smirking like I was missing a joke. “Are you sure that would stop him? He obviously wants to fuck his other sister. Then again, Clara doesn’t share his blood, so maybe that’s the line he draws.”

“Norris take my sister to a guest room—one without access to the corridors,” I said through clenched teeth, “and fire the guards who were watching her.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” He held his arm towards the door, but Sarah shook her head.

“Even poor Norris has to bow down to you.” She crossed to the door. “Lock me up again. I’m used to it.”

When she was finally gone, we sat in silence. There was no point to speaking because we were all thinking the same thing: how much bigger could this mess get?

Chapter 21

Clara