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“Yeah, sure.” He cleared his throat. “Catch you later.”
And with that, the call was ended.
Lilah brushed aside her own heartache. There would be time – years – to reflect on what she might have done differently. She had the rest of her life to miss Will and wish for him. In that moment, she needed to focus on Abigail.
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She dressed quickly, pulling a black dress over her head and plaiting her hair over one shoulder. Her attendants would come soon, once they realized she was awake, and she needed to be stealthy. She crept out of her room, enjoying the early morning quiet of the palace. There were sentries marked periodically throughout the corridor but Lilah no longer noticed these men; they were simply a part of the furniture.
Abigail was not in her room.
Lilah moved downstairs quickly, her eyes scanning the various sitting rooms and parlours until finally she found her.
Abi was in the middle of the floor, her legs crossed, staring straight ahead, while Michael played with some Duplo blocks. With a sense of solidarity, she moved to sit beside Abi, and wordlessly put a hand on her knee.
“You’ve seen it.” Abi’s words were thin. Lilah understood the pain in Abi’s whispered statement because it matched the pain and indignation thrumming through her own heart.
“It’s a lie.”
A single tear ran down Abi’s cheek, dropping with a splash to the ground between them.
“Abi.” Lilah put an arm around her sister’s shoulder, bringing her close to her. “Hush. You must not let a piece such as this upset you. It is a fabrication; an invention to sell stories. You know that! We were not arguing. And you are certainly not unwanted. Michael was having a tantrum. Remember the facts that so easily dispute the basis for this story.”
“Is Kiral in Assing?” Abi murmured, referring to the country from which his intended princess heralded.
Lilah bit down on her lip. There was no sense in lying. “I believe so. But he goes there often for business. They are our biggest trade partners.”
Abi sent Lilah a soft smile then stood. “I’m okay. It’s nothing worse than I expected.” She lifted Michael into her arms and hugged him tight. He made a token protest and then snuggled into his mama’s shoulder, his little arms wrapping around her neck. They’d been a pair for so long that supporting Abi came instinctively to him.
They made a lovely tableau. Lilah was excluded from it. Theirs was an intimacy unlike any she’d ever known.
She stood jerkily. “You’re part of this family. You’re my sister. And we both know the article doesn’t change a thing.”
Abi’s attempt at a smile, while valiant, was pathetic. “Thank you.”
Lilah had the distinct impression she was being dismissed, as unusual a sensation as that was. She walked out of the room but paused to ask a servant to have tea and fruit taken to Abigail and Michael.
Lilah dialed the number Will had used to call her; he picked up after one ring. “Lilah.”
The way he said her name made her blood simmer. She pushed that aside. It wasn’t relevant. “She’s devastated. Will? Kiral needs to fix this. Is he still in Assing?”
“No.”
“Then do something. You must get him to fix this.”
He nodded, then said, “Yeah. I’m meeting Alain shortly. We’re going to talk to him.”
“My brother will be furious.”
“As he should be.” Will ran his finger over his boot, his eyes settled far into the distance, towards the palace that housed Lilah and Abigail and the little royal prince. If he thought of such crap being written about Lilah, he would want to strangle the person responsible.
Lilah’s mouth opened then shut. What more was there to say? “Goodbye.”
Will could have shouted. “Wait.”
Lilah did so, clutching the phone tight in her hand, but Will was silent. Eventually, his voice holding a faraway quality, he said, “How are you?”
“I’m fine.” Was that really her? Sounding so formal and reserved, as though hearing him speak wasn’t ripping her to shreds. “And you?”
