Royal Mistake #4 by Ember Casey & Renna Peak

Author:Ember Casey & Renna Peak [Casey, Ember]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Casey Peak Publishing, LLC
Published: 2017-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

Andrew

Most people in the palace don’t realize it, but there’s a place at the top of the highest tower where you can step out onto the roof. I discovered it when I was eleven. From here you can see what feels like the whole of Montovia—the city below, the valley beyond, the ring of purple mountains encircling it all. There’s a ridge of stone along the edge of the roof, providing something of a barrier between a man and certain death, but it’s also flat enough here that I might move about easily. When I was younger and first truly coming to understand the role expected of me, I used to spend hours out here, staring out at the world below. My world. My people. My land.

It’s been a year since the last time I visited this place. The sky is bright with stars tonight, a blanket of a thousand twinkling lights. The city below is lit up with a golden glow—it is still early yet, and many of Montovia’s citizens are still at dinner or finishing up a day’s work. In the distance, I hear the faint sound of music.

You knew it was dangerous to try and take something for yourself, I think. You knew it was a risk. That it all might come crashing down.

Lady Clarissa on her own I might have managed. She was upset—furious—but there’s little she could have threatened me or Victoria with that would have made me willingly accept her hand in marriage.

My father, on the other hand…

I grimace and rub the back of my neck. In my mind, I can still see the expression on his face—cold, hard, and terrifying—as Lady Clarissa told him exactly what she’d seen. I was still wrapped in nothing more than a blanket, forced to stand there half-naked and listen to Clarissa’s venomous little speech. Forced to bear my father’s icy glare.

Even now, my entire body tenses as I replay the scene in my mind.

When Lady Clarissa was done, my father dismissed her without taking his eyes off of me.

“I will have words with my son,” he said to her. “And then I’ll tell you what I’ve decided.”

I was only remotely aware of Lady Clarissa leaving the room. My entire attention was focused on my father, who was staring at me with fury the likes of which I’ve never seen before. I’ve never seen him look like that at anyone, not even Leopold.

For a long moment, he couldn’t even seem to bring himself to speak. I took the opportunity to try and explain myself.

“Father, I—”

“Do. Not. Speak.”

I straightened, tightening the blanket before me. It was hard enough to face that stare of his, but harder still to do bare-chested and bare-footed. Shame coursed through my entire body.

“I would have expected such behavior from Leopold,” my father said finally. “But it is unacceptable coming from you. Unacceptable.”

“I understand, Father. And—”

“And you will stay quiet and listen. It was your decision to hold this pageant, Andrew. I trusted you to

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.