The Hero and the Hidden Royal - Renae Kaye Page 0,28
proof.”
“And then what?” Derek demanded.
With a slight grimace, quietly Sam said, “I’m no supo. Do you know how jealous I feel over the fact you say you know supos? I mean, they’re heroes. I’m not a hero. I can’t save the day or anything like that. I only want to help the people I care for.”
Derek’s heart sank. “Oh, Sam. Supos are… we’re simply normal people, you know. No one is infallible. You know the Duke of Roses? He’s a supo. He’s a Royal. Even he gets into trouble. Did you know he’s missing?”
“Missing?”
“Yeah. You’re not supposed to know at the moment, because they’re keeping it hush-hush, but they can’t find him. Queen Maialen is apparently quite distressed over it. But if a Royal can get hurt, then I’m doubly afraid for you. You don’t need to be jealous of any supo I know, because….” He hesitated and then decided to confess. “… because I think I’m in love with you already.”
“You are?”
“Yeah.”
“But we’ve only just met.”
“Yeah.”
“And this is our second date.”
“Yeah.”
“And I’m not a supo. How could you love me?”
Derek laughed. “Sam? Have you considered how I got my superpower?”
They were out of the main city traffic and cruising along the highway, headed towards the beach. The road wasn’t straight as it had mountainous regions to go through, but it was wide and made for easy driving. Sam glanced at Derek in query. “What do you mean? You said you’re a supo because you’re related to the royal family.”
“Exactly. Which means that one of my parents had to be as well. You just met them. Do they seem like supos who are heroes?”
Sam’s jaw dropped. “Oh. Which one of your parents is a supo? Or are they both supos? If you tell me your mother is a supo, I’m going to have to rearrange my thinking about how supos act.”
Derek took a moment to swallow so his voice wouldn’t waver as he answered. “My mother could’ve used only her hands and tasered you so hard that you twitched on the floor for a full five minutes.”
Silence fell over the car. “Your mother?”
“Don’t worry about it too much. She only does that when she’s really angry. So don’t do anything to upset her—” He waited three heartbeats and tacked on, “—like break up with her beloved son.”
It took Sam a full minute until he realized Derek was kidding him. He burst out laughing. “Dammit. You had me going there. But really? She can do that?”
“Yeah. She once dropped a two hundred pound guy who was harassing this girl. I was fourteen and we were driving along a road when my mother spotted it. She turned back, told me to stay in the car, then went over. Next thing this guy was on the ground and the girl thanked her and took off. My mother got back in the car, turned to me, and said, ‘And if I ever see you talking to a girl in that way, I’ll do the same to you.’” Derek smiled fondly at the memory. “I stuttered something about being gay and wouldn’t ever be saying those sorts of things to a girl. I didn’t even realize I was coming out to her or anything. But Mom didn’t flinch. She just put the car in gear and said something like, ‘Fine. The same still goes. If you talk to a boy in that manner, then I will zap you.’ I never had to fear the wooden spoon in my house. I had to fear the zap.”
Sam’s jaw was hanging open. “I think I have new respect for your mother. Supos are heroes.”
“No. Not all of them. People are the heroes, superpowers or not. It’s what you choose to do with the skillset you have that makes you a hero. What’s the saying about it’s not how brave you are but how much fear you overcome?”
When Sam’s hand reached out, Derek didn’t hesitate to grasp it. “I know you think you’re not a hero,” Sam said softly, “but I think I’m falling for you, too.” While Derek was stunned to silence, he continued. “That story I told your mother about needing a change of scene and all? The reason I moved? Well, the real reason is there was this guy I had been seeing and he… well, he turned out not to be as nice as I thought.”
Derek’s fingers gripped Sam’s. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. Not anything that hasn’t been done before, but it’s just that I didn’t realize