the banks and schools and garbage men to start working again, but everyone was just too giddy to do anything. The center square became this massive shrine to your recovery.”
Since my brother has shied away from the public, he’s used his tech expertise to help run the Kingdom. He’s the head of castle security, and comes up with lots of the systems that help make Argyle what it is. He’s a damn near genius, and almost no one in Argyle even knows.
“They love you,” he says.
My heart thumps, and I wave to the crowds. All I remember from that time is pain, and drugs, and crushing betrayal.
I didn’t realize that thousands of people cared about me like that. I didn’t know that my people were behind me, even if it felt like Theo and Cara had stabbed me in the back.
Dante clears his throat. “This girl of yours…”
I glance at him, stiffening. “What about her?”
“You love her?” My younger brother’s eyes search mine. He’s always been an expert at seeing through my bullshit, even when we were just little kids.
I let out a heavy breath and lift my eyes to him. “Yeah,” I answer simply. “I do.”
Dante’s face opens into a broad smile. “I’m happy for you, then.”
By the time the event is over, it’s late afternoon. I check my phone for the first time since this morning, and my heart sinks when I don’t see a message from Ivy. I tap a quick message out for her and attach a couple of photos of the Argyle Palace, the city, and the crowds that came out to see me.
Wish you were here, I write.
I stare at the screen for a few moments, and then slip the phone into my pocket.
The next three days continue in a whirlwind of activity. The days are packed with official events, and I’m whisked from one end of the Kingdom to the other. I speak to Ivy in the evenings, and her voice sounds flat and emotionless. It tugs at my heart, and I tell her that I’ll be back soon. I count down the days until I can go back to Farcliff.
On my fourth night in Argyle, my footsteps echo as I make my way to my chambers. I haven’t heard from Ivy all day, and last night she told me that Margot still hasn’t spoken to her. I can feel her slipping away from me, shutting herself off from my love. I need to go back there.
Every echoing footstep in the empty hallways sounds like a hammer pounding the final nail into my heart.
Something’s wrong.
I can feel it.
I need to fix it.
When I see that my chamber doors are ajar, alarm bells sound in my head. I slow down, peering through the opening before pushing the door open. It glides silently, and I see a man crouched over my bedside table.
“Who the fuck are you?”
The man yelps, jumping up as pills go scattering across the floor. My eyes widen when I see my half-brother, Beckett, staring back at me.
“Luca,” he manages to say as he clears his throat, his eyes bouncing around the room.
I frown. “What are you doing? Is that my medication?”
“I…” He rakes his fingers through his hair. “I got a new bottle off your doctor. I was just checking that you didn’t need any more.”
I frown. First of all, I don’t have a regular doctor in Argyle. I finished my prescriptions from Farcliff weeks ago, and never got a new one. I haven’t requested it from anyone, or even mentioned that I needed new pills.
Second of all, why would Beckett care about my medication? I hadn’t seen him in five years until we saw each other in Farcliff. Why is he all of a sudden invested in my recovery?
My brother’s cheeks grow bright red, and I know he’s lying.
“Why are you here?” My voice is hard.
Beckett lifts his eyes up to mine, and the mask on his face falls away. He sneers at me, shaking his head.
“It should have been you in that hospital bed, not Margot.”
“What?”
“These pills,” he says, sweeping his arm at the floor. “I know you depend on them.”
Taking a step, he grinds his heel onto a pill on the floor before kicking the powdery remains toward me.
I let my arms hang loosely at my sides, trying not to betray the tension that snakes through my muscles. I clench my fists and unclench them, looking Beckett up and down.