Max stroked his chin with his fingers. “The problem is, she was from lower royalty, probably not even someone that would be invited in the upper circles. I don’t think that most royalty would give a shit about her death.”
I had thought about that too. “It’s the whole mama-bear mentality,” I told him. “What’s the most important thing to a king?”
“His fortune?”
I punched him on the shoulder, colliding with rock-hard muscle. “His heir. It doesn’t matter if you like them, but you know that they will be the reason that your bloodline goes forth in the future. If something happens to the heir, the line dies right?”
Max frowned. “Some are happy to see their family lines die with them, especially ones that are disgraced.”
I thought about his story, or at least the story I had heard. Was he willing to let the line die or was I going to be his saving grace? It was a huge weight on my shoulders to know that whomever I picked would get what he needed and the other two would not, their futures uncertain.
It sucked, honestly. I had grown close to all the kings in my own way. “But not most of them,” I finally said, getting back to my original topic. “We need to plant seeds of doubt in their minds, to think that their children aren’t safe here. It’s the only way to turn the royal families against her.”
Max looked at me for a long minute. “But what if it doesn’t work, Anna? What will you do then?”
“I honestly do not know,” I admitted. “I guess she wins, and I die.”
“Or,” Max countered. “You take your father’s will and become empress. She will be begging for an audience then.”
I wasn’t so sure that was a win for me, honestly. Just the thought of following in my father’s footsteps made me sick to my stomach.
But it would be a win for one of the kings, as I would have to align myself with him in marriage.
Or someone else. I guessed it didn’t have to be a king, but a sovereign in general.
“All right,” Max said. “What if you are able to get your point across to the royal families in another way?”
“Like a recreation of some sort of tragic event in this day and age,” I finished for him, already one step ahead.
“Damn, Anna,” he laughed. “I can’t get anything over on you.”
I smiled. “I’ve had some time to think about this plan. I think we need to show them that she’s unfit to be in this academy.” By doing so, I would strip Isauros of her power, and she would be like every other woman in the world.
That, and I could threaten her much better if she weren’t sitting in this academy, with the ability to do whatever she liked. I knew she was behind Johanna’s sudden leave of absence and was surprised she hadn’t gone after the kings yet.
“You gonna kill somebody?”
I shook my head. “Just pretend to. And there’s only one person I can think of that would be crazy enough to go through with the plan.”
“I’m scared to ask,” Max replied, concern on his face.
It was my turn to smirk. “Then don’t.”
***
Max took me back to the academy a little while later and I was glad to see that no one was lurking in my room nor had any traps been set for my arrival.
It was like everything was back to normal when in reality, nothing was normal for me.
After taking a long, hot shower and changing into my pajamas, I placed the chair under the doorknob and settled in for the night in my bed, feeling a bit better than I had on the previous nights. Carefully, I pulled out my father’s will from the book I kept it in, unfolding the paper and smoothing it out on the bed. I reread each word, even though I knew them by heart.
Why had he given me this money? If I were really a product of rape on his part, why would he care to know that I was taken care of?
Was it a guilty conscience or something else?
I guessed I would never know, but if I did choose the stipulations in his will, I would be an extraordinarily rich woman and on the cusp of becoming a royal myself.
If I didn’t, I would be just plain Anna Komita.
My cell dinged and I grabbed it, firing off a text to Arthur to let him know I was turning in for the night. He had checked in regularly while I was with Max, but I had pretended to be in my room or the library when he asked. I didn’t want him to know that I was with Max, trying to come up with a dangerous plan.
Arthur clearly wouldn’t approve of what I was considering doing and I wasn’t so sure that Max did either.
But this was my life, not theirs. I needed to end this once and for all, in whatever way I thought was best. I couldn’t run scared the rest of my life, no matter what path I chose to take.
Getting rid of Isauros in my life was the start of my future.
“What were you thinking?” I whispered at the will, wishing that my father could speak to me through the thin bundle of papers. It wasn’t a question about my mother’s involvement in his life and my subsequent birth.
It was a question as to why he would marry someone like Katarina Isauros in the first place.
I folded the will and tucked it between the pages of the book, setting it aside. First Isauros, then my future. That was my plan and I had to stick to it.
For I couldn’t have a future without her not interfering with my life.
Chapter 7
Anna
The next morning, I woke and nearly fell out the bed in the process.
“Morning, pauper.”
I scrambled to a sitting position as Royce shifted on the bed. “How did you get in here?”
His lips upturned into his cocky grin. “Did you really think that a chair was going to keep anyone out? Someone is trying to kill you.”
Horribly aware of the fact that I had morning breath and likely a crease on my face from my pillow, I silently cursed his existence. “It’s the best option I’ve got.”
“The best option you’ve got is to move in with me.”
“You and Arthur,” I muttered, pushing my hair back from my face. “Is that why you broke into my room, Royce?”
He stood, moving to the front of the bed, his hand in his hair. “No, dammit. Why were you at Max’s house yesterday?”
Oh, so that was what this was about. “I was hanging out with him, that’s all.”
Royce chuckled, though his expression was hard as granite. “Hanging out? Is that what they are calling it nowadays?”
I arched a brow. Royce was pure jealous. “That is none of your business. I don’t owe you anything, Royce.”