Shaking the thoughts out of my mind, I decided now was not the time to make any decisions. First, I had to deal with Isauros, then I could make my decision for the future.
I paused before walking up the drive to Royce’s mansion, thinking about the last time I was here. Each king had his own mansion, a place for him to have his privacy since the kings were the elite of Weissmore Academy. I had seen Arthur’s and Royce’s mansions intimately, but I had yet to see Max’s.
Each time I stepped inside one of the mansions, I lost a piece of myself to a king.
Good thing I had already visited Royce’s.
Frowning at the swirl of emotions that invaded my heart, I closed the distance to his front door, knocking.
He opened it immediately, a ghost of a smile on his sinfully handsome face. “Pauper. It’s good to see you.”
My heart fluttered at his low timbre. Of all the kings, I had spent more time with Royce than any of the others and somewhere we had blurred the lines from enemies to, well, I wasn’t sure what we were right now.
Truth was, I knew every line of his strong, well-built form, and how to make his eyes darken with heat when I touched him in all the right places. I knew how his hair felt under my fingers and how his kisses felt against my skin.
And feelings … I had a lot of those. “Royce,” I forced out, hoping that my face wasn’t on fire. “Did you enjoy your break?”
His smile remained but his eyes grew hard. “Not as much as I would have enjoyed it with you, pauper.”
I rolled my eyes and placed my hand on his chest to push him aside, but Royce grabbed it, pulling me against his hard body. I could feel every inch of him, and my stomach quivered with need. Royce was the king that haunted my dreams, mainly because he had shared some tender moments with me at the hardest times of my life and I really didn’t know what his ulterior motive was.
Or if he still had one. “Tell me you missed me, pauper,” he whispered.
“Why?” I asked, staring at him. I was so tired of playing their games. “So I can stroke your ego?”
The king grinned full-on then, not the cocky smile that I was used to seeing but the smile he reserved for me, his human smile. “I’ve got something else you can stroke, pauper. All you have to do is say the word.”
Just like an arrogant king. I tugged on my hand, but he refused to release it. “Let me go, Royce,” I said evenly, all too aware of the way my body was reacting to him.
Royce’s eyes darkened and his expression was almost needy. “Tell me you missed me, and I will.”
Had I missed him? My heart was telling me yes. “You were only gone a few days,” I answered softly. “I think you missed me more than I missed you.” I was lying to myself, of course. I had missed him far more than I really wanted to admit to myself, much less to him.
Something flickered across his expression before his eyes went flat and he dropped my hand. “Go inside,” he said. “Everyone’s in the kitchen.”
His sudden change in demeanor made me both surprised and concerned, but I didn’t mention it, walking through his house to the kitchen instead. Arthur and Max were leaning against the counter, conversing softly when I entered and two pairs of eyes swung to me, robbing me of my breath. I always forgot how gorgeous the kings were, even with all their internal flaws. Arthur was definitely the spitting image of his namesake; his classic blond hair and eyes could be in any Disney movie.
Max was a sharp contrast to Arthur, with his jet-black hair and dark eyes. I found Max the hardest to read and he was the one that I was the furthest from, too. We had conversed very little, but he wasn’t one to bullshit around. I liked that Max gave it to me straight, where the other kings had their own tricks.
And Royce. Royce had me all screwed up. “Guys,” I said, tucking my hands in my jeans.
“Anna,” Arthur said, holding up his glass. “Can I get you something?”
“It’s my fucking house,” Royce growled as he rounded the island. “I’ll get her something if she wants it, not you.”
Okay, something was really eating at Royce. Even Arthur arched a brow at his outburst. “I’m good, really,” I said. “I need to tell you all about my run-in with Isauros.”
That got their attention. “I thought we told you to stay away from her without us around,” Max said.
“I didn’t intentionally seek her out,” I answered, crossing my arms over my chest. “She cornered me.”
Royce let out a heavy sigh, reaching for the bottle on the island. “This is going to require some alcohol.”
I sat on one of the high barstools, my legs dangling. “I won’t repeat it word for word, but the gist of it is that she is going to kill me.”
“She said that?”
I heard the doubt in Arthur’s voice. “Pretty much. She told me I wouldn’t see the end of the year. I would say that’s close enough.” Her words still rang in my head. I had been told a lot of things over my lifetime, but no one had come straight out and threatened my life.
Isauros would likely be one who would follow through with it, too.
“Sounds like she’s going to kill her then,” Max said after a moment. “Sucks for Anna.”
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically. “Maybe I should just leave right now and go home.” Wherever home might be.
“No,” Arthur replied. “You’re not going home. You deserve to be here just as much as we do. Plus, you have your father’s will to decide on.”
I knew why he had brought that up. He had told me on more than one occasion that I should pick him over the other two kings. He was the only one that believed that. If you asked the other two, each of them thought that they were more suited to be my husband.
As if I was ready for marriage.
Unfortunately, my father had been pretty clear in that regard. I had to get married in order to inherit the sum of money that he had left. It was a lot of money, which was the only reason I hadn’t completely ignored it. “I can’t think about that right now,” I told Arthur. “She’s going to kill me.”
Royce didn’t respond, only filled his glass with whiskey and knocked it back in one searing swallow.
“Well,” Max finally said. “What do you think that we should do about it then?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. I had racked my brain for what I should do, but I wasn’t protected by any name, any family that could make Isauros stop. I was the product of her husband’s infidelity. I was nothing but dirt under her nails and I knew she wasn’t going to let me go on with my life. I could walk away from the academy, from my father’s will, and still Isauros would come after me.