She wasn’t going to be happy until I was dead.
“They will back her,” Max continued, his eyes on me. “Isauros, I mean. If you make any pleas to the royal families, including my own, they will take her side any day. She used to be one of us.”
“So, what you are saying is that I am still that American orphan,” I said dully, pushing off the stool. “Great. Thanks, guys. You have been so helpful.” I should have just kept it to myself and dealt with Isauros’ wrath myself. They weren’t going to help.
No one was going to help.
“Wait, Anna,” Royce growled, halting my steps. “While Max is right, she can’t take a shot at you if we are around.”
“That’s right,” Arthur added, placing his glass on the island. “We will protect you.”
I let out a tortured laugh. “What are you going to do? Be around me twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week? You have your lives to live. I can’t ask you to push aside your senior year for me.”
“We will watch you when you are most vulnerable,” Max replied. “To and from classes. Whenever you aren’t around others. You will be safe in your dorm room or with Johanna.”
“Isauros knows we carry too much power right now,” Royce said. “She won’t risk harming one of us.”
Arthur moved around the island, placing his hand on my shoulder. “You should just move in with me.”
I gaped at him. “What?”
“I can keep you safe,” he continued, his eyes searching mine. “I can walk you to all your classes and my mansion is made to keep people out. Isauros wouldn’t dare come in it.”
“No,” Royce said sharply, catching my attention. “If Anna’s going to stay with anyone, it’s me.”
Great. Now they were fighting over me. “I’m not going to stay anywhere but my dorm room,” I told them. While most women would be excited at having these gorgeous men fight over them, I was over it. They all thought they knew what was best for me, and thought that I couldn’t protect myself.
Well, I didn’t need them. “I’m fine,” I said, my voice surprisingly clear. “She hasn’t done it yet and maybe we can take her down before she gets a chance to.”
“I don’t like it,” Arthur growled.
I pushed away from him. “It doesn’t matter what you like. This is my life, not yours.”
“Well said,” Max responded, clapping slowly. “You are going to need that grit for the fight ahead.”
Right now, he was the only one in the room who had a lick of sense. “If you will excuse me,” I stated, glaring at them. “I have some things to do before school starts.”
No one tried to stop me as I left the mansion, retracing my steps back to the academy. They were being ridiculous. I had gone to them for advice, not for them to get all macho on me and demand I let them handle the situation.
They were supposed to be my friends, yet they were acting like rivals. Well, I guessed they still were until I made up my mind on who was going to help me gain my inheritance.
I really hated my life right now.
***
“Well, I don’t know why you are surprised. I mean, they fight over you constantly. What better way for you to decide who’s truly worthy of your father’s money?”
I tucked my arms around my knees, hugging them to my chest. “I don’t want any of them right now. I wish you could have been there, Johanna. It was like watching cavemen go at it.”
Johanna emptied the contents of her bag on the bed, designer clothing and expensive makeup falling out of it. “Well, if my father’s jet hadn’t been late, I would have been there. I’m sorry you had to face them alone. I know how they have screwed up your mind.”
I gave her a small smile. Johanna was the only person here who had made it to my friends list and even though she was a princess, destined for a life I couldn’t even fathom, we had found common ground and our friendship was something I treasured. She knew everything about me, down to the last detail. I missed her when she was away. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees what they have done to me.”
Johanna pulled a small box out of her things and walked over, handing it to me. “I know you hate gifts and all, but I saw this and, well, after everything you have gone through, I wanted you to have it.”
“You shouldn’t have,” I said as I lifted the lid. Nestled in blue velvet was a silver locket, ridiculously expensive by the looks of it. “Oh my God, Johanna.”
She shrugged. “I figured you could get a picture of your mom and put it there.”
I launched off the bed and hugged her around her neck, tears burning in my eyes. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say thank you like a good little American,” Johanna teased, returning my hug. “And you will get through this, Anna. You are so badass strong, it’s not even funny. Just know, whatever you decide, I will be right there for you.”
“And they say royalty is stuffy,” I teased, pulling back. “Thank you, Johanna, really. I don’t know how I would get through some of these days without you.”
She smiled and moved back to her bed, chattering about her trip and what she was going to wear for the start of the new semester. I took the locket out of the box and clasped it around my neck, the cold metal falling directly between my breasts. I was badass strong. I had gone through things that these royals could only dream of and I didn’t need the kings trying to protect me from the inevitable.
I needed to protect myself.
Chapter 3
Anna
When I opened my dorm door the next day, ready for my first class, Royce was lounging in the hallway, his hands in his pockets. “What are you doing here?” I hissed as I closed the door.
“Would you believe causing a stir on the freshman hall?” he replied lightly, pushing away from the wall.
“No.”
“I’m here to escort you to class.”
“Oh my God,” I groaned. “Are you serious?”
“Yep,” he replied, looking down at his expensive watch. “And if we don’t hurry, you are going to be late.”
“Royce, I don’t need you to do this,” I protested. “I’m very safe in the hallways.” I mean, it wasn’t like Isauros was going to hire a sniper to take me out in the midst of the precious royals that would be around.
He took my arm, his warm touch seeping through my thin long-sleeved shirt. “But we don’t know who she’s got under her wing right now,” he said quietly as he steered me down the hall. “The kings were, once, and she could be looking for new recruits as we speak.”