“So what?” I countered. “If she does, it’s not like anyone would miss me.”
“I’m sure the other kings would,” he shrugged, his eyes gleaming with interest. “I hear you have quite the relationships with Arthur and Royce now.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “I really don’t want to play these games, Max. Say what you came to say and be done with it.” I knew what I had done and what I had enjoyed.
He leaned forward. “You see, you have to play the game, Anna. You can’t just go around telling other people to give you what you want without knowing what you are up against.”
“Why not?” I asked. “I should be able to find out my answers however I see fit. I am royalty, aren’t I?”
Max shook his head. “You might be on the verge of royalty, Anna, but it doesn’t mean that they won’t come after you. You have something unique with the headmistress and she is not likely to forget that you have everything she has worked hard for in the palm of your hand.”
I snorted. I had nothing to hold over her head or anyone else’s. Heck, I couldn’t even figure out who I was, much less understand the secrets that were floating around pertaining to my birth. Besides, she had told me one thing.
I was nothing. “See that is where you are wrong,” I told Max, giving him a sad smile. “I have no power. I’m not a king. I’m not royalty. I’m nobody.”
Max stared at me for a moment. “Just because I am king doesn’t mean I don’t have my own fucking issues. My family is disgraced. You’ve heard the rumors. I have nothing save a name that doesn’t mean shit in polite circles.”
I had heard the rumors of how Max’s family was disgraced and struggling to remain pertinent in the political world.
But at least he had a family name, a family he knew he was derived from. I didn’t have anything of the sort, only a father that I didn’t understand and a mother who was just a mystery.
“I hope you don’t trust any of us,” Max added after a moment.
I cocked my head to the side. “What do you mean by that?”
“I know you have been with Arthur,” he started, his jaw clenching. “But I hope you remember that Arthur is out to elevate his status by taking your birthright.”
“That’s old news,” I answered softly.
“And Royce,” he continued. “He’s the master manipulator. He’s telling you about what Arthur needs, what I need, but has he told you what he needs? He needs for you to turn your back on all of us save him so that he can leave this school with a win.” He then chuckled. “Because he sure as hell isn’t going to do it with his grades.”
“I’m well aware all of you need me,” I countered. “What’s your story, Max?”
He thought for a moment. “I’m not going to lie to you, Anna. I don’t play games. Yeah, aligning myself with you would provide my family with much more than we have had in the past. It would bring us to the forefront of the European monarchy and restore us to our rightful place.”
Well, he certainly hadn’t lied to me. A piece of me felt upset that he hadn’t sugarcoated anything, but the bigger piece of me was grateful that he had told me the truth. “Thanks, I think.”
Max hopped down from the window seat and his hair fell across his forehead, making him appear younger. “You’re welcome. If there is one thing that I won’t do to you, Anna, it’s lie to you. I can promise you that.”
He then turned back to look at me. “Think about us kings, Anna. Think of what we are telling you and why we might be telling you. There is always a story between the lines, and we are no different from those rules. Keep your guard up and know that no one, not even I, is your friend right now.”
He strode off before I could say anything else and I pulled my knees up to my chest, resting my forehead on them. As much as I wanted to not believe Max about what he had told me, I knew it was the truth. All three kings had a reason to want to be close to me and I hated it. I hated the fact that I was this pawn in their game and no matter what they told me; I couldn’t trust any of them.
“Why is this my life?” I asked myself. I hated that it was my life. I wanted to go back to being a nobody, where no one cared about me.
Most of all, I wanted to feel like I was whole again. I didn’t want to feel the pull in every direction, my heart torn in a million pieces. I wanted to feel the sun on my face, to wake up and know who I was and why I mattered.
Because right now, I didn’t feel like I mattered at all.
**
“Why would he say that?”
I rubbed my hand over my face roughly before looking at Johanna directly. “I don’t know, but I didn’t feel like he was trying to pull one over on me.”
Johanna laughed harshly, waving her hands in the air. “They all are, Anna! I mean, first you sleep with Arthur and he breaks your heart and then you decide to sow your wild oats with Royce and wonder why he’s being all protective. The only one you haven’t slept with is Max, and I have a feeling that it won’t be long before he’s in your bed.”
“You make me sound like a slut,” I muttered, knowing that I was. Had I
