“So, she made the threat disappear,” I finished.
“That’s what they say.”
Well, that was proof that lesser nobility were not safe from the headmistress, which meant I really was not safe. I had nothing, well, except the fact that my father, her husband, had cheated on her and produced me as a result.
Max reached across the table, touching my arm. “You are in danger, Anna,” he said evenly. “I’m not going to sugarcoat the fact that if she wants you gone, you will be gone. Why she’s having you hang around, I don’t understand, but you need to quit pushing her buttons and lie low.”
“What can I do?” I asked, frustrated. “She knows everything about who I am, Max. Would you ignore that?”
“I can’t say that I wouldn’t,” he replied. “But if you don’t watch it, you will be the one lying below the headmistress’ tower with Katarina peering over your broken body. I know you are pissed at the kings, including myself, and you have every reason to be, but without our protection, our families’ protection, you are just a walking target for her.”
Max’s words stayed with me as I made my way back to my dorm, my hands shoved in my pockets, the coffee churning in my gut. He was right. I needed the kings’ protection. They were nearly untouchable, their families having enough pull in their own circles to make Isauros disappear if need be.
But without them, I was like the girl whose death was a mystery. She could easily get rid of me.
So why hadn’t she? Did she like to see me sweat?
Or was she going to wait until I was close to finding out the truth before she offed me? I would rather she do it now and get it over with. To know that I was so close to understanding my existence and then be killed would be like the ultimate heartbreak.
What could I do though? I needed to press her, to find out what she knew even if it was at the cost of my life. The kings were just feeding me bits and pieces of what I needed to know, yet I felt like I was turning in circles, because it wasn’t enough.
Would it ever be enough? I wasn’t sure. Royce’s proposition was still dangling over my head like a dangerous fruit, one that I knew if I bit down on, would lead to other things.
Things I wasn’t so sure I could handle at this time.
I reached my dorm feeling worse off than when I left earlier. I really, really wanted to start to feel like I was getting somewhere and not pushed further into the hole of despair.
Really.
I opened the door and was glad to see that Johanna wasn’t back yet. I needed a moment or two to collect myself and come up with my new plan of attack.
Because I was going to have to have one. Max was the last king to make his attentions clear to me, which meant he now went into the column of “can’t trust at all.” All three kings wanted something from me, or rather my birthright, to make their lives and their futures easier.
What would I get out of it? He was right. I would have to make my decision sooner than later, especially with my father’s will still hanging out there.
I just didn’t want to make the wrong choice.
Chapter 19
Anna
A few days later, I finally drummed up the nerve to tell Johanna everything. She sat across from me, wide-eyed, as I told her my theories about the kings. “I mean, I want to think that I am wrong,” I said with a heavy sigh. “But it’s clear that Arthur needs to marry me so that he can move his family back to their rightful place.”
“And Royce needs you because …” Johanna started.
“For a similar reason,” I answered. “Though his is to give him a leg up on his own relatives.”
“This is crazy,” Johanna muttered, pushing her hair out of her face. “I mean, he’s like tenth in line or something. It doesn’t matter how much money or backing he has; he will never get to that level.”
“Still,” I said, interrupting her. “He thinks he can.”
“And Max,” Johanna continued. “I can’t believe he just came out and told you that your birthright is his family’s saving grace. Talk about pressure.”
“You’re right about that,” I said. “I mean, how do I pick and not screw up the rest of their lives?”
Johanna paused. “So, you are really considering marrying one of these assholes?”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “I really don’t know. If I want my trust fund, I will have to.” And hope that I didn’t pick the wrong king to satisfy my father’s will.
Me, married at eighteen. This wasn’t like Sara’s situation. She was in love with a guy who wasn’t just after her money, but truly wanted her for her.
I was looking at three kings who really didn’t know me to begin with but saw me as the unattainable prize that they felt like they had to conquer. It was all kinds of wrong, but I wasn’t likely to get away from it anytime soon.
“What about Isauros?” Johanna said. She, too, had heard the rumor about the headmistress killing the young student but had chalked it up to just a rumor. After all, it was crazy to think that a woman in Isauros’ position would even consider risking her entire career by murdering her own student.
Of course, stranger things had happened.
I opened my mouth to speak but a knock sounded on the door and we looked at each other. “I bet you it’s one of the kings,” Johanna mused. “Probably Royce.”
I unfolded from my position on the
