“Don’t even play offended, we heard you,” James cut in before she could put on a performance. “Or that Darius might be a better target as he did something to hurt Inez.”
“I would never betray my princess or cheat on my wife,” Darius seethed.
“I believe you,” I said firmly. “You would never.” He gave me a relieved look that I knew at least that and settled down. I glanced at Hanna before Matilda and Nora. “She’s planning on something new and vile of having me adopt her and taking over from the inside as there’s no way she could get the support to take me over directly.” I smirked at the “young princess” who wouldn’t take over her coven.
“It would never have worked, darling,” Nora taunted her. “Inez loathes the idea of adopting princesses and finds the whole practice distasteful.”
“You’re not wrong but I’ve never said that,” I clarified. “But I don’t judge any who have done it. For me. As someone who didn’t grow up at court. I find it—I couldn’t do it.”
“No, you’d just let me stay forever if I wanted, like an idiot with a piece of paper you think will protect you like those of your coven. Or your new guard dogs you won’t even let fuck you as the other rabid one you just ‘married’ like a common nobody,” she seethed.
My eyes went wide as her older sister, Princess Lawan from Thailand, who I had gotten along with fairly well so far, stood and stormed over to her. She slapped her across the face hard enough that the younger sister went down. “You do not embarrass our house, not now, not ever again, Sister. How dare you conspire against my ally behind my back?”
“You know nothing, Lawan. You have been given everything, and I nothing, as I was second-born!”
“You know nothing, baby sister, as this was not a prize handed to me, but shackles and heartache you will never know,” she bellowed. “I offered you a chance to rule at my side, rule with me as my second, the one I could always trust as my sister. I would never have cast you aside or out in the cold to be adopted, or fade into the nothing, as others of our bloodline have.”
“You wouldn’t support me taking any coven over,” she sobbed.
“Hasn’t there been enough death?” Lawan shot right back, throwing her arms in the air. “There is a fraction of the world still alive, and we are still trying to survive the apocalypse. We haven’t done that yet. One more time trouble lands, and not in a way that isn’t directly on us and our whole coven could be gone. We barely survived the bombing of Bangkok.
“And no, I will not support you taking over another coven because I do not believe in it. There is no reason! Why can you not stay at my side as my most trusted council and ally? Why is that not good enough for you? Support me and find love, find all we cannot have as ruling princesses and do it from home and help me rule. Why are you so selfish and heartless that it’s not good enough for you?”
“I would never have allowed it, for one,” a different princess said; their mother, if I had to guess.
“I do not care, Mother, as you are no longer in charge and have not been in a long time. You pitted us against each other, dangling the coven in front of us as who you would hand it down to. I never rose to your bait. I would rather have struck out on my own as Inez has, even if it meant failure, than betrayed or fought with my sister. It was the coven that pushed you to let me take over.
“So they would not back you in taking power again. Do not even try with the lies as I know better. The choice is not yours. It was always mine. You said I was a fool for listening to a dream and traveling far, and yet it panned out. I make wise choices and take calculated risks to benefit the coven. They would accept if I named my younger sister as my right hand given it’s the apocalypse!”
“You were serious?” her sister whispered, staring up at her with shock. “Mother said—”
“Mother is a jealous witch who banished her own sister and bubbles over with jealousy that I would be stronger and not do the same,” Lawan snapped. “The rest we will discuss at home, and maybe you will finally hear me, Sister. But first, you will apologize to our ally and never, not ever again, even think such thoughts on something so underhanded. We have better morals and hearts than that.”
She nodded, standing and giving her cheek a quick rub before coming towards me. She didn’t just bow, but got down on the ground and completely prostrated herself before me.
“Princess Inez, I apologize not only for my vile words, but my evil thoughts and ideas. My wise sister is right, and my house is one of more morals and heart than that. I beg you to forgive my lapse in judgement when my fear overruled my sense as I, like you, feel the adoption of a princess something detestable and terrifying to sign away my life in that manner.”
When she said it like that, I sort of understood her better. Yeah, I would have done a lot to not have that fate.
“I understand where your mind was, and I can get being scared, but killing innocents to save yourself is never excusable.” I let out a shaky breath. “I led corrupted to Safie’s coven to save myself and my coven, and I told myself it was okay as they were with her, they were her coven and on her side. I couldn’t have been more wrong as
