“And I don’t have a say.”
“Apparently not. But you’re not an idiot.”
“You sure are acting like I am.”
I ran my hand over my hair and cursed. Feelings. I had to find my feelings and employ empathy. How hard could that be? “I know you’re scared. I get it. But you need to tell me what you’re on the run from so we can get you home when the threat is neutralized. Your safety is the only thing that matters.”
“You believe that?” she asked and shook her head. “I’m in a cage again, and this time it’s not one of my own making.” She sighed and turned away from me. “Or maybe it is.”
“What are you talking about?” I wanted to reach out to her, but I didn’t. There would be no use.
“I’ll tell you why I can’t go home, but it has nothing to do with who might have shot at us.”
“Lay it on me.”
“There is an obscure law in our kingdom that states if there is no heir to our generation by the time the youngest of us reaches thirty, the entire family line loses the throne, and it goes to the next in line. In our case, it would be my cousin, Barkley.”
I blinked at her, shaking my head. “Excuse me?”
“What I’m saying to you right now is a secret. Nobody else can know. If one of my brothers or I do not produce a child within the year, since I just turned twenty-nine, my brother loses his crown, the family loses its throne completely, and the title goes to my cousin. My Aunt Rebecca is doing everything she can, along with my brothers, to try to fix this, but the Council of Lords wants my brother out.”
“I have so many questions,” I said, shaking my head. “But first, why does the council want your brother out? For a king, he doesn’t seem like a bad guy. I mean he’s a bit of an asshole but par for the course, right?”
And I didn’t even have to have a tooth pulled or an arm twisted to say that.
“You guys just yelled at each other and threatened one another,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Men.”
“He wants you safe. You’re his sister. I don’t see a problem.”
“You wouldn’t, would you? And the Council of Lords doesn’t like my brother because he’s progressive. He doesn’t want the roadblocks of tradition and heritage stopping the way of progress and hindering the health of our community and our people. He steps on toes, and he is an arrogant jerk about it. If they can get someone like my philandering drunken cousin on the throne, something they can mold, all the better.”
“And you don’t think that’s a reason for people to shoot at you?”
She shrugged. “Roman’s been making waves since he took the throne. At first, he let Aunt Rebecca guide his decisions, but once he started going off book and making his own decisions, many of the council felt threatened. They hated his choice of fiancée. They hate the changes he wants to bring about regarding how laws are handled for commoners. Equal pay. Criminal justice reform. He’s vocal. Not just on our local stage either. There are many who would prefer someone else rule.”
“Again, enough to kill you?”
She shook her head. “He does have enemies. Some who would look for a way to hurt him. Lord Osterow threatened him publicly about the criminal justice law. Said it would be the end of Roman. Lord Banks threatened to put a measure to vote to limit the royal allowances when Roman pushed through equal pay for women four years ago. He was so angry. He was drunk one night at a ball and told Roman he would ruin him.” She sighed. “So now they’re trying to use an arcane rule to force me to produce a child. If they truly wanted Roman off the throne, then the Council of Lords would do something to him, not me. I’m fourth in line. And the easiest thing to do is to let me be. No way am I getting married and having a kid in the next year. There is no reason to kill me. None.”
I thought it through. Maybe somebody didn’t want to wait for the crown. “Are your brothers safe?”
She paled a bit but nodded tightly. “They have security too, even though Roman hates it. They all do. The only reason I didn’t was that I’ve never traveled under my own name, and I was safe. I’ve done it before.”
“Could someone have followed you?”
“No one is trying to kill me,” she said softly. There was steel in her voice. Like she needed to believe it.
“And what if they are?
“All they want is for me to produce a child.”
“With who?” The bitter bile of jealousy ate away at me. No way was I fucking jealous of an imaginary random asshole.
“I’m not.” She let out a breath. “My aunt has a farfetched plan to marry me off to some duke. It’s the twenty-first century, and I’m still going to be forced into an arranged marriage with a man I don’t even like to produce an heir, even though my brothers could do the same exact thing. But no, I’m the woman; therefore, I get to be the one who spreads her legs.”
An all-too-ready image of London spreading her legs under me flashed in my head, and my cock twitched.
Jesus Christ. I was losing my damn mind. I needed to sleep. I needed to get her out of my thoughts.
“Okay, then. Let’s assume that this could be a reason.”
Her brow furrowed. “If that is the case, then I’m worried about my brothers.”
“I get that. But like you said, they are
