Page 130 of My Five Daddies

“Maybe,sir.”

It annoys me that he’s resisting, but I understand. Every steward is sworn to always be loyal to the crown, but never to interfere with politics. Because they’re so close to the royal family and to the people of the court, they were seen very quickly as posing a threat. If you owned the stewards, you owned the court. And so they were made to stand outside of politics as simple servants, but everyone knows that they’re much more than that. The stewards have helped princes overthrow their fathers, cousins kill their brothers, and much more through the ages. In modern times, the stewards have relaxed a bit with all the in-fighting and murdering, but they’re stilldangerous.

“If you’re loyal to Andrew and me, that means you know how dangerous Julian Eder is. The stewards can help stop him. All I ask is that he’s followed. Report to me what yousee.”

He watches me for a moment, and I think he’s sizing me up. I don’t know this steward, and I don’t remember him from my time at court, but I’m impressed by him. Most stewards were born into service, and it’s strange that I don’t recognizehim.

“Very well,” he says finally. “I won’t interfere. But he’ll bewatched.”

I nod once. “Thankyou.”

He bows slightly. “Anythingelse?”

“No, thank you.” I nod sharply before heading back into theroom.

As I walk toward the kitchen, Hazel emerges from the bedroom, toweling her hair dry. “Where’d you go?” she asks me. She’s wrapped in a fluffy robe, but she still looks fuckinggorgeous.

“I was just thinking,” I say. “We should get out of here.” I walk over to her and pull her against me, kissing hersoftly.

“Oh yeah?” she asks, looking up at me with asmile.

“Let’s go to my lake house. It’s just a little cabin, but I think you’ll likeit.”

“I like lakes,” shesays.

I grin at her. “Then you’ll like this. It’s the most beautiful place in theworld.”

“That’s a highstandard.”

“What can I say?” I ask, shrugging. “I don’t do anythinghalfway.”

She watches me for a second before kissing me again. “Okay, sure. Anything youwant.”

I grin at her, pulling her tight. “I seem to remember you saying something along those linesearlier.”

She rolls her eyes and pushes me away. “I can’t be held responsible for what I say while we’re havingsex.”

“Oh, sure,” I say, still grinning huge. “That old defense. I don’t buyit.”

“Go shower, youstink.”

“You love my manlymusk.”

She laughs as I chase after her, and we end up in a tangled pile on the couch kissingdeeply.

But in the back of my mind, I keep seeing that news broadcast. They’re calling her a traitor and a spy on national television, and that’s fuckingbad.

This little plan to get out of the castle isn’t just to take a vacation and to show her the countryside. It’s to get away from the city for a little while. I’m afraid that people are going to freak out, and I’m worried that it’ll be too dangerous for her to stay in the castle. I know I can’t be gone long or else risk losing contact with my supporters, but Hazel’s safety is my priority. I suspect that this is a move by Julian in retaliation for my reaching out to Jessie, but he must not have direct proof, or else things would be worse. Still, I can’t test him. I don’t know how far he’ll go. I’m not worried for myself, but I’m worried forHazel.

I’m not going to fail her or doubt her again. I’m going to make sure she’s safe, no matterwhat.

20

Hazel

It takes maybea couple of hours to reach Nolan’s lake house, which I find kind of funny. I know that Polovia is a relatively small country, but that just underscores how tiny it really is. I think it’s the size of Pennsylvania atbest.

Nolan’s house is at the top of a hill overlooking a beautiful, crystal clear lake. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. I can literally see fish swimming around from the top of the water, and everything is so clear. It’s like stepping into glass, except it’s cold and it’swet.

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