Page 22 of Royally Yours

Michaela

I chewed on the inside of my lip as another woman I hadn’t met walked out. Blair had already left, followed by Eirene, Dagny, and Carline. That left me with Sadie, who barely talked.

“This is ridiculous.” Chantal’s voice carried over the room with ease since few people remained to dispel the sound. “Do you know who I am? Who my father is?”

The guard kept his face like stone, unwilling to budge despite the way she railed on him. Sadie squirmed beside me as though the very idea of confrontation got under her skin.

“It’s cool,” I assured her. “They’ll come get her soon enough.”

“And, if you think I’m not going to make you pay for this indiscretion, taking commoners before you take a noble woman, then you are absolutely mad.” Chantal cast a glance over her shoulder as if to take inventory of the rest of us who remained. There weren’t many.

Sadie, Gwendolyn, Chantal, and myself. I could see why Chantal was freaking out, especially since she was the prince’s ex-girlfriend.

A new guard appeared in the doorway. The same who’d been escorting the contestants from the room all night. Chantal squared her shoulders and drew in a quick breath. She didn’t say it out loud, but I could hear the ‘it’s about time’ on her lips even without her voice.

“Miss Sadie Martalle.” His booming voice rattled the young woman beside me, and she took a step backward as if he’d called for her execution. “The prince awaits.”

“You go,” Sadie whispered to me. “I think I’ll faint.”

“That’s not how this works.” I took her by the shoulders. “I used to get like this before I went on stage too. Keep breathing. You can’t pass out if you still have oxygen. No matter what, keep breathing.”

Her wide eyes locked on mine. “Do I have to talk to him?”

Any other prince, my answer would have been yes, but I knew Fitz and his kind heart would see right through her nerves and understand who she really was underneath it all.

“No. He can do all the talking.” I squeezed her shoulders. “Now hurry. You don’t want to keep him waiting.”

She took a tentative step toward the exit, but I still heard her whisper, “Maybe he’ll send me home if I do.”

Strange. She sounded hopeful. Didn’t everyone want to marry Fitz?

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Chantal came to her senses once Sadie was escorted from the room. “She’s gutter trash and you’d let her—“

“Hey!” I could deal with her tantrums, but I wasn’t going to let her speak that way about sweet Sadie. “It’s not okay to talk like that.”

Fire kindled in her eyes as she faced me, wrath locked onto a new target. “Excuse me? You think you can command me? Who are you anyway? Another gutter snipe here to try to steal the crown from those who deserve it?”

“Again,” I spoke evenly, “you’re acting rude. You’re not better than anyone. You were born into privilege. You’re lucky, that’s it.”

Her perfectly shaped lips parted with shock. “You dare speak to me as though—“

“That’s enough, Chantal,” Gwendolyn stepped in beside me. “You’re such a child. Grow up.”

Seconds ticked by with her furious glare locked between the two of us. I actually thought we’d broken her elitist brain for a second. Straight-up short-circuited and melted down, but finally she rebooted back to her entitled self and shook her head with disgust.

“I’m not waiting around any longer. I’m taking what’s mine.”

She turned and stalked from the room, headed, presumably, straight for Fitz.

Fitz

She talked very little.

Sally?

Katie?

Sadie, I think? I wasn’t sure.

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