Page 46 of Untouched Queen by Royal Command

‘You have connections worldwide and a powerful political faction behind you. You’re not nobody.’

She searched for another excuse. ‘Your people would never accept me.’

‘Wouldn’t they? Because, given the press you receive, I’d say you have a better than fair chance they’re going to love you.’

‘Because I’m an oddity. A throwback curiosity with a sharp brain, a pretty face and interesting clothes.’

‘You’re making my argument for me.’

She had other arguments. ‘You want love. That’s why you’ve stayed single so long. I can’t give you that.’ Her mother had loved deeply and paid a dreadful price. Sera had paid that price too and had no wish to repeat the experience. ‘I won’t.’

‘What exactly is it you think we did last night, Sera?’

‘It was good, I don’t deny it. But I’ve been trained to please.’

Last night…what you did with him? That was love, a little voice told her helpfully. Are you really going to deny that?

‘My mother loved and look where it got her,’ she said doggedly. ‘Even when she left him she couldn’t escape him. She was never free. One day I’m going to be free. If I were to marry you I’d never be free. That other role—’

‘Wife,’he offered, not at all helpfully. ‘Queen Consort. Mother of Kings. Or Queens. Princes and Princesses.’ His eyes slayed her with his intensity. ‘Heart of a nation.’

Yeah. That.‘I’d never be free.’ She retreated into silence. So did he. While the tension in the room threatened to choke her completely.

‘Right.’ Bitterness tinged his voice. ‘Not as if you want to be royal. Which brings me to the second report on my desk. If you wanted to be royal, all you’d have to do is tell people who your father is.’

Sera swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. ‘What do you mean?’

He tapped at the folder and her gaze was inevitably drawn to it. ‘I mean you’re a king’s daughter by blood. You simply choose not to acknowledge it.’

He couldn’t know that. No one knew that.

‘The only time my late mother spoke of my father, she spoke fearfully and never by name,’ she offered steadily. ‘She said he was a monster who had no time for daughters and I believed her. I don’t know who he is but, even if I did, why would I want to acknowledge a man such as that as my father, high-born or not?’

Augustus leaned forward, elbows on the table. ‘You know exactly who I’m talking about.’

She’d pieced it together over the years, yes, and then held her tongue. Confiding in no one. She wondered if ants felt like this when put beneath a microscope and burned. ‘My birth certificate says father unknown.’

‘Your father died recently. Your half-brother is a king and as a child you went to school with your half-sister. If she’s a half-sister. Who sired her is a matter of speculation. It could have been the King’s brother rather than the King. The point is, you have family. A royal family.’

And she wanted no part of it. ‘You have no proof of any of this.’

‘Haven’t I?’

‘Augustus, please. Leave it alone. It benefits no one.’

‘You know who he is.’

Yes.‘I know nothing.’

‘You’re lying. You’re a royal daughter of Byzenmaach. Does Cas’s sister know who you are?’

‘Claudia is my friend.’ Sera stood, incapable of sitting still any longer. ‘If my father is who you say he is, then you know he had no use for daughters. The world knows this. Yes, my mother was sent to contain him when he began to mistreat his wife. She was to offer other activities for him to focus on, less damaging ways to vent his anger, and she did but he was beyond her control. She failed, and fled and hid and I’m glad. I take no pride in the blood running through my veins—and you’re only assuming it’s his. The man was a tyrant and a murderer. His son, bless us all, is a far better man than he ever was and Byzenmaach is now in good hands. What would I add to that? What could possibly be gained?’

‘Power,’ he offered.

‘I have power.’

‘Royal status.’

---