Page 2 of Royally Benevolent

“Alexandra is still paranoid about delegating much,” I said of my older sister. “But… I am making inroads. I want a patronage—a real calling to prove my worth, but it seems like she’ll never delegate anything to me.”

“She worries. Just stay the course. She’ll come around.”

In the last year, everything went wrong behind the scenes. It was Alexandra who sailed the ship so I could get better. She remained steadfast in her love for me but worried I’d regress. As Queen, she had to keep the flock safe, but I worried she’d never trust me again.

“I don’t want to end up like my dad,” I said. “Someone who lost his wife and then lost everything.”

“Your father didn’t get help,” Elisa reminded me. “He lived behind a wall. Instead, Odette, you bravely sought your family’s love and support. A genotype is not destiny, and knowing yourself is half the problem. You are so strong and have so much to be excited about. Don’t let those worries creep in. They’re?—”

“OCD. Yep,” I agreed. “Label it and drop the rope.”

Elisa nodded.

Grieg perked, hearing distant sirens. I bent to scratch behind his ears. He looked at me with all the love in the world. I couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re doing a great job, Odette. Stick with it,” Elisa reminded. “It pays off.”

I hoped she was right, but I couldn’t help but feel lonely. Everyone else’s life seemed so much fuller from the outside looking in.

2

COFFEE BREAK

WYATT

“Mocha and a flat white, please.”

I paid and stepped back from the counter of a local so-called “bakery and beanery” around the corner from my office. Neandians took coffee seriously. Unlike in the States, where coffee options were often middling, here you got the best stuff. The trade-off was that Neandians weren’t particularly good at customer service and were as slow as molasses. I’d been here on and off for more than half a decade andstillstruggled with the pace of life.

“Wyatt. A minute?”

I turned to see my assistant Stephen on his phone. He gestured about something wildly. I nodded at him, waiting for further instruction.

Stephen was blessed with boundless energy. He joked no one would have believed he’d been on Broadway in a past life, but I would. He held people’s attention like none other and was unmatched at getting investors to open their wallets. I was the ideas guy, but Stephen counted the signatures and assured people they were part of something bigger than a line item.

He muted the phone, “Are you going tothe Vision 360 launch?”

“I am,” I agreed. “Well, if I can land childcare.”

“I will personally watch Theo if you cannot. You must go. The head of the transit board seems?—”

He stopped, listening to the phone. “Yes, sir. He says he will be there.”

“Flat white!” A barista bellowed in a heavy accent.

I stepped up to grab it for Stephen, who was still busy kissing the ass of a Neandian bureaucrat. I handed the coffee off as he entered the car.

“You’re a doll,” Stephen sighed. “Good God, that man! He cantalk. He wants facetime with the boss. Maybe he has a crush?”

“Please, let’s hope not. I have to pray my tux even fits,” I said. “He’ll only be disappointed with the reality.”

“Wyatt, you could afford a new tuxedo,” Stephen laughed. “Perhaps you should invest in one.”

“In two weeks? Unlikely.”

“My tailor makes miracles happen, Wyatt. I will put it on your calendar.”

“Thanks,” I said.

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