Page 64 of Iron Unicorn

My generalized empathy had a field day with Olivia’s family, as the entire lot of them stressed over the princess’s struggles. I did what I could, mostly serving as a living pillow for her enjoyment when I wasn’t making an excuse to hit the gym to give her some private time with her family.

I managed to escape to the gym twice, giving me a much needed break from the constant emotional bombardment.

I appreciated when Olivia clung to me, but I really wished her family would give my empathy a break.

I made use of the secret clicker, giving myself a few counts for dealing with her family; at the rate they worked themselves up, I would be the only sane person in the room within a week.

On the fourth day, I doubted we’d ever leave the suite. His Royal Majesty of Montana brought two royal physicians in to determine if we were ready and able to run around the kingdom unchecked. Princess Melody of Maine proved to be one of the physicians, and Texas had sent one of Olivia’s surgeons to check on her nose.

Both had reputations for caution, especially when it came to those they liked.

Olivia’s checkup, done in the bedroom, devoured time and worried her brother to the point I might become ill. When drinking water didn’t help settle my stomach, I put the kettle on the stove to make tea and glared at the man.

“I can tell when I’ve earned your ire, Terry. What have I done now?”

“You’re making me sick. Stop it.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re stressed, Will,” Daphne announced, looking up from her tablet. “You’re worried about Olivia, and Terry’s picking up on it. He started turning green about an hour ago, and he’s been doing his best to maintain the peace. You’re literally making him sick. He’s probably exerted; with Olivia’s mood as bad as it has been the past few days, he’s been blocking left and right to preserve his mental and emotional health. He’s probably out of juice and can’t block your anxious ways. Olivia is fine. We were warned the checkup would take up to four hours. They’re evaluating her mental and emotional health at the same time they’re checking her physical health. Terry is going to be next for an evaluation, and we’ll be taking Olivia to the gym to test her conditioning and do a full breathing test. This will give Terry a chance to rest his talent. Sorry, Terry.”

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. You’re right.” I heaved a sigh. “Do you think if I just confess that I have exertion, Melody will take pity on me?”

“Once you tell her you have exertion, she will praise you for being sensible and set up a treatment plan. We will not tell Rachel you’re exerted, because she is finally convinced you’re fine.” Daphne set aside her tablet and twisted around to regard me with a raised brow. “Should we clear out until they’re done?”

“No. I’ll manage. Just please try not to worry as much, Will. If there was an actual problem, the RPS would be bustling. The appointment is going to take time. Olivia has a lot to unpack, and she’ll talk with her doctors about things she won’t talk to us about. That’s normal—and it’s good for her. But please try to worry a little less. I’d rather not throw up on anyone today.” In a way, I longed to go back to the insanity of New York and cope with my queen’s issues.

I could handle the load much easier, and I had a good system in place for addressing her various problems in a way that left everyone happier.

Olivia’s family would drive me crazy given a few more days.

Montana’s king inhaled, held his breath, and released it, taking care to keep from huffing or puffing. “I’ll try, Terry. I’m sorry for stressing you.”

I took out the clicker meant to track my indications of accepting Olivia’s advances and gave myself a click. “I’m charging you for dealing with this.”

Daphne laughed. “Terry really wants that ranch, help with his New York property acquisition, and horses, Will. He’s going to have a count in the hundreds at the rate he’s going. He couldn’t bludgeon her with more hints if he tried at this stage.”

Will bowed his head. “I should have just said thank you and done all that without making it a wager. Sorry, Terry.”

I gave myself another click. “Unnecessary apologies, groveling, and whining will earn me a point. Putting up with that counts.”

Hopping to her feet, Daphne came over, gave me a hug, and patted my back. “Let me know if he doesn’t calm down. I’ll take him to the gym in advance and make him work out his nerves on the treadmill.”

“Have him do a test alongside Olivia. That way she’s not alone in being tortured. Then I’ll have a turn with the doctors and read a book.”

I’d even read for longer than an hour, as it would take longer than an hour to give my talent a rest.

Reading did a good job of shutting down my talent for a while and giving me a break. Something about processing the words on a page helped shut off the magic and give me breathing space. I would need at least six quiet hours with a good book to get back on my feet, and that was assuming everyone around me calmed down.

“Do you need a trip to the bookstore?” Daphne kissed my cheek, left me to making tea, and headed for her partner, engaging him in a staring contest. “Edward, we need to take Terry to the bookstore.”

“After his doctor’s appointment,” the Brit promised, and he returned to reading his book. “We can go while Olivia and Will do their time in the gym.”

“That’s a good idea.” Will dug out his wallet, located a credit card, and held it up. “You’re an authorized user, Terry, so go buy some books for my sister. Join the e-reader world while you’re at it, and load it up with however much you want.”

The king waved the credit card around, and I received the message that if I didn’t accept his offer, he would find some worse way to make me pay later. I accepted the card, which had my name on it, retrieved my wallet, and placed it inside. “Billing address?”

“Use the Montana palace address for us annoying royals. If you decide to attack the coffers, give me a bit of warning first. Don’t be like Daphne and charge two first class tickets back to Billings.”

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