Page 9 of The Prince of New York

“She worked as a contractor, didn’t she?” Dr. Stanton got to her feet, went into the sitting room, and returned a moment later with a bottle of water, tossing it to me. “You need to drink about twice as much as you currently are, by the way.”

I opened the bottle and drank to appease the woman. “I’ll try to do better.”

“I’ll talk to Terry, and the RPS can occupy themselves making sure you stay hydrated and fed. That should help with the other problems. If I do a blood test and discover you’re a mess, however…”

I shuddered at the thought of earning the woman’s wrath. “Can I ask for a week to do my best to pass the blood test?”

“That should work. I’ll use it as an excuse to keep you here until I’m satisfied with the situation. Then we’ll get you sent over to California. In fact, I might see about getting some Californian RPS agents sent over here. They’re becoming experienced with Royal messes.”

Who did she consider to be a Royal mess in California? “Do you mean Cassandra?”

“I do. She’s doing well, but her talent training isn’t going as well as she prefers, and she has had a few spectacular meltdowns over the situation. Add in that her beloved, bonded horse is old and is showing signs of her age? They have learned how to handle touchy Royals over there. New York is behind the curve.” Dr. Stanton shook her head, made disgruntled noises, and said, “Get yourself put together, dress in clothes you’re willing to ruin, and make your way to the mud course. I will do my share of the work in the meantime, find out more about this Madelyn woman, and see what I can do. But you are not escaping the mud course, so don’t even try.”

Knowing how much my sister looked forward to trying the course, I’d deal with it even with broken bones to make her happy. “I won’t run away.”

“And Ian? There’s no need to shower. You will be showering soon enough. You’re about to run a mud course, not go to court.”

THREE

“You can’t kill what you never had.”

My sister flungherself at me, and I had the choice of catching her or be tormented by her tigers, her husband, and the entirety of New York’s court for as long as I lived. As such, I braced for impact, wrapped my arms around her, and because she loved being flung around, spun her in a circle before setting her on her feet.

Then, because she’d cry, steal my jerky, and otherwise make my life a living hell, I kissed her forehead. “What has you so hyper?”

“Ethan gave me a chocolate milkshake for breakfast.”

“Nice.” I freed an arm and saluted my brother-in-law. “One of us might make it to the end of the course, then. I saw what this thing did to Terry.”

The RPS agent in question chuckled and strolled over. “I’ll be accompanying you on the sidelines, and if you two need help because you’re not physically strong enough to conquer an obstacle, I’ll offer some assistance. It’ll be a good evaluation of your physical condition. If you aren’t exhausted by the end of the run, I’ll be surprised. Mostly, I’m His Majesty’s insurance policy. If I’m right next to you, clearly nothing bad can happen to either one of you.”

“You mean beyond the murder of my pride and self-esteem?”

“You can’t kill what you never had,” my sister informed me.

I scowled. “Who taught you to do that? I need to run them through the mud course.”

Rachel pointed at her husband and grinned.

As I couldn’t get away with pummeling New York’s supporting monarch, I raised my fist and waved it at him. “I see how it is, Ethan. And here I thought you were my friend.”

“I am your friend. Unfortunately for you, I’m also your brother-in-law, and that means you get special treatment.”

“You know what this means, don’t you?” I glared at the monarch, hoping he understood he would be joining me in suffering through the mud run one way or another.

“I’ll even be generous and give you six months to prepare yourself, and when we do our competition, neither one of us will have seen the run. It will be new and far worse than this. When I destroy you, Ian, it will be fairly.”

“We’ll both be wearing suppressors,” I replied.

“All the better to prove my superiority.” Ethan chuckled and looked over the course. “Apparently, I get to go after you two are done. You can sit with Rachel and watch me suffer. Unlike you, I’ve been told I am not getting any help.”

“You need to be reminded that this is actually difficult, Your Majesty.” Terry eyed my brother-in-law, and the RPS agent smirked. “And while you are recovering, regardless of whether or not you finish, your court will split into teams of three to compete to see who gets the best time.”

“I feel like Terry is getting revenge on us,” I whispered to my sister. “What did I do to deserve this?”

“You probably breathed,” she whispered back.

That I could believe.

---