Page 44 of Guarding the Princess
His eyes blink wide. “Oh, shoot. I just remembered. You need to call Rhys. She’s really worried. I called her to try to reach you and then she realized she couldn’t get you on your cell phone and she made me promise to have you call her ASAP. Otherwise, she said she’s getting on a plane to come out here.”
I giggle harder, the release of all that pent-up stress coming out in the form of inappropriate laughter. “I wouldn’t put it past her either. I’ll call her right after we get Magnus out of here.”
Right on cue, loud voices drift down from the second floor. Ryker grabs my hand and we sprint up the stairs, down the short hallway and into the library where the showdown is happening. No way is Mother going to have the honor of kicking out that backstabbing cousin of mine without me being there to witness it.
“I don’t care about your weak excuses. We have evidence it was you.”
Mother inspects her nails and I almost laugh out loud. She may appear bored or uninterested, but it’s only because she’s completely cut you out of her life already. I’ve seen her do it before with advisors who schemed against her. Mother looks bored? You better run before you no longer have two legs to run with.
Magnus runs his hands through his hair, dislodging his carefully crafted hairstyle. The poor guy is starting to go bald right on the crown of his head. While part of me delights in his obvious discomfort, I also feel a pang of sadness. He’s family, no matter how nasty he’s turned out to be. I wish he were a better person so I could bring him in as one of my trusted advisors.
“Remember this?” Ryker holds up his cell phone, waving it in the air. “You had your guys take it from me. It was found in your room this morning.”
Magnus pales, darting glances at Mother and Father, probably gauging how bad the evidence is and wondering if he can sweet-talk his way out of it.
Mother drops her hand and spears Magnus with a look as deadly as any knife in Chef’s kitchen.
“I will not go public with this nor have you arrested unless you force my hand. Get out of my palace and do not ever come back. Get a job, earn yourself a living, and have a good life. Your days of skating by as a member of the royal family are over. Am I clear?”
Magnus gulps, otherwise completely still. When Mother looks at the watch on her wrist in a not-so-subtle show of impatience, he spins around and heads for the door. When he passes Ryker and me, Ryker suddenly steps in his path. I hold my breath, not sure what Ryker will do.
Magnus shrinks back. Ryker grabs him by the front of his collar and drags him a bumbling mess the rest of the way to the door. He gets in his face and whispers so low I almost can’t hear him.
“I won’t hit you over the head from behind like you had your men do to me. Just remember this: I’ll think of you and smile every time I sit down at the long dining table here at the palace, knowing you’ll never have a seat at that table again.”
With that parting shot, Ryker pushes him out the door and closes it. He takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. When he spins around, the rage in his eyes is gone and he comes back over to my side.
“Well, that was fun. Ready to work on the plans for your coronation?” He smiles at me and I’m giddy inside knowing he’ll be here that day. For all the days, big and small.
“Speaking of the coronation,” Mother interrupts. “We need to chat.”
Father waves us over to the couches and chairs facing each other in the library and we all have a seat. I’m only slightly nervous about what Mother has to say. Nothing will change Ryker being by my side, so anything else seems like a secondary concern.
Father grabs hold of Mother’s hand in a rare display of emotion. If I’m not mistaken, her eyes mist over. I glance over at Ryker in alarm.
“I’m sorry, Charlotta. I’m sorry for putting so much pressure on you and Rasmus. I’m sorry for not believing in your love for Ryker. I’m sorry to you too, Ryker.” She turns her gaze to Ryker and it hits me this is the first time she’s addressed him by his first name.
Ryker nods as if it’s all forgiven when I know if the situation were reversed, I don’t know how quickly I could forgive this harsh woman.
“Moth—”
“No, Charlotta, let me finish. Please.” At my nod, she continues. “I love you and Rasmus. I don’t show it like I should, but I do. I love you with all my heart. If being Queen is not what you want, I give you my blessing to walk away. I see the love you and Ryker have for each other. You should be free to enjoy whatever life you two choose to create.”
The wall I’d built around my heart to block out my mother as much as possible crumbles into a heap. She can’t help the way she is. She rules with an iron fist and did the best she could to raise Rasmus and me. How can I judge her when I’ve been trying to run away from the very thing that’s caused her so much stress and worry that she couldn’t be present as a mother in the way she wanted to? Forgiveness floods every cell in my body, healing past hurts in its wake.
“I love you too. I love you both very much.” My eyes fill with tears. “I want to be Queen. I want to help my country. I’m up for the challenge, and with certain traditions held dear and others allowed to slip away, I’m sure I can be what our country needs. My birthday is in five days. I’m not ready to take the crown just yet. I need a few more weeks to get up to speed with our advisors and get Ryker settled. Can you break tradition and move the coronation to another day other than my birthday?”
A tear rolls down my mother’s face as she nods vigorously. “I think that’s not too much to ask.”
“And the truth about Rasmus?” I whisper, holding my breath.
My parents look at each other, a million messages transferred back and forth in a single glance between husband and wife. There’s no shortage of tears between the Isakssons today. Mother speaks first, her voice as broken as I felt when I ran to Rasmus’s room one morning and they told me my brother had run away.
“I’ve held so much guilt inside of me, I’m not sure I can ever let it all go. Guilt for not being the mother Rasmus needed, guilt for letting him go, guilt for not giving him more freedom early on, guilt for lying to our people.”
Father hands her a tissue and then one for me while she collects herself. After long moments where Ryker just squeezes my hand tight to let me know he’s there for me, Mother reaches across and lays her hand on my knee.
“You’re right to want to speak the truth,äslsking. And this is how I already know you’ll be a good leader. I trust you to tell the truth as you see it.”
