Page 102 of Wild Fury (Fallen Royals 6)

“Do you want to be Lucy Page again?”

Do I?

I haven’t been her in a while. I’ve been everything I think my parents would’ve been proud of: calm and restrained and quiet.

The opposite of who I think I used to be.

But which skin is more comfortable? The camouflage I’ve been hiding in, or…

My own?

“I miss it,” I admit. There’s a lot of things I miss, although my heart aches because I don’t know if they missed me.

“Take your true passport,” he says. “Get on a plane. Go visit your sister in Italy.”

I nod slowly. “Because my parents don’t give a shit.”

“They don’t.”

“And—” No, don’t ask about Theo. Don’t make the pain in my chest worse.

The car pulls up in front of my hotel. I’ve been living off the money the governor’s wife gave me, which now feels like DeSantis blood money.

I wrap my fingers around the handle, ready to spring out, but something stops me. Another question, one that might drive me crazy if I don’t find the answer.

“Was there another reason for wanting me gone?”

He watches me for a beat, then slowly inclines his chin. “You were against the wedding. We didn’t want your opinions tainting Amelie’s views.”

I flinch.

“We let you come to the wedding because I doubt she would’ve walked down the aisle otherwise,” he continues.

“So… everything was a manipulation. Getting me out of the way, then bringing me back in. How far would you go?” I consider him. “How far did you go?”

He chuckles. “What are you implying, Lucy? That I hired someone with a history of sexual harassment to work the party? That it wasn’t a coincidence you were left alone to be herded away?”

I stumble back. “He was going to hurt me.”

“You seemed proficient at keeping yourself safe. The burning, though…”

I turn away before I can reveal anything else. That it wasn’t me, but my silent protector. Theo managed to escape without a scratch on him. I thought I might’ve shown my hand by using him as my alibi, then asking Wilder to keep him out of it. But from Jameson’s words, they might not have put it together.

The lengths he’s willing to go…

“Goodbye, Lucille. Good luck with your future. You have at least one person eager for your return.”

I shiver, but I can’t look back now. I can’t go back. Not to Rose Hill, not to my parents. I can’t just hop on a plane and go see my sister. I can’t face Theo after what I’ve done. My heart aches at that, but I shove it down. The girl I was felt too much, all the time. This new version of me has kept her focus—and I can’t afford to lose it.

If Theo is still waiting on me, I need to make him stop.

Lucy Page is dead and gone. For good, this time.

29

Theo

Liam bursts into my apartment, his head swinging around. There’s Caleb by the window, Eli sitting on the counter next to the sink. The latter peels an orange, dropping chunks into the basin. The citrus is all I can smell, even from my position on the couch.

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