“Who did it? Who killed them, General? Who murdered my parents?”
9
Paige
I waited for the general,or anyone in the room, to answer me.
My parents were dead.
Fine. That sucked, especially since this was the first I ever learned anything about them. But murdered?
Why? How? Who?
Who took them from me? I thought I’d just found them, but they’d been gone since before I could ever remember.
A low simmering rage narrowed my eyes and made my entire body shake. My hand clenched into a fist at Addan’s back.
“I believe–” the general began. The older man seemed tentative in answering. Why?
Fiona interrupted before he could finish his sentence. “We do not know. There are security feeds at the queen’s residence, however we have never been granted access–not only to those feeds–but to the rooms in the palace that have computer access.”
“Your cousin, Queen Alienor, has many enemies,” the general said finally.
I scoffed. “So? Apparently, so did my parents. These enemies murdered them, didn’t they? Does Queen Alienor have the same enemies? Have they tried to kill her, too?”
General Niemini moved to stand before me, hands clasped behind his back. He cleared his throat. “Princess, there are rumors–”
“We have no proof, General. Choose your words wisely.” Kaisin’s words made me nervous.
“No proof of what?”
“Suspicions. But to speak them aloud is treason and could cause everyone in this room to be executed at Queen Alienor’s command.”
My mouth dropped open.
General Niemini seemed to have warmed up to sharing information because he dropped a small bomb. “There are those among your mother’s allies who believe it was your mother’s cousin, Queen Alienor herself, who was behind the attack that took your mother’s life.”
Blood drained from my face. My own cousin? If it weren’t my parents who were dead, I’d laugh because it sounded so much like a daytime soap opera.
“What?” I sputtered. “Why didn’t you lead with that? And I’m supposed to marry her son? You are insane.”
I looked to Addan. His jaw was clenched, his gaze narrowed and if thoughts could kill, I assumed my soon-to-be-husband would be dead. Good. I’d love to see Addan tell the guy off. Say I was his and–
No! Bad thoughts!
“Prince Martainn is classically handsome, Paige,” Sorcha offered. To this point, she and her sister remained silent. “Well trained, too. Many females on our planet would sell their very souls to claim him, but he will wed you.”
Sorcha looked like a woman who read too many romance books that had the heroine falling for a prince. Sounded more like an incestuous frog to me, and no way was I kissing it.
If I was kissing anyone, it was Addan. His kisses were likely drugged, they were that potent. Addictive. God, my nipples hardened thinking about them.
“Princess–” Addan began.
I raised my hand, getting frustrated, in more ways than one. “Call me Paige. Please, all of you.” I glanced at Addan. “I think we’re way past this princess stuff, don’t you?”
His lips turned, but otherwise he remained stoic through all of this. No holding. No touching. No pulling me into his lap. No eating me out. No orgasms.
I wanted him to wrap me in his arms and tell me everything was going to be okay, then fuck me. Then tell me everything was going to be okay while he fucked me.
