My mother huffed and I wrinkled my nose. I’d never liked that nickname.
Raaz stood still as a statue in front of the door. I raised an eyebrow at that. Since when did the personal guard stand guardinsidethe private apartment? Especially when the Princess only wore a dressing gown? Hugo was obviously okay with whatever the fuck that was about, so I ignored it.
“And you,” she said, turning to me.
“Me,” I sighed, leaning back in preparation. I couldn’t wait to see what she decided to go at me for. My tattoo was on full display, though she hadn’t glanced at it like usual. My jeans weren’t ripped today, so it couldn’t be that.Hmm. I ran a hand along the back of my neck. My hair was getting a bit long. Maybe that would be the subject of my tongue lashing.
“Since when do you care for a job?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Hugo tensed. Mom narrowed her eyes.
“I was at the academy when the attack happened,” I said easily. “I was still there the following morning when that good-for-nothing fucker–”
“Thatgood-for-nothingis one of my finest investigators,” Mom snapped.
“He’s a fool,” I said. “He left dead students on the lawn all night in the rain like leaf litter.Thatis why the public is unhappy with you.”
Hugo’s head snapped up in alarm. Raaz’s eyebrows twitched upward. Mom stilled.
I was ready, though. I had a list of things to bring to her attention, and this one had to be first.
“Really?” she asked, her voice icy. “And you know this for certain?”
Never in my life had I resisted an eye-roll so hard.
I loved my mother. She was beautiful, even in her older age, and clever. She would have been a formidable Heir to the throne.
But she was a Princess through and through. She wasveryout of touch with the world outside the Palace. She had no idea what the common people went through, and had no care for their issues. Even her Links were nobility. Any criticism she received from the public, her Chain was utterly confused by, unable to provide any insight.
Ironically, my father could’ve provided that insight for her. He understood poverty well. He’d even changed his name from Alejandro to Alexander in an attempt to separate himself from his upbringing in Chiapas, thinking it would’ve brought shame to the Royal Chain.
He was such an idiot.
Wyatt wasn’t low-class by any means, but he wasn’t royalty. Being exposed to him and his family from a young age had clued me in over the years. It allowed me to see issues I’d never experienced growing up. Issues I’d never even fathomed.
Now, having met Skye, I saw another new perspective. The Gulf was different. Many of the people there chose to marry instead of testing for their family Chains. If Chains did exist, a lot of them were platonic, with a married couple within. Not every member was involved with children. Skye was actually an odd case, having multiple fathers and referring to them as such.
And yet, she resisted the idea of a Chain. Even knowing of her secret affinities, I wasn’t entirely convinced that was her only reason for resisting fate.
I suspected turmoil among the parents. Especially after having seen Levi’s attitude toward her. Even now that I knew of his existence, Skye didn’t speak to me about him. Something hadn’t been quite right in that household while she and Zephyr were growing up, it was just eclipsed by their trauma.
I cleared my throat, pretending I’d been carefully considering my response.
“Yes,” I said. “The attack on the academy is a worldwide tragedy. Other leaders have expressed their condolences, haven’t they?”
“Yes,” Mother clipped. “The president of Oceania, the asshole, even offered tovisit. What wouldheneed tovisitfor?” She looked to Raaz, who only met her stare with one of his own.
I took a deep breath. Hugo seemed to sense what I was about to say, and he sat up straighter, like he might launch at me. A shadow wrapped around his ankle, holding him still so I could speak.
“Youdidn’t visit,” I said softly.
Mom spun around, her eyes taking on that manic gleam again. “I beg your pardon?”
I cleared my throat. “You didn’t visit,” I said. “Your people were killed in a terror attack. Future soldiers, engineers, doctors. And you didn’t visit. You only released a generic statement. Did you even think to contact the families?”
She stared at me, her jaw working. She had nothing to say, and I knew it.
“Anything else you’d like to share? Since you spend so much time in the company of those who criticize your mother.”
