It felt … lonelier in here without him.
Mattie threw herself down next to me, and I winced as she jostled my injuries. “Shit, sorry,” she said in a rush. “You hide your pain so well I keep forgetting.” Reaching out, she awkwardly patted me on the shoulder, and I waited for the “there, there” to come from her. Mattie wasn’t the best at comforting people, and it made me laugh when she tried.
“All good, so what’s your news?” I said as I pressed back into my pillows, getting comfortable.
“Claudette is gone.”
I paused. “What do you mean gone?” Where I grew up, that could mean anything from missing to dead.
“Rafe booted her ass from Arbon and the Switzerlands, and right now there is talk of discord between her family and his. It’s turning into a huge political mess.”
Holy fuck.
“What?” I breathed. “He … but don’t they have an arranged marriage?”
Mattie nodded, breathing fast, her eyes wide and dilated. “It’s all over. Finished. Done. Broken off.” She shook her head. “Totally insane. The biggest scandal of the century. I can’t even believe he did that, and he did it for you.”
“No,” I objected. “No. He doesn’t even like me, and to do something so huge that … It makes no sense.”
Mattie’s face shifted so quickly from shock to anger. “She was instrumental in almost getting you killed. In my opinion, Rafe went easy on her. I’ve got a call in to my family to see if we can cut any ties to the United Kingdom, too.”
Something hot and unfamiliar churned in my stomach, rising to my chest and burning my eyes. Tears threatened to fall, but I held them back. My reactions, they were … real emotions. These royals cared about me, and I felt the same way. I had only been at Arbon for a short time, but it was enough for me to develop real feelings for them all.
Even Rafe. The asshole. Okay, most of the time I felt like punching him, but every now and then…
Maybe we were on a path to mutual respect or some shit.
“You can’t do that, Mattie,” I told her gently. I mean, I appreciated the hell out of her for trying, but we both knew she didn’t hold enough power. Not to mention all the damage cutting such an important political tie would do to her kingdom.
Her lips pursed and her chin quivered a bit, like she was thinking about maybe crying. “Well, I can try, at least. So anyway, now that Alex hasfinallystepped more than three feet away from you, what do you want to do? Are you hungry? We could go grab an early dinner in the dining hall.”
Despite my stomach rumbling at the mention of food, I cringed at the idea of people seeing my messed up face.
“Maybe later,” I murmured. “I’m pretty tired to be honest.” That wasn’t a lie. I was still aching all over, and all I wanted to do was hibernate until I was healed.
Mattie pursed her lips, not buying my white lie. “Okay, new deal. I’ll get dinner sent up, and we can watch a movie?”
I rolled my eyes with a half smile. “Anyone would think you guys are scared to leave me alone or something.” Mattie just scowled at me, so I sighed. “Okay, fine. But I want an action movie this time. And a steak.” I nodded, then remembered my manners. “Please.”
Mattie just laughed and flipped her shiny copper hair over her shoulder like a supermodel. “You got it, Vi.”
I groaned. “What’s with the nickname, Mattie?”
She smirked back at me, even as she pulled up the details for the dining room on her palm pilot. “What? It’s what Rafe’s been calling you, and I think it’s cute.”
Of course she would, and I bet he hadn’t explained that it was short forviolence, notViolet. Fucker.
“Don’t jump off a bridge just because Rafe does,” I sulked.
Even though I hadn’t seen the Swiss prince since he’d busted into my room Friday night, he’d been the subject of conversation any time my friends had visited. Guess he was just one of those magnetic people.
Mattie just laughed and placed our food orders with the kitchen, then got comfy on my bed. “Action movie it is,” she muttered, keying something into her palm reader and sending the command to my projector box.
* * *
The next morningafter I’d showered, I found a pleasant surprise waiting for me.
“I thought you might need some help,” Mattie announced, laying out countless cosmetics on the top of my desk and indicating that I sit in the chair. “Not that I think you’re vain or anything, girl. Just that you wouldn’t want people whispering. Right?”
