Merle sighed, his exasperation loud enough to reach outside the room. “That is your name, son. And Max, if you won’t agree to their plan, then maybe hearing the alternatives is my only option.”
“Anything to save your skin, right?”
Impact sounded, and I covered my mouth with my hands. I couldn’t distinguish the source or target of the blow, but I wanted to barge into the room out of concern for Max.
I forced my feet still.
“Oh, boohoo.” Morty’s snide tone curled my lip. “Mommy Dearest passed away and left you with everything. Poor baby.”
“Fuck you.”
“Ooh, sorry, babe. No can do. I’m into blondes right now.” Morty laughed. “Maybe a hint of something exotic. Keep the family line from getting too light. We are the rebels, after all.”
Merle cut off his rant. “Your brother is right. Whether or not you like it, your mother’s inheritance falls to you, Maxwell, and Le Redoute Vin has flourished over the last two decades. It holds more capital than most of Camelot Court’s consigned assets, and the Valencourts see it as a means to an end. They want it. Drake D’Arthur wants it. And I want to make sure it stays in our family’s control.”
“What? You’re a hot commodity, bro!” Morty crowed. “Live. It. Up.”
“I’m not marrying her.” Max growled. “You don’t know?—”
“That’s enough.”
The finality in Merle’s tone surprised me.
And both his sons heeling to it.
“Maxwell, you’ve had your fun, but this is out of our hands now. You went to the Valencourts before The Quest began. Out of some misguided revenge plan, out of love, it makes little difference to me. You made Percy Valencourt an offer, and they expect you to make good on it. They’re threatening what you hold dear in one way or another.”
Two taps on the desk, then a beat of silence.
“Fine,” Max growled. “We’ll do it your way, and see how that plays out.”
“It better play out with everyone happy, and my position at Camelot Court secure. After the lengths I’ve gone to through the years, I won’t let one insignificant girl threaten all that. You were tasked with keeping her out of their hair, keeping her happy and distracted so she didn’t cause problems.”
I strained to hear Max, but he muttered under his breath.
“Regardless, now she’s become a problem. And she won’t be the first or last girl at Camelot Court who thought she had power, only to learn her lesson and wind up with nothing.”
“How many times?—”
“Yeah, yeah, little brother. We’ve heard you.” Morty adopted a whiny, mocking tone. “She means nothing. She’s just a pawn. I’ve been using her the whole time. Blah. Blah. Blah.”
Furniture scraped across the floor, and the sound of bodies hitting each other followed. Max and Morty went after each other, while I tried to hold onto what they’d just said.
For one brief moment, my hope had soared.
Then, like a clay pigeon fancy rich people shoot on holiday, Morty blasted it to the ground.
“No one buys your act, little brother. Or hers. Pretending all this, you as the villain and her as the Ice Princess, hasn’t been a way to get the two of you out of here?” Morty scoffed. “So you and V can ride off into the sunset and live a normal life? It’s getting old. Using the outsider as misdirection was clever, I’ll give you that. But it doesn’t matter.”
I waited for Max to say something.
Anything that proved Morty was lying.
But thoughts of our night in the forest filled my head, and when Max broke the silence, his smug tone crushed any remaining hope I had.
“Jealous, big brother?” Footsteps came closer, and Max’s voice sounded right by the door. “I’m done talking about this.”
My stomach rolled, and I needed to get away from there before he saw me.
