My eyes close. “I know. I don’t blame you. How has this week been with Signoria and Antonia?”
She’s quiet for a very long time. “Fine, I guess.”
“Don’t lie.”
She sighs into the phone. “The reason I did English all day was that I think they broke a rib or something.”
I hiss a curse under my breath.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you.”
My lungs seize with fury and guilt. “I always want you to tell me.”
“They won’t live forever,” she whispers, and I laugh. It’s our saying. One day we’ll have freedom. The problem is, with no identity, it’s damn near impossible to make it in this world. We’re slaves to them with no other options.
“You’re right. They won’t. I’m in a new position now. One that gives me direct access to the family. Hopefully things will move along faster and I’ll be back home in no time.”
Only I don’t want to go home. Rowan aside, I want to stay. The thought of going back to that palazzo gives me nightmares and makes my insides shudder. On the flip side, I hate leaving her there alone. More often than not, I’ve been able to take the brunt of their force and keep it off her. Without me there, she’s got no one to protect her.
“How’s the prince? Still dreamy? Did you finally talk to him now that you got that promotion?”
I smirk. She loved hearing about my wild night with the prince, and though I kept the details PG, she still swooned. “Wow, you didn’t even put any bait on that reel, did you?”
She laughs. “Nope. Tell me.”
“Yes. He’s still dreamy. He’s also an arrogant jerk and very suspicious of me in this new role. I have to be extremely careful with him.”
“He didn’t recognize you though, right?”
“No, but today was the first day I interacted with him.Hopefully, I can keep that to a minimum.” Even if he did threaten the opposite.
She sighs wistfully. “Imagine if you and the prince fell in love and got married. Then I could move into the palace with you, and we’d all live happily ever after.”
I snort. “I wouldn’t hold your breath on that fairy tale. The prince already doesn’t like me, and the feeling is mutual.”
“Don’t burst my bubble. A girl can dream. Especially when that’s all we’ve got.”
11
MARCELLA
Emily has the palace honed into a well-oiled machine that I can’t allow to lapse, even for a moment. Truthfully, I’m in over my head, and as a result, I wake early after going to bed late. All that aside, somewhere near midnight, with Jaqueline’s conversation still lingering on my mind, I had a thought.
I can keep the money I earn here.
I can keep my new name and credentials too. And when I’m done at the palace, I can take Jaqueline, and together we can leave Messalina, Antonia, and Signoria Batorini behind.
I can go out into the world. I can get a real job. How can they stop me? What are they going to do? I was beholden to them with no way out, but now, my options are open. They’re the ones who paid off the necessary people in order for me to get the credentials, so it’s not like they can say or do anything about it.
Their hands are just as dirty as mine.
The truth is, they’ll kill me if I attempt it. But maybe I can broker our release. Maybe I can work out a deal. I have to try. If I can’t, I’ll complete my assignment here and kill them. I can’tgo back to that life. Not after living in this one and knowing what’s out there.
Once that thought took residence within me, that small taste of eventual freedom, I fell asleep. I can do this job. I can do anything I set my mind to. I can deal with petty assholes and avoid Rowan easily enough. Adding to that, the chief of security, Emily’s husband, is with her at the hospital, so I’ll have a bit more freedom from that to get things done.
The king, queen, Rowan, and Althea rise early. The king and Rowan go to the main gym or run the trail while the queen and Althea have regular yoga sessions together. The children get up shortly after that, and they all have breakfast together in the breakfast room most mornings.
It’s during that time that I’m to ensure that the king’s office, study, and Rowan’s office are ready for the day. The bedrooms are done after that. I have my trolley full of supplies and tackle the king’s quarters first. I don’t have access to his computer, nor can I even attempt that now, and the documents he has out aren’t of much interest. Simply matters of state that require attending to. Nothing scandalous or even juicy. I also don’t take pictures or read anything all that carefully.
