Page 216 of Vexatious Queen

Princess: It’s weird that you can function at all with how little you sleep.

N: Well, now you know why I want to steal you every night. I only rest when you’re with me.

Princess: I’m pretty sure that is not the reason, considering we get very little rest.

I smirked.

N: I sleep like a baby in between rounds of ravishing you.

She smiled and shook her head at me.

Princess: You always have an answer, don’t you?

N: That tracks. I’ve got options on demand.

Princess: Okay, hotshot, give me an answer then. Why did my mother do this?

Ouch.

N: Okay, I don’t have an answer for that, but I can make a hypothesis based on the evidence collected to date.

I smiled at my sentence, loving how her brow furrowed before she looked up at me.

Princess: Are you trying to impress me with your big words again, Collier?”

N: I have to impress you with something other than my sexual prowess.

She snickered and covered her mouth, making me smile.

Princess: Okay…fine. Give it to me. Why do you think, based on the facts collected, that she did this?

I took a moment to compose my thoughts and ran through all we now knew. I searched my brain for timelines and flight logs from my father’s jet. I’d memorized everything the moment we started looking into the mysterious Ren Davies.

N: Are you sure you want to know?

Princess: I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.

N: I don’t think it’s going to help you sleep any better.

Princess: I was having nothing but nightmares anyway.

I sighed.

N: I think my father found your mother. He did something to make her believe that her only escape, and the only way to protect you, was to make it look like she was dead. She made sure that you came to Wayward and were protected by the Curators. I think Lawrence’s initial plan was to wait until you graduated and then force you to marry him. We ruined that.

Ren nibbled her lip. The glow of her phone illuminated her face, and I could see the worry etched into her beautiful features.

Princess: But why not just go to my father? You’ve seen how powerful he is, how many alliances he has. I’m sure he would’ve helped.

N: I’m afraid only your mother can answer that. But…

Princess: What? Don’t I have the right to ask?

N: You do, but I don’t know if you should. Look, whatever happened had to be bad. If it has anything to do with my father, maybe it’s better we don’t know.

She closed her eyes and rested her head back on the headboard. I waited and let her process what I’d said.

Princess: I’m scared.