I glanced away. “This would be the fifteenth time altogether.”
Ava ripped her hand out of mine, slammed a punch into my arm, and stood. Her jaw twitched, and she was back to clenching her fists.
“Of all the mindless things you’ve done, George, this, by far, takes first prize.” She threw her hands in the air. “How dare you just show up here, all calm, and tell me that you’ve almost been killed fifteen times. Fifteen! After all the tricks and tactics you and I used to plan as children, you couldn’t think of one way to get a message to me?”
“Calm down, Ava, I’m here now, and—”
“Femme Fatale and everything holy on these lands, George...” She pressed her fingers to her temples and paced the floor in front of me. “You have a damn army at your disposal, figure it out.”
“It’s not that easy,” I growled.
She stopped to look at me. “Why?”
“An assassin could have followed me back here,” I countered, “and killed us, taking out both of the heirs at once. I wasn’t chancing it.”
“You kept this from me, and I would’ve been the one to deal with your death, while you were home, in danger, on your own.”
“I’m not going to burden you with shit that you don’t need to be worrying about,” I barked.
Ava advanced on me. “Stop acting like you know what’s best for me,” she retorted. I rose and towered over her. She didn't flinch, even though she looked like an angry mouse.
“I do know, and you need to come back with me.”
“No.”
“Ava, this is serious. I need—”
“I can’t. I can’t go back to—”
“You won’t go back to there.”
“I don’t want to be cooped up. I want—”
“I know what you want,” I cut in. “You won’t be caged there. You can do whatever you want, and I’ll be there. We can go riding, and—”
“As lovely as that sounds,” she sneered, “my life is here now. Papa’s business is thriving. I just can’t up and leave.”
“We can find a solution to all that. You won’t be there long.” I bit my tongue, I couldn’t promise that, but her safety was more important than falsehood.
Ava huffed. “Long? These rogues...radicals...whatever you want to call them, they’ve been on our lands for almost a decade. No one has come for me, I’m not going to worry about it.”
“You won’t need to,” I objected, “when you’re dead.”
“I’d rather live my life the way I want, and die, than be held a prisoner in that castle,” Ava shot back, glaring.
“You won’t be a prisoner. I will be there, and—”
“You said that already. What will I be able to do? Will I be able to leave the castle when I want?”
“With an escort, yes.”
“No,” she said in a firm tone.
“If you don’t start taking this seriously, you are going to be waltzing your ass back to the palace, as the new heir.”
“Then I suggest you get a better security detail on your ass, George,” she countered.
“Easier said than done,” I retorted. “We need to work on this together. Both of our lives are still at stake. I promise that I can make—”
She held up a hand. “Stop,” she muttered collectedly. She delayed for a moment before looking at me. “I do want to work with you; that was never out of the question. I want to protect you. I just don’t want to go back there with Edward and your bitch of a mother.”
I erupted into laughter. Ava raised a brow, not amused. “By all the goddesses, Ava, I’ve missed you so much,” I declared.
She rolled her eyes, a crawling grin appearing on her face, and slowly started to pace again.
“Can I think about this?” she asked. Ava was never one to make a rash decision when it came to something she really didn’t want to do. She tried to find a way out of it.
I nodded. “Of course you can,” I answered superficially.
Whoever was after my life wouldn't stop with me, and they were getting craftier. Even if I had to bring her back kicking and screaming, I wouldn't allow her to be next. Ava wouldn’t be leaving my sight.
Ava
Chapter 3
George’s surprise visit made me restless. The cognition of returning to a world of servitude under King Edward and Queen Cecilia made my stomach kink. I wanted to stay out of view, out of consciousness. Even though I was surprised they’d left me alone for this long. My inheritance of the crown must’ve still been under lock and key, kept a secret, and I didn’t want that key to be used.
While my mind was exasperated with George, my heart was overjoyed. I’d missed his voice, the way his crystal blue eyes radiated when he smiled—everything. Seeing George substantiated how much time had passed since we’d last seen each other. Years that I couldn’t seize back.
“He is wonderful!” Eve beamed later that night in my room, after dinner with Papa and George. “Are you sure you don’t want to be queen?”
She adored him, laughing at his feeble jokes and asking him questions about the palace, while I rolled my eyes dozens of times.
“Do I need to find a new best friend?” I remarked, flopping on my bed and kicking my shoes off, and she joined me.
“Think of the things you could accomplish,” Eve babbled. “You could build more orphanages. You’ve always spoke of developing stew kitchens for the poor.” I sprawled out and looked up at the ceiling. I felt a headache coming on. Eve lay next to me, propping her head up with her elbow. “Wouldn’t be so bad to spend some time with him. You can attend the balls and lavish events. It would be fabulous!”
I groaned. “I’ve been to palace balls.”
“When you were a child,” Eve noted.
“Doesn’t make a difference.”
“Think of all the men there. Oh Ava! There must be dozens of eligible bachelors!”
“You are so annoying!” I reached for a pillow and hit her with it, and we both laughed.
She wiggled her eyebrows. “He isn’t bad to look at either.”
“All right, all right, Eve,” I begged, thumping her with the pillow one last time. “He is my best friend; I grew up with him. You’re being revolting at this point.”
“But you could be a queen!” Eve marveled.
“There are a lot of things that come with being a queen,” I advised, ignoring her last comment. “Of course, you have the power and means to do things, but you are confined. I can’t go on a stroll through town without an actual army shadowing my every move.”
“But you’d be good for the people, Ava,” Eve continued. “The people need someone who cares about them.”
“I know,” I replied in a low voice. Edward wasn’t a bad king, but he was too traditional. He didn’t try to understand the way of life for the lower class. How they struggled to live, banded together to make sure their small towns didn’t starve to death. Instead, he stayed in his fancy castle and worked on his personal agenda, making Telliva an imperium among our neighboring countries.
“Having George as your king wouldn’t be bad either,” Eve said. “You’d be a royal couple to be reckoned with.”
“There will be no couple when it comes to George and I,” I countered. “Stop putting us together in the same sentence that way.”
“Oh, stop getting defensive. I was just thinking about what you’ve been discussing with me, on assisting the people.”
I did want to aid the people, but on my terms, without having to go through rich Lords, who had no idea what was happening. My dream was to travel, experience new cultures, make my own decisions. Being queen would benefit with power, but I didn’t need to be a monarch to help the people.
“I have a plan that will benefit the people,” I told Eve. “Expanding the business will bring in more funds that I can transfer to new schools, construction of the stew kitchens, and new orphanages. A queen comes with a target on her back.”
Eve was silent for a moment and pushed a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. “Whether you want to believe it or not, Ava, you have one on your back right now.”