“I don’t have a boyfriend.…” She gave their mother a sneaky, calculated wink. “Yet.”
And the self-serving harita was off and running …
Fury cut through Ember so fast that she was grateful her sister was in a hospital bed. It was the only thing that saved Alura, since Ember was still raw over the fact that Alura had been the one her ex had been in her bed with when she’d come home from maneuvers.
That betrayal and rage still burned her to the bone.
And Alura’s excuse? That she’d done it for Ember’s own good. After all, Ember didn’t need to be with someone who would cheat on her with her own sister.
Yeah … Let’s hear it for Alura logic.
Ember crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t get too excited. He’s already asked me out and I accepted.” A slight lie, but she fully intended to accept his offer now.
Just for spite.
Alura’s jaw dropped. “You? Don’t be silly, Lu-Lu. You know as well as I do that he didn’t mean it. Besides, I’m going to marry the visir. You’ll see.”
Oh, yeah … her sister’s ego was second only to Bastien’s. And she’d had enough of Alura thinking she owned the universe and could take anything she wanted. She wasn’t all that and a bag of friggles.
Ember cleared her throat. “I think Bastien has something to say about that.”
“Ember.” Her mother’s tone was sharp with warning. “We almost lost Alura today. Why don’t you go outside and wait with your sisters?”
“Fine.” Take her side. Her mom was good at that. Her father, too. It was what had made Alura so hard to deal with. If ever someone had been born more spoiled than Bastien—Alura would be her name. Why their parents had chosen to dote on that brat, no one knew.
Of course, their parents denied it. They didn’t see it. Laughably, they thought themselves fair and impartial.
Yeah, right. As if.
The rest of them had always known that in any dispute Alura won and they had to apologize and give the baby what she wanted. It was sickening, but there was nothing she could do. So she headed for the hallway and the sanity of her sisters who knew the bitter truth.
But before Ember could evac the room, Alura was already off and running with her plans for how she intended to rope the unsuspecting prince in for a wedding.
Wanting to sock her where she lay, Ember entered the hallway and almost walked into her eldest sister, Kindel.
Her sister tsked at her fury as she tucked a strand of her riotous, dark curly hair behind her ear. “Simmer down, Em. Not like the playboy’s going to settle down with anyone, anytime soon.”
She growled at the patronizing tone. “Aren’t all of you sick of her doing this?”
With a shrug, Brandy snorted. “What difference does it make? Not like you’re going to date him, anyway. You already told me how much you hate the aristos.”
Before Ember could respond, Bastien’s link rang in her pocket, as if he had a sixth sense that he was their topic of conversation and sought to interrupt them.
Without a word to her sisters, she stepped away and answered it. “Major Wyldestarrin.”
“Hey, Major, this is Cabarro. Wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. Make sure you weren’t hurt in the additional runs. And that your sister pulled through. Is the rest of your family safe? You need anything?”
It was a sad state of affairs when an aristo had better manners and heart than her useless sister. “All good. You?”
“Bored out of my mind.”
She found that hard to believe. “What? No adoring fans?”
Laughing at her question, he sent over a request for a video feed.
Ember accepted, expecting to find him with a packed ward full of admirers. To her shock, he scanned the sterile hospital room to show her that he was there all alone.
Not even a guard kept him company.
“I can tell by your expression, not what you were expecting.” Bastien turned the camera back on his features, which were scraped and bruised from his injuries, but still stunning. Even more so because he’d gotten them while doing her a favor. “You should probably never gamble with no better poker face than that, Major. Your opponent would clean house.”
She felt heat sting her cheeks at his teasing. “Sorry. I just assumed you’d be surrounded by groupies and family.”
“Yeah … no. My sa’s giving an address to the people after the bombing to reassure them and allay their fears, while the rest of my family is running around tonight stomping out other fires over it. And my ?da’s at a rally for the families of the soldiers we lost to raise funds and aid for them—which is where I’d be if the damn doctor would release me. Or I’d be at the barracks.”