Chapter 160

“It’s simply difficult to talk about,” I said as an excuse. It wasn’t a lie. Answering the King’s demand about Terry was difficult, though not entirely for the reasons he might have thought.

His mouth pressed into a hard line. I couldn’t tell if he believed me or not. “Do the best you can.”

I took one last moment in a lengthy inhale, gathering my thoughts. Then I started speaking.

I mentioned everything that had happened with Terry and me, all while talking around the existence of my sister. I even included the time Terry had slipped something into my champagne and tried to take advantage of me, though I needed a breather after that one.

The King listened quietly as I explained Julian’s suspicions that Terry had been working for the underground organization, which led to our exploration of the tunnels. And the confirmation of Terry’s involvement, by reaching the room with the cages.

“This tunnel is still there?” the King said, suddenly on alert.

“Nicholas demanded it be sealed, Your Majesty. To my knowledge, it is still so.”

The King relaxed marginally. “I will ask him about it. Continue.”

I continued on, talking about the latest event and Terry’s unwelcome flirtations. I told him about the letter we found, and ended with my near-assault and timely rescue.

The King listened quietly until I finished. Then, he crossed his arms. “That is all?”

“As of now, Your Majesty.”

The King paused a moment, as if collecting his thoughts. Then he said, “You are withholding the full truth.”

My breath caught in my throat, but I didn’t dare argue with the King – especially when that argument would be based on a lie.

In truth, I was keeping things from him. Big things. Like everything to do with my sister.

“Terry is a flirtatious sort,” the King said. “He always has, but this feels like something more. He’s practically obsessed with you.”

The King shook his head. “Terry’s tastes are fleeting. A woman rarely holds his interest for more than a single event, and even then I would question it. But you are saying he continues to hunt you down.”

I swallowed down the rising lump in my throat. Did he not believe me that his brother-in-law could be so terrible? “I assure you, he has done these things, Sir.”

The King lifted his hand and waved away my concerns. “I did not mean to imply otherwise,” he said. “What I don’t understand is why he would feel this attraction towards you. You are a pretty enough girl, but no striking beauty. And your blood makes you common, with no rare breeding.”

I grit my teeth. While I wanted to explain to the King that Terry’s behavior did not need reason, I dared not speak against the King. Not if I wanted to stay in the competition. So I pushed down my growing outrage and let him continue uninterrupted.

“You are not wealthy. You have no great influence. You don’t even have a wolf. No, as far as anyone can tell, you are utterly insignificant.” Tilting his head, the King looked at me like I was a puzzle with missing pieces. “So why would my brother-in-law take such a relentless fascination with you?”

The truth, I knew, was his obsession with wanting to possess me as he had his sister.

I couldn’t say that, so I didn’t say anything.

The King rounded the couch and came closer to me. “I don’t like when secrets are kept from me, Piper. I am King. I should know all.”

“Yet you are ignorant to the ways of your own brother-in-law,” said Julian, suddenly in the doorway.

Nathan scurried past him. “I tried to stop him, Your Majesty. I’m terribly sorry.”

The King sighed, some of his aggression slipping away into weariness. “It’s fine. Speak your mind, Julian. I know you will regardless. You might as well have my permission.”

“Thank you, father,” Julian said with a flourishing bow. He smirked at Nathan as he entered the room.

Nathan glared at him, but said nothing. He stepped outside the room and closed the door behind him.

Julian sauntered over to my side, stepping between the King and me.

“May I present, an item we found inside the desk alongside the letter.” Julian reached into his inside jacket pocket and produced the signet ring. He then held it out for his father.

The King’s eyes went comically wide. He snatched it out of Julian’s hands, then turned to hold it under the light.

“This is genuine,” he said.

“It is,” Julian replied.

“You found this in Terry’s desk?”

“Yes. In a secret compartment.”

The King’s expression darkened.

Julian glanced at me and spotted the confused expression on my face.

“You see, Piper, the signet on that ring is the King’s official seal,” Julian said. “It had gone missing from his private chambers many months back. I bet if we looked more closely at our records, they should show that Terry had recently visited.”

The King turned the ring round and around in his fingers, like he couldn’t believe he was holding such a thing.

“Leave,” the King said then, frowning deeply. “I have much to think about and need to do so alone.”

Julian bowed, despite the King no longer looking at him. I did too, for propriety’s sake.

Julian held out his arm for me. When I accepted it, he lead me through the door and out into the hallway.

“Thank you,” I said to Nathan, though he ignored me to glare openly at Julian.

Julian waved at him. “See you later, Nathan.”

Nathan huffed a sharp breath, then disappeared into the sitting room with the King.

Julian led me down a few other hallways, until we were far from where the King was holed up. Finally, my breathing seemed to return to normal and my heart rate slowed to rest.

I still hadn’t fully understood what the King had hoped to gain from his interrogation of me. He had clearly come into the meeting with his own ideas of what had gone on.

“See? This is exactly why Nicholas should have included me in his earlier confrontation with our parents,” Julian said. “If I had presented that ring sooner, father might have been decent enough to leave you out of it, and not force you to relive your trauma.”

I looked down, embarrassed.

“Nicholas never thinks I’m good enough to actually contribute,” Julian said. “He resented that I was assigned with the task of tracking down the underground. He likely thought I’d blow it off.”

He was clearly still angry about the brothers’ earlier fight.

Trying to make peace, I said, “Don’t forget, Julian, that you cultivated that image.”

“A brother should know the truth about his own brother. For him to have bought into my façade is an insult to our shared childhood.”

I frowned a little. “Surely there is some reason for this animosity between you?” I didn’t want to pry, but I cared about them both. Caring about them meant that I wanted to help. “What happened that drove you to such hatred.”

“You should ask him that,” Julian said. “He’s the one who has been unwilling to let go all these years.”

I had serious doubts that Nicholas was the only one who was holding onto a grudge. I gave Julian a flat look, letting him know my disbelief.

“I’m serious,” he said, doubling down. “You only see the good parts of him. The sides he wants you to see. What you can’t or won’t see, Piper, is just how selfish my brother is.”

“Nicholas?”

Julian nodded. “Nothing is more important to Nicholas than his own self-image.”