Damaged Royals

by Hazel Parker

  Benjamin looked pretty pleased with himself. “After training her, we can provide a fake background for her. I can let her know now—”

  “No,” I interrupted. “Your flirting would get in the way, and we want her to enter this agreement with a clear head. I’ll deal with this.”

  Benjamin looked like I just told him the earth was flat. “But you dislike her.”

  “That’s exactly the kind of person that needs to talk to her. So everything will be on neutral ground, and she’ll know the exact terms of what we need.” I turned to Laverna. “Are we going to compensate her in any way?”

  “Of course. I trust you to name the price.”

  “He’s stingy,” Benjamin muttered.

  “I will,” I responded at the same time.

  We both looked at each other, gazes warring. Then we both turned to the queen when she spoke in finality.

  “Go tell her now, then. We need this done as soon as possible. Let the staff know she will be assigned a new role temporarily.”

  * * *

  The duty reversal happened right after the meeting, with Benjamin going back to the women and me hunting Liz down. I found Kyle in the library as usual, too absorbed in his book and only looking up when I called his name. He looked pleased to see me, something that didn’t happen often with other people.

  “I have a question that I don’t want anyone finding out.”

  “Yes?”

  “What does your sister usually do at this time of the day? Where can I find her?”

  That made his eyes widen until I assured him I just had some additional tasks to give her. When he gave me the answer, I walked over to the location immediately, not wanting to waste any time as it was of the essence.

  As Kyle indicated, she really was where she was scheduled to be—inside one of the many guestrooms in the palace, standing on a ladder and changing the curtains on a window. It was a pretty large window, and she was already standing on the top rung and still tiptoeing to reach the curtain railing. One movement, and—

  As if the scenario read my thoughts, the curtain railing slipped out of her hand and fell. The curtain itself covered her up, a movement that had the ladder wobbling. I reacted in record time, running and grabbing at the ladder before it could topple over. But she lost her balance all the same, the curtain weighing her down and leaving her no choice as she fell off.

  I let the ladder go and caught her easily, her weight sinking into my arms as she gave out a loud oof! Her hands clung to steady herself, and she let out a breath that warmed the side of my cheek.

  My gaze met brown eyes, widening as they recognized me. I felt her breathing sharpen, felt her body go still against me.

  Time stopped.

  My hands tightened around her waist, even while I slowly lowered her to the ground. I gritted my teeth as her gaze zoned in on my mouth, where she stared for a good while.

  Then we both stepped back at the same time.

  Liz spoke first.

  “Thank you for catching me, Your Highness,” she muttered. “That could have ended badly.”

  It could have ended with a broken neck, but I didn’t say it out loud. Instead, I nodded my head and waited for her to meet my eyes—something that didn’t seem fruitful, because her gaze seemed to be wandering around for no particular reason…other than she wanted to avoid looking at me.

  I cleared my throat. “I have a question.”

  “Yes?”

  “Are you grateful to my brother for offering you this job and allowing you and your brother to stay here?”

  That surprised her enough to finally look up and meet my gaze. “Of course. I’ll always be grateful.”

  There was no denying the sincerity in her eyes, and I knew it was the type that couldn’t be faked. The passion there was visible, and it meant she would do anything to fight for my brother and for what he’d done for her.

  It was a good step in the right direction. But a twinge pinged at my chest, burying deep. I dismissed it and focused on the matter at hand.

  “And if you were given an opportunity to show you’re grateful to him, would you take that opportunity?”

  The sincerity in those brown eyes turned wary.

  “What is this opportunity?”

  “It involves helping him reach his full potential as king and helping us weed out a certain impostor within the visiting princesses.”

  Her eyes widened. “There’s one?”

  “There’s one,” I confirmed. “Are you willing to help?”

  Worry set in on her face, and she bit her lower lip. I tried to ignore it and focused on her eyes instead.

  The worry turned to determination. She looked up and met my gaze again, steel in them.

  Then she nodded her head.

  “Count me in.”

  Chapter 11

  LIZ

  “That spoon is mostly for dessert, and this one is for soup. Notice that every one of the utensils is in order? That’s deliberate. Everything is served in order, which is how the queen likes it. Here’s a guide you need to memorize.”

  I looked at the guide Lucas placed in front of me, reading the list of utensils, cups, glasses, plates and everything in between with their purpose beside their name. I already read up on them last night, then again this morning in between cleaning the sheets—that was, until I was called and asked to stop cleaning so I could focus on the task at hand.

  Now here I was, sitting in front of the older prince himself and trying not to be nervous. The nerves were an accumulation of so many factors, really, with the main ones being that I couldn’t really believe I was doing this, and I couldn’t really believe I was here with the guy who disliked me.

  I couldn’t feel that dislike radiating now like before, but it still stood that Lucas was stiff as he waited for me to pick up everything on the table and name them.

  Because I was good at memorizing stuff, it didn’t take me long to point them all out to him smoothly. A small triumph came over and made me want to crow.

  Of course, he squashed it immediately.

  “Don’t celebrate yet. We still have a long way to go.”

  The long way involved dance lessons—something that I expected but hadn’t really prepared for. I was good at hustling on my feet back at the diner, and I started out confidently as he taught me the basic steps, posture, position. I imitated the bow, then the first few steps he specified.

  As it turned out, hustling was really very different from dancing.

  It wasn’t until that moment that I realized I had two left feet, and the horror of it had me fumbling more than was necessary. Lucas was patient at first—until an hour turned into two, and half of the afternoon became me failing and him glaring at me.

  “You’re not trying hard enough.”

  “I am trying as hard as I can.”

  “Try harder.”

  Unable to help it, I glared back at him…just as my foot stepped on his. It would have made me cringe, but the embarrassment of the moment was beyond cringing now. It didn’t help that I had my arms on his hard shoulders and he had his around my waist, a firm touch that sent those tingles up again.

  Damn tingles. I didn’t need those.

  When I stumbled again, he caught me and held me upright. A frown of disapproval slid down his mouth.

  “Don’t be too heavy on your feet.”

  “I suppose I could just fly and get it over with?”

  Fine, so my reply was sarcastic. His blue eyes flashed, and he looked like he was about to give out one of his signature scathing remarks again. Ironically enough, I was no longer afraid to shoot back my own sarcasm, and it wasn’t just because I knew they needed my help more than they cared to admit.

  It was because for all Lucas’ growling and threats, instinct now told me they were all just words, and it would take more for him to actually push through with them.

  “You can float. Quit counting the steps in your head and listen to the beat of the music.”

&nb
sp; His words made sense, but my feet refused to follow. Frustrated, I gently disentangled from him and threw my hands in the air.

  “Can we try something new? Please? I’ll practice tonight and be better tomorrow. I think it would be more productive if we did something else now.”

  His brow rose.

  “Your Highness,” I ground out in addition, practically spitting the words at him.

  I expected an argument. Instead, Lucas surprised me again by nodding his head stiffly.

  “I have just the lesson in mind.”

  * * *

  I hated horses.

  Well, that was partially a lie. I liked horses—I liked looking at them, patting them and making cooing noises whenever they were near. I even liked feeding them carrots and sugar cubes, something the stableman made me do once when I visited to bring him some fresh hay and breakfast from the cooks.

  But riding them?

  The horse Lucas let out of the stable, a beautiful chestnut-colored gelding named Roast, stared patiently at me with dark black eyes, drawing me in with how kind they looked. But it didn’t help as my body screamed and panic slowly started setting in, making me take a step back.

  From behind me, footsteps sounded, and a familiar voice joined us.

  “Are you really teaching my sister how to ride a horse?”

  Beside me, Lucas nodded his head. “It’s a must. All the other princesses are trained for this.”

  Kyle nodded back solemnly. He was one of the few aware of the situation, though Lord knew how he found out, considering I never exactly told him the details. Belatedly, I realized he hadn’t even said hi to me and was focused completely on Lucas. Lucas was eyeing him back, almost as if waiting.

  “Liz tried riding a horse once. She fell on her butt and almost had a spinal injury.”

  I glared at Kyle for the revelation, heat creeping up my cheeks at the horrible memory.

  “It was a side job,” I muttered. “It didn’t last.”

  “Good thing you didn’t scare the horse.”

  “Or die,” I supplied. But he was right. The horse probably smelled my panic back then, hence its reaction. I steeled my shoulders at the thought of having to endure that again, especially in front of Benjamin and the other princesses. That was certainly one way of messing up my cover. “Fine. Teach me how.”

  A flash of triumph might have slid into Lucas’ gaze, but it was gone quickly. He cajoled Kyle closer and ushered the three of us, along with Roast, to one of the many riding spots that weren’t used—the one at the north, far away from the palace’s eyes so that no one could see us. All of Lucas’ lessons had been done in secret, and this was no different.

  We started right away, with Lucas explaining the basics. I tried to pay attention to his words but kept getting distracted by how he was dressed—a plaid blue shirt and blue jeans, which looked so unusual on him. It brought out the color of his eyes and made me believe he wasn’t cold at all.

  And that was just jarring.

  “Liz, did you get what I said?”

  Shock filled me at the mention of my name, in his deep voice. He never called me by my name before.

  “I got it,” I blurted out. Coincidentally, maybe I did read a little bit about horse-riding. Just a little.

  “Good. Then let’s get you on for a ride.”

  I blinked, not sure if I was hearing what I was hearing. Then it all clicked in, and I took a step back and shook my head. “Maybe I could fake an upset stomach so I can avoid the horse-riding with the other princesses?”

  Lucas and Kyle looked at each other like I said something odd. I glared at them, disbelief coursing through at whatever bond this was they shared and how they were using it now to gang up on me. Finally, Lucas stepped forward and took my wrist—and without further ado, tugged me closer towards Roast, who was waiting patiently. Lucas stepped on one of those leather things that I couldn’t identify for the life of me, hoisting himself up with such clean grace that I could only stare. Realizing his intention, the panic set in again.

  Words were already tumbling out of my mouth. “Your Highness, I don’t think this is the proper way of going into this. Perhaps we can discuss some more—”

  “Might as well call me Lucas for now,” was all he said back.

  Then hand went to my wrist and pulled me towards him, I hooked my foot in the leather stirrup and lifted my leg over the horse as he positioned me right in front of him. I would have lost my balance if not for his arms banding around me tight, steadying me in place and knocking my breath off at the same time.

  “Kyle, would you be kind enough to guard the area and make sure we aren’t spotted?”

  My traitorous brother saluted, eyes shining with what could only be admiration and amusement. Then he bounced off into the distance, leaving us alone and leaving me even more panicked than usual.

  I knew I was stiff as a board, but I couldn’t help it. I froze, however, when Lucas’ hands gentled around me, an almost soothing gesture. His head leaned forward, and I felt his warm breath near my ear.

  “Relax. Don’t be nervous. Roast will feel it, and it will only make her not trust you. You have to work with her on this. Can you do that?”

  His tone wasn’t harsh—rather, it was calm, even gentle. It was exactly what I needed, and I found my thundering heart slowing down as we stayed there like that for a good while. Roast appeared to be nervous at first, too, but Lucas kept on with his soothing tone, comforting Roast more and keeping her still.

  An ache started in my chest, one that traveled down to my belly and had it clenching. I gulped and tried to regulate my own breathing, tried to ignore the warmth of his front against my back.

  Benjamin needed this.

  Benjamin needed me.

  Finally, I nodded my head. “How did you and Kyle get this…close?”

  “We’re not close.”

  “Considering how he speaks so informally to you when he normally doesn’t speak at all, I beg to differ.”

  He stirred the horse, and the nerves leaped back in my stomach. I distracted myself with his response, latching on to his low, calm voice.

  “Perhaps we have just encountered each other plenty of times in the palace. He’s not as quiet as you think.”

  “Not with me. But he’s wary of strangers.”

  “Because of your living conditions before?”

  “Yes,” I admitted. “I didn’t want him trusting the wrong person and getting hurt, so I taught him to be wary. We had no choice in the matter.”

  “I’m not questioning how you raised him.”

  “I didn’t say you were questioning it.”

  “And your parents? Where were they?”

  I shrugged. “We didn’t know them. We were put in an orphanage, where we had to fight for meals with the other children. I got Kyle away when I was old enough to earn a living—fourteen, I think? And we stayed on the streets since.”

  “You raised him well.”

  Because I was too preoccupied with how Roast was slowly cantering and trying to ease myself into the motion, it took me a while to realize that he had just given me a compliment. My mouth dropped open, and my head swiveled behind me.

  “The road is up ahead.”

  “Did you just say something nice about me?”

  “I was complimenting Kyle. He’s a good kid. Smart. Observant.”

  “And you were complimenting how I raised him.”

  “I was complimenting the kid.”

  I scoffed. “Oh, come off it. It came from your mouth. And you sounded sincere, too.”

  The horse switched to a gallop, and I squeaked and pushed my back against his front. I could practically feel his smirk and glared ahead in return.

  “Don’t get any ideas. And stop gloating.”

  “I wasn’t getting any ideas,” I muttered. I couldn’t say anything about the latter, though.

  Maybe I was gloating a little.

  The horse kept galloping, then cantering, switching between
techniques as Lucas quietly explained them to me. I found myself getting absorbed in the lesson, found every bit of my nerves disappearing altogether as I got comfortable. Soon enough, I began to enjoy myself and realize it wasn’t so bad—in fact, it was so good that I was quite disappointed when the lesson ended.

  Lucas got down first, and I was delighted to find out that I didn’t mind sitting on the horse by myself.

  That delight turned to something else when he helped slide me down, and our eyes clashed all over again. My hands settled on his shoulders, and his settled on my waist, repeating our curtain moment and making me lost in his scent that still flitted in the air.

  A part of me wanted to lean closer and inhale it some more.

  But the self-preservation inside me, along with alarm bells ringing in my head, was what had me clearing my throat and taking a step back.

  “Thanks for the lesson.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said, eyes still on me.

  As if on cue, Kyle came back, innocent eyes on us. “Are we done? I’m hungry.”

  The moment was broken, and I turned to give him a smile. “Yep. Come on.”

  I walked over to my brother and heard Lucas following, along with Roast.

  And I tried not to look at him at all through the whole walk back to the palace.

  Chapter 12

  LUCAS

  “So have you learned what you needed to learn for our last lesson?”

  It was a few days after Liz’s first failed attempt at dancing—six days, to be exact, which was ample time for her to read up and learn what she could, then practice as she promised. In those six days, I taught her every other lesson there was to know, amazed as she absorbed each one of them like a sponge and adapted them into her daily movements and activities.

  Her fear of horses? It became non-existent as her eyes lit up at the sight of Roast, then as she learned how to ride the horse solo. I could practically see the affection in both their eyes as they fell in love with each other, and it was amusing.

  It was also mesmerizing.

  Now, the last lesson was up, and I watched a resigned expression cross her face before she straightened her shoulders and nodded. Then Liz voluntarily stepped forward and got into position, and I did the same a few seconds later.