Chapter 303 Who?
ADRIANA
We were woken by Lana at two in the morning, then again at four, and by the time she was down for the third time Elijah and I were lying side by side in the dark both thoroughly awake and neither of us willing to say so.
“She’s asleep,” he said finally.
“She’s been asleep for four minutes,” I said. “If you move she’ll hear it.”
“She’s in the other room.”
“She has the hearing of a bat. Don’t move.”
He was quiet for about thirty seconds. “Are you asleep?”
“Yes,” I said. “Deeply.”
“You just answered me.”
“I’m a very talented sleeper.” I let out a soft chuckle.
We lay in the dark and didn’t sleep for a while, and eventually his breathing evened out and I was fairly certain he actually did fall asleep, which was when I finally let myself go as well.
By the time I woke up it was past ten and the room was empty and the shower had stopped running some time ago and Elijah was apparently already up and dressed and gone.
I took my time getting up. Lana was brought to me and I fed her, and I was still sitting up in bed with her when Elijah appeared in the doorway.
“I’m taking Lucien out this morning,” he said. “To show him the pack, the territory. He’s been inside since he arrived and he doesn’t know where anything is.”
That seemed like exactly the right thing to do. A young man arriving in an unfamiliar place needed orientation more than anything, and sitting in a strange room wasn’t going to help him settle.
“Good idea,” I said.
“Simone wants to come.”
I looked at him.
“I’m telling you in advance,” he said. “Not asking permission. Telling you so it’s not a surprise.”
I thought about it for approximately three seconds. “Fine. She can come.” I met his eyes. “I trust you. I want you to know that. I trust you completely and I am not worried about you being in the same car as that woman. What I am, is aware that she is going to use every moment of that trip to try to create something she can use later.”
“I know,” he said. “I’ll manage it.”
“I know you will.” I looked down at Lana. “Just come home at a reasonable time.”
He was gone by the time I finished feeding her and got dressed, and the house had settled into its mid-morning rhythm when the knock came at the bedroom door.
“Come in,” I called.
Leo opened the door. He was dressed but his expression was off.
“Leo. What happened?”
“Mum,” he said carefully. “Before I say anything, I didn’t say anything to him. I want you to know that.”
I put Lana down on the bed and straightened up. “Who?”
“Leo.” He stepped in and partly closed the door behind him. “I mean — not me Leo. Liam. I mean—” He pressed his hand over his face, which told me he was more rattled than I’d realized. “The wrong name, sorry. The twins. I meant the twins.” He looked at me. “They know about Lucien. Someone told them and now one of them is asking questions and the other one is crying and Lorain has locked herself in her room because she heard something and now — it’s a lot.”
“Who told them?” I was already moving.
“I don’t know. I heard the twins in the corridor and when I went to see what was happening they said a lady had told them that a new boy was going to take my place on the throne and you and Dad weren’t going to be King and Queen anymore.” His voice was carefully controlled. “I think it was Simone.”
I stopped in the corridor.
Of course it was.
I had told myself that she could be managed, so it was safe to let her stay temporarily in the annex while the arrangements were being made was practical and not a risk. I had told myself that she understood the terms of the situation and would comply with them because compliance was in her interest.
I had been wrong.
Elijah junior was in their room with his arms crossed and the flat, shuttered expression he got when he was genuinely hurt and covering it with anger. Liam was on the bed looking at the ceiling.
“Hey,” I said, coming in.
Elijah junior looked at me. “Is Leo not going to be the King?”
“Leo is absolutely going to be the King,” I said. I came and sat on the bed and looked at both of them. “That was decided, formally, by your father and the entire court. It is not changing.”
“A lady said—”
“I know what she said. She was wrong.” I held Elijah junior’s gaze. “Your father and I make the decisions in this kingdom. Not the Elders, not anyone else, and absolutely not a woman who arrived here uninvited and will be leaving shortly.” I kept my voice completely level. “Is that clear?”
Liam sat up. “Who is Lucien?”
I exhaled slowly. “He is your father’s son from before he married me. A long time before. Your father didn’t know he existed and now he does, and Lucien is going to stay in the house for a while while everyone figures out what that means.” I looked at both of them. “He is not taking anything from Leo. He is not taking anything from anyone. He is just a young man who didn’t choose any of this either.”
“Does Leo know?” Elijah junior said.
“Leo has known since it happened. He handled it well.” I stood up. “I need you to do the same. Can you do that for me?”
They looked at each other with the twin communication that happened without words. Then Liam nodded and Elijah junior, after a moment, nodded too.
“Good.” I looked toward the wall. “Is Lorain in her room?”
“She locked the door,” Liam said. “She didn’t want to talk.”
I went to Lorain’s room and knocked.
“It’s Mummy, baby,” I said. “You can open the door.”
At first there was nothing, then I heard the quiet sound of the lock being turned.
She was sitting in the middle of her room with a book open in her lap that she clearly hadn’t been reading, and she looked up at me when I came in with the expression she always wore when she was holding something carefully.
“What did you hear?” I said, sitting down in front of her.
“That Lana wasn’t safe here,” she said. “The lady said Lana would keep getting hurt as long as she stayed in this house because bad people wanted to take her.”
My brain went completely blank.
That was not what I had expected. That was not something a woman trying to make a succession argument would say to a five-year-old. That was something specific and targeted and designed to cause fear.
“Lorain.” I kept my voice completely calm. “Did the lady say anything else about Lana?”
“She said it was going to happen again if nobody did anything.” She looked at me with Elijah’s eyes. “Is it true?”
“No,” I said. “Your sister is home and she is safe and I will make sure she stays safe.” I held her gaze steadily. “Lorain, this is very important. Did the lady say anything else? Anything at all?”
She thought about it. “She said she knew who had taken Lana. That she had seen them.”
Everything in my body went very still.
“Can you describe the lady to me?” I said. “Exactly what she looked like and exactly where you saw her?”
Lorain described Simone.
I thanked her, settled her with her book, and walked out of the room.