Page 66 of Microburst

We were annoyed with a lot, but he was referring to the fact that my mother hadn’t wanted Lydia on her detail. I hadn’t known that, but apparently my mother hadn’t thought there should be female guards at the castle. Belinda had found that already in Mother’s journals and informed us of that gem.

Sexist bitch.

“We handled it,” I told Onyx. “We can let you out and—”

“Don’t!” he snapped, calming down when Lydia reached over me and shoved him back. “Please don’t do that and shut me out. I get not coming and telling me what my family is doing to you now, but I’mhere. Stop shutting me out.”

“You need to back the fuck off and understand you weren’t dating when all of this has happened to you both. It’s happening to each of you individually and you’re not a couple yet,” Lydia seethed. “And you’re ruining any chance you could realistically have by not respecting that. You keep acting like she’s ruining yourestablishedrelationship. Stop putting that on her!”

I blinked at where her hand was still on his chest and then slowly looked over to her. “So clearly you’ve been wanting to say that for a while.”

“Yes, yes, I have, Your Majesty.” She shoved him away from me again, hard enough he thunked into the car door and then sat back in her seat. “I don’t hate him for you like others do. I think he’s genuine and doesn’t understand that he’s drowning andpulling you down with him while you’re drowning and trying to make sure you both can swim. There’s a difference.”

“She’s not wrong,” Onyx said after several tense moments. “But I see it more like we’re both lost in the same ocean of this trauma, and instead of staying together so we have a better chance of surviving that, we’re drifting further apart and that meansneitherof us will make it.”

“You’re not wrong either, but the first rule of survival is you decidetogetheron how to work as a team. You just keep…” She blew out a harsh breath when I snorted.

I’d done the same thing.

“What do I know? I’m fucking single and have never been in a real relationship,” she grumbled. “I apologize for sticking my nose in it. I just like the queen for more than being my queen and I’m tired of everyone fucking hurting her.”

“I like you too, Lydia,” I whispered and squeezed her hands. “We can be friends when no one is looking.”

“Smartass,” Benson snickered.

“We’re not friends,” I threw right back before letting go of Lydia’s hand and glancing at Fraser, basically asking his opinion.

“It’s his family, poppet. He’s throwing in with us against his family because it’s the right thing to do. Even if you guys don’t work out, let him see this through. You’d want—need the same.”

That was probably the understatement of the year and really sound advice. I let out another breath and brought my foot up on the seat so I could face Onyx better. He got the idea and tried to do the same… And failed miserably which made us both chuckle quietly.

“I’m sorry my brother is hurting you again,” he whispered. “I’ve given up on Kole, but some part of me keeps holding out hope that Vex can be the man—theboywho once wanted tomake Applerest amazing and help the people of Thovudin. I just can’t—I’m sorry, Sagan.”

I appreciated him not calling me “baby girl” given the company, but I was pretty sure he would have if we’d been alone. I wasn’t sure if I would have wanted it with everything going on. We needed less—everything got too intense too fast.

Or maybe we needed to latch on to that intensity?

Actually, I was with Lydia and I had no fucking clue what I was doing. I found out my parents never loved me—hated me even and thought I was a curse from dark gods that would ruin the royal family and then I went back to fucking a man who would never want me for real.

So I was beyond fucked in the head and didn’t know the right thing to do with personal… Anything.

“It’s not Vex,” I sighed, nodding when he frowned.

“Kole could never figure out how to get to a judge and not make a mess.”

Fraser snorted. “This isn’t a mess? Look how many already know.”

“Good point, but he’s also not that connected,” Onyx countered.

“Not Kole,” I hurried to say so we stayed on point and handled this before we arrived where we were going. “Hanna.”

Onyx scoffed. “No. She would never.”

“And he’s back to being an idiot it seems,” Benson muttered, focused on me when I glanced at the rearview mirror. “Didn’t she hang up on you when you called her about the texts and threats?”

“Yes,” I bit out.

“She did?” Onyx whispered. “Seriously? I wouldneverhave expected that of her. She’s so…”