Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“You can turn off the royal charm. It’s just me,” I teased, which seemed to annoy him.
As his brother—and as a member of the royal family—I had my own appointed obligations to the Crown. My work was primarily as an ambassador, working with many of our foreign allies and philanthropic causes our family funded and offered aid to. I assumed this was why my presence at the meeting was required.
Frederick and I approached and offered our standard salutes, right hand against our chests, over our hearts—the usual greeting to the King.
“Good morning, Owen,” Lucas said. “Did you sleep well? Rumor has it, you had to entertain some company last night. I hope you didn’t find yourself occupied too late.”
“Ah, I found I was occupied very early, actually,” I confessed. “But don’t believe everything you read on the Prince Watch blog.”
“Well, perhaps I’ll stop believing them when their news becomes less factual.”
I should’ve figured they already had the scoop, considering they were pretty good about paying off hotel employees to spill the details. Although, I preferred a hotel rumor to bringing them back to the palace.
“I’m surprised you had time to make it to our meeting,” Lucas went on. “I’m pleased your self-appointed duties to the women of Parlaisa still come second to your duties to the Crown.”
I could feel his judgment, but it wouldn’t be the first time...or the last.
I started to say something smart when I heard one of the guards announce behind us, “Prime Minister Lawrence.”
We turned together as the prime minister was escorted in by the royal guard, her aide at her side.
“Good morning, Your Majesty,” she said as she neared and stopped before us, offering her own salute before rattling off a few more pleasantries with my brother. “Thank you for your willingness to meet with me on such short notice.”
“Our pleasure,” Lucas replied. “To what do we owe this honor?”
I resisted rolling my eyes. Politics and formalities weren’t my forte. And if being a royal had taught me anything, it was what bullshit it all was.
They played their familiar dance, discussing a few subjects I could tell were not the reason for Lawrence’s visit, before she said, “As you both are aware, the parliament will be revisiting the subject of equal marriage this summer.”
I knew her well enough to know this was where her real concern lay, which made sense considering our family’s history regarding this particular hot-button issue. I didn’t even have to look to Frederick to feel his tension, as he too surely knew how heated a discussion like that could become, given where Lawrence stood on the subject.
“We discussed your intention with respect to the Crown’s unofficial and soon-to-become official position on this,” she said.
“It is the only position to have on the matter,” I chimed in, which was met with an annoyed look from Lawrence, though I doubted she cared much about my opinion. If anything, I was brought in simply because I was bound to be the one to act as public troublemaker as far as the topic was concerned.
She nodded subtly before smiling once more and saying, “Yes, well, unofficially, I understand your position given your mother, Queen Tara’s, rest her soul, stance on this. As you both know, I have no personal issue with the matter, but simply feel that it’s best for the people to decide.”
“The Crown is not interested in going against the people,” Lucas declared, a sort of authority about his words that made it clear why he was truly best fit to inherit the throne, his birthright.
“Yes, you have always been clear about that, which is why I feel compelled to share this news that has reached me. The New Press has forewarned me about the results on the latest polls regarding equal marriage.” She turned to her aide. “What are the stats?”
“Sixty-seven percent against,” he replied.
“That’s a majority against the position you have expressed interest on publicly proclaiming in support of the Equal Marriage bill up for vote in parliament this coming December, as per our previous discussions on the matter. That said, given the rarity of the Crown making the decision to enter into public matters of this sort, it was my duty to share this information with you personally before it was made public, to perhaps head off any potential conflicts of interest.”
“So we don’t tell you guys you can go shove your vote up your ass?” I asked.
“Prince Owen, I advise you to be cautious with your words,” Lucas said, the intensity of his tone assuring me of the very real threat they offered.
I bit my tongue as Lucas pondered the new information Lawrence had shared. “Sixty-seven percent against? This can’t be right. We’ve been making such huge strides. We’re one of the most progressive European nations when it comes to equal rights. Maybe the wording of the poll was confusing.”