Chapter 37

C HAPTER 37

"Henry, leave," I say. There's not enough air in the Throne Room.

He blinks in surprise. "I mean, I will this time, but you won't get away with talking to me like that when I'm the king." He smirks playfully.

I feel like I might pass out. I rub my sweaty palms on my thighs.

Henry slowly stands up. "Whoa. Weird energy in here."

"Go," Theo barks at his brother.

Henry throws me an odd look as I pace across the carpet. When the door shuts behind him, I can't bring myself to look at Theo. I feel sick. I don't want to have to be the one to tell him about Henry.

My legs shake and I feel dizzy. My fingertips and lips go numb. Theo's talking to me, but his voice sounds far away. I think I'm having a panic attack.

I fall into a chair, realizing only after I've sat down that it's one of the thrones. Eighteen-year-old American Wren Wheeler on a throne.

Impossible.

Unless…

I feel like I'm going to throw up. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

I look down at the throne, and the answer to all of our problems pops into my head. It might be crazy, but when have Theo and I ever done anything that wasn't?

I close my eyes and wish for a sign. Brooke's words ring clearly in my mind.

Wanting a sign is your sign, Wren.

My vision from last night shifts from Chicago to Buckingham, and I see it all. Theo and me planning royal tours together. Working together to make positive changes for the future of the monarchy. Ball gowns and tiaras and a happily-ever-after.

"Wren, what's wrong?" Theo's voice is urgent. He kneels in front of the throne, his eyes wide with fear. It snaps me out of my panic attack, and I take my sign and run with it. I kneel on the bloodred carpet in front of the throne and say the only thing that makes sense.

"Theodore Geoffrey Edward George, will you marry me?"

His brows crease. "Did you hear what I said? Henry is going to be king. We get to be together, away from all of this."

I don't want to ruin his fantasy, but I'll never be able to look him in the eye again if I don't say something. "I think Richard Graves is Henry's father; he's not a legitimate heir."

Theo blinks in shock. "What are you talking about?"

"Your blood types are different. It means that you don't have the same two parents."

The color drains from his face. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm not a hundred percent positive about Graves, but doesn't him being Henry's dad just make sense?"

I can see his mind racing until he comes to the same conclusion that I did. His eyes fill with betrayal, and it looks like falling backward off a cliff, so I give him something to hold on to.

"We're out of options. You're going to be the king no matter what, and I want to be with you without any of the Firm's bullshit trying to separate us. What do you say?"

He pulls his teeth over his lower lip. "If we get married tonight, you'll become the queen tomorrow…"

No matter the circumstances, I think somehow Theo and I were always going to find ourselves here. "I'm not interested in a path that doesn't involve you."

He tears his eyes away from mine and runs a hand over his face. "Even if I do everything I can to protect you, the press and public scrutiny and loss of freedom might ruin your life. Nothing has changed."

I close the final inches between us. "We love each other, and if we let it, that changes everything."

"I don't want to lose you," he says, sliding his fingers down my neck until I feel my pulse in the palm of his hand.

"Do you remember what you said in your wedding vows?" I ask.

"I said we were fate," he whispers.

"Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. But I choose you anyway, every day, forever."

He kisses me once, so soft I might have imagined it. "Tonight. Under the stars."

"Is there any other way?"

He kisses me harder, and I've never felt so sure of anything.

The first time Theo and I got married, it was because the universe was holding a gun to our heads. This time, it'll be because we want to.

We split up and agree to meet in the gardens after sundown. When I ask if we have enough time to make this wedding legal, Theo assures me that he'll take care of it, that he'll call in favors and pull strings if he has to. ("Perks of being the king" followed by "Shite. Henry's going to be miffed" followed by a wide-eyed "How do I explain any of this?")

I'm dazed as I walk out of the Throne Room. I don't know where to go, or what to do, but I somehow wind up at the foot of the Grand Staircase. I slowly glide my hand over the bronze casting and look up to see an etched-glass dome filtering in soft gray light, and it hits me that this is going to be my home. Not the dorm room in Northwestern with my new Target bedsheets, but the three-hundred-year-old palace that Theo grew up hating.

I sit on the bottom step and close my eyes. For the first time since the comet, I see my future in perfect clarity. Theo and I will live here. He'll be king; I'll be queen consort. I'll take classes at Oxford, figure out if photography is still my passion, and spend long afternoons playing fetch with Comet in the palace gardens. We'll find a way to move the monarchy into the future, to make Theo hate it less. No more guesswork. No more stressing over what to do with my second chance. No more hazy, uncertain daydreams. Just Theo and me together, finally, without any catastrophes to tear us apart.

I call the only person who might understand what I'm about to do, and I swear I hear my heartbeat echoing off the glass ceiling as the phone rings.

"Hey, what's up?" Naomi's voice is hushed.

"Is this a bad time?"

"No, hang on." The line goes quiet for several seconds. I hear her say goodbye to someone, and then she's back. "Sorry, I was in my room, but I can talk on my way to class."

"What class?"

"Calc. But oh my gosh, I have to tell you about my English Comp professor. He's old, so I thought it would be boring, right? But no. He's actually hilarious and so cool. He's covered in tattoos and swears all the time and treats us like adults. He doesn't even take attendance. Not that I'm going to skip class—I would never—but still. I love it here." She sighs dreamily, and it makes me want to cry. Suddenly, I feel sick with envy. She's exactly where she's supposed to be, and she knows it. "Hang on, I'm cutting through Sarge, it's going to get loud."

I wait until the noise around her subsides, and it gives me time to remember how to breathe. "What's Sarge?"

"Sargent. It's what everyone calls the dining hall."

"Oh." I realize with a start that I could be with her right now, using student slang like "Sarge." It feels unthinkable. If I were there, I don't know what I'd be doing with my life, or what it would mean for Theo and me.

"Have you talked to Theo yet? What's going on with the coronation? And when are you coming home?"

My blood pressure spikes, until I remember that I finally have answers. "Theo and I are going to get married," I say quickly.

She doesn't respond for so long that I check to see if the call dropped. "Naomi?"

"Yeah, sorry, I just… I don't know what to say. Obviously you and Theo are soulmates, but is it going to be a long engagement type of thing?"

"We're getting married tonight."

"What?!" I hear a door slam behind her, and she lowers her voice again. "That's crazy. "

"I want to be with him, and this is the only future for us that makes sense."

She's quiet for a long moment. "You can't even wait for me to be a bridesmaid?"

I don't want her to think about that. I want her to be excited for me. "You have a room at Buckingham anytime you want. Hell, you can have a dozen rooms! Come for your birthday in December!"

"I'll be studying for finals," she says flatly.

"Oh yeah." My stomach drops. "Well, I'll come visit you! You can show me all the best places to hang out on campus."

"Will you be allowed to do that?"

I remember Theo's endless warnings about stalkers and bodyguards and paparazzi, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My life will never be normal again.

"Wren—" I hear muffled voices in the background. "I have to go. Class is starting. Just… don't do anything until you've really thought about it, okay?"

I assure her I won't, but I'm dazed as we hang up. If my best friend and the biggest royal fanatic I know thinks this is too much too soon, should I reconsider? My stomach squirms uncomfortably, and I realize quickly that I can't. Despite Naomi's lack of enthusiasm, I'm relieved to finally have a life plan again, even if that plan is to secretly marry the king of England the night before his coronation.

I pace in front of the staircase as I mentally make a list of everything I'll need for tonight, starting with paperwork. I text Brooke and ask her to scan me a copy of my birth certificate—along with an ominous Don't ask questions! (After Naomi's reaction, I don't want anyone else to second-guess me.)

I also need my ring, a dress, Comet, witnesses—

"Oof!" I run smack into Victoria.

"There you are." She smooths her skirt. "Has Theo told you the news yet?"

"Do you want to be my maid of honor at our wedding tonight?" I blurt.

She looks gobsmacked. "You're joking."

"I'm really not."

"Explain everything," she demands as she grabs me by the arm and drags me to her bedroom.

I tell her about Henry and Graves, and she takes a lot longer to process it than Theo did. Comet and I play with a pile of dog toys on the floor of her room while she paces and Googles and occasionally swears under her breath. After nearly an hour, she walks out the door.

I bop Comet on the nose with a stuffed teddy bear he's nearly ripped to shreds. "Do you think she's coming back?"

He cocks his head as if he's thinking about it.

Five minutes later the princess returns with a bottle of champagne in hand. "I'll do it. I'll be your chief bridesmaid." She pops the top, takes a small sip, and disappears into her closet.

"Should I tie the ring to Comet's collar?" I ask as she discards dress after dress. Comet is on his dog bed with his head in my lap, and I'm gripping the ring Theo gave me tightly in my palm. My stomach is a riot of butterflies.

"What if he swallows it?" She emerges with an armful of dresses.

I look at the pool of dog slobber in my lap. She has a point. "He really sleeps here every night?" I ask, even though it's obvious from the dog bed to the toys that Comet is fully at home in Victoria's room.

"I have trouble falling asleep unless he's here," she says from behind a pile of fabric. "Since Mum died."

I glance at my rescue dog, who was only mine for a few chaotic days, and finally say what I should have said days ago. "Thanks for taking care of Comet."

Victoria lays the dresses on the bed and cocks her hip. "I did it for him, not you."

I'm too excited and overwhelmed to be fazed by her prickliness. Or maybe I'm just getting used to her. "He can stay here with you, as long as I can still hang out with him."

She wrinkles her nose. "Shared custody?"

"We are going to be sisters."

She suppresses a smile as she focuses on the dresses. "I've never worn half of these. If you find something you like, I can get a tailor in here to make quick alterations. We'll tell them it's for the coronation tomorrow."

I run my fingers across the expensive fabric, unexpected tears burning my eyes. This isn't exactly how I would have wanted my wedding to go—no family and no Naomi—but I have Theo, and that's more than enough.

Victoria cocks her head and surveys me seriously. "Are you sure this is what you want? Because you're about to lose complete control of your life."

I'm tired of getting the same warning. I know palace life is going to be different than what I'm used to, but if Theo and I can be happy together on a deserted island, we can make it work anywhere. "The only thing I'm sure of is that I want him."

"Is this what Theo wants?" she asks, and my stomach twists anxiously. No future in which Theo is king is a future he wants, but it's the one he's got, and because we live in a world where a comet could hit or a plane could fall from the sky or the earth could open up and swallow us whole, why not do what makes us happy?

"I really do love him," I say.

"I know you do." She looks up at the ceiling and blows out a breath. "And I guess I'm sorry that I've been an utter git," she mumbles quickly. "It won't suck having you as my big sister."

I gasp. "What did you say?"

"Don't make me say it again or I'm taking back the dresses," she threatens.

"I don't believe you," I gloat, a smile growing on my face. "You don't hate me. In fact, you kind of like me."

"Ugh." She groans, tossing a tulle dress at my head. "We don't have time for this. We need to turn you into a bride." When I push the fabric aside and glance at her, she's smothering another smile as she turns away.