Chapter 25

Flora

So, not only did Sigurd meet someone, he met the love of his life.

And got her pregnant.

Finally, we are bringing him home, along with Stasi, a server he overtipped months ago. They happened to meet again at the family’s rental cottage down in Mirror Lake.

The coincidence is too adorable. Not only am I about to have three sisters-in-law, but I’m also about to become an aunt.

I could not be any more firmly on Cloud Nine.

There’s just the small matter of him not wanting to be king.

He tries to play it off by implying I’ll do a better job than he will. A typical man move I’ve watched my father use on my mother. She’s better at all the things he doesn’t want to do as a monarch. What a coincidence.

“You were born for this,” Sigurd says.

“No. I’m certifiable. Just ask Daddy.”

“All of us are, in Father’s eyes.”

True, but I remind him that I’m also a girl, and one that Father still views as a flighty little thing obsessed with unimportant matters like clothes.

And besides, I don’t want things to change. I want to keep things the way they are. I’m blissfully happy being Callum’s girlfriend. There’s no reason to rock the boat now.

Something about the look on Sigurd’s face tells me he already suspects something, but he’s too afraid to ask.

But at the end of the day, he’s a good big brother and won’t foist the throne on me if I’m not ready. No matter how badly he doesn’t want to be king.

Callum nearly gives away our secret on Sigurd and Stasi’s wedding day.

Both in the way he stares at me, and in the aftermath of me fainting.

The way Callum looks at me in front of everyone, like he’s undressing me with his eyes, is both exciting and nerve-wracking.

He stands behind me at the front of the arbor as the bride’s friends process up the aisle.

I haven’t met Jakob before, but when he walks in, I can’t help but compare him to all three of my brothers. It’s uncanny.

A memory strikes me so hard that it knocks the wind out of me.

The man who rescued me on Torben’s birthday is staring back at me.

“It’s you,” I breathe.

Everything swirls into tunnel vision throughout the ceremony.

I’m going to faint, and I really hate the idea of taking anyone’s eyes off my brother’s beautiful bride, Stasi.

The blood leaves my brain despite my will to stay strong.

“Flora?” someone asks, concern in their voice.

“It’s you,” I repeat.

Callum leans into me. “What is it, Flora?”

“It is,” Jakob says.

Callum is upset, demanding to know what’s going on.

Everyone is shouting. I sway. Someone catches me but it’s not Callum. Where is he?

Sigurd says something about the baby. Oh gods…is the baby okay?

Chaos swirls around me, and everything goes black.

Callum is by my side when I wake up and stays there through the aftermath.

“Once again, I wasn’t there to catch you, and I’m sorry.”

“Callum, it’s okay,” I try to reassure him.

I’m lying on a chaise lounge in my chambers after shooing away the family and palace staff hovering around me for hours.

“The important thing is the baby and Stasi are well. And I have a new brother, and a niece to fuss over.”

As it turns out, Jakob is not only the mystery man of the century but also my illegitimate brother.

“It’s time to tell everyone about us, Flora. Everything is coming out into the open now. We might as well take this moment to rip off the Band-Aid, so to speak.”

My sweet Callum means well, but it couldn’t be a worse time.

“My father is about to discover he has a son that no one knows about. This will kill what’s left of his image,” I say.

“Your family cares way too much about optics,” he says a little too harshly, and I recoil.

“I’m sorry,” he says immediately. “I’m ready for everything to change for the better for you, for your family. And for me.”

“First, let my parents process everything with Jakob. After that, Jakob and I will have to have a conversation about who is going to take the throne. If it’s me, then I can choose my husband without consequences.”

Callum clearly doesn’t love this plan. “You don’t want to be queen.”

I smile. “Not in the way you think of it, no. But I have a plan, and I promise this will work.”

Hours later, Callum stands by me at the press conference, where my father introduces Jakob as the man who saved my life.

Everyone is in high spirits, for once.

After receiving his medal of honor, Jakob bows to me, to my parents, then hands over a small piece of metal, dropping it into my hand.

“I believe you dropped this, Your Highness.”

The ring with the “B” on it. I didn’t even realize I’d dropped it.

I look over at Callum, but his expression is unreadable. How had I forgotten all about the ring that meant something so special to him?

With all the drama and ups and downs of these past few months, I forgot the most important thing: our future together. It may be a hunk of metal to me, but to Callum, it represents his hopes and dreams of discovering his own family lore and eventually being accepted into my family.

My thoughts are interrupted when an American reporter spills the beans, asking the king about Jakob’s parentage.

My daddy looks truly stricken for the first time in his life, gripping his chest and tumbling to the ground.

We all have quite the flair for the dramatic, don’t we?

Uther tries to hurry me away from the press conference, but I refuse to go anywhere without Callum. He grudgingly allows it, and Callum rides to the hospital with me, holding my hand all the way.

On the ride to the hospital, I receive a text from Torben that Daddy has suffered a heart attack and may not survive.

I turn to Callum.

“Time to catch me, love. I’m going to need you desperately.”