Rafe gave me a half-smile. "Actually, not this time. Security concerns are high enough with all the monarchs gathered that it was deemed safer to disperse as quickly as possible. By this time tomorrow, there won't be a single monarch left in the Cayman Islands and this estate will have become the new base of operations for the People's Court."
I sighed, gazing longingly out the window to the pristine white sand and crystal clear waters. "Lucky them. I'd kill for an office view like that."
Rafe pulled me out of Nolan's hold and closed me tight in his big arms. "I'll buy you an island, babe. Say the word and I’ll make it happen." He murmured the words in my ear, and I jolted back in shock.
He just laughed, the prick, and let me go to keep walking.
I shot Jordan a panicked look and shook my head. "He's joking, right?"
Jordan grinned. "Doubtful. Never can tell with him, though." He linked our hands together, and we followed our friends out into the sunshine.
"Violet," someone called out from behind us, and I spun to find Felipe and Jacinta emerging from the main building.
I smiled at my boyfriend's parents—easily the best parents I'd ever known. "Congratulations, Felipe," I replied. "You must be relieved that went so seamlessly."
He nodded. "We are, absolutely. Jax and I wanted to personally update you on the other matter under discussion today." His brow dipped somewhat, and my stomach clenched.
The other matter. The Princess Ballot and genetic matching for arranged marriages. Not that I had a problem with people finding their genetic matches, not at all. But both parties needed to be fully aware and consenting.
"We were able to use the data dump that Jordan set up prior to the Spring Ball," Jax told me with a reassuring smile. "It allowed us to identify which kingdoms were the worst offenders. We've arranged private discussions with each of those leaders later this afternoon, and we're confident we can garner an acceptable result."
I arched a brow, the cynic in me creeping out. "An acceptable result?"
"Transparency and informed consent," Jax clarified. "After my initial chat with Queen Tatiana, of Siberia, I have complete confidence that all the breeding programs in her kingdom will be shut down. She was most revolted by the whole thing."
I breathed a sigh of relief and Jordan squeezed my hand. "Thank you, Jax," I replied with total sincerity. "You two are pretty amazing leaders, you know that?"
Rafe's parents both laughed, and his mom pulled me into a warm hug. "You will be too, one day," she whispered to me, then kissed my cheek and headed back inside with her loving husband by her side.
I had no idea what she meant by that comment—I sure as hell wasn't going to be marrying my princes any time soon—but I couldn't deny the wistful hope as I watched Felipe kiss her hand while they walked. Those two, they were couple goals.
All I needed to do was work out how to apply that to both my princes and secure our very own happily ever after.
Chapter 33
"There's a fight tonight," Rafe whispered to me as we disembarked our flight back in the Switzerlands. He'd been on his palm reader for the past couple of hours, and now there was a mischievous glow to his face. "You up for it, Violence?"
“Yes!”
No thought or hesitation required. I was itching to work off all the emotions raging through my body. It didn’t matter that they were on the lighter side with happiness and excitement prominent, I still needed an outlet.
“I’ll get you on the cards. Start hoping there’s someone worthy to go up against.”
“What about you or Jordan?” I asked. “You guys are the best. We’d put on a hell of a show.”
His smile grew. “Not tonight, babe. Tonight we’re on the same side. Besides, Jordy and I are already on the list for other match ups.”
I kissed him. The fact that we were at the stage where it was fine to randomly kiss each other was almost beyond belief. The fact that this was my life was a little too much to handle.
Another reason I needed this fight.
Mattie interrupted us before anything else could be said or done, and she linked her arm through mine to drag me to the waiting vehicle. “You’ve had her for days,” she said. “My turn now.”
Rafe shook his head but didn’t argue, falling in with Nolan and Jordan as they got into the second car. Normally they wouldn’t have left us alone, but since they were following right behind, they must have figured it was okay.
“So,” Mattie said, dropping her head back against the seat as the car took off. “That was hectic, right?”
I swallowed hard. “Yeah, being there with so many monarchs was intense. And I wasn’t sure the vote was going to go our way.”
She smiled before reaching forward to hit a button. A small divide between us and the driver settled into place, and I winced at the fact that I’d almost shared information that was in no way public yet.
Whoops.
“It’s a really amazing step forward,” Mattie said, “and I’m thinking about applying to be a royal liaison to the People’s Court. I’m never going to be queen of my country, and I’d like to use my diplomatic skills for something useful.”
It took me a moment to wrap my head around that, but the more I thought on it, the more sense it made. Mattie was smart, passionate, and kind. She’d taken a ballot winner like me, an orphan with no family, money, or title, and cared for me like I was one of her own. She would treat the people right.
“I think you’d be amazing,” I told her. “You could make a real difference.”
She smirked at me. “With the added bonus of pissing off the parentals, I really can’t see a downside.”
We both laughed, and thankfully she didn’t discuss her horrible mother any longer. No way could I act like that woman was anything other than a mean-spirited, snobby bitch. We might have only had two stilted conversations during my time in the Caymans, but that was more than enough. Fuck knew how she had such amazing children; Arbon Academy probably had a shit ton to do with that. The twins barely even knew their parents, and in my opinion, that was for the best.
“It still astonishes me that she agreed to the alliance with Zach,” I said, watching her face closely. Whenever his name was mentioned, her eyes dilated. It was a telling sign.
“Zach is still the son of one of the most powerful monarchs in the world, illegitimate or not. He has money too, thanks to that, and my parents are always about increasing our country's wealth.” She leaned in closer and whispered dramatically, “They have small-country syndrome.”
I snorted out some laughter. “Fuck. Small country energy is the worst.”
Mattie laughed hard, and I loved that we were free to have this moment without the threat of anything to mar it.
"So, are you coming to the fight tonight?" I asked her with a teasing smile. "I bet Zach will be there. They're resistance-run, aren't they?" Then I frowned. "I guess we can't call them the resistance anymore. Uh... Society-run?"
She gave me a narrow-eyed look. "As if I'd miss seeing the infamous Violence in action. Hell yeah, I'll be there cheering from the front row, babe. But if you get hurt I'll have to bust some nuts."
I laughed at the mental image of Mattie going all nuclear on my opponent. "It'll be easy," I promised her. "If Rafe and Jordan aren't fighting me—or Nolan, either, I guess—then I seriously doubt there will be many other fighters who can kick my ass."
Mattie grinned wide. "Confident. I like it. Well then, I can't freaking wait. What do I wear, though? Fucking hell, we need the whole afternoon to sort out outfits. Wait, do you even still have your costume? And where's your blade?"
I smiled at her fussing. "All safe in my room, I checked last week. Good thing I didn't have my weapon on me at the Spring Ball or it'd be long gone now. Don't worry about what to wear, though. You'll see."
Mattie muttered curses under her breath the whole way through the hidden tunnels, and it did nothing but amuse the rest of us.
"Seriously, you guys," she spoke up just before we reached the fight arena, "how come I couldn't wear a cute outfit like Vi? She looks hot as fuck, like spontaneous combustion hot. And I'm stuffed in this fucking ski mask like some kind of—"
"Like everyone else not fighting tonight?" Nolan replied with an eye roll. "That's the point, Matisse. Anonymity."
Mattie grumbled some more. "It's unsexy, that's what it is."
I just shared a grin with my guys. Mattie was adorable as hell, and we all knew she was worried about not looking cute in front of Zach. And that said everything about how much he was under her skin.
The fights this time were in a completely different section of the hidden passages that I hadn’t been to before. This part almost looked like it had been an underground railway at some point, with huge train tracks we had to walk over to get to the main space.
“I’m digging this fucking vibe,” Mattie said, head tilted up as she stared at the heavy beams crisscrossing the stone walls. Hundreds of years ago, there would have been shop fronts or ticket windows but now they were nothing more than relics of a time long passed.
“Is the secrecy thing a moot point now?” I asked, noticing no one was trying to shut Mattie up. “Or is it just a waste of time trying to keep her quiet?”