Pretender to the Throne(27)
“And you want to go back up to your mountain then?”
“It’s my years on the mountain that are helping you now. You have to admit, this wasn’t your area of expertise.”
“I’ve been a patient in hospital emergency rooms,” he said, looking around them, “but I’ve been short on philanthropy in them.”
“You have?” She was honestly shocked by that.
He laughed. “I’ve done no shortage of dumb-ass things in my time away, Layna. Just trust me on that. Too much speed in cars, too much drink, too much...everything.” He paused. “Another advantage, I suppose to your being committed elsewhere. If you aren’t my queen, you don’t have to deal with my past.”
“Is it so bad?”
He nodded slowly. “And there’s a lot of it. Ready?”
She knew he was talking about facing the press. “Yes.”
He walked out of the hospital and she followed slowly, dread filling her, her brain fuzzy, the world titled slightly.
“As has already been reported, in less than flattering words,” he said, his voice loud, the microphones unnecessary, “I have returned, and I intend to take my place as heir to the throne. Of course, while my father is unwell, that doesn’t mean it will happen now, or even in the next year, but I am here, and I’m here to stay. Layna Xenakos has graciously agreed to partner with me as I get familiarized with my home again. She’s been living in service to this country, and she is the best choice, in my opinion, to show me where the greatest needs lie. If Layna can forgive me my choices, and welcome me back, I hope that her forgiveness is the start of my earning forgiveness from everyone. Though, I know that is a lot to ask. We all want what is best for the country. If you can’t trust me, at least, for now perhaps, we can stand united in that.”
The air roared with questions as the press crushed in on them both. Xander took her hand and pulled her through the crowd. She tried to keep her head down, tried to keep them from being able to snap shots of the worst of her damaged face. Tried to let all of the questions blend into an indistinct blur so that she didn’t hear any of them.
But she heard words. Attack. Scars. Beauty. Ugly.
She’d never spoken to the press after her attack, and neither had her family. There were so many unanswered questions for them. Between her and Xander the press had the most salacious bits of the past, right there before them, and they were rabid now.
“In the car,” Xander said, opening the door. She obeyed and slid inside. He followed, slamming the door behind them. “Back to the palace,” he said before putting the divider up between them and the driver.
He let out a rough breath and put his head back on the seat. “Well, that went a bit better than anticipated.”
“Did it?” she asked.
“They let me make a statement before mobbing us.”
“Okay, yeah, there’s that.”
“It was better than they can be.”
She looked at him. “How have you managed to avoid the press all these years?”
“Easy, actually. I don’t go to places where they hang out. There will be no place to avoid them in Kyonos, but in the rest of Europe? In the States? No one cares. I made brief splashes in tabloids for the first couple of years. ‘Dishonorable Heir Gambles Away His Fortune,’ et cetera. But then people lost interest.”