"I’m treating everyone today!" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Kira said it with a cheerfulness that didn’t reach her heart.

After the fallout with Ragnar, she had tried to regain her bubble all morning, but the words kept twisting in her mind like a knife.

She had walked out of that room and had locked herself in the adjacent bedroom, while he urged her to open the door. Now, Kira wanted to fill the ache in her heart with happiness, but it was proving particularly difficult today.

Her mind hadn’t been on her lectures today. It had been on the thoughts about her life in Dravengard, and the secret plan she’d spent half the night sweating over.

Now, during the brunch break, she was in front of the university canteen with her small army of bodyguards offering them food.

The men exchanged uncertain glances.

Kira smiled. "Come on, brunch is on me."

Connor, standing closest to her, gave a small, indulgent smile but shook his head.

"That is very kind of you, My Queen," he said. "But you know the rules. We don’t eat while we’re on duty. Our focus has to be on you always."

Kira stepped closer, lowering her voice as if sharing a naughty secret.

"Oh, come on, Connor. The King isn’t here to see that you’re eating. He’s back at the estate being... well, being himself. Unless you’re planning on calling him to tell him that you’ve had a sandwich, no one’s ever going to know."

She was already moving toward the canteen door, Connor on her heels. "Come on. You’ve been standing outside since seven this morning."

She saw the other men glancing at Connor to give them a go-ahead.

"Please?" Kira nudged Connor’s arm playfully. "I’ve already ordered the best takeaways they have. It’d be a waste of good food to throw it away. You can eat in the cars if you don’t want to be seen inside the canteen, eating."

More glances. Connor pressed his lips together, which was as close to losing an argument as he ever got. "Fine. Just this once."

Kira’s smile widened, but inside, a cold knot of guilt tightened. I’m sorry, Connor, she thought. I really am sorry.

Thirty minutes later, they were settled. Kira had finished brunch and ordered enough food to constitute a proper meal for each bodyguard, packaged neatly in takeaway boxes, and the bodyguards had retreated to the cars to eat.

Her heart pounded frantically at the prospect of what she was about to do, but there was no other way to get them out of her way. Kira leaned against one of the SUVs.

"I’m waiting for Jessica," she told him. "She’ll be here soon."

Connor nodded, already finishing his meal.

Within ten minutes, the movement inside the cars stopped. She walked slowly toward the lead vehicle. Peering through the tinted glass, she saw Connor’s head tilted back against the headrest, his mouth slightly open, his chest rising and falling in a deep sleep.

Petra’s eyes were closed, and the other guards were similarly slumped.

Kira watched them for a moment. Then she checked her watch.

By the time Jessica’s taxi pulled up at the kerb, all four of them were asleep. Jessica stepped out with a large tote bag over one arm, moving quickly, her eyes doing a swift sweep of the area before she reached Kira. She pulled a folded silk scarf and a pair of dark, oversized sunglasses from the bag and held them out.

"You’ve got less than an hour," Jessica said in a low voice. "The stuff I used wears off fast. We need to move. If they wake up and you’re gone, your husband will burn this whole city to the ground."

Kira hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Jess, I owe you big time."

"Now, go. I’ll keep texting to check up on you."

She wrapped the scarf around her head, slipped on the shades, and climbed into the waiting taxi, her heart thumping in her ears.

The drive felt like it took a lifetime, but eventually, the car pulled up in front of an exquisite, high-end restaurant on the other side of town. It was the kind of place that existed for people who specifically did not want to be seen, and the music was nothing more than a soft piano melody.

Kira stepped inside, her head low. She scanned the room until she saw a hand wave from a secluded booth in the far corner, hidden behind a large ornamental palm.

She walked over, her legs feeling a little wobbly, and sat down across from the woman waiting for her.

The woman was elegant, her blonde hair perfectly coiffed, her jewellery catching the light. She looked every bit the Alpha’s wife. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then, the woman reached up and slowly pulled off her sunglasses.

"Lydia," Kira called casually.

Lydia’s face broke into a wide smile. She reached across the table as if to touch Kira’s hand, though she stopped herself at the last second.

"I can’t quite believe it’s you," Lydia said softly. "Look at you. You look wonderful. So healthy, so grown up. Truly. Marriage suits you."

She shook her head slightly, as though she could not quite believe it. "I was so glad when Jessica said you wanted to meet. I’ve been hoping you would reach out."

Kira said nothing. She folded her hands on the table and looked at the woman who had been her stepmother for as long as she could remember, who had watched Rolf raise his hand and sometimes raised her own voice alongside his, and who had also, on several occasions that Kira had spent time trying to make sense of, quietly stood between her and the worst of it.

"I’m not here for a chat, Lydia," Kira said, cutting through the pleasantries. "I’ve only got a few minutes. I’ve come to ask you questions, and I need the truth. Only the truth."

Lydia’s smile faltered, replaced by a look of nervous concern. "Of course, dear. Anything."

"I remember everything now. My memories came back." She held Lydia’s gaze steadily. "I remember that my father tried to kill me—more than once. And I remember that you were the one who stopped him. You saved me from the fire. You saved me when he tried to drown me. And I need to know why."