“You’re back a lot faster than I expected,” Trinity said, coming into the bedroom Nix had found for me in the palace.

I was in bed, but I’d barely slept. The early morning light came through the large window, the pale blue curtains softening it even more. This room was smaller than the one I’d shared with Thor, but no less sumptuous, somewhere on the second floor of the palace.

I had yet to come through the main entrance, being snuck in, once again, through the secret passages. I was still a secret. And now, between realities.

After the insanity of the night before, Nix and I decided we’d keep my existence quiet until we had time to think. While I’d been mated to Thor—no question it had been more than just fucking—that information had only been shared with his parents outside of the palace.

And they were dead.

My mating was a secret, my status as princess was a secret.

I didn’t exist on Alera.

I felt like a ghost. As if I were lost, adrift. Alone.

“Yeah, well, it seems rooting out the traitor was easier than I thought,” I replied drily. I tucked the blanket up higher about my ears.

Trinity came over from the doorway and sat on the edge of the bed. Her hair was up in a sloppy bun and she had on what looked like an Aleran version of sweats. Gray, loose pants and a hoodie sweatshirt without the front kangaroo pocket. It looked comfortable, but not very attractive. Almost like prison garb. Clearly, she hadn’t grasped the power of the S-Gen machine. But she was the reigning princess, so her time was probably best used elsewhere—doing royal stuff.

Whatever that meant.

I, however, had all the time in the world. I could be her personal S-Gen machine dress designer. Groaning, I pulled the blanket all the way up and over my head.

An instant later, it was tugged down.

“Nix gave me an update and I wanted to kill both of you. Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because having the princess and her mate—no way Leo’d let you go to a murder/suicide by yourself—arrive at the Jax home late at night would have been impossible to keep quiet.”

“I thought Destiny was the sarcastic one,” she replied.

When I didn’t say anything—because what could I say?—Trinity continued.

“Fine, give me the 411.”

“What did Nix tell you?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes and moved further onto the bed, crossed her legs. “I want to hear the details from you. Two dead bodies and no explanations from you? What the hell happened, Faith? And where’s Thor? He was all caveman about you before, so where is he? Spill.”

I did not need the reminder that just a short time ago Thor had been at my side, pledging to protect me and make me his forever. Fighting back tears, I pushed up so I was propped against the pillows and fancy headboard. “Turns out, Lady Jax is… was the traitor. While it was Lord Jax who’d sent the guards and consort to meet us at the transport center, Lady Jax was the one who made sure Zel was in the group.”

Trinity’s jaw clenched. “So, he’s the one who almost killed Destiny.”

“Yes. I don’t know if Lady Jax actually ordered Zel to kidnap you at your big reception, or if it was Lord Wyse. I don’t know how they talked him into any of it. Maybe they guilted him, threatened him, whatever, to finish the job he’d started.”

“But Leo killed him that night.”

“Right. After that, you were too well-protected and I guess trying to kill you was tabled for later. So Lady Jax decided to go after me. A different problem.”

“She knew you were a princess?”

I shook my head.

“Definitely not. She wanted power and she wanted it through a strong match for Thor. Honor to the Jax name. If she’d known I was a princess, obviously that would have given her all that. Instead, she found me, a maid, far too low-class for what her son’s mate should be. To make it even worse, I got caught snooping around in their house. She had me arrested. Everyone knew I was up to something, even the police. She wanted me out of Thor’s life. And, knowing what I know now, she was probably worried that I had actually found something. So, kill me and she took care of two problems at once. She could keep her traitorous actions hidden and force Thor to choose someone else.”

“Destiny will kill her.”

“She’s already dead. She tried to poison me at dinner.”

“Holy shit, Faith,” Trinity whispered, grabbing my hand and squeezing. Hard. “Did you eat or drink any poison? Are you all right?” Her pale gaze roved over me, but it wasn’t like poison would make me bleed or I would have a huge gash in my forehead.

“Yeah, I’m fine. She hated me and didn’t bother learning anything about her son’s mate. Lady Jax poisoned some fancy meat dish.”

She sighed hard, in total relief. “I thought you being a vegetarian was a total pain in the ass growing up. I will never, ever, say a bad thing about it again.”

I couldn’t help but smile. But it was a small smile. Weak effort, even for me. “Yeah, well, Lord Jax and I got along. He knew I didn’t eat meat and he must’ve thought he was saving me from the embarrassment of not eating a special dish Lady Jax made in honor of my mating with Thor. He ate my portion like a kid on Christmas morning, Trin. I can still see his smile, and the wink he gave me when Lady Jax’s back was turned. And poor Thor. His mother poisoned her mate—his father—instead of me. Lord Jax dropped dead on the dining room floor. God, that was horrible. When she realized what she’d done, she was beside herself. She took some of the poison, drank it right in front of us, before Thor could stop her.”

“Holy shit, Faith. It’s like… it’s like ninth grade English class. Romeo and Juliet.”

I stared at her wide-eyed for a moment. “You weren’t there. Trust me, if you’d been there, you wouldn’t be spouting star-crossed lovers shit right now. It was beyond awful. I liked Lord Jax. He was a simple man, but he was always kind to me. Unlike his wife.”

She looked contrite. “Sorry, you’re right.”

“I can’t believe she tried to kill me because she thought I wasn’t good enough for her son.”

“Well, that’s total bullshit. You’re amazing. And smart. And beautiful. And a god damn princess. Besides, that bitch doesn’t matter anymore. She’s dead, and obviously, Thor disagrees.” Trinity said the last with such confidence I couldn’t hold back a small sob.

“He told me to forget him, Trin. He looked at the bodies, stood up, and told me not to tell anyone we were mates and forget him. Move on. He called Nix and he left me there to wait for him. Why? Why did he do that?” The tears were rolling now and I couldn’t stop them.

Trinity put on her very best big sister face, the one I realized in that moment that I’d relied on my entire life. “He loves you. I saw it in his eyes. He must have said something else.”

“He said his family would be dishonored. That he’d lose everything and that I shouldn’t be associated with someone like him.” I wiped away my tears, anger building inside me, threatening to burst. “I don’t give a shit about money or who his parents are. Doesn’t he know that?”

“No, hon, he doesn’t. You’ve known him a few days. He knows nothing about Earth. He grew up here. A freaking lord. With castles and titles and status and money. He has no clue who we really are. None of them do.”

She squeezed my hand and as I stared into her eyes, seeing nothing but compassion and a stubborn streak that matched mine, I made a decision. “I’m not giving him up.”

“Of course you’re not. You have the full support of the royal family.” Her grin was pure mischief and I loved her more than ever. “We’re really fucking rich, Faith. Leo’s been showing me the books, and it’s insane. We have estates on every continent, business holdings, wildlife reserves, royal forests, we even own crap in outer space. Space stations and asteroid mines and some other stuff I don’t understand. We’re strong, and we’ll help you keep him. Protect him. He’s family now. Okay?”

The sigh that rolled through me was real this time. No more worrying. No more indecision, although I had no idea how an asteroid mine could make things right with Thor. But, he was mine. He could just fucking deal because I wasn’t giving him up. “Okay.”

Trin sat back and crossed her arms. “If Lady Jax was the traitor, and she’s dead, that means… what? I’m confused.”

“Lord Wyse is the man behind the curtain.”

“And who’s pulling out book analogies now?” she countered.

“There’s a big difference between a Shakespearean tragedy and the Wizard from The Wizard of Oz.”

She sniffed, lifted her chin. “Mrs. Gomez would be totally proud of me for remembering that play.”

“Yeah, she’d have given you a B instead of a C.”

Trinity rolled her eyes. English hadn’t been her best class. Not because she wasn’t a fantastic...