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The king remained motionless, as if he felt he deserved whatever physical punishment Tess’s brothers decided to dole out to him. He was deathly pale and Tess feared that he might be going into shock.
“Stop it! You’re both acting like children.” She sneered at her overbearing brothers.
For as strong and intimidating as they both were, her older brothers reared back from Tess’s accusation as if she had just slapped them. Softening slightly, she added, “This is a family matter.”
As soon as their eyes lit up, she realized her mistake and amended her words. “This is an immediate family matter.”
When they once more looked like they were gearing up to jump in, she made her meaning abundantly clear by adding tersely, “Meaning for my husband and I to handle… not you.”
Even Tess had to admi
