Running from Royalty

Chapter 3-1

Chapter 3

Kathleen

"Kathleen?" Josef's voice boomed from the outlet.

I gripped the phone with whitened knuckles. "Josef? Oh, my god... is Teddy..."

"Theo's alive and well. His penchant for arriving late to every possible event saved him—we were not in the theater when it... when it happened."

Lily grabbed my shoulders as I went limp, sagging against the cushions.

"He's alive?"

"Yes. And now about to bury his family and become King." He paused. "You need to come to Ansulenia for the funerals."

"Why?" Lily interrupted, giving me some time to recover. "He hasn't talked to her in years."

"He doesn't know I'm contacting you. He's... upset."

"No shit." Lily snorted. "After what he's been through..." She shook her head. "Wait, then how can we be invited?"

"Your name was on the list." Weariness crept into Josef's voice, bringing him up in my inner eye. He had never left Teddy's side during the year and a half when we were dating. The man knew when to step away, give us privacy—but right up to the end, polite and thoughtful.

"What list?" Lily asked.

"The official list of people to be invited to royal funerals. Kathleen was added by the Queen some years ago."

"Well, that was a mistake," Lily said. "Didn't she update it when they broke up?"

"It seems not—and I'm not allowed to edit or delete any names, unless they're deceased. Kathleen's allowed to bring someone with her, which I assume would be you."

I broke in before Lily could reply. "Josef... I haven't spoken to Teddy in years."

"But he still cares for you." The tired chuckle startled me. "I might be old, but I'm not blind. All those women, all the pictures you saw of him running around—it was to keep busy, find some reason to avoid staying at home and brooding."

"Seriously?" My heart hammered in my ears, threatening to drown out everything. "You expect me to believe that?" I waved my hands in the air. "What if I was married? Or in a serious relationship?"

"You're not."

A flash of anger overrode my concern for Theo. "Are you keeping tabs on me? International spies?"

"Kathleen..." The soft tone tamped down my rage. "You dated Theo for years. You know security checks were done on you, your family and friends to make sure he was safe. Hell, we checked half the university, including classmates and professors. When you broke up, we terminated that surveillance." He paused for a second, likely to let me remember what we'd gone through. "That would have been the end of it, but when your name went on the list, it required a yearly security update. That included your current marital status. I also saw the announcement about you taking over and Lily's promotion."

"How do you know I'm not married?" Lily piped up.

"Because few men could handle you," Josef replied, without missing a beat.

Lily gave me a shrug. "He's got a point."

"Josef," I said, trying to steer the conversation back on track, "Teddy doesn't need an ex-girlfriend right now."

"You're right, he doesn't. Right now, he needs a friend, a true friend. The predators are gathering around him even as we speak, people who will pretend to be his ally just to advance their own agenda."

"Speak English, Josef," Lily snapped. "Is he in danger? Someone about to put a knife in his back?"

"No, not literally. But he needs a voice of reason. Or two of them."

"I..."

"Kathleen." His voice softened. "Consider it a favor for me. For his parents. They liked you very much. Your name wouldn't be on the list if they'd been upset with you. Nathaniel and Anastasia never did anything without a reason. All you need to do is come here for the funeral. If you don't want to stay for the coronation, fine."

"I can't just pack up and go. I..."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Make the reservations, Josef. I'll fix things up here. Kiski's Kafé will somehow survive without the two of us going in every day and busting heads." She looked at me. "Your mom's been on you to take a vacation for months. We'll multi-task it and make everyone happy."

"Just go to the airport when you're ready. A private jet will be waiting for you." A pause. "Thank you both. Theo's going to be happy to see you."

"I hope so," I said under my breath.

The line went silent.

"Fuck... Where did you put your passport? Where did I put my passport?" Lily jumped up and raced up the stairs into her bedroom. Smashing and crashing signaled she was in the closet, likely pulling down our luggage.

I dropped the phone on the couch before putting my head in my hands, trying to compose my thoughts. A demolition derby erupted in my mind, emotions crashing into each other.

"What would my mother do?" I said aloud, already knowing the answer.

She would want me to go and pay my respects to Nathaniel and Anastasia. My father would expect the same, doing what was right. Not necessarily easy, but right.

I didn't need to call Florida to figure that out.

Lily came back down the stairs, charging into the living room. She waved a pair of passports in the air, safely tucked into bright neon orange protectors. "I found mine tucked into an old purse, right beside yours. Thank God we got them for that trip to Vegas last year." She titled her head to one side, forehead furrowed. "What the hell do you wear to a royal funeral? What do you wear to hang around a palace?"

"He's alive," I said. The cold ball of fear that had been rolling around the inside of my skull had melted away, replaced now with a big wad of emotional panic.

I hadn't seen or heard from Teddy in five years.

And now I was flying halfway across the word to help him deal with possibly the worst thing anyone could deal with—without him knowing.

This wouldn't end well.

"What?" Lily frowned. "What did you say?"

"Josef thinks Teddy wants to see me," I said.

"Very much so. And if you remember, Josef's pretty cool. Never treated you badly, never gave either of us a hard time. Man's dedicated his life to the family." She sat down beside me, taking my hand. "If he thinks Theo needs you right now, he's probably right. Worst case scenario, we go to the funeral, Theo ignores us. We do some international shopping, pad out our i********: accounts with some wild photographs and come back home."

"I guess so." I nodded. "Least we can do is pay our respects."

"Exactly," Lily said. "So, move your ass off that sofa. I'll call Alex and the others, explain the situation. He's been chomping at the bit to take on more responsibility, this is the perfect chance. Got to call my mom—she'll demand plenty of travel photographs for her work desk." She nudged my shoulder, pointing at the ceiling and by proxy, my own bedroom. "Get. Ready."