Twisted Kingdom (Royal Elite #3) by Rina Kent

“I did them behind Uncle Agnus’ back.” She puts a finger on her mouth. “Don’t tell him.”

I sit on the cold floor and take a bite of the sandwich. It’s filled with bacon, ham, and all sorts of cheese.

Elsa likes putting cheese everywhere. I don’t really care for it, but I eat anyway.

The red woman only gives me water, if it weren’t for Elsa, I would’ve starved.

“Thank you.” I swallow my first mouthful.

“If you want to thank me, tell me your name.”

She crouches in front of me, crossing her arms over her knees and leaning her head on her arm.

It’s become a habit of her to watch me like that.

Like I’m an alien.

I chew on my next bite slowly, thinking about her words.

Dad always says to never give my name to someone with bad vibes. Elsa doesn’t give bad vibes, but she lives in a place that does.

The red woman looks so much like her, too. Maybe one day, she’ll be the same.

Elsa frowns. “Why don’t you tell me your name? I told you mine.”

I remain silent.

“I’ll just call you Grey Eyes then.” She grins as if she came up with the most unique nickname.

“I had a teddy bear named Ted, but I had to give it to two children like you. If I still had it, I’d give it to you.”

I continue chewing silently.

“If I can’t find the keys that open your cuff, I’ll tell Daddy when he comes back. He’ll save you like he saved them.”

Still, I say nothing. One, I’m hungry. Two, I like it better when she talks. Her voice is like a classical melody, soft, elegant, and… peaceful.

“How old are you?” she asks.

“Eight.”

“I’ll also be eight soon.” Her missing tooth shows when she smiles big. “We can be friends.”

“I have friends.”

“Oh.” Her expression falls.

I want to kick myself for making her feel bad. Cole keeps saying I should make my words less direct.

No idea what that means.

However, I don’t want Elsa to feel bad. What if she never returns and I’ll stay in the dark all alone?

She peeks at me through her eyelashes with puppy eyes. “Can’t you add one more friend?”

I open my mouth to agree.

“Wait!” She reaches into her pocket and retrieves a small pack of chocolate balls. “I’ll give you two of my Maltesers. They’re my favourites.”

The sound of the bag fills the basement as she opens it and brings out two small balls. She bites her lower lip, eyes squinting hard, then retrieves another one. “Okay, I’ll give you three.”

She reaches out her hand then drops the three pieces back into the bag and offers it to me with a resigned sigh. “You can have them all if you become my friend.”

When I don’t take it, she shoves it into my lap. “I gave you my Maltesers, you have to be my friend.”

I smile at her funny expression. She looks on the verge of taking back her chocolate and running away to eat them in the corner.

“Okay,” I say.

“Okay?”

“Okay, I’ll be your friend.”

She claps, giggling. “Yes!”

I take one chocolate ball and offer her the rest. “We can share.”

Her teeth sink in her bottom lip. “Are you sure? I gave them to you. I don’t want to be rude and take them back.”

“Friends share everything.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

She snatches the bag of Maltesers and stuffs her mouth with two balls of chocolate. “Hey, Grey Eyes.”

“Hmm?” I watch her twinkling eyes as she chews. Some of the chocolate sticks to her upper lip.

“When I grow up, I’m gonna buy you a bucket of Maltesers.”

“Why?”

“Because Dad says you have to buy gifts for the one you marry.”

“Marry?” I whisper.

“Yup!” She grins. “When I grow up, I’m going to marry you.”

“You can’t marry me.”

Her face contorts. “Why not?”

“Mum says you have to love someone to marry them.”

“Then you can just love me.” She throws her hand in the air. “What’s so hard about that?”

I remain silent. This girl is crazy.

“Hey, Grey Eyes.” She scoots closer. “When I give you the bucket of Maltesers, are you going to share it with me?”

I laugh and she laughs with me. Her laughter is like the sunshine after a rainy day. It’s the sun peeking through the cloudy sky.

As I watch her, I realise I want to see her laugh all the time.

Maybe she’s right. Maybe after we grow up, she needs to stay close so I can see her laugh this way every day.

She has the most beautiful laughter I’ve ever seen.

“Promise you’ll marry me.” She holds out her pinkie.

I curl mine around hers. “I promise.”





11





Aiden





Present

School is the last place I want to be.

However, every day I wake up, get ready, and hope against hope she’ll show up.

I don’t even do the hope thing. I’m a doer.