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I freeze, heat rising to my cheeks in mortification. “Oh.” That controlling, obsessive freak of a man. In an effort to wade out of the humiliation, I meekly admit, “I’m not gonna lie. A massage sounds pretty awesome right now.” I rest my hand on my hip. “Spending half the day bent over a toilet is murder on my back.”

Adeline grins and then raises her glass. “To the Princess and her heir.”

All six hands mimic her, glasses raised high, looking at me for… something. Approval? Humility? Gratitude? No, I realize, reading the expectation in their eyes. They want what Wicker said. A leader. Someone with the right words. Someone to carry on thetradition.

I hold up my glass and try not to gag as I give them what they need.

“To create is to reign.”

* * *

Who knew allI needed in my life was for someone to put hot stones all over my naked body and rub out all the tension?Gah. By the time the masseuse is finished, my arms and legs feel like they’re made of gelatin. It’s a shame when Adeline’s assistants rinse me off and wrap my hair in a towel and my body in a white, fluffy robe before leading me to a room where the other girls are already sitting in comfortable loungers, their feet dipped in bubbling tubs.

Adeline doesn’t provide the services herself. She's the commander of an army of assistants, each one focused on a different part of the body. Hands, feet, hair, everything buffed and plucked. I sit in the chair and sink my feet in the small whirlpool, exhaling in contentment.

Thisis a reason to be Princess.

Finally, some perks worth writing home about.

A woman with the name ‘Carol’ stitched on her smock stands over me and begins applying a cool mask on my face. Closing my eyes, I relax and listen to the girls talk around me, discussing parties and classes and guys they’re dating.

Across the room, a voice rises above the others. “I just think it’s strange that he randomly has this new kink. Don’t you think that’s weird?”

I open my eye a crack and see all the girls looking at Heather. Lakshmi is next to her and asks, “Depends. What is it?”

Heather elaborates in an uneasy voice, “Well, you know how they’re only supposed to come inside of us—increasing their odds for a baby—but lately, Tommy’s been into something else…”

“Anal?” Someone asks. “Because Rory just pulls out and finishes inside.”

“No,” Heather says, lowering her voice so that it’s hard to hear over the footbaths. “He’s gotten really into jerking off and coming on me.”

“On your tits?” Gina snorts. “I don’t think that’s a new kink, babe.”

Everyone laughs, but Heather adds, “No. My collarbone. The same spot every time.” Her voice wobbles. “You think he doesn’t want to have a baby with me?”

“He probably just figures that since the Princess is knocked up, there’s a little less pressure on the rest of the frat right now,” Lakshmi says. Her eyes meet mine, and there’s no time to pretend I haven’t been listening. “Right, Princess?”

“Uh…”

Before I can formulate a real response, Heather’s lip curls up, and she bites out, “I guessyourguys never miss their mark, do they, Princess?”

“Heather!”Gina hisses.

She’s not intimidated, though, raising a plucked eyebrow. “I’m just saying. You got knocked up really fast—faster than Piper even, and she was getting fucked by four men. Or is their kink fucking their sister? Is that what turns them on?”

Every eye in the room looks at me like they’re waiting to see exactly how I’ll react. With a frying pan? With sharp, bitter words? Will I cry?

I go with the truth. “None of us knew I was Ashby’s daughter until I was already pregnant. In fact, you all found out at the same time we did and were probably less shocked than we were.” Sensing that the other girls are listening intently, I weigh my words carefully. “The Princes are under a lot of pressure from their father to perform their duties, and trust me, they weren’t happy I was chosen.” Or thattheywere chosen. I think about Wicker’s tantrums and Lex’s concerns about my loyalty. “It may seem like all gifts and roses in public, but in all honesty, this is just a job. For them and me.”

A little of the anger in Heather’s eyes relaxes.

Frida, a short girl with a sleek bob, gushingly insists, “There has to be some romance, though.”

I level her with a hard look. “Does there?”

Her smile falls.

“So, Princess,” Lakshmi cuts in, “any guesses on who’s the father?”