Page 17

SEVENTEEN

“I feel like I grew up fairly normal and unspoiled, especially for a handsome prince.”

Three hours after arriving at the hospital, Melody emerged from the restricted area, joined us in the waiting room, and stretched out with a low groan. “My father has taken over the work. He arrived twenty minutes ago, and after we had a talk about the needed treatment plans, he kicked me out. Apparently, this is his hospital now, and anyone who gets in his way is going to have a bad night.”

Under those circumstances, I would run, too. “I’m assuming we will be going home and picking the girls up in the morning?”

“That’s the current plan, although you won’t be picking them up. Dad and his RPS agents will handle bringing them to the palace, and once they’re settled in their suites, we’ll reverse sedation. It’s better for the hospital and the girls if we just quietly move them before anyone realizes they’re being discharged.”

I nodded. “That works. How bad is it?”

“The toddler is a mess from the shoulders down. Danielle, according to her medical file?”

I nodded. “She thinks her name is Baby, though.”

“Good luck with that. You’re going to need it. Anyway, she was downgraded to critical condition after we got the MRI scans done and reviewed. The only organ without some evidence of trauma is her heart, and frankly, I don’t know how her heart escaped injury. She had a mild concussion, but I already handled the work resolving that. Dr. Stanton likely only picked up the three largest contusions due to the surface bruising being severe enough to hide the markers. Her concussion was deep and the least severe of her injuries. Dad will have his hands full pulling her back to stable, but your case against the parents is solid. We were able to photograph handprints that likely match both parents. May is better off, and her condition was maintained as serious, but she also had numerous organ contusions and sufficient evidence of abuse that no kingdom in the world would allow those parents to retain custody.” Melody scowled. “I want to hit something.”

“How about you take a shot at the mud run? That should tire you out.”

“I just might.” Maine’s heir heaved a sigh. “Dad stole Jack, and he’s going to be learning about pediatric care. We will likely accompany you to California for the first two weeks, as Dad says he has some matters he wants handled anyway. I like this, because we were testing separation, which is not my favorite thing in the world.”

I could understand why she wouldn’t want to be separated from her husband—and why they needed the experience. “He made up those matters,” I muttered.

“I know that, you know that, but the Californians are going to side with my father, and we’ll be going to California for two weeks of your trip, crashing your party. And honestly, with your concussion as much trouble as it was? I want to be on hand. Dad is going to handle the Montana pregnancy hormones once a week, but I think the twins should be fine. I can’t detect any evidence of problems with either baby, and Montana women have a good reputation for bringing little ones to term. I suspect it’s part of their bloodline magic. The men end up exceptionally fertile, and the women end up having almost no problems with pregnancy. What I don’t understand is why Mackenzie is behaving more like a Montana woman when she’s a New Yorker. There’s probably a hidden talent at work making sure her and the little ones have easy pregnancies. And yes, compared to many women, her pregnancies are easy.”

“I now question why my mother dealt with so many pregnancies,” I said, allowing myself a frown.

Melody sighed, leaned my way, and gave my knee a pat. “We may never know, and that’s not a bad thing. There are some people I just don’t want to understand, and your parents are two of those people. My advice? Try not to worry about it. You have more important things to handle, including caring for two little girls. You’re going to have issues. Some of those issues might be a need for utter perfection, because perfection was likely the only way they dodged being beaten. Discipline is going to be difficult, because any disapproval from you will likely terrify them. They’ll learn you’re gentle in time, so try not to let their reactions hurt your feelings. Both girls are malnourished, so your first battle will be with their diet. With a little luck, they’ll be hungry enough to eat whatever you give them. However, eating disorders are a possibility, and you’ll have to watch for the signs. For the moment, I want you to figure out what they were eating and when. We’ll start on a schedule they’re familiar with. I’m concerned the mother wasn’t providing meals and the older girl may have been attempting to feed them both.”

I frowned, regarding her with a raised brow. “Why do you think that?”

“May has scars on her hands and forearms consistent with burns from trying to operate a stove—and some of those scars are fairly fresh. I’d guess a gas stove. I recommend that the palace kitchen maintain having a chef on duty around the clock until we figure out their eating habits. If I were a clever little girl with a starving little sister, I would be sneaking into the kitchen after Mom went to bed to cook something for her. And if that’s the level of subterfuge May has had to do, at her age, you’re going to have your hands full.”

“Well, I need to learn how to cook, too, so I’ll have the RPS drag me out of bed if that happens, and we can learn how to cook together. Then we can transition them to daytime cooking. That’s not a problem.” The real problem would be if I got my hands on her parents. “I’m going to invoke my right as royalty to do my portion of the questioning for the trials in private with Montana overseeing the truth portion. If I enter the same room as those bastards right now—or anytime soon—I will reduce them both to ash.” I turned my stare onto my sister, who held her hands up in surrender. “You will do the same, because you’re even more likely to reduce them to ash than I am.”

“You’re right. All right. Ethan, do you want to handle the paperwork? I will add creative language inappropriate for court at this stage.”

My brother-in-law nodded. “That’s not a problem. Honestly, I’m in the same boat, but my parents wouldn’t know how to give us a beating even if you smacked them around with an instruction manual and gave them a demonstration. Ian, I’ll call my mom and have her give you advice once you get there. I feel like I grew up fairly normal and unspoiled, especially for a handsome prince.”

“I appreciate that, Ethan. Is riding a good activity for the girls, Melody?”

“A pair of ponies for them won’t be a bad idea, especially with the reality of having to take them to parades. Do they like horses? I don’t know. We’ll find out. I’ll give Texas a call and put in a request for two ponies. Jane’s ponies are perfect, so hopefully they’ll have some other animals available. I’m sure Montana has ponies, but I’d rather not add to his workload when he has two new kids he’s trying to settle.”

The Texan monarchs could handle the pony problem with ease and grace. “Call Daphne; she can handle the transport issues. I’m not sure if the Californians are going to be happy with me bringing so many horses to their palace, though.”

“My parents will be fine with it, even if they have to set up a temporary pasture for the ponies right in their front lawn. Expect my mother to cry, though. You’re all grown up now, Ian.”

I rolled my eyes. “Your mother cried when I got exposed to wine, Ethan. It was not the end of the world.”

“Ah, but to her, she made a little baby sick, and she cannot handle that.”

I slapped my forehead. “Good grief. Seriously, Ethan? Maybe your mother needs even more therapy than I do. However, that reminds me. We’re going to need to get a case of the wine we can have to take to California with us.”

Ethan nodded. “I’ll actually order a few cases and have them load it into the plane. The kitchen will probably want to use it exclusively in order to prevent my mother melting down again over the alcohol. I’ll handle that tomorrow. I’m going to have to order this stuff by the barrel for you two, I swear.”

“It beats throwing up, and Madelyn liked it, too.”

“I’m not going to judge, Ian. At least you’re better than Rachel, who melts down because she bought wine because she wanted the bottle. She tries to drink it so she doesn’t waste money. She is not clear on the concept of corking the bottle and saving it for later.”

I stared at my sister. “I love you, but you’re an idiot.”

She laughed. “I really am. I’m sorry. I get anxious, and then my common sense flees the building. Just make sure you order your grape juice, too. You can’t lie to me, Ian. If you could pick between the wine and the grape juice, you’re taking the grape juice every time. You love that stuff.”

I got up, and as Melody had been working, I offered my hands to haul her to her feet, which she accepted. “Let’s get back to the palace to make preparations, Rachel. Melody’s dad isn’t going to let anything happen to the girls, and we both have a lot of work ahead of us.”

“That we do.”

* * *

To keep Dr. Stanton and Melody happy with me, I hunted for Terry, found out where my components had been stored, took off my suppressors, donned my gloves, and went to work while both physicians and my sister observed. Unlike before, the money I’d earned from separating the metals would serve a purpose: providing for the little girls I’d decided were mine. If they wanted to go to college, they could—and I’d help them any way I could to prepare them for the entry exams.

Wealth wouldn’t buy their way in, although they wouldn’t need to worry about debt. Anything they accomplished, they would through their hard work, effort, and skill. I would encourage as much as I could without overly pressuring them. No matter what their magical aptitudes were, they would have opportunities.

It would be up to them what they did with their opportunities.

Being part of the succession, after my siblings and any children Ethan and Rachel might have, would send shockwaves through the Royal States and beyond. It was one thing for Montana’s royal family to adopt children. Montana had already transitioned to merit rulership.

New York had not.

I had no doubts no one in the New York line, before me, would have even considered adoption for any reason, and as such, there were no laws on the books regarding untraditional entry into the royal lines. While I set up the molds to catch the metals I planned on melting out, I allowed myself a grim smile over the chaos destined to sweep through the political scene of the next few days.

Rachel would enjoy tearing down their arguments, leveling accusations of supporting abuse until she got her way. If the politicians were wise, they would surrender without a fight. I foresaw a long battle, one Rachel would win through common sense.

No children would be ruling New York, so the girls wouldn’t be eligible for the crown for at least ten years, and our half-siblings were eligible. Should I have children, Baby and May would bounce down in rank due to blood ties.

New York had rules in place already for adulterous royalty.

In good news for my sanity, once I started working, I needed to concentrate on what I was doing, gradually heating the components and pouring the metals into the appropriate molds. Terry had arranged for most of the supply to be transferred to the palace, which cost me four hours to melt down into the appropriate molds, cool, and stack as bars so I could sell them.

The entire time, both doctors kept a close and careful eye on me. Only when I took off my gloves did Melody grace me with a round of applause. “That was fascinating .”

I raised a brow. “How so?”

“Your finesse is remarkable. You can literally isolate metals by temperature and remove impurities. Terry came to watch, confirmed you have metalweaving, and left laughing over having been outclassed in more than a few ways. He’s great with iron. You? You’re unconsciously manipulating individual metal types. You’re using your flameweaving to extract the metals you’re identifying with your metalweaving. That level of skill is a joy to watch. Right, Dr. Stanton?”

“I’m impressed,” the North Dakotan admitted. “How is your talent? Are you fatigued?”

“Not particularly. I won’t need to wear suppressors for at least a week, but I can still do strong workings if needed. I just won’t be at any risk of combustion for a week.”

Rachel examined my bars, clapped her hands, praised me, and bounced off, likely to dodge having to attempt the same level of work.

Sneaky sister.

Fortunately for my sister, Dr. Stanton investigated my bars, whistling over the whole lot of them. “And you can get this volume from your junkyard reliably?”

I nodded. “I’ll probably order extra components and take up additional contracts once back from California, as I want to earn the money for the girls. While the kingdom budgets for royal children, I’m going to pay for everything out of my personal funds.” I counted bars, particularly pleased I had a single twenty-five pound gold bar to sell. “I always forget how much gold is used in computer parts. I mean, I had a lot of boards and chips, but I didn’t think I had that much.”

“Well, Terry had the entire room with your parts brought over; he didn’t want to leave it while you were gone in California. Honestly, I’m impressed it didn’t take you all that long to bar everything. How much is this stuff worth?”

I pointed at the gold bar. “I should get a million for that, roughly.”

Dr. Stanton raised a brow. “That’s worth a million dollars?”

“It’s pure gold, so I get top dollar for it. There are no impurities.” I pointed at the copper. “That isn’t worth all that much, but once again, it’s pure, so I will get the best price on the market for it. I’ll sell all this to computer manufacturers for a mix of cash and stocks. I’ll assign the stock portion to the girls and put it into a trust for them until they turn eighteen. The cash I’ll use for their care, education, and so on. The only reason I’ll use a trust is so they have full control over their money when they turn eighteen.”

Melody pointed at the titanium and tungsten. “Terry whistled while you were working on those bars. Why?”

“Titanium is quite difficult to melt, as is tungsten. Computer manufacturers want to be able to use recycled metals, which mine are, and they’re willing to pay a premium for it as my talent doesn’t harm the environment. I’m usually offered upwards of twenty percent over standard pricing for my metals because they can eliminate the majority of pollution generation when working with me. The machinery required to recycle both metals are not environmentally friendly, where I am.” I picked up a tungsten bar, admiring my work. “It’s not quite as valuable as gold, but I’ll get up to twelve hundred dollars for this bar.”

“The gold is where the real value is at, but the other metals make you a decent penny, too,” Dr. Stanton observed, and she eyed the gold bar. “I’ve never seen that much gold in one place before.”

I put the tungsten down, picked up the gold bar, and grunted at its weight. “It’s heavy, but you can hold it. It’s cool.”

She took it, and like me, she grunted. She didn’t keep it long before handing it back. “I logically knew gold was heavy, but seeing—and feeling—is believing. That’s fascinating. Thank you for letting us observe you work, Ian.”

“Not a problem at all. I just need to figure out where I’m stashing this stuff.”

“Let the RPS agents worry about it. You’ve tired yourself out enough for one day. Melody, go do some exercising on the mud run before bed. Getting the mud out of your hair should be enough to let you sleep without anxiety.”

“And what about you?” Maine’s heir countered.

“I’m going to help the RPS move his metal bars to work out my nerves. I need the exercise, and I’m hoping by the time I’m done helping to move all these bars, I’m too tired to wash my hair.”

Melody eyed the bars, and then she nodded. “That sounds like a plan. Ian, if you have trouble falling to sleep, find me. I’ll give you a sleeping aid. Ideally, you won’t need it, but you’re going to need rest. Once those girls figure out they can play and get into trouble, they will do so to the extremes, which means you’re going to be chasing them around a lot. They are going to test your boundaries, and they’ll test them hard.”

“Children do that,” Dr. Stanton confirmed. “Your world is going to be turned upside down on you. Theirs? They’ll be stepping into an entirely different universe, and they have no coping mechanisms yet. You’re good at being patient, but I’m sure you’ll be tested soon enough. I have no doubt you’ll figure it out, just try to have a little faith in yourself. Go visit your horse and then take a shower and go to bed. And please don’t try to light the water on fire. I’m still trying to convince your sister that her other exercises will control her talent. One day, she might even believe me.”