Page 11 of The Royal Flame (The Royal Academy #3)

MADDISON

R iver and I part ways to take showers. I use the bathroom connected to the guestroom I’m staying in.

The space is absurdly spacious with porcelain sinks, marble floors, granite countertops, and the most enormous shower and tub I’ve ever seen.

The water is blissfully warm, and the soap I scrub my body with makes me feel as if I’m standing in the middle of a forest with rain pouring down on me.

I spend a while washing the mud off me and scrubbing out the stank of north side from my hair.

As I do, my mind wanders to all sorts of things—River, Ellie, Grey, the fact that the blood pumping through my veins puts me at risk of getting killed.

I’ve always assumed if I was murdered, it’d be by some creep while I was walking home from work.

Being in danger is nothing new to me but not knowing exactly what’s after me has me on edge.

By the time I finish showering, all the restlessness has me worked up. I need to figure out a way to get answers, and I need help with that, as much as I loathe that I do.

Once I’m dried off, I get dressed in the pajamas River gave me—a pair of silk pajama shorts and a tank top that belongs to Lily.

The fabric is softer than any other that’s touched my skin before, and it makes me want to curl up and fall asleep.

But that also might be because of my mental and emotional exhaustion.

I’ve yawned at least a dozen times and am yawning when I answer the door after someone knocks. Standing on the other side is Lily.

“Hey,” I greet her, noting she’s washed the smeared makeup off her face.

Her blonde hair is damp, she’s wearing a pajama set with hearts on the fabric, and her eyes are still puffy from crying.

“Hey… can I talk to you for a minute?” she asks tentatively.

“Of course.” I open the door to let her in and then close it behind me.

She wanders over to the bed, sits down on it, and stares at the floor without uttering a word.

I take a seat beside her. “I’d ask if you’re okay, but after what happened, I know there’s no way you are.”

“Yeah, I’m not,” she divulges. “I feel like an idiot.” She elevates her gaze to me. “And because of my dumb mistake, I’ve brought more drama into your life.”

I laugh hollowly. “My life always has too much drama, Lily. Nothing you did tonight made that any worse.”

“But Will said that thing about your aunt that upset you.”

“I was already upset about my aunt being missing.”

She stares down at her hands. “I always mess things up, and my brothers always have to bail me out. Now I’m doing the same thing to you.”

“Not all of this is your fault. Things wouldn’t have gotten so bad if I hadn’t poked at Will.

” That’s probably not true, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“I think from now—and this is totally just a suggestion—but I think staying away from north side guys might be a good idea. Trust me, I’m from north side, and I don’t even want to deal with them.

I mean, they’re not all bad. But the ones that are, are so awful. ”

“Royals are just as bad,” she points out. “Think about what happened with the society.”

She has a point.

“Well, then I’ll do the same and stay away from royal guys.”

She shakes her head and leans back on her hands. “No way. You and River are so perfect for each other.”

“I don’t know if we’re perfect for each other,” I argue. “We’re from two different worlds.”

“So? That doesn’t mean you can’t be perfect for each other. Even with that difference, you guys still have a lot in common. And my brother has never, ever gone against this arranged marriage until now. That means something.”

I press my lips together, unsure if I want to deal with the complexity of her words.

“How about this? For the most part, I’ll stay away from Royal guys—at least the ones you tell me to.

And you can stay away from north side guys unless you want to be set up with one by me.

Just know I don’t know a ton of great guys that are from there, but if that’s really the route you want to go, I’ll do my best.”

“Deal. But I really don’t want to date right now.” She leans forward and sweeps a strand of her hair out of her face. “There’s way too much going.”

“I know. And I want to ask about your mom, but I also don’t want to push you about it.”

“I can’t say much. And I don’t know the entire story. I just know that from the last time we spoke, my mom told me she’d be okay when she left and for me to not worry.”

“Are you worried?”

“I’m trying not to, but without all the details, it’s complicated.” She pauses. “Your aunt’s missing too?” she asks, and I nod. “That’s kind of an odd coincidence.”

“It is.” I consider what the connection could be.

River’s mother warned him not to date me; that doing so would start a war. How did she know about me, though? Simply because of whispers amongst the Royals? Or is there more to it than that?

The question plagues my mind as I say goodnight to Lily and head to River’s room across the hallway. I knock on the door and then chew on my bottom lip as I wait for him to answer.

When he does, I have to sink my teeth into my bottom lip harder.

A freshly showered River stands before me, his dark hair a damp, tousled mess, and the scent of his rain-kissed soap wafts off him. He’s wearing pajama bottoms, a blue T-shirt, and a beautiful smile is on his face.

“Hey.” A bit of nervousness flutters off him as he opens the door for me.

I walk in, and he shuts the door behind me. When he remains quiet, I turn around to find him leaning against the door, gripping the doorknob, and anxiously eyeing me.

“You’re nervous.” I step toward him. “What’s up with that?”

“No, I’m not,” he insists, but his grip on the doorknob suggests otherwise. When I cock a brow at him, he sighs. “Fine. I’m a little nervous about you being in my room.”

I’m taken aback. “I’ve been in your room before.”

“I know, but…” He releases the doorknob and yanks his fingers through his hair. “You’re here in your pajamas, and I’m in mine, and there’s my bed…”

I snort a laugh. “Just because we’re in our pajamas doesn’t mean we’re going to do anything.”

“I know that,” he sputters. “I didn’t mean?—”

I place my fingers to his lips, shushing him. “I’m teasing you. Besides, I was planning on making out with you.” I lower my finger.

“Maddy,” he whispers, transfixed with my mouth. “We don’t have to do anything. I didn’t mean anything by what I said. I’m just rambling because I’m not used to this kind of stuff.”

“I know.” I loop my arms around the back of his neck. “I want to kiss you.”

He murmurs something under his breath before leaning in and sealing his lips to mine.

Warmth spills through my body as he parts my mouth with his tongue.

I play with the strands on the nape of his neck as I press against him, kissing him and loving the way the warmth of his body and the caress of his hands makes my stomach swoop.

But the sensation is also terrifying, like riding a roller coaster.

We kiss for a while, eventually ending up on his bed in a tangled mess of legs and arms. I’m definitely nervous and am still uncertain if I’m ready to take things to the next level with River. So much is going on right now that I worry my mind isn’t completely capable of determining my wants.

Eventually, I break the kiss as my mind struggles to sort through my racing thoughts.

River leans back, his eyes searching mine. “Everything okay?”

I bob my head up and down, my breathing cringeworthy loud. “I just need a minute for my mind to slow down.”

A look of understanding crosses his face. “How about we lay down and talk?”

With my lips smashed together, I nod. “Thanks.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t do anything.” A smile touches his lips that are swollen from all the kissing, and his hair is sticking up all over the place.

He looks so sexy that I damn near kiss him again. But I stifle the urge and then we resituate ourselves so we’re laying side by side with our heads on pillows.

“We haven’t really had much time to talk about all the stuff that’s happened,” he says, resting his arm on my waist. “How are you doing?”

“I’m not sure… I’m still trying to process everything.” I angle my body toward him. “What about you? Are you worried about your mom? Or do you think after what Lily said, she might be okay?”

“I honestly don’t know,” he murmurs. “I want to believe my mom’s okay, but then Finn said all of that stuff about our father…” He heaves a sigh. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

I debate whether or not to bring up the thought I had when I was talking to Lily. “Don’t you find it a bit strange that both of our moms went missing about the same time? I mean, you don’t think there could be a connection there, do you?”

A divot forms between his brows. “You think the same people took them?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. And if I hadn’t just found out I have Royal blood in me, I wouldn’t have thought it.

But there’s that fact, plus the fact that your mother warned you about our relationship being dangerous right before she went missing.

So, she has knowledge of who I am.” I release an exhale.

“Maybe I’m just overthinking things, though. ”

His brows are knit as he considers what I said. “Maybe, but maybe not.” He sits up, scoots to the edge of the bed, and stands up.

I sit up as well. “What’re you doing?”

“Let’s go look around in my mother’s room. She has some of her stuff here since her and my father still share this place.”

We leave the room then and go into his mom’s room.

It’s a huge space with lavender walls and dark purple trim.

Floral accents are splashed everywhere, from the pillows to the curtains.

The closet is as big as Lily’s and has an abundance of clothes along with more shoes than it feels like anyone would need.

“Where do we start?” I ask as River flips a lamp on.