Page 136 of Wanted

Hiding behind a podium with Katantia’s emblem on it, I stood in the middle of it all. I was surrounded by ruins and my loved ones.

The sun shimmered down upon us, revealing the ugly and the beauty of my family for the world to see.

Fylox and Jordan roamed around somewhere, meddling with the guards and keeping things in control. The press wasn’t allowed to see them. Fylox was too shy for the cameras, and Jordan simply didn’t have the patience for it.

On my right side, Weston and Mandy stood behind me. They’d put on engagement rings for the appearance, although my brother hadn’t actually proposed to Mandy yet. He wanted to do it in their new home in the States. He didn’t want to reveal where they’d live to his family just yet. It upset me, and I was this close to asking Jordan to snoop on them. But I didn’t. Jordan wasn’t my errand boy. It was disrespectful to involve him in my petty family business. He had a whole palace to protect now.

“Are you ready?” Alex asked, placing a gentle hand on the small of my back. I turned to glance at him one last time before my speech. He hadn’t slept well on the flight here. He had jumped on a plane right after winning a game last night. He broke hundreds of rules with his impromptu visit, and I could see that it pained him to be so torn. He wanted to be my husband, but he had a career in the States.

One that I had no right to disrupt.

Just like he couldn’t ask me to leave behind my home. I would’ve done it a couple of months ago, but now, I had a job to do. My country needed me, and I wouldn’t abandon it. I’d help Katantia flourish.

Queens were stoic and focused. My mother had prepared me for this moment, and she’d be proud of me today.

I nodded at Alex. Not wanting to ruin my makeup, Alex kissed me on the cheek. He whispered, “You got this.”

Clearing my throat, I stepped forward. I placed my flat palms on the podium, and I began my speech. “Welcome to Katantia…”

Goosebumps slid along the back of my neck as I addressed the nation. There weren’t many people here because Jordan wouldn’t allow more than twenty guests at a time like this, but I could feel the crowd’s eyes through the cameras.

“They broke us, but we will rise. I promise you, my people, we will be reborn. We will be stronger than before. You will not be displaced. As we speak, I am assembling a team of crisis responders. We are making sure that the victims of the South Side will have a roof over their heads. I promise you, my people. Your first queen will not let you down. We are Katantia, and—”

The commotion behind the cameras caught my eye. I squinted to see what was happening. The lights blinded me.

“KAMILA!” Jordan pushed through the crowd of the innocent press. Some journalists and their cameras crashed to the ground. “Out of my way. Out of my way…”

I had lost my train of thought, and now I was standing there, being filmed while doing nothing.

“The baby!” Jordan yelled.

Jerking awake, I leaned forward. “What’s going on?”

“The baby’s coming. The water broke.”

I froze. It was too early. I calculated the weeks in my head… Fuck. I rattled myself out of my worry. I cleared my throat. “My beloved people, it appears we have breaking news. To those that pray, pray for us. My niece is coming. I have to go. We will hold another coronation once the baby has arrived.”

♥♠♥

The entire family was assembled in the Queen I hospital. A couple of floors above us, Aris’s room was empty. Nobody visited him tonight. The hallway in front of the delivery room was filled with worry. Weston and I paced around the space. Mandy leaned against the wall, watching us.

Fylox and Alex sat on two chairs that the nurses had brought for them. They weren’t speaking to each other, and it flustered me.

Jordan was on his laptop, working and barking orders at his men. Being here meant that there was an entire cavalry of guards outside. The hospital had been emptied except for the staff and the patients in their rooms. Visitors weren’t allowed while we were here. If there was an emergency, there were other hospitals in the country.

In the delivery room, Felicita attended the birth of my niece.

The facts troubled me. The water had broken too early, at twenty-eight weeks. My niece was in a position to get out and bless us with her presence. Luckily, she wasn’t a breech baby. Valentina didn’t want a c-section, and she was already pushing on our way to the hospital. Preterm baby labor was pretty quick.

Penelope Jade Wraith was born, but we weren’t allowed to see her. She weighed almost three pounds, and she was approximately sixteen inches long. The newborn intensive care went to work right away because my niece shouldn’t have come out so soon.

Our world stopped.

Aris should’ve been here. He was right upstairs, but it hurt that he couldn’t be present. Valentina and Penelope Jade needed him right now.

Outside of the delivery room, we waited for hours in the hospital room's cold and impersonal climate. Nurses came and went. I experienced the first time somebody called me their queen in that hallway. Weston and Aris didn’t have a good relationship with the medics of Katantia, but I did. I’d spent weeks in the hospital because of my addiction. They knew me.

They were happy for me and my new position.