Royals (Book 1)

Chapter 29 : Relief

Luis had snuck into my room after hours after we told him we found the transcript, not sparing any niceties and asking for the pictures. He went through them the same way we have, I could see him growing unamused until he finally came across the part that shocked us. Instead of being surprised or even horrified, he triumphantly smiled and turned the screen to us like we had not already read it.

"This is exactly what we needed." He practically cheered.

"You look too excited about a murder plot." Alarik commented.

"So they were planning on killing Nigel if I did not wed him, so I would have no choice but to marry Alarik." I went over. "But what would Hinyst receive from this union?"

"Your family is still lying about their financials, Hinyst believes that Dragran's jewels will be theirs if you combined forces. This would make trade with other countries far more profitable for us." Alarik explained.

"When the marriage is complete, these signatures ensure that Hinyst does not back out of their deal even when they discover the truth." Luis added.

"Even under false pretenses, should there not be a loophole for them?"

"Your liaison worded themselves in such a manner that says Hinyst will receive access to the mines, they never mention exactly what is in them." Luis pointed to the wording of the sentences, my family really was the conniving type.

"That would explain why my parents were so willing to send Nigel back. So what now?" I looked to Luis, waiting for the next step of our plan.

"Isn't it obvious?" He looked to the two of us, both of us not catching on. "You will announce that you are choosing Nigel on your birthday."

"What?" Alarik and I both exclaimed simultaneously.

"Words on a page are no good as evidence without a crime to be evidence for, especially against Dragran's word. We need your parents to act on it before we expose this to the public." Luis explained.

"No, we cannot let someone die without at least knowing what they are sacrificing their life for." I fought back, tired of him making decisions for other people.

"We will not let him die, we just need to catch your family before it actually happens. Conspiracy will be enough to charge your parents as criminals." He reassured me, but I was not buying his words so easily this time.

"Your track record of staying true to your word is not so clean, Luis." I reminded him.

"Why are you so worried about him anyway, did he not call you a slut at your event where he was supposed to be trying to win your affection?" His automatic defense of Nigel's possible death made me believe him less.

"He may be an ass but that does not mean he is just disposable, we will be no better than my parents if we keep going down this path." I argued, Luis agitated by my challenging of his morals.

"I don't see the need to keep him alive either." Alarik slid his comment in there.

There was a glare from me, a grin from Luis.

"See, you're the only one not on board." Luis crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for my submission.

"When you find a way to ensure Nigel's life is safe, I will agree." He groaned at this. "I did not join your rebellion to be pushed around, I would have kept my faithfulness to my parents if I knew this would be the outcome."

"Fine, you have my word." He raised his hands in defeat, and I finally felt the smidgen of respect that I deserved. He headed towards his usual way of exit, mounting the ledge of the window. "By the way Rayna, this is our rebellion now. I think you have proved yourself enough."