Johanna was the perfect person. She knew everything that was going on with me and what Isauros had done to me. She was from a royal family and given her abrupt departure because of the headmistress, I knew she would be gunning for a chance to get some payback.
The problem was, she was in Prussia, meeting her potential husband. “Johanna,” I blurted out. “Johanna can be the person in the boat.”
Max lifted his glass to me. “That’s good, Anna. Johanna is your sympathizer.”
“She’s my friend,” I corrected, not wanting him to think I was using her in any way. “I will tell her everything and it will be up to her if she wants to play along.” I wasn’t going to hide it from her. After all, I would be playing with her life.
“No,” Max said. “I’ll do it. I can go to Prussia a hell of a lot quicker than you can.”
I was surprised. “What do you mean?”
“I can go talk to her,” he said, twirling the liquid around in his glass.
“Why?” I asked softly. “Why would you want to do that? Why do you want to help me so much? Is it because you want me to pick you?”
Max made a great show of enjoying the contents of his glass while my anxiety was ratcheting up second by second. “Is that what you think, Anna?” he finally asked, his expression closed off. “That I am doing this to get a one-up on the other kings?”
I shrugged, not quite sure if he wasn’t trying. Hadn’t I told myself repeatedly not to trust the kings? That they all needed to be aligned with me and my future for the sake of their families?
He downed another drink, setting it gently on the island with the softest clink. “You’re smart to remember that the kings are all out for one thing, Anna. We are out to make our families be on the top of the world. You should be suspicious of all of us.”
My heart sank a little. I wanted someone to be good in my life, someone who was doing things for me because they cared. I was tired of the games, tired of feeling like I was a pawn constantly. But I guessed it was good that everyone was being honest.
Even if it hurt.
Max rounded the island and took my glass from me, joining it with his. “But there are times that the lines get blurred, that what you think is the right path might end up being the shitty one and vice versa. Sometimes our best intentions don’t turn out the way you have planned.”
“I never took you for a scholar,” I murmured, looking into his eyes. His words had me all mixed up, and I didn’t know what the line was anymore.
“I can speak a line or two,” Max answered, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile. “How do you think I’ve become the king that I am?”
The mysterious one. I had heard the rumors about Max and how he was far different than the other kings I had come to know so well.
Arthur was the golden boy, the Prince Charming, and quite literally a prince in his own right. He was the charmer and the freshman girls giggled every time he walked by.
Then there was Royce. The badass. The one who wielded swords like some ancient knight and struck fear into everyone that he crossed. He was both revered and excruciatingly hot at the same time and if any girl wanted a bad boy, Royce was the epitome of that dream.
That left Max. The only king I didn’t know anything about other than what he had given me, hence the need to be called mysterious. I didn’t know what his deal was, or that I would understand it if he told me, but I had to ask. “What kind of king are you?”
His eyes never left mine, no emotion reflected in their depths. “What kind of king do you want me to be, Anna?”
That was a loaded question. “I want you to be honest with me.”
He grinned. “If nothing else, I will be that, Anna. You don’t ever have to worry about it.”
Heaven help me, for the second time in my time here at Weissmore, I believed a king. It was going to be my downfall. Max moved closer and when his lips touched mine, I forgot to think. He tasted of the liquor we were drinking, and I got lightheaded from his soft kiss, unhurried but torturous all the same. He didn’t touch me, only kissed me with those soft lips of his and I tried not to buckle on my wobbly legs.
When Max pulled away, he laughed, taking a few steps back. “Sorry, Anna.”
I touched my lips with my fingers. “Don’t be,” I answered, dazed from the kiss. “We both had been drinking.”
“That might be your excuse,” he said softly. “But it sure as hell isn’t going to be mine.”
***
Max’s words stayed with me when he dropped me off at the academy and I grabbed dinner, walking to my dorm room. Could I really pull this off against Isauros? Could I set her up and maybe get my life back?
Or save my life in the process?
As I walked to my door, a grin split my face. I did enjoy plotting with Max. It was clear that he was a different sort of king, far different than the other two that wanted to protect me and keep me safe.
And when he kissed me … My lips tingled at the thought of what he had done today, the line he had crossed that made the trifecta complete. I had kissed all the kings and I liked it.
Shaking my head, I opened my door, glad to see that there were no surprises waiting for me. I shouldn’t be smiling about kissing the kings, but hey, it made up for the other things that had happened to me during my time here at Weissmore.
Besides, they all were excellent kissers.
Chapter 8
Max
I slung the bag over my shoulder as I exited the jet, placing my sunglasses over my eyes to ward off the bright sunshine. My father was going to be fucking pissed that I took a jet, especially when he got the bill, but I didn’t care. After the shit he had put me through in my lifetime, he owed me a lifetime of jets.
There was a private car waiting at the hangar and I climbed in, sliding across the leather interior. There were perks to pretending to be rich: the jets, the cars, the expensive-ass clothing and jewelry.
I had access to it all.
We just didn’t fucking have the money to back it.
Clearing my throat, I looked out the window as we pulled out of the airport and headed toward the city. I hadn’t told Johanna I was coming, but with a few well-placed contacts, I had heard that her parents were throwing a big party tonight.
The perfect time to talk to the princess of Prussia.
I liked Johanna. She was like me, living a lie while trying to keep up appearances. That was what my family did.
Kept up appearances.
Not only that, we were the shit royal family. We had no royalty in our blood, having lost it generations ago with all the wars that the fucking Germans liked to fight in.