Royal Date by Sariah Wilson Read Free Book Online

so the evening could end. I decided to go back and check out the library when I had a chance. Alone. We passed by a conservatory and a lounge.
    “I feel like I’m in a real-life version of Clue.”
    “Don’t worry. Nobody’s been killed here in decades.” I heard the teasing in his voice, but I immediately wanted to know who had been killed in the palace and why. Before I could ask, he held open another door and led me into a quiet, long room that had floor-to-ceiling paintings.
    “This is the gallery. Every member of the royal family has a portrait here.” Some of the portraits looked newer, but many of them looked really old.
    “Every time that I am feeling unsure of myself, I come here. All of this history, all of these people, my ancestors, remind me that I can do what needs to be done.” Nico looked lost in his own thoughts, as he moved down the room’s length.
    It was the most personal thing he had ever said to me. He seemed so polished, so perfect. Like nothing bothered him. And here he was announcing that he had self-doubts. Actual chinks in his armor. And he had sounded . . . lonely. The wall around my heart lost a few bricks.
    “I can’t even imagine what it must be like to be in a room full of pictures of your family,” I told him as we came to stop in front of a massive tapestry that contained his family tree. I saw the latest embroidered entry of Serafina Maria Theresa Aria and ran my fingers over her name. “To have your whole family tree laid out like this. To know who you are and where you come from.”
    “You don’t?” He stopped to look at me.
    “What little I do know is not fun. Not all of us come from a long line of kings and queens.” I waved my hand up at the wall. “I personally am the proud offspring of a bunch of addicts and alcoholics.”
    Nico didn’t say anything, just cocked his head to the side.
    I let out a little laugh. “Pretty sure if you put my family tree up on your wall there would be a car wrapped around the trunk.”
    “These are not all nice people, bella ,” he said. “You think we’re without our share of addicts and alcoholics? I assure you, we are not. There would be too many here to count. And we have worse. Here, look at this one.”
    He took me by the hand, and I loved the way our hands fit together, how it felt . . . natural. Right. So right that I forgot to freak out. We stopped in front of an old painting of a woman with black hair and an evil-looking smirk.
    “This is Queen Isabella. She was a Spanish princess who married the Monterran king. She decided she would make a better monarch, so she poisoned her husband and her four oldest sons. The nobles had to band together to kidnap her youngest son to protect him from her. That prince grew up to overthrow his mother. And here.”
    We moved farther down the line. “This is King Stefan. He used to accuse his wives of witchcraft so that he could put them to death and obtain newer and younger models. My family comes from his fourth wife, who managed to have one son before he had her killed.”
    He sighed. “Assassinations, murders, coups, we have them all.” He flashed me a grin. “But look at how well the final product turned out.”
    I wanted to roll my eyes. Yes, we all got it. He was gorgeous. I settled for shaking my head.
    He tugged on my hand. “The garden is this way.”
    He didn’t let go of my hand, and to my surprise, I didn’t let go of his. We walked in silence, only for the first time it wasn’t an awkward one. It was strange to feel this way. To feel comfortable with a man who seemed like he was attracted to me. To think that I might even let him . . . I mean if he tried . . . obviously, I was being presumptuous because he might not have even thought of me that way . . . but if he did . . . would I?
    “Here we are.” He led me into an extremely large greenhouse that had completely clear paneling so that you could see everything outside. The palace must have