The Liars (33 page)

P
review of
The Traitors
, the second installment in the series.

~ ~ ~

It was the first time she heard Chrysander’s voice in three years. He sounded jolly–happy, even–but his voice was laced with urgency. Urgency that even Memory couldn’t disregard as him falling into a fit of dramatics. Chrysander, despite his nature, wasn’t prone to histrionics so even the smallest hint of desperation from him set her on edge.

“Uncle?” She asked when he quieted, the scratching of her pen across her notebook slowing
to a lull.

“Uncle? Has London returned you to formalities, now?”
He teased.

The edge
s of Memory’s lips tugged downwards. “Uncle, my time is limited. Why the sudden call?”

He
and everyone else normally emailed. Calls were a pain for Memory especially since she hadn’t finished her classes in the two years King Edward promised. So here she was with her third year coming to a close, alone with two maids and barely grasping at the ropes of becoming a princess.

Princess.

She heard the word at least a dozen times a minute, yet it always had the same effect. Chills would crawl down her spine and her hands would quaver just the tiniest bit.

It was like a ticking bomb. The fear of being found out was a lingering shadow behind her, accompanying her at every moment of the day relentlessly. It was a dangerous game she was playing at, one she couldn’t hope to escape alive.

“I think it would be best if you returned, Princess.”

Memory stared at her half–written report and let out a long breath.

“I think that is for his majesty to decide.”

“Yes, but you can finish your degree here.”

“I have a semester left.” She replied scathingly, having not the faintest idea why Chrysander had called her. Didn’t he have better things to do with his time?

“You do not sound like I remember, Princess.”

Resigned that she wouldn’t be able to finish her report without rudely hanging up on the King’s uncle, Memory stood up, stretching. She motioned for the maids–Alexa and Chelsea–to leave.

“Voices tend to change, Uncle. Especially when you do not hear them on a daily basis.”

“I apologize.”
Chrysander said, almost surprised with her tone. Memory had to admit, she didn’t expect to pick up the speech patterns of the family so quickly, but surrounding herself with the supposed elite of the world tended to drown out her ‘commoner lingo’. It was almost second nature, especially in the vicinity of people who thought she was a Princess, and Lulu never wasted an opportunity to make fun of her for it.

“No need to.”

“I am getting married.”

There was a slight pause.

“Oh.”

With the Viviste family back in good graces, Memory expected as much. What did he want, then? For her to attend the wedding?

“Princess Jade, I am sure you are aware of the financial crises Helviera is in.”

She was. Her major had been switched to financial economics, after all.

“With former Queen Crystal insisting on the marriage and the King’s troubles with the situation here, I agreed.”

Well. That was a problem.
The old hag’s still alive?

Memory’s frown deepened.

“What about Emerald?” Emerald held half of the Eastcote fortune, after all. Surely she could do something.

“Her…family name has grown. They hold one of the largest hotel chains in the world.”

Her eyes flickered to the bookcases in her study, raking over various reports that she’d received about Emerald. “And she refuses to help?”

“Yes.”

“The little…” It took all her energy to refrain from insulting the redhead. She cleared her throat. “What do you need me for, if I may ask?”

“
You have had experience living as a citizen.”
He explained. He sounded uncomfortable.
“His majesty thinks it would be helpful with returning the country to its formal glory.”

While feeling bad for King Edward was easy, Memory refrained. The man needed to learn from the mistakes of his father–he didn’t need her help. All he had to do was see what the previous king had done and do the exact opposite.

“Why now? And he could have contacted me on his own.”

A long stretch of silence echoed in the room. His steady breath
ing echoed heavily over the phone.

“His majest
y no longer wants the crown.”

The simple statement
flipped her irritation to worry in mere seconds. She didn’t like where the conversation was going.

“What?! He–wants to step down?”

“Perhaps not.”
Chrysander responded cryptically. It left Memory panting for an explanation, one that she wouldn’t get.
“My wedding is in three week’s time. I am sending someone over next week. I expect to see you soon.”

The beeping after he hung up stretched for minutes as Memory contemplated this new development, her report long forgotten.