Switch ✓

Chapter Thirty Two

Courtney's POV

"Are you going to be alright?" Jordan murmurs, tilting my head up and looking into my eyes. I imagine he sees a sea of worry, but he doesn't point it out. 

"I'll be fine," I reassure quietly. "Just promise me you won't come back to the palace until we say so. If it's been an hour since the troops from Newglade have left and you still haven't heard from us, well, you'll know what happened."

"I promise." He wipes away one of my tears slowly before leaning in to kiss me, his lips gentle and soft. It truly does feel like he's saying goodbye to me forever. I just hope it won't come to that. "Stay safe, princess," he whispers, before leaving with the rest of the palace staff. 

I stare after him with a pang in my heart before I sense someone approaching me. Turning around, I see Evelyn in a position that looks like she's ready to strike. Once our eyes meet each other's, she makes a sound similar to a loud groan. 

"I was going to scare you!" she whines playfully, and all I can do is let out a tiny laugh. 

"Be good, okay? Take care of your friends and don't come after me. I will be perfectly fine and I know how much you want to protect me but we have the guards."

She rolls her eyes but nods anyway. "Fine. But if you're hurt in any way when we see each other again, I will personally stab Nolan for you."

I smile gently. "I love you, Ev. Now go."

Evelyn shrugs, sending me a smile, and walks off to catch up with Rianna and Lillie. I watch her as she disappears into the crowd, standing there for a while before a soft and gentle hand is placed upon my shoulder. 

"We're doing the right thing, sweetie," my mother whispers before taking me back to the castle. It's so quiet, as all of the staff is now gone. All I can hear are footsteps echoing through the hall. 

My eyes flicker over to the courtyard, where Archer stands with the head guard, William. To my surprise, the former smacks the latter on the back of his head, which causes me to yell out "Stop it!"

William stays where he is obediently, not showing any sign of weakness, as he was probably taught. He nods his head respectfully at me as I turn to my stepbrother.

"What's wrong with you?" I hiss, and Archer sends me a glare back.

"He's not ready! None of the fucking troops are ready and Nolan could come any second now!" he replies furiously, and that's when I truly look at him. His hair is a mess, and there are dark circles under his eyes.

"Archer, we only just found out yesterday. I know that we might be short on time but it's going to be alr-"

"No, don't fucking tell me it's going to be alright because it's not!" Archer interrupts loudly, his chest heaving with every breath. My eyes flicker between him and William for a moment before I lean in to whisper into Archer's ear. 

"We'll talk later." I look at the head guard, who takes my hand and kisses it softly before walking away. Sighing out, I wrap my arms around my stepbrother in a hug and look towards my mother. She nods and walks away, and once the footsteps are faded, he breaks down in my arms.

"I can't be king, Courtney," he mumbles hoarsely, and I clutch him tighter against me. "I'm horrible at this. I shouldn't have joined your family, you definitely should be queen."

"Are you kidding?" I pull out to hold his shoulders firmly. "There is no way I could ever be queen. Besides, without you in this family, I would have never met Jordan, you would have never met Evelyn and Isla would have never met Piper. Everything's connected, Arch. It's going to be hard at first, but we'll get there. Baby steps, okay?"