“Ransom!” she snapped. “You don’t get to be pissed at me for doing my job!”
I threw open the door to find her parents standing in the hallway, staring into our room with blatant shock. “Well, it looks like I’m not the only one who’s pissed. She’s all yours.”
Hawke and Benedict waited for me down the hall, and I headed for my brothers, leaving Olivia to deal with the mess she’d created.
“She okay?” Benedict asked.
“She’ll live,” I answered. “You?” I asked Avianna, who stood against the opposite wall in the hallway, watching Hawke flip his knife end over end.
“I’m perfectly fine.”
I nodded, relieved.
“You here?” Hawke challenged as he caught the knife again. “You good?”
“I’m fine.”
“Excellent, because we have six new problems,” Benedict muttered.
“They’re awake,” Avi whispered.
I took a deep breath. “Then here we go.”
18
Olivia
My body only slightly begrudged the walk to the main dining hall where I knew my entire family was waiting for me. They’d given me a day to heal, and with Ransom’s help, I had healed twice as fast. Though, I hadn’t seen my mate since he’d stormed out, which made me both pouty and growly at the same time.
His anger had bit into me like a fast-striking snake, and while I understood where it came from, I couldn’t find a way to soothe it. I knew Ransom, and he needed time to cool down. To think logically. Deep down, I knew he would never make me choose between him and the career I loved. I knew we’d work it out, I just wished it would’ve been sooner rather than later.
The entire dining room quieted as I approached the main table—my father and mother, sisters, and niece, all sat in their designated seats—the rest of the tables in the room were vacant.
Well, that was something. At least I wouldn’t have to have this decades-coming argument in front of an audience.
I wish Ransom were here.
And I knew if I would’ve tracked him down before and asked him to face this with me, he would’ve, despite his anger with me. But…I needed to face this on my own.
“Well?” My mother was the first one to break the silence as I stood before the long table as if I were on trial. I suppose I was. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
I blew out a breath. How many times had I envisioned having this conversation with them in the past?
“First,” I said, happy my voice sounded strong and confident when I felt anything but. “I do want to apologize for lying to you all about my actual profession.” I raised a finger when my father parted his lips to speak. “Please, Father, Mother, allow me to get this out, and then I’ll take whatever punishment you deem necessary.” He clamped his lips shut, and Zasha flashed me an encouraging smile. “While I am sorry about lying to you all, I am in no way sorry for the duties I uphold as a royal bodyguard for Princess Avianna. I’ve been trained by the best and have found my calling in the career I’ve chosen. There is honor in what I do, and challenge, and love. I’ve found a family in Avianna as well, and I will not apologize for following my heart and my instincts to serve. To fight. It’s my right to choose what I do with my existence as much as it is my right to choose what I put in or on my body.” I took another deep breath. “I love you all, more than you’ll ever know. I lied because I knew you’d demand my return to the island or exile me from the family. I don’t want either of those things. I want your respect and your support of my choices. If you love me, then you must love every part of me, which is both soft and strong, fierce and friendly, a royal guard and your daughter.”
Silence filled the space between us with a heavy weight. My sisters were smiling at me, as was Annika, but my parents…
My shoulders dropped. “If you cannot accept me—”
“Of course, we can,” Mother cut me off, rising from her chair and rounding the table to throw her arms around me. Father followed.
“We’re so proud of you, darling,” he said, squeezing me and Mother. “You should’ve told us long ago. I regret that our actions led you to believe that we wouldn’t approve. In truth, decades ago, we may not have. But that fault lies with us and our slow acceptance of the changing times.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “So, I’m not exiled from the family?”
“No,” my mother said. “We love you, always.”
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
“We have a real badass in the family,” Katya said, joining the hug.
“I can’t believe you ruined your dress with all that blood,” Marisha said as she hugged me too.