Cruel King (Royal Elite 0)

I swallow. “It’s over between us, don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried. My feud with Jonathan isn’t something you two should worry about.”

“Dad… are you approving of Levi right now?”

“He had the balls to meet me head on and even risked his future to process evidence about your accident. That grants him some points.” He scrunches his nose. “He still has that loathsome King pride, but it can be wrenched out of him.”

“But… but how about Mum and his father?”

“They both died, Astrid. It was an accident. Neither you or Levi had anything to do with it.” He holds my hand in his. “All this guilt is coming from inside you and you’re the only one who can fight it.”

“I don’t know how.” My voice breaks.

“Ask yourself. Are you living for the past or for the future?”

I’m speechless, not knowing how to respond to that.

Dad stands up and pats my hand. “For what it’s worth, that boy seemed infuriatingly set on the future.”

54

Levi

It isn’t over until it’s over.

* * *

The sound of the spectators is deafening.

We’re on our way to the championship.

Coach Larson looks at me like a hawk and points at his watch. Five. We only have five minutes left.

I motion at Ronan and Cole to push back to defence. I know they want to go out with a bang, but it’s been a bitch to defend our two to one against Manchester even though we’re playing on our ground.

I scored the first goal and Aiden scored the second.

The prick’s Daniel’s words from the other time stayed with me. For the last few games, I’ve been giving the team more leeway to have fun as long as the results are there.

Being the captain doesn’t only mean leading my team to victory. It also means being there for the fall and listening to them when they talk. Like every responsible general would do.

We lose the ball, and Aiden slams his shoulder in mine on his way back.

“You’re sloppy, Captain.” His eyes shine with contempt as he runs backwards. “I’d be surprised if you impress any scouts with your safe ways.”

Fucker.

He laughs, exchanging glances with Xander.

Sometimes, I think Aiden only allows himself to let go during the game. For ninety minutes, he transforms into an unstoppable beast, playing the opponent’s defence until he wears them out.

Cole snatches the ball from a midfielder and passes it to me. I keep possession, studying the pitch.

I can defend our score and win the game for sure. I can play as Coach wants. As everyone expects.

But I’m not a coward.

I’m a King and we don’t play fucking safe.