I lowered my voice and my eyes. “I just don’t know how this can possibly end. What good can come of this? Of us?”
His finger lifted my chin, a gesture that made my stomach flutter. “Who says it has to end?” His thumb rubbed my lower lip.
I closed my eyes, so I couldn’t see his fathomless eyes, so I couldn’t imagine staring into them forever. Jn Qer. J8220;I’m a vendor’s daughter, Max.” The heartbreak in my words was nearly painful to my own ears.
Max nudged my chin, forcing me to look at him again. When I finally did, he answered, “You’re a princess, Charlie.”
The world around us froze as Max watched me. Hearing those words out loud was s
omething I would never get used to. It was one thing to talk of meetings with the queen, or to imagine my sister and my father as members of a distant royal blood line. It was something else altogether to hear myself referred to as such. It was far too easy for me to overlook that fact.
He was right, of course. I was a princess. In his arms, I’d allowed myself to forget. In his arms, I’d merely been myself.
“Is that what this is about, then?” I didn’t want to ask the question, but I needed to know the truth.
Max looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
I clenched my jaw, bracing myself. “This. The kiss. The reason you found me intriguing in the first place. Is it because you suspected I was a princess?” Who else would be suitable for someone of Max’s birthright?
He disarmed me by smiling. Then, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, his voice rumbled low, caressing my heart. “I would have found a way for us to be together even if you’d been a servant’s daughter, Charlie. You do intrigue me, but not for any of the reasons you suspect.”
He leaned in then and kissed me again, sweet and soft and tender, silencing my arguments and stealing my breath, making me wonder how one simple gesture could be so tragically lovely.
THE QUEEN
The queen held back her smile, a real smile, as genuine delight coursed through her. “You’ve located their base? The heart of their entire operation?”
Baxter nodded. “We have, Your Majesty.”
Her lips twitched. “You’re certain? I’ve no patience for another failure.”
His head dropped at the reminder of his shortcomings, his stout frame trembling. “Of course not, my que
en. This time we’re certain. The rebels sent a small group of soldiers out into the city, an escort of sorts into the east side. One of our scouting parties just returned with word that they were able to track the rebel contingent all the way back underground.” He met her gaze, grinning. “This time, we’ve got ’em.”
She was practically quivering with anticipation. Her next words were the ones she’d waited so long to ask. “How long until you can be ready to attack?”
Baxter lifted his chin, daring a quick peek at the woman on the throne. “On your command, Your Majesty. The troops simply await your order.”
She could no longer contain the grin that broke across her face. “Good, Baxter. This is very good, indeed.”
She recognized the relief on her adviser’s face; he knew he’d evaded a death sentence of his own by bringing Jn Qer. &>Ba her this news. He realized he could no longer afford to disappoint her.
“Oh, and Baxter?” She lifted a gnarled finger to her lip, deciding it was time to make preparations.
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Spread the word, and I don’t care how you do it, but make sure that no one questions my decree. Tell them that soon we will have a new queen.”
XX
“You have to wait here, Angelina. There’s no room for argument. I promise I won’t be long.” I leaned close to whisper in her ear. “If you’re good, I’ll bring you a surprise.” I smiled at her as I drew away. I was certain I could find some treat to satisfy a four-year-old. “Eden will stay with you.” I glanced up at the blue-haired woman who watched us. “She promises to take good care of you. Right, Eden?”
Eden nodded, curt and no-nonsense, a soldier to the bones.
I glanced back to Angelina. “You trust her, don’t you?”
Angelina didn’t turn her wide eyes away from me, and at first she didn’t respond at all. The delay worried me. I needed Angelina’s answer. But then her eyes sparkled, ever so slightly, as she gave me her response, a barely perceptible nod.
No one else could have possibly known how much meaning that single gesture held.
Eden was honorable. Angelina had told me so.
That was Angelina’s other ability, I recognized now. What I’d once thought was just a strange intuition on her part—a knack for knowing who could, and who could not, be trusted—I now understood was something more. Like her gift for healing.
We were the reason our parents worried so much, why they sheltered us and taught us to keep our unusual talents a secret. They’d known all along who, and what, we were.
I smiled again at my sister, satisfied that the arrangement was acceptable. I kissed her cheek, noting the sticky scent of candy on her breath, and wondered if she’d already gotten a treat from her new babysitter.
No wonder Angelina didn’t mind being left with Eden.
I turned to Max, taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, and then made my decision. “Okay. I’m ready.”
When we were out of earshot of my sister, he repeated, “You don’t have to do this, you know?” And I could hear the doubt traced through his words.
“Yes, I do. It’s the only way to ensure that my parents remain alive. You heard what Claude said, the queen promises not to harm them if I come to the palace.”
“What she didn’t promise was to release them,” Max argued, reminding me—again—that his grandmother had chosen her words carefully. “I still think you could get her to agree to meet elsewhere. The palace is her ground.”
“This is her country, Max. Everywhere is her ground. Do you think she wou Kthi harmords ldn’t outman us no matter where we agreed to meet? Besides, the farther from Angelina, the better.”
I pulled Max to a stop, using it as an excuse to touch his hand. Max didn’t seem to mind, and he drew me close as we slipped out of the stream of traffic in search of a quieter place where we could talk privately.
He looked down, watching as our fingers intertwined, and a thousand butterfly wings beat in the pit of my stomach. I could feel his breath against my cheek, and I wanted to turn toward it, to find his lips with mine. Even the feel of his hand touching mine was distracting, and I had to focus to remember why I’d wanted to get him alone in the first place.
In a lowered voice I finally asked, “Who is Xander?”
Max’s head snapped up. “What do you mean? He’s the leader of the revolutionaries.”
He couldn’t possibly imagine I would believe his lie, could he? Even without my sister to tell me otherwise, I knew better. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Max,” I insisted, pulling my hands from his and placing them on my hips. “I want to know why he can speak in the Royal tongue, same as you. Where is he from exactly? How does he know so much about the queen?”
He wavered then, and the denial that I’d sensed was coming remained where it was, suspended without voice. At last, he released an audible breath. “He’s from the palace, Charlie. Xander is my brother.”
“I should have told you sooner,” Max tried again once we were tucked safely within the shelter of the awaiting transport. He sat beside me, yet he felt miles away. “But there was never a good time. Besides, I’m not certain it even matters any longer.”
We were alone in back, just the two of us. At Max’s insistence, Xander, Claude, and Zafir rode in front. If we’d been speaking at a normal volume, they could have easily overheard what we said, but we weren’t. Max kept his voice low, a hushed plea. And mine remained stubbornly lodged within my throat.
It was my first time riding in a fuel-based vehicle, and it was like nothing I’d ever imagined. I felt as if I were
floating on a cloud. It was smooth and glided like silk over the stone streets. Automobiles were rare, even on the streets of the Capitol, and people moved out of our way, standing on the sidewalks to watch in awe as we passed. This was an opportunity that someone born in my position was rarely afforded.
Then I remembered what my true position was and realized I was wrong. This was exactly the kind of luxury that someone of my status would be allowed.
I might never get used to that fact.
I turned my head to stare out the window, watching as we reached the concrete walls of the city, the vehicle slipping past the pedestrian lines at the checkpoint without even slowing down. Those who could afford the luxury of a motorized vehicle weren’t required to submit to the customary inspection and document checks that everyone else was. It was assumed that they were legal, above reproach.
It was a day for firsts, as I had never before seen the countryside, either. I was born and raised within the walls of the city. I’d heard stories of fields and forests and small country villages; I’d even Jthi ad even J seen drawings. But to experience it firsthand nearly stole my breath. It was very nearly as sweet as a first kiss.
My skin tingled as I thought about Max’s lips touching mine, reminding me that he was still sitting beside me.
The quiet within the cab of the transport was thick, and as much as I wanted to continue ignoring him, my curiosity was getting the best of me. Besides, I tried to console myself, he’d already apologized several times.
Curiosity is an addictive drug, my father used to tell me when I asked too many questions. I wanted to heed the warnings of my childhood about my inquisitive nature, but I found myself lured by my interest. Still, I refused to look at Max when I finally whispered, “How do you deny your own brother?”
His expression darkened. “I didn’t turn my back on him. He was the one who decided that being a royal wasn’t good enough. He was the one who wanted to change the world.”
I looked at the men in front of me, studying the back of Xander’s head and trying to imagine how I’d missed the resemblance between him and Max, not just in looks—their eyes were varied shades of molten steel—but also in build and manner. Even their voices were similar. I’d been so consumed by their differences that I had never recognized just how alike they really were.
Max tried to bridge the distance as he reached for my hand. I jerked it away; I wasn’t yet ready for him to touch me. “Every lie I discover leads back to you.” The words were true enough, but even I understood that I was wrong, that I could trust Max. Angelina would have warned me if he was disloyal.
He inhaled deeply, an impatient sound, and Zafir turned in his seat, his black brows raised as he checked on the well-being of his prince. Max shook his head and waved his guard away.
“Charlie, please. I’m not asking you to choose sides; it’s not me or my brother. But you’re about to face my grandmother. Let me stand beside you.” His hands closed around mine, his eyes watching me intently. “Have some faith that I have your best interests in mind, that I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe.” Max was making me a pledge, just as he’d done before when he’d written a note and slipped it into my history book.
But his reminder of where we were going made my stomach tighten.
To the palace. To the queen’s palace.
I closed my eyes and leaned back against the seat behind me.
The palace was a place like no other. We were on the estate grounds long before the buildings came into view. The green lawns looked like they’d been hand-shorn, every blade a sliver of perfection spread out before us in sweeping verdant waves.
Glittering ponds were stocked with beautifully feathered waterfowl, beyond which forested lands stretched for as far as my eyes could see. If paradise were a real place, I imagined it would look very much like this.
I glanced at Max, nerves and anticipation making it easier to forgive his deception. He was right, I needed his support.
“You’ll be fine,” he assured me. “I’m right he Jthi aght he Jre.”
I took a breath as the vehicle passed through gates that stood open, awaiting our arrival. Both sides of the stone-tiled driveway were lined with manicured hedges that obscured my peripheral view and forced all my focus forward, toward the grounds that opened up before us.
Anxious to get my first glimpse of the palace, I raised my head, straining to see above the three enormous men crowded into the seat in front of me. But they were taking up all the space, and I could catch only fleeting glimpses of stone and iron and glass. Nothing to satisfy my mounting curiosity or quell my overworked nerves.
And then everything happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to contemplate the view. The vehicle came to a stop, and the door was opened. My pulse hammered recklessly. Max exited ahead of me, and I knew what he was waiting for, but I couldn’t find the will to move.
From the front, Xander turned to me, eyeing me with admiration. “You can do this, Charlie. You’re stronger than you think.”
I wondered if he would say such things if he knew how badly my hands shook, if he knew that my skin felt brittle, like ice, as if it would shatter should I move too suddenly. Or if I dared to breathe.
My parents are in there, I reminded myself. And Aron. They need me.
It was enough, and I was propelled into motion.
I reached for Max’s awaiting hand and let him draw me from the shelter of the transport. I held my teeth together to keep them from chattering as my eyes searched for his. I needed to see his calm,
to borrow from it.
The tenderness I saw there thawed my chill and gave me the strength I’d been searching for.
Yet as I emerged from the vehicle, it wasn’t the opulence of the palace that captured my attention, but rather the thousand uniformed soldiers who stood before it in faultless, evenly spaced rows. Every muscle in their bodies was aligned as they awaited . . . something. They were vast and powerful and commanding. I was overwhelmed by the very sight of them.
My eyes widened, my breath caught.
Max took my arm and forced me to take a step forward; Zafir and Claude stood on either side of us.
From the field of men, a lone voice barked an order to the hushed crowd, and in an instant a thousand heads bowed, a thousand men fell to their knees in unison, and I was awed by the show of respect, this harmonic display of reverence.
I’d seen this kind of action only once before, in the shelter below the city the night of the attacks. When I’d learned that Max was a prince.
“Is—is this for you?” I whispered, reaching for Max’s hand, no longer caring who saw.
I awaited a response as I watched all those soldiers kneeling on the ground in respect.
“No, Charlie. It’s for you.”
THE QUEEN
She stood at the window watching her men—guards and soldiers alike—bow low before Jthi aght h he the girl. Baxter had done well delivering her message throughout the ranks, making sure that the new queen was welcomed properly.
This was the girl she’d been searching for. This was the heir she’d hoped to discover.
She would have to tread carefully to ensure the girl’s cooperation, and to be certain she made no mistakes. If she played things right, this girl could buy her another lifetime as ruler. A new beginning.
If she was wrong, if what she’d discovered about the girl was untrue, then it was over. All of it.
Alexander materialized then from the vehicle and she stiffened, her heart momentarily stuttering as she was transported back in time to the days when he had her favor, the only boy child who ever had. He was the firstborn of her son’s offspring, a misc
hievous child with an eye toward righteousness, even then. He’d always been immune to her impervious facade and icy stares. When he’d smiled and climbed onto her lap, something no other child had ever dared, her frosty heart had warmed. She’d offered him sweet treats and gifts. She had allowed him unparalleled access
to her inner sanctum, and he was schooled and housed within the walls of her wing of the palace. She’d kept him close.
She’d loved him.
And he’d turned his back on her.
And now here he was, an enemy to her throne, standing at the girl’s side. The sight of her once beloved grandson made her heart freeze in place.
She was suddenly eager to see his expression when she shared the surprise she had in store for him.
And then there was Maxmillian—just another of her grandsons, no more unique than the rest. He, too, stood beside this new royal heir. But he wasn’t the reason her resolve slipped. It was his loyal protectors, flanking the girl, who concerned her. Their devotion would always be to Max, the child they were born to protect, and if his allegiance had already been decided, if he’d been swayed by a pretty face, then so had theirs.
And the royal guards were not a force to overlook.
Fortunately, the queen had her own agenda. A plan already set into motion that would rock them all.
XXI
My ears were still ringing with the echoes of Max’s shouts as he was dragged away by Her Majesty’s guards. None of us had anticipated that we’d be separated upon our arrival. And while not one of the armed guards who’d surrounded us had dared to touch either Claude or Zafir, it was clear that they, too, were included in the forced detention that had taken place . . . they were simply allowed to go quietly.
I wondered how many bones would have been broken had it gone down differently.
It had taken me far too long to adjust to our changed circumstances. I hadn’t expected Queen Sabara to hold us captive in this way.
It was supposed to be a meeting, I argued silently in my head. All I wanted was my opportunity to reason with the queen.