A Player for A Princess

“You told him what you were planning.” It’s all clicking into place. “He simply had to find a woman—or in this case two—to be his ticket back inside Monagasco.”

“Wade Paxton was already here. He secured a pardon from Hampton de Clare and had begun drafting the treaty to unite our countries. Hampton was already in the process of strong-arming members of both parliaments behind the scenes, creating stories of Rowan’s risk-taking and inexperience—”

“So Rowan was right. The King of Totrington is supporting Wade’s efforts,” I clarify.

“Once Hampton let him back in, I needed your uncle to return from exile.”

My brow lines, and I walk around the space trying to piece everything she’s saying together. It’s going to be hard to think of Reggie as an ally in this.

“Why not simply tell Rowan everything?” I ask.

She lets out a long sigh. “Remember the part about his Tate fire? Rowan has a tendency to overreact when he feels threatened.”

“He can’t throw you out of the kingdom, Mother.”

“Either way, Reggie is in a precarious position. If we embrace him now, if Rowan pardons him and brings him back into the fold, we risk losing everything we’ve worked so hard to accomplish.” She levels serious eyes on mine. “Wade Paxton is a thug. If he finds out your uncle is a spy, he will kill him. Most likely in some sinister way.”

Now I’m at a loss. I’m trying to figure out what to do next or how to move forward. Rowan needs to know about this. He needs to know everything, and we need to make a new plan.

“Do you know about the ransom note? Their demands?”

I watch as she takes a sip of champagne. “I heard something about it. They want Rowan to forego his right to succession in favor of uniting the countries.”

“Among other things.”

“They seem to think the succession referendum has already been drafted, that I’m already planning my retirement celebration.”

“They’ve given us a pretty tight deadline.”

She pushes out of her chair and starts for the door. “I think we should take a holiday at Occitan. I think we should go there and discuss my displeasure with Rowan’s choice in fiancée. We should have several very loud and clear debates on my decision to continue on as the titular leader until he comes to his senses. I’ll be sure to use simple language even a rat can understand.”

I’m on my feet and following her to the exit. “You know about the security breach at Occitan?”

Pausing at the door, her voice is thoughtful. “I think we should feed our rat some poisoned cheese and see where the carcass leads us.”

It’s an idea that can definitely buy us time. “You’d better tell Rowan everything before you start attacking Ava, even fictitiously. He can handle it.”

“My thoughts exactly,” she says, giving me a sly smile.

“The three of you go ahead, and I’ll join you in a day or so.” I kiss her cheek, heading back for where I left Freddie. “Please let my uncle know I’ll be here waiting to speak to him.”

15

Mako

Zelda

I find a mirror in a drawer under the kitchen cabinet. Beside it are a tiny canister of talc and the smallest bottle of cologne I’ve ever seen. I open the bottle, and it smells like baby powder.

“This must be Selena’s,” I say, deciding against borrowing her brush.

Lifting the mirror, I’m startled when I see my face. The bruise on my lower cheek is purple, and my mouth is swollen. Dried blood is stuck in the corners of my lips. I smile, and the hole where my tooth used to be is exposed.

“At least it was in the back,” I say pulling my lip down. I don’t look as terrible as I could, but my hair is insane. “I need to get cleaned up.”

I glance over at my sleeping friend. She hasn’t moved since I tried to put the blanket over her, and I don’t want to bother her over something I can probably find myself. One last look in the mirror, this time I study my eyes. My pupils are not dilated, which gives me a bit of relief. I’m still not okay, but maybe it’s not a concussion.

Shoving the mirror back in the drawer, I take off out of the house determined to learn about my surroundings. A different woman is watching me from the third cottage, and I try again doing a small wave, giving a little smile. She doesn’t run away, but she doesn’t return my greeting. I decide to wait for Selena before attempting to make contact. They can’t understand me anyway.