Page 24

CHAPTER 24

AMELIA

The days are long and growing longer as Tristan stays out in the field. I thought for sure he would be home by now, and this would be behind us. I’ve been trying to keep busy, writing down my feelings about what’s happening in Haldonia. It’s helping me to work through some of the issues I’m facing.

Shannon comes running in, her hand over her mouth. Her eyes are wide. “Have you heard the news?”

“No…” Immediately my body is cold as I think about what might cause her to hurry into the room like this. There’s not much that will get either of us completely worked up. We’ve learned over the past several weeks to not get messed up by things that don’t matter in the long term. If not, we were going to drive ourselves crazy.

She hurries over, grasping my hands in hers. “I just got the notification, and I don’t know much more than what I’m about to tell you.”

“Is he alive?” I cut her off. “Just tell me if Tristan’s alive.” Swallowing roughly, I rub my wedding ring with my thumb and send up a prayer that my husband is okay. My eyes are on hers, going back and forth, needing her to tell me something, anything.

“He’s alive,” she whispers. “But I think he’s been hurt. The message is hard to decipher.”

Her hands are shaking as she thrusts the phone she uses with Parker toward me. It’s encrypted, like the one I have. My eyes travel over what’s typed out, but she’s right. It’s really hard to decipher. It seems as if half of it is written in a language I don’t speak. “I need to know what all of this means, Shannon.” My nerves are shot, so unlike the calm, collected person I’ve been since I took the title of queen. “There’s no way I’m going to be able to give the address to the nation without knowing what’s going on. Please, can we figure it out?”

Neither one of us knows what to do. There’s a loud knock at the door, and we immediately glance at one another. There aren’t many who know where we are, as far as we’re aware. We’ve had few visitors besides Tristan and Parker. Monica’s been around, but a lot of the time we don’t see her.

“Let me answer the door.” She grabs a knife from the kitchen.

“What are you going to do with that? If they get close enough, they can turn that knife on you. Why don’t you hand it to me, and if they get it, and we need it, I’ll take care of it.”

Her jaw drops. “I can’t let you do that.”

Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, I turn her toward the door. “It doesn’t matter who does it, Shan. You can’t go grab your gun. They’ll be able to see it if you’re holding it. We have to know what’s happening out there, and just maybe the person on the other side of that door can tell us. Give me the goddamn knife.”

Her eyes widen. My face flames with embarrassment. It’s not often I lose my cool like this. In fact, I can’t remember it happening before this very moment. Grabbing the knife out of her hand, I turn her toward the door. “Open it.”

She hurries over and cautiously opens the door.

When I get a good look at who’s standing outside, I gasp. “I know her. She was my detail earlier in the year. At the ball, before all this happened.”

“At your service, ma’am. I’ve been sent to make sure you’re okay. Now that King Tristan has been injured, your security is stepping up.”

I’m torn between believing her and being worried that she’s lying to me. What if someone knows she’s the one person I would trust blindly? Only because I want to know what’s happening with my husband. A long-ago conversation with Parker comes back from somewhere within my brain.

“What’s going to happen if I need to know that someone is safe? How do I know that?” I tilt my head to the side as Parker continues to make notes about what my security detail will look like once we’re married.

He stops what he’s doing and looks me straight in the eyes. “Listen to this, and commit it to your memory bank.”

“I will.”

“Anyone who is on your detail will have to say this phrase in the heat of any kind of dangerous situation, where you might be in danger. If they don’t say this, then you absolutely do not trust them, no matter who they are.”

The weight of how much this means is heavy on my shoulders. “What phrase is it?”

I’m back here in the entryway of our home, with the kitchen to my back. “You know I need you to say a phrase for me. If you don’t, I’ll make you wish you never showed up here.” I grip the knife in my fingers.

I stand still, trying to hide my fear. It wraps around me tightly. I’m scared she’s here to ruin everything. I keep my body straight and my lips firm, hoping she knows not to mess with me.

Her gaze softens. “Queen Amelia, I am here to cook your breakfast.”

Tears fill my eyes. My heart pounds so hard that I might collapse, but I’m relieved. Shannon and I aren’t alone anymore. Someone is here to help and protect us. That’s the phrase I’ve been taught to request. Suddenly, I fall to the floor, shaking with fear strangling my throat and tears clogging it. Both of them kneel beside me. I look up at her and ask, “Tell me he’s alive, please. I need Tristan to be alive. What do you know?”

She quickly shuts the door and helps me up. She looks at me like a mother would at a frantic child. “Amelia, if I’m allowed to call you that?” she asks.

I nod, giving her my permission. “This isn’t normal. These are desperate times, and we need friends. Yes, call me Amelia, please.”

“He’s been injured, and that’s why I’m here,” she explains. “There’s a threat to you, too. There are people around who have been keeping you safe, but starting now, you’re under my care. I will protect you. Do you understand?”

I nod slowly, still thinking about Tristan. “But what happened to him? Please tell me, I’m dying.”

She swallows hard and grabs my hand, leading me to the kitchen island. “Have a seat,” she says gently, “and we’ll talk.”

This is exactly what I wanted, and I hope like hell I’m ready for it.