Page 33

CHAPTER 32

LIZZY

KINGLY CONCERNS.

I was very relieved to be out of the closet. And I don’t mean that metaphorically.

It occurred to me that all of the hallways and corridors in the palace—especially in the guard quarters where the offices were—looked the same. If I wanted to call attention to the door hiding my prison, I needed to make it different.

I had very few tools at my disposal. But I did have a lot of paper towels. So, I began shoving them under the door one by one.

It seemed my plan had worked. What I hadn’t planned for was the fact that the person who would discover me would be the one person I was trying to avoid.

Still, when I saw Declan’s face—when I saw the concern he clearly felt for me—it tugged at my heart. And before I thought better of it, I threw myself at him. I didn’t even realize we had an audience until it was too late. I stepped away from him, trying to suppress the rush of blood to my face and the rapid beating of my heart.

“I’m so glad to see you,” Declan said softly.

I stepped out of his arms. “Me too,” I said. But now, there were more pressing matters at hand. “We have to find Neel,” I said, dashing down the corridor ahead of them.

Declan, Lambert, and Stuart followed, trailing me turn by turn through the hallway. Finally, Declan called out, “Lizzy, do you even know where you’re going?”

I stopped. Where was I going?

“We have to find Neel,” I repeated, more for my own benefit than anyone else’s. Maybe there had been some cleaning products in that closet that had messed with my thinking.

Stuart spoke up. “One of the guards told us he saw Neel rushing to the helipad.”

The helipad. That wasn’t good.

I spun and took off again, angling toward the nearest exterior door that would take us outside. I slammed through it, Declan, Lambert, and Stuart hot on my heels, and together we raced across the lush green lawns of the palace gardens toward the helipad.

I could hear the chopper blades whirring. Which meant Neel hadn’t gotten away yet.

Declan and Lambert overtook me—because of course they did. I realized, fleetingly, that all that hockey conditioning probably made Declan really good in a chase. My competitive nature wouldn’t let him win, though. I kicked my legs into high gear.

We all arrived at the helipad together, ducking against the downward force of the chopper blades.

Neel was already strapped into the backseat, clearly waiting for his pilot. Declan ran around to the other side of the helicopter while Lambert stepped up into the passenger compartment.

“Going somewhere?” Lambert asked.

Neel didn’t say anything, just looked back and forth between the two princes. Finally, his gaze dropped to me—then past me, to the pilot approaching from the far side of the helipad. It was clear to Neel that he was not going anywhere.

When the helicopter was shut down and we’d explained everything to the pilot, Stuart took Neel into custody, and we marched him toward the royal quarters.

“I think my father might have some questions for you,” Lambert told Neel.

Neel alternated between shooting me hard looks and grumbling about monarchies in general.

“Why would you do this, Neel?” I asked him. Neel had been a mentor, a friend. A liar, I realized.

He frowned at Declan and Lambert. “The monarchy has been in place for too long, keeping our nation mired in antiquity. When it looked like King Erik would die and Lambert was in no shape to ascend, it was a perfect opportunity to modernize. We didn’t expect you to make it back,” he told Declan.

That was offending on so many levels. Neel hadn’t believed I could protect the prince? “Why did you send me if you wanted to kill Declan? You knew I’d defend him with my life.”

“I honestly didn’t think that would be enough,” Neel admitted. “Figured you’d be too busy pretending to be a PR consultant to actually keep an eye out for threats.”

“So rude,” I said under my breath.

“Who would be in charge?” Lambert asked. “Just out of curiosity.” I knew he was asking in case there were other members of the current security force or palace staff that had been working with Neel.

My former boss chose that moment to seal his lips, narrowing his eyes at Lambert. I knew he wouldn’t be able to stay silent forever. I was just glad we’d caught him before the group he was working with could attempt to mount an even more dangerous offensive against the crown.

But when we entered the palace again, he quieted completely. Perhaps he realized that his fate was sealed, no matter how he felt about the monarchy.

“I’ve got this,” Lambert said, stopping Declan and me in the hallway just ahead of the doors to the royal apartments. “Stuart and I can handle it.”

“You sure?” Declan asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure. You have some things to discuss with Lizzy.”

Lambert’s eyebrows moved up and down in a very suggestive way, and I really wanted to know what he and Declan had been talking about.

“That’s true,” Declan said. He turned to me. “Lizzy, do you have a few minutes?”

My heart jumped. I told myself that this would surely be about the crown, the treason we had just uncovered, or his potential ascension to the throne. It wouldn’t have anything to do with us.

Don’t hope for anything else, I warned myself. I took a deep breath and faced Declan as we sat on a bench just outside the entrance we’d come through.

“Lizzy, I wondered if you might be willing to put on your PR hat a little bit longer.” That was definitely not what I had been expecting him to say.

“I don’t really have a PR hat. You know that.”

“I think we both know more about PR than we used to,” Declan said.

“Doesn’t make either of us qualified for anything,” I told him.

He laughed. “That’s true. I am only qualified to play hockey.” He smiled and rubbed a hand across one side of his beard. My eyes followed the movement, and I hated myself for wishing I could feel that softness again.

But there was a separation between us now. A distance that needed to stay in place.

He was royalty.

I... was not.

“What do you need PR for?” I asked.

“It’s not for me. It’s for my brother. I need to show the people that he’s fit to rule. He’s had some... PR crises in the past.”

“No shit.”

“Yeah. But the thing is—that was all spin, too.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

It was common knowledge that the older prince had been in and out of rehab most of his adult life.

“What if everything you think you know about Lambert is wrong?” Declan asked.

I stared at him. “That would be a pretty fantastic story.”

“Well, then you’re gonna love this,” Declan said.

And then he told me a story. A fantastic one.

When he was done, my mind was spinning.

Everything the people of Murdan believed about their prince was a lie. And it was a lie all in the name of love.

What better story was there than that?

Sure, the prince had allowed himself to take on an image that was somewhat scandalous. But the reality was that he had successfully protected someone he loved.

And done no real harm.

The true heir was fit to rule, after all.

That was a happy ending.

And the people of Murdan would certainly embrace it—if it was put to them the right way.

“I think we need to change Lambert’s image gradually,” I told Declan.

“We don’t have much time, Lizzy,” he said. “They’ve got me in fittings this afternoon. And tomorrow.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked.

Declan gave me a look. “Only that they’re pretty set on me being king.”

I exhaled sharply. “All right,” I said. “Then we’ll have to work fast.”