by Peak, Renna
Nick starts to argue, but he’s cut off by his father.
“She’s right,” the king says, and every head swivels in his direction. “That man wasn’t trying to get to her, Son. He was trying to hurt you.”
“Because the only way to get to her was through me,” Nick points out.
“Be that as it may,” the king says, “your life is in danger.” His gaze shifts to me, making it clear who he blames for this. “Clearly the situation here is much direr than any of us realized.”
Nicholas
In all honesty, I’m still not sure what just happened. I saw the flash of silver, and my one and only reaction was to protect Clara from it. From him.
“We should go back,” Andrew says, sliding an arm around my shoulder.
It’s most peculiar, the way my brothers are behaving, their eyes wide with concern. Why can’t they see their worry should be directed at Clara, and not at me?
The situation is over within the blink of an eye—my father is practically dragged by the Royal Guard back to the car, and my brothers and I are surrounded by more guardsmen.
“Nick…” Clara appears to be in shock. Perhaps her injuries are more than she is letting on.
“We should return to the manor.” I look over at Andrew. “Clara needs to be examined by a physician—”
“I do not need to be examined by anyone.” She looks up at me before her gaze slides between my brothers. “You need to talk some sense into your brother.”
It’s very unlike him, but Andrew seems to be nearly as shocked as my fiancée. He nods, motioning for us all to go back to the car we arrived in.
Leopold and Clara flank me in the back, and Andrew sits beside the driver. It’s a large enough town car, but it isn’t built to carry more than five people and no guards can fit inside. But no one seems willing to budge.
There is an awkward moment of silence in the car before Clara begins to speak, obviously trying to fill it. “When we get back to the manor, we should see about our costumes for the ball, Nick.” She pulls my hand into hers. “We can see if Sophia has any ideas about our masks—”
“I’m sure our father will cancel the masked ball,” Andrew says from the front of the car. “It isn’t safe to have such an event with a madman running about. It would be far too easy for him—”
“Past the thousand guards that will be surrounding the manor?” Leopold looks almost amused. “Right. It isn’t like the chap knows Wintervale at all, Andrew. And with the increase in protection that is sure to be ordered now—”
“You truly believe Father will allow this farce to continue?” Andrew is the one who looks amused now, shaking his head. “I imagine Father will call for us all to return to the palace at once. We’re all much safer there.”
“Maybe…maybe that’s a good idea,” Clara says as she gives my hand a slight squeeze. “You aren’t safe here, Nick. We—”
I pull my hand from hers, clasping mine on my lap. “Why must everyone make decisions for me?” I look at each of my brothers in turn. “You do realize that I’m a grown man, do you not? Not the young boy you’ve ignored for most of your lives?”
“Nick…” Clara whispers beside me.
I ignore the hint of a warning in her tone and continue. “Why do you imagine I wanted to leave Montovia in the first place? Might it not have been because of exactly this?”
Andrew frowns at me for a moment. “Nicholas, no one is attempting to dictate anything to you.” He shakes his head, glancing over at Leopold for a moment.
“That is what I’m talking about,” I say. “This secret language everyone in our family shares. If you’ve something to say to me, say it aloud—”
“Someone just tried to kill you, Brother.” Leopold’s expression is serious—something definitely unusual for him. “A man just tried to stab you, and you want us to act as though nothing has just happened?”
“No one was attempting to harm me—I’ve already explained that.” Why can these people not see reason?
Leopold shifts uncomfortably beside me. “Honestly, Nicholas, I think you must be in shock. Your head isn’t clear—”
“My head is perfectly clear!” My chest is tight, though, and rage is like a balled knot in my stomach. “None of you seems to be able to see what is truly happening here—”
Andrew’s gaze bores into mine. “And perhaps if everyone around you sees something else, it is you who isn’t seeing what is right in front of him.”
I’m not certain what it is about his words, but something changes about what is going on inside me. He’s right, of course—our mother was always insistent about that particular sentiment, something along the lines of taking responsibility for all things in one’s life and avoiding blame.
I fold my arms across my chest, considering the possibility that I am the one who isn’t seeing things clearly at the moment.
Clara places a hand on my forearm. “I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“What have you to be sorry for?” I turn to look at her. “You clearly did the right thing by leaving that madman. Imagine what might have happened to you if you hadn’t.”
She gives a small nod before turning to look out the window.
“He isn’t going to just go away, you know.” Leopold looks between Andrew and me. “If his mind has snapped—”
“Which it obviously has.” Andrew’s gaze is narrowed, still boring into me.
“Obviously,” Leopold continues. “But he’s focused on one thing, and one thing alone.”
I open my mouth to insist that it is Clara he seeks, but I snap it closed before I say anything.
Andrew seems to sense my thoughts, however. “I do believe he wants to win Clara back, but that isn’t his focus, Nicholas. Think about it—why would he want to harm the woman he claims to love?”
“Because he is mad?” I cock my head, looking at my brothers. “Perhaps he believes if he can’t have her, no one should—”
“Would you harm the woman you loved if she didn’t choose you?” Andrew lifts a brow. Clearly, he already knows the answer to his question—everyone in my family does.
I frown at him, but I don’t answer.
“I think we all know the answer to that, Nick.” Leopold cocks his head.
“You might want to kill the man she chose, though.” Andrew gives a small shrug. “Not that any sane man would actually do that, but I could understand the sentiment.”
“Nick,” Clara is almost whispering beside me. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you—”
“Fine. Perhaps…perhaps you all are right, and I am the one who is wrong. But what does it matter?” I look between the three of them. “What can we do besides hide in the palace for the rest of our lives?”
“I say…” Leopold’s mouth curves into a small smile. “I say we set a trap.”
Clara
I rather like Nick’s brothers.
His family is odd, to be sure, but they could be worse for a bunch of royals. And they obviously care about Nick as much as I do.
Prince Leo’s plan is simple: if Adam is desperate enough to attack us in broad daylight, in public, with a dozen Royal Guards around, then he’s desperate enough to do it more than once. Only this time, we’ll be ready for him.
We can’t be too obvious, of course. Even a desperate man would be suspicious if Nick and I were to wander aimlessly through Wintervale Town after what had just happened. But if we wandered around the gardens of Wintervale Manor, for instance…
“Absolutely not,” Nick says. We’re back at the manor, in the cousins’ game room. “I’m not putting Clara in danger.”
I cross my arms. “For the last time, Nick, you are the one in the most danger here. I’m not letting you do this without me.”
“Then we aren’t doing it.” Nick shakes his head. “It’s too risky.”
“Is it any riskier than letting that madman go free?” Leopold puts in. He’s leaning casually against the wall, a drink in his hand. “He has to be
dealt with one way or another. At least this way, we’ll be in control.”
“You only think we’ll be in control because you haven’t thought it through,” Nick insists. He begins pacing back and forth. “There are too many variables, too many things that could go wrong. And we’re dealing with a man who’s crazy and angry enough to do anything. We can’t anticipate what he might do.”
“Which is why there will be plenty of guards hidden nearby,” Leo says calmly. “Yes, there are some things we can’t predict. But he’s just one man.”
“You can’t honestly believe Father will agree to this,” Nick says, trying a different tack.
Leo shrugs. “Then we don’t tell him. What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him.”
Andrew, who up until this point has been relatively quiet, clears his throat. “Perhaps we shouldn’t keep Father completely in the dark. After all, you saw how upset he was about all of this. Perhaps he and Lord Frederick are already coming up with a solution of their own.”
The king secluded himself with Lord Frederick the moment we all returned to the manor, and as far as any of us know, he’s still there.
“Father has enough on his plate,” Leo says dismissively. “No, he probably wouldn’t agree to this, but at some point, something has to be done.”
“I’m willing to do it,” I say, just in case that hasn’t been clear already. “It’s my fault Adam’s here in the first place. I want to help bring him down.”
“That’s the spirit,” Leo says with a grin.
When I glance at Nick, though, he’s scowling. I go over to him.
“Leo’s right,” I say. “It’s riskier to let this keep going.”
“I’m not arguing with that,” he grumbles. “But you are staying out of this. If someone has to be bait, then let it be me and me alone. If it was me he was after this afternoon, then I’ll be enough.”
I shake my head. “He wants to hurt you, Nick. But if I’m there, I might be able to offer some protection if things go wrong. I could offer myself as a bargaining chip, or—”
“Do you even hear yourself?” Nick tugs a hand through his hair. “This is mad.”
“But it’s the right thing to do.” I look up at him, giving him the most wide-eyed, innocent look I can muster. “Please, Nick. I want to make this right. Let me help.”
He stares back at me, his brow furrowed, but before he can formulate a response, the door opens and his cousins come in.
“We were hoping we might find you here.” Caspar goes straight to the liquor cabinet and grabs a bottle of brandy. “We heard about the attack in Wintervale Town. That little American bastard is wily, isn’t he?”
“We’re setting a trap for him,” I say. “It was Leo’s idea.”
Caspar’s eyebrows rise, but then his mouth spreads into a grin. “I love a good trap. What’s the plan?”
“We haven’t agreed on anything yet,” Nick says, a note of warning in his voice.
His cousins ignore it.
“Consider us at your service.” Benedict leans against the edge of the snooker table. “How can we help?”
“First, by helping me convince Nick that I need to be there,” I say.
That sparks quite the debate, but an hour—and many drinks—later, we’ve finally managed to wear Nick down. And all the details have been laid out.
Tomorrow afternoon, Nick and I are going to go for a walk in the gardens around the manor—after the Royal Guards have hidden themselves across the grounds, of course. We’ll start close to the manor house, then slowly move farther and farther away, hoping to draw him out. Upon studying maps of Wintervale, we decided that Adam is most likely to approach through the woods on either the southeast side of the estate or the northeast side along the lake. Either would provide him cover all the way up to the edge of the gardens. The royal brothers and cousins spend some time deciding where each and every guard should go, as well as where Nick and I should linger in an attempt to draw him out.
It’s a good plan, in my opinion. Nick still isn’t entirely happy that I’ll be involved, but Caspar points out that Adam might get suspicious if he’s out standing in the garden by himself. Eventually, I think Nick just gets tired of arguing. He knows this is one debate he’ll never win with me.
When we finally retreat to his suite that night, he’s especially quiet. Even after we make love, he just pulls me against his chest and falls asleep. I wish there was some way I could reassure him, something I could say or do to convince him that his fears are misplaced.
He has no idea how afraid I am—but not for myself. For him.
If I thought I could do this alone, I would. If I thought I could solve the whole Adam problem on my own, without putting the man I love in danger, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But despite my determination, I’m not foolish enough to risk facing Adam by myself. This has gone beyond one person’s abilities.
I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you, I think, trailing my fingers down his bare chest. Especially if it was my fault. I’d do anything to keep him safe.
Anything.
Tomorrow, this will all be over. Tomorrow, I’ll finally get the chance to do the right thing.
And with that comforting and terrifying thought, I drift off to sleep.
Nicholas
This “plan” is nothing short of idiotic. Even if the madman has set up some sort of watch over the manor, wouldn’t the Royal Guard have found him? Certainly, he’s no criminal mastermind. Everything about this screams lunacy, but I seem to be the only one to see it.
Clara seems positively happy to be out in the gardens this afternoon, though I suppose it may have something to do with her having had to keep indoors for the better part of the last several days.
“These are gorgeous,” she gushes over a nearby bed of roses, pulling a stem toward her as she leans over to smell it. “I could stay here all day.”
“And so we shall.” My words are little more than a grumble.
My cousins and brothers chose this particular garden because of its distance from the manor. It’s not as though it is very far away, but the house is out of sight from this vantage. Caspar seemed to think it perfect—the nearby groves of trees give it ample space to hide a member of the Royal Guard every few paces. But with so many of them around, I fail to see how an idiot like Adam will be able to infiltrate at all.
Still, it could be worse. Clara is enjoying herself, and there is nothing I wish to see more than her happiness.
She sits on a stone bench near the path that branches behind it, one side leading to the lake, the other side leading to the ruins. She motions for me to sit beside her, and she loops her arm through mine when I do.
“We could just stay here, you know.” She smiles up at me. “I know I said I didn’t want to before, but maybe it would be better. Pom and Prince are here, it’s still in the country…”
“I’ll not live with my cousins for the rest of my life.” I still seem to be grumbling for some reason—I know Clara is trying to make this “conversation” seem as ordinary as possible—and I do appreciate that she seems to be opening up to the idea of staying in Montovia—but I’m still on edge and hyperaware of everything that is going on around me. A slight rustle in the trees nearby sends a shiver through me, even though it’s likely only the wind picking up.
This was a terrible idea. I can’t quite seem to shake the feeling that something horrible is about to happen, and I’m not sure I can live with myself if Clara is injured.
“I didn’t mean here here. There are some lovely houses in the countryside. When I…” Her voice trails off, and she gulps. “I just mean, I saw some really nice places out there with plenty of room for horses.”
I’m certain she’s speaking of the journey she was forced to take with Adam, though we agreed beforehand that we would not discuss him at all during this meeting.
“There are many lovely areas in Montovia, if you’ve truly decided you want to stay here. Perhaps we should spend so
me time after…” I realize I’m about to say something I shouldn’t, so I clear my throat. “After our time in Wintervale. There are some lovely areas near the mountains that you might like equally as much.” Though now, I’m not so sure I don’t want to leave Montovia, particularly since it doesn’t seem very safe at the moment. I’m not sure why it’s so difficult to make up my mind about the issue.
Something flashes in her expression—the same something that once accused me of still being in love with Sara—and it’s all I can do not to roll my eyes.
“Clara, if Wintervale is where you want to live, then we can live here forever. Just not in Wintervale Manor.”
She lifts a brow as she presses her lips together for a moment. “I know. I’m having trouble making up my mind. Part of me really wants to go back to Montana, but another part of me…” She breathes a long sigh. “I guess we can talk about it later.”
“I suppose we can.” I pull her free hand into mine. “I’ll live wherever it is you want to.” I lift her hand to my lips, placing a kiss on the back of it. “My only objective is your happiness.”
It all happens so quickly, I don’t have a chance to react. Clara screams, “No!”
There’s something around my neck—an arm, I think, and it presses so tightly against my throat that I’m unable to breathe.
Searing pain rips into my side, and everything slows in an instant. There’s a man in red—one of the Royal Guard—pulling Clara back before she can pile on top of me. I’m able to breathe again—the arm around my neck is gone.
But something is wrong. I’m not sure what, but something.
I blink a few times, trying to determine what it is that’s going on. My ears are ringing—I’m not sure if it’s because of Clara screaming, or the shouts behind me, but nothing seems to make sense at all.
The guardsman holds her in his arms and I see her legs flailing, her arms reaching toward me, but he continues to back away with her.