by Nana Malone
She glared at me and then adjusted her stance so that she faced Sebastian a little. Her eyes went wide then. "You're going to kill me, aren't you?"
Sebastian's brows drew down. "No. What gave you that impression?"
"Ashton. He told me how the king was. That he would kill my family when he found out about my relationship with Tristan. That's why I had to run away."
Sebastian frowned. "My father would have never hurt you. He wouldn’t have cared."
"Yeah? Is that why Tristan is in exile?"
Sebastian's gaze flickered to mine. "He's not in exile. He's back."
She blinked rapidly. "What do you mean he's back?"
"Tristan, my cousin, he's back. Are you following the sports pages at all?"
She shook her head. "I stay out of it and keep a low profile. I work, come home, and I deliberately don't check any news from home. No internet access. Nothing."
"Well, that's smart if you're hiding. But you know, you don't have to hide anymore. Ashton’s not going to hurt you. No one is. Maybe we could talk? But I think, maybe not here. Somewhere safe."
"Nowhere is safe."
In my comm, Roone started to speak. "Penny, you're about to get—"
There was a crash in the bedroom, and Amelia jumped. "You have come to hurt me."
Sebastian shook his head. "No, we didn’t. Someone might have come up the fire escape. You need to hide in the closet right now, because whoever is coming for you, they're not with us."
At that moment, I could see her weigh her options; trust us or take a chance with whoever was in the bedroom.
Thankfully, she chose wisely and crawled into the closet.
Sebastian slid me a glance. "What are the odds of you hiding in the closet with Amelia?"
I lifted a brow and gave him a smirk. Then I pulled my gun from my holster. "Slim to none, and you're just a pretty boy who knows how to use his hands."
He gave me a low, dark chuckle which did something melty to my insides. "First, I'm going to show whoever that is in there how good I am with my hands. And then I'm going to show you."
"Promises, promises," I said. We didn't even have to wait because the guy from the street came clamoring out of the bedroom. We both moved in position on either side of the door. My foot caught and tripped him. Sebastian landed a blow.
Despite being caught off guard and surprised, he still put up a hell of a fight. He caught his fall with his arms, rolled onto his back, and made a kick right for Sebastian's knee. To avoid it, Seb stepped out of the way, but he lost his balance and tripped as the intruder got back to his feet. I was on the guy in a flash. "I will shoot you."
He kicked my gun hand, sending a sharp spike of pain up my arm.
I blocked his next blow, bringing my elbow out to shield the side of my face. I countered with a straight jab, snapping his head back. Then with a roar, Sebastian tackled him. It was a flurry of arms and knees, kicks and fists, and grunts and elbows.
I jumped into the fray, and then something amazing happened. Knowing Sebastian so well, I knew exactly how he was going to move, what his next steps were. We moved as one. One stepped here, the other stepped the other way. Counter attacks, counter strikes. In less than thirty seconds, we had the assailant down on his face, my knee in his back as Sebastian pulled up the zip ties around his wrists. We were both panting, but the look in his gaze said something. He trusted me, and I trusted him. We knew how to work together. Somewhere along the lines of me becoming queen and him becoming king, the two of us had sort of forgotten that a little bit.
"So, should I find someone to break into the palace once a week? It could help us work together."
"I'm sure there are safer methods to figure this out."
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm sure there are. And I would certainly like to find them because fighting with you is probably the most fun I've had in months."
I grinned at him. "Same."
Once the zip ties were secured, I leaned down. "Okay, I wish we had time to find out who you are, but we have to go. So I'm just going to take your fingerprints and photograph your face. If you don't mind, smile for the camera."
I clicked an image, while Sebastian got his fingerprints. And then we were both up on our feet, and I opened the closet door for Amelia. When she stepped out, she was shaking. "Who is that? What in the—” She glanced at her living room floor. “Oh my God.”
* * *
Sebastian shook his head. "You can stay here, but I'm sure more like him will be coming. Or you can come with us. What's it going to be?"
Amelia stared at her living room floor again and then squared her shoulders. "I'm coming with you."
Ariel…
Balls were always dreadfully boring.
I still remembered how Penny and I used to sneak up to the palace from her house to peer in when we were young. We'd watch from one of the tunnels and see the women with their gorgeous ball gowns, wishing we could be a part of it. Unfortunately, now that I was a part of it, all I wanted to do was go back to Penny's room and spend the night gorging on food and talking about boys.
As a child, of course, I hadn't considered the reality. My shoes pinched. My head hurt. I was tired. The ball was a celebration of the founding of the Regents Council. That meant there were a lot of people who would pop their way into the palace.
While security protocols had been tight, it was better safe than sorry, especially on Tristan. Right now, Trace, Jax, Jameson, and Tamsin all held a tight formation around him as he spoke to a group of people. Next to him, Ella looked the part of the royal fiancée, the epitome of regal coolness. Her blonde locks were twisted up into a chignon, and she wore an ice-blue ball gown that practically shimmered under the chandeliers.
Jealous much?
No, I was not jealous. Tristan wanted me. He had chosen me. And considering everything he had been through and we had been through together, this was just for show. I would have him later.
But he gets to have her in the spotlight.
I shoved down the worry, the jealousy, and I locked it tight. Ella had nothing to do with me and she had nothing to do with how I felt about myself.
I had Tristan, and we loved each other. I needed to remember that. Being insecure was not going to help anything. I saw a familiar face in the crowd, and I grinned. It seemed Ian had found his way in. As it turned out, he wasn't a bad friend. Any hesitation I felt about dating him had evaporated when he'd shown how kind he could be.
I had basically chosen another guy over him and he had still taken the time to make me feel good about my decision. As friends went, he didn't seem to be a bad one to have. And he'd been right about Tristan in the end. Of course, he didn't know the half of what Tristan had dealt with, but he did understand him fundamentally.
As Ian approached, I gave him a wide, beaming smile, but the smile he gave was not to me. It was to Ella.
He approached her and gave her two air kisses on each cheek. Immediately, the flare of jealousy was back, gnawing, clawing at my gut.
What the hell?
I didn't want Ian, so why the hell was I annoyed?'
Because one pretty girl gets all the guys?
No. Tristan was mine. I had to remember that. But Ian… I had no idea what kind of relationship she had with Ian. Tristan was talking to one of the Council members, one who had backed Sebastian on several measures, and Ella stepped aside. She was having a quiet, private conversation with Ian.
To the outside world, it probably looked normal and innocuous, but the way his hand slid down her arm and fell to her back, caused me to lift a brow. What in the hell was going on there?
Not your business. Not your circus. Not your monkeys.
Shouldn't I be happy if she was finding someone to move on with? It meant the end of the Ella-and-Tristan charade. It meant Tristan and I could finally start our official lives together.
Except somewhere along the line, someone was going to notice that I wasn't nearly as beautiful or elegant as Ella. Somewhere
along the line, someone was going to notice that I made a far less-suitable date to these kinds of state-dinner things than she did.
I had never wanted anything other than to be exactly who I was. But I worried that exactly who I was wasn't going to be enough for the prince.
Or maybe, you could just wait for him to tell you that and not jump to any conclusions.
That was a solid point. I needed to look at this as a good thing. Ella and Ian were good. The sooner she moved on, the sooner they'd be calling off their showmance.
Or maybe you’d like their showmance to continue.
I had to admit it allowed me a certain amount of freedom. I didn't have to be the one having the know-all conversations about politics and the state of the islands. I could still be me.
Yes, you could still be hiding.
I tried to ignore the twinge of annoyance.
Where the hell were Penny and Sebastian? They were coming to the gala, but they still hadn't arrived. I was so focused on Ian that I didn't notice the heat at my side for a moment. "Why do you look like you want to kill Ian?"
I nearly jumped. "Your Highness, you're standing a little close, aren't you?"
"Oh, I'm a picture of decorum. Unlike later, where I will not be a picture of decorum unless you want to follow me to the gardens again."
My skin flushed.
He laughed. "Careful now, your skin betrays you."
"Damn pale skin. I'm the only redhead who gets a tan. But God, let me blush and everyone can see it for miles."
"Well, let me be happy that I can still make you blush."
"Yeah, you can. Having fun?"
"It's a great cause, but if I have to make nice with one more Council member, I will lose my goddamn mind. So far, I could see maybe calling an additional five allies over to our side, but they're all questioning the claims he made."
"I'm sure Penny and Sebastian have found something. When Michael called, he said they were on their way back, so I hope—"
I was cut off by seeing my old friend Roone walk through the ballroom doors as if he owned the place. There was just something about Roone that screamed, I'm in-charge, assholes, even if he wasn't. And beside him, Princess Jessa beamed up at him, grinning like a fool. Okay, if Roone and Jessa had arrived, that meant that Penny and Sebastian were right behind them. And sure enough, in walked my bestie.
She and Sebastian seemed... I don't know... like there was not a tense bone between them. They held hands, and they were clasping them gently as I had seen them do before, and their fingers were intertwined like there had been boning happening.
"Well, it looks like Penny and Sebastian are back."
Tristan's gaze wandered across the room. "Christ, have they found her?"
By tacit agreement, we both made a beeline for the foursome. Jessa looked me up and down. "The redhead who wears red. You look amazing."
I shrugged. "This old thing?" My gaze went to Penny. "Do you have her?"
Penny glanced up at Sebastian and they both nodded, but Sebastian was the one who spoke. "We stashed her somewhere safe inside the palace. We went under the old tunnels. Penny's old escape route. We just need to make our rounds here and then we can all go speak to her."
I wanted to take Tristan's hand, but instead, all I could do was watch as he ran a hand through his hair. "So you're saying that it's over? Just like that, you found her?"
I laughed. "Well, Zia had to pull some strings, call some friends, but I mean, the intel was solid."
"So Gilroy isn’t a factor anymore?"
Sebastian shook his head. "No. But we do need to get some more answers. Like why he thought you were responsible. Obviously Ashton has something to do with this, but we need to question her. We’re one step closer."
"I don't think I can wait." I did touch him then, carefully on the arm, so anyone watching wouldn't notice. "Your Highness, why don't you follow me? Your Majesties, when you conclude making the rounds, let us know and we'll meet you." And then I gave Tristan a gentle shove toward the door.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I'm getting you out of there before you lose your shit. You need to relax. So, come on, we're going to take a walk."
"I do not need to relax. My future is somewhere in the palace wherever my cousin stashed her. I need answers."
"And we'll get them, but not by running in headfirst."
"This, coming from you?"
I shrugged. "Hey, I'm capable of evolving."
He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. "Fine, what do you have in mind?"
Penny…
I watched as Ariel dragged Tristan out.
Sebastian leaned over. "Any guesses as to how she calms him down enough so he can wait out the rest of the dinner?"
Jessa and I snorted laughs. Roone smirked.
I pinched my husband. "Stop it. Leave them alone. They deserve some alone time, you know, after everything."
I hated that we had to make the rounds. These types of dinners were not my favorite. They were terrible.
I would much rather have had workshops for people to go in and see what the kids from our local autism center were doing. To have everyone get their hands dirty, do some work. But oh no, that was not done. How it was done was having a stupidly expensive charity dinner and raising all the money, which was great. Money needed to be raised, but this didn't actually do anything but make people feel self-important. That was fine. I had a bigger fish to fry.
And something like this, just honoring the Council, well, it was a waste of time since I knew that many of them would gladly be rid of us.
My gaze locked on Ella, with Ian Tellman. I frowned. "Isn't that Tristan's friend?"
Sebastian glanced up. "Oh yeah, he’s a sports agent or a manager or something."
"I think he's an agent. What's he doing with Ella?"
Roone took one glance over. "What it looks like he's trying to do is climb into Ella's dress."
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Oh God, just what we need. Another royal drama."
Eventually, as dinner went on, I kept my gaze on Ella. She didn't seem to notice that Tristan wasn't there. She and Ian were too busy staying cozied up to each other, chatting away, and laughing. It didn't escape my notice how often she touched him.
At one point, I saw him trace a finger down her arm and my brows snapped down. For the love of Christ, she made such a big production of Tristan keeping up appearances, but then she was so openly flirting with Ian?
As we were nearing the end of the evening, after the speeches and after Sebastian thanked everybody, I excused myself to the bathroom and found myself in there with Ella. She gave me a wide smile. "Your Majesty."
She could shove that your majesty right up her… "What's your game, anyway?"
Her brow lifted. "Excuse me?"
"Your game, whatever it is you're doing."
"Your Majesty, are you well? I feel like—"
"Stop the nonsense. You are not some lady-in-waiting, and I'm not your typical queen. I'm a goddamn Royal Guard. And something is up with you and Ian Tellman. What are you doing?"
She blinked wide blue eyes at me. "I'm not doing anything. He's lovely. I'm having a lovely time. In case you haven't noticed, my date has ditched me. Have you seen your bestie lately?"
Okay fair point, but still. I shook my head. "Ariel is not your enemy. You seem smart. You should see that. Hell, Tristan isn't your enemy either. He was caught in unfortunate circumstances. He fell in love with her and likewise she with him. It had nothing to do with you. It was long before you even knew them. So, this little thing you're doing with Ian seems a little vindictive."
"I'm not doing anything with Ian."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Look, if you like the guy, great. Honestly, I, for one, couldn’t be happier for you. It only means that Tristan gets to end the showmance sooner, and Ariel gets her guy. And then she won’t have to endure watching him put his arm around you and take pictures with you for the publ
ic. But if you're doing this in some way to get back at Ariel, stop. You're better than that. You don't need to do this."
Ella's brows rose. "I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, cut the shit. You're not some delicate flower. You're in my palace. I know everything that goes on in here. I know that you requested that Tristan keep the ruse up. So if that’s what you want, then stop what you're doing because what you're doing is only going to embarrass Tristan and eventually Ariel. If you like Ian, great. Give up the charade. If you don't like Ian and you're only trying to annoy Tristan and make Ariel jealous, stop. I was pulling for you, but not if you’re going to act like this. It's beneath you."
Her mouth opened and closed. Opened again. She did that routine a couple of times. "Do you know what it's like to want someone who wants someone else?"
"Yeah, actually. You'd be surprised how much I know about that."
She blinked at me in surprise. "Oh?"
"What, like I didn't have a life before Sebastian? It's a long, complicated saga. All that happens is that one person gets hurt, and I'm just trying to make sure it's not my best friend, or you either, actually. You come across as a little cool and standoffish, but I don't think you are. I can tell you care very much about Tristan, which is great. And yeah you got a bum rap because he doesn't love you back, but making my best friend miserable over it isn't going to work out how you think it is, so figure out your shit."
I turned around and stalked out. I just hoped to God she heeded my warning. Whatever the hell was going on with her and Ian, despite Ariel and Tristan's relationship status, there was a way to do things, and a way not to do them. Ella was on the wrong side, and she needed to correct that before somebody got hurt.
Twelve
Tristan…
The tightness that hovered in the center of my chest, that had lived there for the last ten years eased. It loosened so quickly, shooting out to my extremities, that I almost couldn't stand.