She actually liked Prince Ruben. Or she had, until today when he’d shown his true colors. He’d given her the most magical night of her life, at least until the bomb had gone off. She just couldn’t understand how he could even consider her as a suspect. How could he possibly think she could have been behind such as thing?
Finally they reached the bottom of the staircase. King Leo went right, heading down yet another long hallway. Willow glanced longingly left, toward the set of double doors that no doubt led to the outside and freedom.
The exact moment she did, Prince Ruben came up alongside her and took her arm. “This way,” he murmured, steering her firmly after his father.
Shadefire be damned if she didn’t feel a shiver of longing at his casual touch. How much more of a fool could she be?
Finally, after a few twists and turns, they reached a set of double mahogany doors. These were open, revealing a luxurious office that was...well, fit for a king. King Leo took a seat behind a massive L-shaped desk, made of dark wood that was so highly polished, she could see her own reflection. The king picked up his phone and spoke a few words quietly.
Ruben closed the door behind him. The steely glare he gave her dared her to try to leave.
She took one of the armchairs in front of the desk, expecting the prince to do the same. Instead, he perched on the side, angling both the chair and his body in such a way that would block her if she tried to make a run for the door.
As if she would. The fear no longer governed her. Instead, the slow burn of anger that had begun low in her belly, fueled her, making her feel flushed. To accuse her of this? Her! Though this human prince had no idea who she truly was, that shouldn’t matter. She’d actually thought they’d connected last night.
Finally, the king placed the phone in the receiver and looked expectantly at her. “Go ahead,” he said, his eyes sparkling with warm humor. “Obviously you have something you want to say.”
“Look, I understand that you don’t know me,” she began, including both father and son in one sweeping gesture. “But I can assure you I had nothing to do with that bombing.”
King Leo nodded, encouraging her to continue.
“I have no reason,” she said, spreading her hands. “I wanted to attend your ball, so I did. I came simply to have a good time. Nothing more.”
“Do you have any friends?” The prince’s eyes sharpened. “Is there someone who can actually vouch for your character?”
Shades of moon. Vouch for her character?
“No,” she said, struggling to hide her annoyance. “I have met a few people, but made no actual friends. I have no one who can vouch for me.”
“That won’t be necessary,” King Leo interjected, cutting off his son before he got a chance to speak. “We already know you had nothing to do with the bombing.”
“We do?” Standing, Prince Ruben sounded as shocked as she felt. Once again, he crossed his arms. “Please, enlighten me.”
King Leo picked up a sheaf of paper from his desk. He slid it over toward the prince. “My advisors phoned a moment ago. We’ve received a video from the extremists. In it, they claim responsibility for the bomb.”
A muscle worked in Ruben’s firm jaw as he read the paper. “How do we know she is not a member of that group?”
Willow couldn’t help it—she snorted out loud at that. Most assuredly not ladylike, but this prince wasn’t acting even remotely like a gentleman, either.
“I promise you, I’m not,” she said, mentally daring him to contradict her.
As he glared back, she swore she saw a flicker of desire in his dark gaze. Mingled with his anger, so potent she almost responded in kind.
Of course, she wasn’t a fool. And, she had to admit to herself, there was a strong possibility she’d simply imagined it.
* * *
Trying to stare her down, Ruben barely restrained himself from baring his teeth and growling. Something about her made his inner wolf wild. Just like it had the first moment he’d seen her, his beast fought to break free. Until recently, Ruben would have sworn he was gaining ground on his inner battles. Not so much as of late. He used every ounce of self-control he had to keep the animal contained.
His wolf liked her scent. His beast wanted her, with a savage, single-minded intent.
Worse, his father knew. His father’s wolf couldn’t help but pick up on the restless frustration emanating from within Ruben.
Watching her with narrowed eyes, Ruben tried to figure out how such a small slip of a girl could have so much power over the other part him. At least his human side had emotions carefully under control.
“Where did you come from?” he asked abruptly.
Instead of answering, she simply gazed at him, her beautiful caramel-colored eyes huge and full of tantalizing secrets.
“Go ahead and answer, dear,” the king urged. “He won’t rest until he knows. For that matter, I’m a bit curious myself. I have my suspicions you see, and I just need you to confirm them.”
Ruben could see her struggling to find the right words.
“Don’t lie,” he warned.
Anger flashed in her gaze. “I wasn’t about to.” Giving him one final contemptuous once-over, she turned and looked at his father. “I came from the forest. There’s a...passageway there. It links my home and yours.”
Her answer visibly startled the older man. “Are you one of the Shadows?”
She tilted her head. “No. Despite my appearance, I’m Bright. How do you know of us?”
“Because I’ve used that portal, when I was a young lad. I’ve met your king and queen once. Of course, that was a very long time ago.”
Now her brave facade faltered. “Millicent is my mother.”
“But your eyes...”
“Are the wrong color, I know.” She sighed. “It’s rumored my real father was a Shadow.”
King Leo nodded, his expression contemplative. “This puts a completely different spin on things, Princess.”
Princess? The entire exchange made absolutely no sense. Ruben nearly interrupted, but he wanted to see where his father was going with this nonsense. Willow was no princess. He would have heard about her long before now. Royalty and beauty were always talked about.
“And you attended the ball the other night?” the king asked.
“Yes.” She shot Ruben a sideways glance, spearing him with heat. “For me, it was last night, but time passes different in our worlds. I danced with your son.”
King Leo smiled. “I trust you enjoyed yourself?”
“Very much so.” Though her voice vibrated with sincerity, she wouldn’t look away from the king. Ruben inwardly demanded she meet his gaze, to no avail. “At least until the explosion. After the bomb went off, I assisted Ruben here in helping the wounded.”
He nodded. “Very commendable, wouldn’t you say, son?”
Ruben jerked his head in a curt nod.
“I only came back to find my earring,” Willow continued softly, the rich texture of her voice washing over him and sending another sharp pang of desire straight into his core. “I wore a set of matching pearl earrings and went home missing one.”
“Are they very valuable?” King Leo asked.
“Only to me. And my mother.” She swallowed, drawing Ruben’s attention to her slender throat. “Since the pearls belong to my mother, as I’ve said, I’ve got to get it back. She has a temper and she’ll be very upset if I don’t recover the missing piece. She, ah, doesn’t know I borrowed them.”
No surprise there. Of course she’d taken them without permission. Just like she’d broken into the castle. Evidently Willow wasn’t a fan of playing by the rules.
“Ruben, have you located her earring?” his father asked him sternly.
For the briefest moment, Ruben considered saying no. But because he didn’t want to add lies to her deception, he nodded. “I found it last night. I have it upstairs in my room.”
“Send someone to fetch it for the princess,” King Leo
ordered.
“The princess?” Fed up, Ruben looked from one to the other. “Are you saying you believe this nonsense? She’s as much a princess as I’m a—”
“Enough,” King Leo commanded. His implacable expression showed he meant it. “I’ll explain later. Ring for one of the chambermaids to bring her earring to us.”
Jaw aching from clenching it so tightly, Ruben reached for the desk phone and did as he’d been told.
When he finished, he hung up and forced himself to look at Willow, steeling himself against the unwanted sensuality of her dusky beauty. “Soon you’ll have your precious bauble,” he said, his tone like frost.
She stood resolute, completely not intimidated. His wolf approved of her courage, which unsettled him even more.
“I really appreciate that,” she said without expression, refusing to take her eyes from his. As they locked gazes, his wolf thrilled at the challenge, daring her to back down. When she dropped her eyes first, he felt a sudden jolt of victory, of conquest, which he quickly doused.
“Once you have it back in your possession,” the king put in, “I’ll send an armed escort to accompany you into the woods. You will be free to go.”
Now Ruben shot his father a sharp glance. “Just like that?”
“Just like that. As I’ve said, I’ll explain later.”
“What of the man who was following her?” Ruben crossed his arms. “Her accomplice. He came through this portal also.”
This appeared to surprise her. “What man? I came here alone.”
“You had a tail,” the king said, his voice gentle. “He was tall, with bright gold hair and those strange purple eyes of your kind. He carried himself as if he were nobility.”
She frowned. “Are you certain you weren’t mistaken?”
King Leo shook his head.
“Who was he?” Ruben asked. “And why was he taking care not to let you see him?”
“Judging from your description, I’d say that was one of my people.” Her firm tone indicated she wasn’t willing to discuss this any further. “I’ll see what I can find out when I return home.”
Ruben opened his mouth to question her, but the king shook his head in warning. Apparently this was enough of an answer to satisfy him.
King Leo gave Willow a warm smile. “When you get back home, say hello to your parents for me, will you?”
She smiled back, the same warm expression with which she’d favored Ruben the night before. This inexplicably made his wolf dig in his claws. While they waited for the maid to return, Willow and King Leo engaged in small talk, completely ignoring Ruben, which was fine with him.
For his part, he found being in the room with her a peculiar sort of torture. Watching her, he had to fight the urge to touch her, to stroke her creamy skin and pull her close enough to capture her scent.
He glanced at his watch and gritted his teeth. What was taking the maid so long? She could have been to his room and back twice now.
Patience, he told himself. Just because time seemed to be moving at an excruciatingly slow place for him, didn’t mean it actually was. His father and Willow certainly didn’t seem to notice.
The instant the thought crossed his mind, King Leo looked up and frowned. “Shouldn’t she be here by now?”
“I’ll go and look for her,” Ruben said. As he opened the door to do exactly that, someone screamed.
* * *
Chad hadn’t meant to kill the maid, though he bowed to the capricious whims of fate. Following Willow and watching while she entered the castle by stealth, he initially had decided to hang around outside. But as he’d settled in to wait, two of the guards had stepped away to have a smoke, leaving a side door unprotected and ajar. It was a simple matter for Chad to slip inside. If they’d been his guards, he would have not only fired them, but imprisoned them for their careless foolishness.
Once in, he found the castle lay out was remarkably similar to his own family palace in EastWard. Since Willow had entered upstairs on the back side, he figured she’d probably come in to someone’s bedroom. Now he simply had to learn if she’d traveled here for a dalliance of some sort or had another, more nefarious purpose.
A thrill shot through him at the thought. Who could have guessed that the dark little princess could be so fascinating? He’d never considered the possibility that she was more like him than anyone suspected.
Heart beating loudly in his chest, he made it up the marble staircase undetected, shoulders back, head up. He’d learned long ago in situations like this that the secret lay in walking with purpose, as though he belonged there. This proved true now, as well. He passed two maids and a butler without breaking stride, and none of them thought to even question his presence. No doubt they believed him one of the noble guests. Nobility was its own disguise, often as good as a mask.
As he turned a corner, he heard voices heading toward him. Normally, this wouldn’t have been cause for concern, but he recognized one of them as belonging to Willow.
Bloody shades!
Glancing around quickly, he grasped the closest door and pushed it open, stepping inside.
Just in time. As he pulled the door closed, leaving a small crack so he could look out, they rounded the corner. First, an older man who walked with regal self-confidence as befitting a nobleman. Next came Willow, her pretty face looking disgruntled and even a bit panicked. Last, a younger man who bore enough resemblance to the first that he had to be his son.
The king and prince of this palace? How had the princess gotten mixed up with them?
This situation grew more and more intriguing.
He watched through the crack in the door as they marched off down the hallway, heading toward the stairs. Though Chad knew following them would be risky, he couldn’t resist. Heart pounding, he waited a moment after they’d disappeared from sight, then strode off after them. This time he saw no one, so he wasn’t stopped or questioned.
When the two men and Willow went inside what appeared to be a huge office at the end of the hall, Chad stopped in a small and empty waiting room, glad the attendant or secretary, if any, was not at his or her desk. This entire thing had been ridiculously easy. Almost too much so. Now, he simply listened to hear what Willow and her companions had to say. Because they left the door open, their words carried easily.
At first, Chad was entertained to learn the humans—at least that’s what they had to be, though they gave off an aura of otherness—thought Princess Willow might be behind a bombing that had apparently happened the night before. His amusement grew as he realized Willow had taken all these risks to locate her mother’s missing earring.
Which meant the bauble must be powerful indeed.
Now most definitely, he thought, inching closer to the wall nearest the hall, he had to get this earring before she got a chance to return it to her mother.
Listening as the man—or prince—named Ruben dispatched a servant to his bedroom to fetch the jewelry; Chad realized what he had to do. He hurried off, taking the marble stairs two at a time as he headed toward the bedroom area. He arrived just in time to see a maid going into one of the rooms, and leaving the door ajar behind her.
Perfect. Without a second thought, he hurried in after her.
She’d just retrieved the earring from a dish on top of the massive oak dresser when she noticed him. At first, she showed no fear—nothing but mild annoyance flashed across her plain face.
“I’m afraid you have the wrong room, sir.” Her low voice, properly deferential, had a pleasing accent from a place he didn’t recognize.
“No, I don’t.” He held out his hand. “Give me that.” The earring positively glowed with power, though this human couldn’t see it.
As he’d expected, she shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t. Prince Ruben has asked me to bring this to him. Now, if you’ll excuse me...”
Did she really think he’d step aside and let her travel merrily on her way? This time, he wouldn’t ask, he’d simply take.
<
br /> He grabbed her arm. “Let me have it.”
Rather than do as she was told, to his disbelief she fought him. “No.”
Furious and savagely aroused, adrenaline pumping, he backhanded her, using his magic to silence her pitiful attempt to scream. When she pushed herself up, he hit her again. She stumbled backward and fell, losing her grip on the earring. It went tumbling to the thick carpet near his feet.
As he bent to grab it, amazingly, she managed to right herself and went for it, forcing him to backhand her a third time. This time, he put a bit more force into the blow. She went down for the count, her head making a sickening thump as her temple caught the side of the massive dresser.
She didn’t move again.
A woman appeared in the doorway and, seeing the maid and her blood, began screaming. Her eyes met his as he retrieved the earring and dropped it into his pocket. The hum of its magical power felt reassuring, somehow.
Then he turned and went out through the balcony, using the same method Willow had used earlier to enter.
He didn’t know if the maid was dead, nor did he care. Even though the older woman had seen his face, since Willow herself didn’t even know he’d followed her, he wasn’t of this realm. Once he slipped through the veil back into the land of the Bright, he’d be home free.
Making it to the forest unnoticed, he headed for the portal, intent on getting back to his own world long before Willow. Then he could examine the bauble at his leisure and learn what magical properties it contained.
Chapter 7
The bloodcurdling scream reverberated through the castle, repeated again and again, reaching a horrifying crescendo that finally culminated in silence. Utter and terrifying silence.
King Leo was up and running before the first scream had finished. “That sounds like your mother,” he shouted over his shoulder at Ruben, his expression revealing his terror. “Come on.”
Needing no second urging, Ruben took off after him, his pulse pounding. To his shock, Willow followed, completely ignoring her one chance to escape.
“To your queen,” King Leo shouted. “Aid your queen.”
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