Her mind strayed to Elias. She’d heard he was there somewhere, having arrived sometime in the early hours of the morning. A few discreet inquiries of the staff led her to a downstairs parlor, where she found Elias standing near one of the tall windows, looking out over the garden.
The damp ends of his blond hair brushed against the nape of his expensive black suit, indicating a recent shower.
A tall glass of ice water dangled from his fingers, the contents half gone.
He turned his head before she could move or make a sound, as if he’d sensed her standing there.
“I heard the short version of the story on the flight over. I know the assassin is in custody and that Valentina confessed to the crime,” she said by way of opening conversation. She stepped deeper into the room and closed the door.
The parlor was one of several on the ground floor of Somero Palace. This particular parlor happened to be the most spacious, with three different seating areas and a distinctive marble fireplace. Tapestries covered the walls and gilt console tables provided a place for family photos and small trinkets.
Inari maneuvered through the furniture as she closed the distance to the prince.
“Yes. Valentina caved to the pressure, as I’d hoped she would. I think it’s safe to assume that once your father has her arrested, the specific threat she posed will exist no longer,” he said.
Inari stopped a few feet away. It took great control not to step into his arms and lift her mouth to his for a kiss. She wanted to. She wanted that same moment of intensity they’d had at the top of the stairs in Imatra. It was more than gratitude that drew her to him. It was undeniable attraction, a sense of something new blossoming between them. Butterflies erupted in her stomach, a strange but telling side effect of his presence.
“I’m not sure how to thank you, Elias. You, Caspian, and Erick worked so hard on this. It means everything to know that my family won’t be hurt again because someone was targeting me,” she said.
He sipped the water and set the glass aside.
“You’re welcome.”
The closer he came, the more she had to tilt her face up to retain eye contact. “What will you do now? Return to Latvala?”
“That is where I live,” he said with a flicker of amusement.
She swatted his chest and huffed a laugh, then sobered a moment later. “So you’re pretty much done with the Valentina thing, right? You won’t have to go back to Weithan Isle or deal with court proceedings?”
“Your father’s people will take it from here. No, I won’t be returning to Weithan Isle, and it remains to be seen whether I’m called up to testify or not. I think Valentina will take a plea bargain so this doesn’t blow up all over the media. I’ve done what I set out to do. It’s time for the lawyers to take over,” he said.
“When will you depart?” she asked, taking one step closer. Deleting the small distance between them by half.
“Later today,” he said in a quiet voice. “Unless you give me a reason to stay.”
That was all the invitation she needed. She slid her arms around his neck and kissed his mouth, reveling in the masculine cologne clinging to the hollows of his skin. He pulled her flush with his body, tongue boldly exploring until she felt weak in the knees—a ridiculous affliction she’d never believed in before now. Even Wolfe Novak hadn’t affected her like this.
“Actually,” she said, when their lips parted, “I found some interesting things in the Crypt that I think you and Caspian should take a look at.”
A spark of interest lit his gaze. “What things?”
“An old journal. Not from the same king as the other two papers you found. There’s no mention of the crest or anything, so I’m sorry about that. But I still think you’ll both be interested in what the journal has to say.”
“Now I’m curious.” He nuzzled her cheek, her jaw.
“You should be. It’s fairly striking, the things I read.” She paused to make eye contact again. “But that’s not the reason I want you to stay.”
“Then what is?”
“This. Us.”
He smiled and, just before claiming her mouth again, whispered, “That’s good enough for me.”
* * *
Elias stalked the hallways of Somero Palace with single-minded intent. His senses were full of Inari: her kisses, her scent, the feel of her lush body pressed against his. They’d spent fifteen minutes discovering, kissing, touching, before they’d been interrupted by a guard. Inari had been summoned to the king’s private study, and the king waited for no one.
While she dealt with her father, Elias traversed the corridors until he reached the room he’d crashed in earlier after his talk with Thane and his father.
Once inside with the door closed, he fished out his phone and put in a call.
“I hear things went well,” Caspian said by way of hello.
“As good as I could have hoped for. Listen. I just got done talking to Inari, and she mentioned finding something of interest in the Crypt. I’ll be here another few days, but I wanted to see if you’d snap some pictures of the journal she found and send them to me. She says we’ll be interested in the contents.”
“I’ll send your pictures as soon as you tell me details about Valentina.”
“You’re as bad as the women,” Elias complained, but proceeded to lay out his entire visit, beginning to end. He left nothing out, not his quick repartee with Wolfe, Valentina’s threat to have him thrown in the dungeon, nor the confession he’d gotten on tape.
“You are one lucky bastard, Elias. Any number of things could have gone wrong.”
“They could have, but didn’t. We’ve had our share of mishaps during missions. It’s time something went mostly right for once.”
“Mostly right?”
“I had a talk with Severian. Weithan Isle is in dire straits, and I think it’s worse than they’re letting on. While I loathe Valentina, I think Severian is authentic and honorable, and I hate to see the country fall.”
“You think it’s that bad, then?”
“It’s not far off. A year or two, I’d guess, before they face serious financial ruin. He’s desperate for trade.”
Caspian grunted. “We’ll have to have a longer, more serious talk about that over a snifter of brandy. By the way, why are you sticking around Somero?”
Elias smirked. Caspian knew damned well why. “I’ve suddenly developed a fear of flying.”
Caspian barked a laugh. “Let me guess. That fear will strangely disappear once the visit is over.”
“It’s funny how things like that happen. Send the photos.” Elias ended the call and tossed the phone on the bed. He walked to the window and stared out over Someran lands. The view from this particular suite reminded him of the view from a high tower in Ahtissari Castle, his family seat. Woods stretched beyond an open meadow, affording the palace and its occupants a wealth of privacy. Somero was not quite as large in land mass as Latvala or Imatra, but it had all the amenities that drew large tourist crowds year after year: quaint towns, jagged mountains, lazy rivers. Somero’s terrain was as wild and untamed as Latvala’s when one got out into the hinterlands providing a buffer zone between their countries and Russia. Inari would someday rule all of this, just as he would rule Latvala. He did not allow himself thoughts of a future with Inari, and all the possible complications it might bring. Not now, not yet.
Tonight he’d been invited to dinner with her family, and to spend an hour with Inari at Lisbet’s bedside. That was all he planned to concentrate on.
He had other things on his mind as well. Weithan Isle and Severian, the journal Inari had found, and his own tunnel mapping to get back to.
There was still the mystery of the dagger waiting to be unraveled, which he planned to give his full attention as soon as he was back on Latvalan land.
Chapter 24
Dinner with the Ascher family went as well as he’d hoped. He conversed easily with the king and queen, and discovered, to hi
s surprise, that Inari’s young brother, Carsten, was quite interested in the history of his ancestors. They shared a common thread, which created endless speculation and questions of their country’s past.
Seated across the table from Inari, he caught her eye often, once giving her a wink when Carsten seemed like he might talk for hours about Elias’s own forays into the hidden tunnels beneath Latvala’s castles.
In truth, he enjoyed encouraging the young man to pursue his hobby.
One never knew, Elias reminded Carsten, what one might find.
After, he sat next to Inari as they visited Lisbet, who proved to be fighting back hard against her bedridden state. She looked well on the road to recovery, if still a little frail and weak.
Inari’s dedication and attention to her sister did not go unnoticed. Elias recognized relief and affection in the way Inari talked to Lisbet, and set a hand discreetly on Inari’s back as a show of support.
Now the sun had set and they were strolling the long corridors of Somero Palace. Like the castles of Latvala and Imatra, the palace was steeped in history, its stone walls and high archways showing signs of age. That was what happened to structures that were centuries old. Elias loved it, and had always preferred the mystique of ancient buildings to their more modern counterparts. He examined Inari’s ancestors on a wall of paintings, taking note of swords, shields, crests. Faces. He paused before one, a woman, painted by the hand of a master.
If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought it was of Inari herself. Yes, there were subtle differences, but the painter had captured the tawny hair and straightforwardness of Inari and her ancestor’s gaze perfectly.
“That’s my great-great-great-greatwhatever-grandmother. Once a queen, the only queen to have ever ruled Somero. At least until I take the throne,” Inari said.
Elias paused before the painting. “Those will be big shoes to fill. Was she a good ruler?”
“The people thought so. They loved her, even if she didn’t put up with anyone’s bull. Maybe that’s why they liked her,” Inari said.
“You share more than looks in common,” Elias said with no small amusement.
“You haven’t seen the beginning of my sharp nature,” Inari replied with a lift of her chin.
Elias laughed, snared her by her lifted chin, and slanted a kiss across her mouth. He managed to take her by surprise, if her indrawn breath was any indication.
“I believe that I have. But I’ll withhold final judgment for a few years, see what comes of it,” he said.
Her eyes widened.
“What?” he asked, as if he didn’t know his casual reference to a few years wasn’t the cause.
“That’s awfully presumptive,” she retorted.
“Are you denying you want to see me, then? Because I can let myself out . . .”
Her delighted laughter in turn delighted him. He’d rarely seen her face so lively, eyes sparkling with mirth. And the way she pressed herself against him riled his ardor. There was no way in hell, however, that he would even consider intimacy this soon, nor in the palace where their dalliance might be seen or heard by anyone.
“Yes. Yes, I want to see you, Elias Ahtissari. I have a feeling that beneath your austere demeanor still lurks a rogue of unimaginable proportions. I’ll have to wait a few years, however, before I make my final judgment.”
He laughed when she turned his words around and used them against him.
“There’s not a bit of rogue left in me, I swear,” he lied. He offered her his elbow.
She scoffed, slid her fingers under the crook of his arm, and fell into step beside him. “We’ll see about that.”
“Indeed, Inari. We will.”
* * *
The following two days passed in a blur of activity. Thane had brought charges against Valentina for attempted murder and, despite his discreet handling of the matter, the media somehow caught wind and the story broke worldwide. Elias kept Inari company as interview requests overwhelmed the palace, especially for Thane, Inari, and Lisbet.
Lisbet was not well enough to endure question-and-answer sessions, and Inari declined to see anyone at all except her immediate family and Elias.
Thane wisely chose to ignore all the requests, at least for the time being, a move Elias secretly approved of. The media would make up their own stories anyway, or twist his words and create more of a firestorm than there already was.
Elias’s name had been completely absent from all stories that circulated through the news. No one had pinpointed him as the one who’d gained the evidence, and if Valentina had said anything to her lawyers, they’d kept the information to themselves. For now, at least, he did not have to deal with the public.
On the fourth day, he departed Somero Palace for home. He still had other duties to see to and events that required his attention. Sander had gone home shortly after their conversation the night he’d shown up with the recorder.
As the plane leveled out, Elias thought back to that night. How he’d expected his father to have an adverse reaction to his actions.
“I can’t sit here and tell you that what you did was foolish, because I’ve gone off on a whim before and done what I thought was right in that moment,” Sander had said.
“But you still think it was the wrong choice?” he’d replied.
“I think it was the only choice you thought you had.”
Elias had considered that for several minutes. “Wasn’t it?”
“Probably not. But your gamble worked. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. You’ve been on the sour end of a mission before; you know how unpredictable things can be. You happened to catch her at the wrong time for her, and the right time for you.”
“Would you have done the same thing?” Elias had asked next.
“Like I said in the hallway, son, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Yes, to answer your question. I would have.”
And, with that, Elias had let any lingering doubts about his action fall away. If the mission would have been good enough for his father, it was good enough for him.
As Sander had pointed out, he’d gotten lucky. Fate had been on his side.
This time.
Next time, who knew?
He spent the remainder of the flight reading the journal entries Caspian had sent, somewhat shocked to learn of the assassination attempt on his ancestor.
That was history he’d never previously heard.
It sparked a new desire to return to the tunnels, to finding answers.
He thought about Inari, too, and their time together. There’d been a lot of fun and laughter in between the serious consultations with advisors. He’d promised to call and text until they could see each other again.
Two days after his return to Kallaster Castle, Elias sought the tunnels during a reprieve from his princely duties. He searched with renewed vigor and interest, while Caspian raided the Crypt in Imatra for more lost journals or other evidence of strife between his country and Elias’s.
One week turned into three.
He shunned a few galas he should have attended, because he knew Inari would not be there, and instead accompanied his father on royal visits to the mainland. All his spare time was spent beneath Kallaster Castle or the Ahtissari family seat.
Nothing new came to light. No more clues about the strange crest, no papers, journals, or otherwise.
Frustration set in during the fourth week of his return home.
With an idea to change the setting and try a different venue, he put in a call to Inari. The public uproar over the attempted murders and Valentina’s involvement had died down enough to risk inviting her on another subterranean trip.
Two pairs of eyes were better than one, someone had once said.
Chapter 25
“I don’t recognize this castle,” Inari said as she stepped out of the Land Rover. The sun beat down from a clear blue sky, the temperature hitting a lovely seventy-one degrees. Behind them, two more vehicles had parked and
security teams exited quickly. Her guards, Bero leading, went ahead to the castle ruins to investigate the area. Elias’s guards hung back to protect the rear.
“That’s because it’s been abandoned for a long time and no one ever visits,” Elias said. “This place was once, for a short time, the Ahtissari family seat. But it was heavily damaged in war and, according to legend, the sitting king moved his family to a sturdier dwelling until Ahtissari Castle finished being built.”
She glanced from the tall towers and sprawling stonework to Elias himself. He’d dressed in dark colors for their foray below ground, while she’d chosen beige riding pants that tapered into knee-high brown leather boots, and a crisp off-white shirt tucked in at the waist. A thin leather belt finished off the outfit. A foolish choice of clothing to be sure, thanks to the grunge they were sure to find underground, but she’d not been able to bring herself to don ratty jeans and a sweatshirt. Not when it had been a month since she’d seen Elias, and not when she wanted to make a good impression.
Their text messages and phone calls had been cursory and polite, due to hacking fears, but now she looked forward to some alone time, even if it meant skulking around dark tunnels beneath a deserted castle. The guards would not follow them all the way down, which meant a little privacy. At last.
“Are you sure you can even get into the tunnels?” she asked as they approached the huge double doors.
“I have no idea,” he said with a laugh, and produced a key ring from his pocket. Once they’d reached the padlocked door handles, he made swift work of removing the locks and chains.
“You’ll need your flashlight as soon as we step inside,” he said.
Inari got into the backpack she’d organized before departing Somero and fished out her light. Elias’s backpack was far larger, but not too large, and much heavier. He’d insisted on carrying the water, helmets, and other survival gear.
“Well, if nothing else,” she said, “I get to explore the castle.” With you. She nearly said the thought aloud. The eerie timing of his sudden glance made it seem as if he’d read her mind or guessed what she’d left off.
Latvala Royals: Bloodlines Page 15