“I’ll be right there.” Kellan gave Alice a nod. “See you later.”
He left the room, buttoning up his jacket along the way.
Gus, who was lurking just outside the doorway, peered at him. “Nice makeup.”
Kellan gave him a level glance. “King’s orders, remember?”
“No, I’m quite serious.” Gus nodded. “Your makeup is natural. When Blackmon came by just now, he was wearing too much mascara and eye pencil.”
Kellan peered at him. “I didn’t realize you were an aficionado on the subject.”
“With four older sisters, I didn’t have much choice.” Gus saluted. “Carry on, Ranger.”
Kellan chuckled as he returned the salute. “Carry on.”
∞∞∞
Alice wore an ice-blue satin gown sparkling with crystal trim and iridescent tulle sleeves as she spoke on camera about her talent. “In my home town, Snow Day became an annual summer event I used to put on for the local orphanage. The facility was just outside city limits of Squirrel Flats, so I didn’t have to worry about breaking any laws.” She smiled. “There’s nothing better than watching children throw their first snowball.”
Seer nodded. “What gave you the idea?”
“Hmm.” Alice pondered the question. “I think I was inspired by my boarding school. The Vanguard School for Young Ladies is located in the mountains, so it’s the only place in Vanguard guaranteed to snow every winter. The blankets of white, creamy snow and sparkling ice sickles always looked so magical, I knew the children would enjoy it.”
“I think we’re all looking forward to snow on the first day of the Royal Promenade, Princess. Best of luck.”
Seer waited a few seconds before instructing the cameraman to cut. “That was excellent. Now let’s find Ranger Stratford so he can remove your disrupter.”
Alice glanced at the bracelet. “Won’t it look strange if I’m seen without it?”
“True.” Seer waggled his bracelet-clad wrist in the air. “You can wear my copy, and nobody will know the difference.” He glanced at his cameraman. “Have the children arrived?”
The man nodded. “Yes, Minister.”
“Children?” Alice cocked her head. “I didn’t know children would be involved.”
“We invited some local schoolchildren to enjoy the moment.” Seer looked pleased with himself. “Children always make any photo opportunity more captivating.”
The man’s cynicism was wearing a bit thin, but tingles of excitement ran down Alice’s spine nevertheless. She had always adored Snow Day in years past, but she wished to make her display the best ever.
Seer glanced at his cameraman. “Take the crew to Queen’s Park and start taping the children. I want you to capture their excitement. Oh, and send Ranger Stratford in.”
“Right away, Minister.” The cameraman left.
Alice waved at her Ranger bodyguard. “Do you like snow, Ranger Carter?”
His ordinarily stalwart demeanor softened a trifle. “Indeed I do, Princess.”
“Good.” She giggled. “Today should be fun.”
When Kellan joined her after his interview, Alice turned a pirouette. “Do you like my gown? Mrs. Diamond designed it to look like an ice princess.”
“You are a vision. Allow me to remove the disrupter.”
She held out her arm. “By all means."
When the Ranger touched her arm, delicious sensations traveled across her skin. Was it her imagination or was he taking a little longer to remove the device than was strictly necessary?
Alice took a deep, cleansing breath afterward. “A weight has been lifted—temporarily.”
Seer held out a silvery bracelet. “I’ll hold the real disrupter for safekeeping while you wear this copy.”
“No.” Kellan collapsed the device and tucked it into a pocket of his uniform jacket. “The disrupter stays with me.”
“As you wish.” Seer slipped the copy onto Alice’s wrist. “There you go.”
She gave Kellan’s arm a squeeze. “I confess, I’m looking forward to showing you what I can do.”
His smile was warm. “I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
∞∞∞
When Kellan escorted Alice out of the Minfo building, she blinked in the bright sunlight. “Oh no, I can’t see a thing!”
“Your eyes need time to adjust.” He stepped in between her and the sun’s rays. “How about now?”
“That’s much better. Wait…what’s this?” Alice tossed a handful of snow crystals into the air and they floated down over Kellan’s head and shoulders.
As the snowflakes landed on his eyelashes and nose, he chuckled. “Very refreshing.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet. Where is Queen’s Park, exactly?”
Seer beckoned. “This way.”
They crossed the castle grounds, where throngs of children massed at the far end of the grassy lawn. They began to point and call out her name as she approached.
“Princess Alessandra!”
“There she is! It’s the princess!”
Alice waved. “Hello. Are you ready for Snow Day?”
The children responded with cheers and excited wiggles.
She smiled. “All right, then. Here we go.”
Alice held the palms of her hands toward the sky and wove her spell. Although she used the incantation she usually employed for snowfall, she strengthened it to encourage good, healthy coverage. Falling flurries of dazzling, white flakes pelted down from a cloudless sky and began to accumulate on the manicured lawn. Children shrieked in delight as they ran to and fro, trying to catch the flakes on their tongues.
Alice forgot everything else as she became wrapped up in her creation. Onlookers gasped when she conjured a picturesque ice castle in the center of the park. The tall, clear spires glistened in the sunshine and lent the scene a magical feeling. Next, she fashioned moving ice sculptures of unicorns, dragons, snowmen, sea serpents, and swans. After she surveyed what she had created, she decided to add a little color in the form of a rainbow. The bright band began at one end of the park and ended in an ice pot of white gold at the other.
She turned around to give Kellan a smile. “Well…what do you think?”
Chapter Fifteen
Spice of Life
One of the long, slender ice castle spires broke off at the base. Instead of falling toward the ground, however, the spire came hurtling through the heavy snowfall toward the princess.
Kellan’s instincts took over. “Incoming!”
He tackled Alice, dragging her down into the snow, and covered her body with his. His relief when the ice spear whooshed past them was short-lived when a muffled grunt reached his ears. Kellan raised his head to glance back at the source of the noise. To his horror, Gus had fallen to his knees, a translucent spear was sticking out of his chest just below the collarbone, and a red stain was spreading across his uniform. A few yards away, Seer was whimpering, wide-eyed, in an obvious state of panic.
The chill in Kellan’s veins had nothing to do with the snow. “Gus!”
His friend’s face was ashen. “It’s just a splinter. Get the princess to safety.”
As much as Kellan wanted to help his fellow Ranger, protocol was clear. He jumped up, pulled Alice to her feet, and yanked her toward the nearest building—the Ministry of Agriculture. As soon as they made it safely through the door and away from the windows, Kellan punched the button of the nearest emergency comscreen and called for a medic and backup.
Alice was shaking. “What is happening?”
Kellan did not wish to alarm her unduly. “A wizard attacked Ranger Carter.” He wrapped his arms around her trembling body. “Are you hurt?”
“No…just shocked.”
Blade burst into the building and heaved a sigh of relief when he spotted Alice. “Thank heavens you’re safe. I saw the whole thing from the top of the Minfo building.”
She was still trembling. “Why would anyone want to hurt one of my guards?”
“I’m not completely sure what happened.” He shook his head. “That spear took a very strange path.”
Kellan peered at Blade. “Do you know any healing magic to help Gus?”
“Yeah…I’ll see what I can do.” He disappeared through the double doors.
“I must get you to your room.” Kellan took Alice by the hand and tugged her toward the central corridor. “We’ll take the back way.”
Alice kept pace as he hurried her along. “I’m so sorry about your friend. For all we know, Minister Seer planned the incident as some sort of publicity stunt gone wrong.”
The muscles in Kellan’s shoulders were tight. “If he did, I’ll wring his neck.”
After a mad dash, he managed to get Alice to her suite without incident. He drew the curtains as a precaution before reaching Dewar by comscreen.
“Gus has had an accident. I need you on duty outside the princess’s suite as soon as possible.”
Dewar gave him a curt nod. “I’ll be right there.”
Kellan also called Captain Woods to give him a report.
The captain frowned. “What is your situation now?”
“The princess is in a secure location and I’ve activated Ranger Delacourt. As soon as he arrives, I’ll check on Ranger Carter’s condition.”
“I will assign another Ranger to the rotation.” Captain Woods shook his head. “Let me know about Gus when you can.”
“Will do, sir.”
Kellan terminated the call and then turned toward Alice. Her hair was tumbling down her back and her eyes were wide and vulnerable. Something twisted something in his gut as he realized how close she had come to lying in the snow with her life bleeding out.
Heedless of the consequences, he pulled her into his arms and murmured her name. As she relaxed against him, he felt her shivering subside. They clung together for several heartbeats until she murmured, “Thank you for saving my life, Kellan. I know that ice spire was meant for me.”
His arms tightened. “I was just doing my job.”
Alice rested her cheek against his chest. “Is that all I am to you—an obligation?”
“My feelings..” Kellan cast about for an answer. “…are unimportant.”
“Not to me.”
Her words seemed to hang in the air as she tilted her face toward his for a kiss. The gentle caress was not enough to tame the raging beast within him, and his passion spilled over. After he’d explored the curves and contours of her mouth, he trailed kisses down the delicate skin on her throat. As he brushed his lips along her exposed décolletage, he reveled in her soft moans. The blood was thrumming against his eardrums when he finally came to his senses and released her.
“This is torture.” His voice was husky, and his breath came in gusts.
“Why?” She reached for him again. “Surely you must know how I feel about you?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Kellan kissed her again. “You’ve been promised to another man and my conduct right now is bordering on treason.”
“What are we going to do?” Alice melted against him. “I can’t marry another man. I simply can’t.”
“You’ll do as your king commands.” Kellan felt as if he were speaking through gritted teeth. “I’ll say this much on Blade’s behalf; he does seem to care about you.”
A ghost of a smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Perhaps a little, but he cares about status more.”
“Don’t force me to sing his praises, Alice.”
With one last kiss, he stepped back. “You must be able to defend yourself from now on.” He removed his wristwatch and held it up. “Can you make my wizard shield appear to be a disrupter?”
“Yes, but why?”
“You’re going to wear it and I want it to look natural.”
She gaped at him. “Absolutely not! If I’m wearing the shield, that leaves you open to attack.”
“Better me than you.” Kellan drew her into his arms. “If someone is trying to hurt you, the last thing I want is for you to be helpless.” He paused. “Besides which, if anything ever happened to you, my life would be over anyway.”
“Don’t you suppose I feel the same way about you?”
He made no reply but merely closed his eyes and lost himself in her embrace for a few stolen moments. “You’re going to wear the shield and I don’t want to hear any more arguments about it.” He held her at arm’s length. “Understand?”
Her sigh ended in a nod. “All right.” She passed a hand over the device and it transformed into a duplicate of the disrupter. “Happy?”
He slipped it around her wrist. “As long as you’re safe, I’m happy.”
Alice flinched when a loud knock came at the door.
Kellan moved to the door with every muscle coiled to strike. “Who is there?”
“King Justin.”
Kellan wrenched the door open wide. “Forgive me for making you wait, Your Majesty.”
“I heard what happened.” The king shook his hand. “Thank you for protecting my daughter.”
“I would protect her with my life.”
“I know.” The king crossed over to embrace Alice. “I’d like time alone with my daughter, if you would be so kind.”
“Of course.”
As Kellan stepped into the hallway, Dewar hastened into view. He was fastening up the buttons of his uniform as he arrived at a near-run.
“How is Gus?”
“I don’t know yet.” Kellan frowned. “His injury was horrendous.”
“This is some bad business, no doubt about it.” Dewar glowered. “What sort of evil wizard would stab somebody with an icicle in summer?”
“I don’t know but I’m grateful Blackmon was there to tend to Gus’s wound.”
“Good to know he can be useful for something.” Dewar paused. “Paddy already left for the hospital.”
“I’ll let you know Gus’s condition when I can.” Kellan sped off down the hall.
∞∞∞
King Justin’s expression was intense as he gripped Alice by the upper arms. “Thank heavens you’re safe, Alessandra.”
“Ranger Stratford made sure of that.” She gulped. “And poor Ranger Carter suffered the fate meant for me. They both deserve a medal for bravery.”
“Don’t wear the disrupter any longer. You must be able to defend yourself from magical attacks.”
“Thank you, Father.” Alice showed him the device on her wrist. “Although this looks like the disrupter, it’s actually Ranger Stratford’s wizard shield. He insisted that I wear it from now on.”
A spark of respect lit King Justin’s expression. “The Ranger is one step ahead of me.” He nodded. “He’s a fine young man.”
She didn’t trust herself to say much more than, “Mmm,” lest her father detect her true sentiments. If he thought there was anything between her and Kellan, he might forbid them from speaking to one another.
The king walked off a few paces before turning. “I was watching your Snow Day on the vidscreen. It was truly impressive.”
Alice’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh, no! I forgot about the children! Are they all right?”
“Don’t worry. They were too busy playing to pay any notice to anything else.” He paused. “By the way, how long will the snow fall in the park?”
“The spell only lasts about an hour. After that, whatever snow and ice remain will melt naturally and the rainbow will fade.”
“Your mother would have been very proud to see what you can do…and so am I.”
“About that…Ranger Stratford has a theory about mother’s disappearance. After today, most of the families will have arrived in Briarwood, so would it be possible to power down the Node Network for a few minutes?”
He looked at her askance. “That’s utter madness. Pompano has been complaining about the fragility of the system for weeks so I could never agree to such a thing. Perhaps when the Promenade is over, Ranger Stratford could test his theory.”
Alice avert
ed her gaze. “Yes, Father.”
“I’m glad to hear you call me Father. Your mother would have been proud of that, too.” King Justin moved toward the door. “Given this strange attack, I was going to suggest we cancel your involvement in the Promenade this year.”
Her heart gave a great leap. “You were?”
“Now that you have that wizard’s shield and the protection of Ranger Stratford, however, I think we should go ahead.”
Her eyes widened. “What? No, I—”
“I’ll see you tonight.” He strode the room.
With a groan, Alice sank into a chair and dropped her face in her hands. But for Kellan’s wizard shield, she’d nearly escaped her fate. The irony was almost too much to bear but she couldn’t think about that right now. She had to check on Ranger Carter’s condition and had only a short period of time to do it.
∞∞∞
When Kellan reached the hospital, Paddy was pacing in the waiting room. Once he caught sight of Kellan, his posture relaxed a trifle.
“A nurse came to tell me that Gus got out of surgery a half hour ago. She’ll be back when he’s awake and ready to have visitors” Paddy raked a hand through a shock of his unruly hair. “Why would anyone want to hurt a great guy like Gus?”
“I believe Gus was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I need to view footage of the incident to know for sure, but I think the weapon missed its intended target.”
“You won’t find anything about it at the Minfo.” Paddy stuck a thumb toward the vidscreen, which was playing video from Alice’s Snow Day. “They are pretending nothing untoward happened at all.”
As the camera panned across the ice castle, Kellan cocked his head. “Wait a minute.” He stepped toward the vidscreen and peered at the broadcast.
“What?” Paddy joined him. “Do you see something?”
“Maybe.” The camera panned back, and Kellan stabbed the air with his finger. “Right there, standing on the third-floor balcony of the Minfo. That’s Prince Theissen.”
“You think Theissen had something to do with it?”
Kellan’s mind flashed back to the firework show the night before, when Prince Theissen had given him an appraising glance. The man’s obvious dislike had seemed more personal than the situation would have warranted.
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