by S. E. Rose
“You can jump yourself, or Logan here will shoot you,” he says. I realize at that moment, he’s going to shoot Anna, and then me and make it look like he acted in self-defense. I’m not sure what comes over me, but before I can think further, I’m jumping in front of Anna as I hear his gun go off.
Chapter Twenty-Six
They say death is peaceful. But I don’t feel peaceful. I fall in front of Anna, and I feel the pain immediately. I hear Anna scream and fall down, pressing her hands to my chest.
A split second later, I hear another “pop” of a gun. I close my eyes as a sense of tiredness I’ve never known overtakes me.
“Logan! No! Stay with me!! Please!” I hear Anna’s screams, and I fight to open my eyes.
“Please! I can’t lose you too!” she cries. I grip her hand with the little strength I have left.
“I’m here,” I manage to croak out as I give up fighting with my heavy eyelids.
I can hear Anna’s sobs. And I hear more voices.
“He’s been shot,” she cries. “Pete! Help him! I’m fine!”
“Stay with us, Logan,” Pete’s voice says, but it’s like it’s getting further away, a tunnel between us.
“Over here,” someone says, and that’s the last thing I remember.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It’s Anna’s hand that I feel as my mind stirs toward consciousness. I don’t know how I can tell it’s her hand, but I know it is. I try to move my finger, but it feels so heavy. My eyelids are also too heavy to open. I try to will them to move but nothing. I slowly drift back into sleep.
The next time I wake, I hear so many voices. This time I can smell the hospital smell, disinfectants, and stale body fluids. I feel nauseous. There’s something heavy on my arm, not Anna’s hand, but I can smell her, not her perfume or her shampoo, but her. I know she’s nearby. I try to move my finger again, but I can’t. The heavy thing on my arm moves. I hear more voices. They sound like a jumble of sounds, and I can’t pinpoint one from the other, there’s too many. I try to speak but I can’t. I drift back to sleep.
The third time I wake, it’s the pain I feel. My body is sore, my chest hurts. The heaviness is back on my arm. I use all my strength to open my eyes. I feel my lids move, and I’m blinded by the light. I close them again and squint. It takes me a few long moments to adjust to the brightness and then another few moments to focus. I look down and discover the heaviness on my arm is Anna’s head. She’s fallen asleep, her hand on mine, and her head on top of her hand. She’s sitting in a chair. She looks so uncomfortable. Her hair’s a wild mess, and there are dark circles under her eyes, but she still looks beautiful.
I look around the room as I try to remember everything that happened. That’s when I remember the gun. I glance down and see my chest is wrapped in bandages. I was shot.
I move my finger, and Anna stirs. Her eyes blink several times and go wide as she looks into my eyes. It’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. Her face lights up.
“You’re awake,” she whispers in a groggy voice as she clears her throat. I start to try to speak but realize my throat is dry and hurts.
“Wait, don’t speak. Let me get the doctor,” she says, fumbling with a remote on the bed and pressing a call button. “He’s awake,” is all she says. Then her gaze comes back to me. I feel her squeeze my hand, and I squeeze back. Her eyes brim with tears.
I want to tell her not to cry. That I’m alright. I use what little strength I have to reach for her cheek, brushing away a stray tear. She clasps my hand in both of hers and brings it to her lips, peppering it with kisses.
A moment later, the door flies open. A doctor, my father, my grandparents, and King Michael all come barreling into the room.
My grandmother rushes to my side.
“Logan,” she manages before a sob escapes her lips. I grab her hand, and she squeezes mine.
“Hi, Logan. I’m Dr. Lasson. I think we met before. I’m going to examine you, and then Nurse Hilda will get you some water. Try not to speak yet. We had to intubate you when you arrived, so your throat is going to be sore,” the doctor explains as he begins to check me over. After a thorough checking, he hands me water. “Slow sips,” he urges.
I take a sip, and it’s like heaven. The liquid is cool and takes away some of the stinging in my throat.
“How’s that?” he asks.
“Good,” I barely croak.
“It’ll take a few days for your voice to get back to normal. Try whispering until then. Do you remember what happened?” he asks me. I look around the room. Everyone looks so worried.
“Yes,” I whisper.
“You were lucky. The bullet didn’t hit your heart. We did have to do some artery work, but you’re fortunate because your Uncle Sten was a perfect match to donate blood for you,” he says. “You lost quite a bit of blood. We managed to repair all the internal damage. You’ll have a nice scar there, but after a few weeks of physical therapy, I think you’ll be as good as new.”
“Thank you,” I murmur. He nods.
“Well, if you need anything, you just press that call button,” he urges me. I nod as he turns with Nurse Hilda and heads out, leaving me alone with everyone.
“What happened?” I ask no one in particular, looking from person to person.
My father sits down on the edge of my bed. “What do you remember?” he asks me.
“Hans was on the roof. He had a gun. Anna was cornered. I went to block her from him. I remember hearing a gun go off, and then another shot…I don’t remember anything after that,” I say as I try to remember, but nothing comes to mind.
“Hans fired the gun. Pete came through the door and fired at Hans. He was able to radio for help immediately. You probably would have bled out if you hadn’t been at the hospital already,” my father explains with a pained look on his face. He reaches out and puts his hand on mine.
“Hans?” I ask.
My father shakes his head. “It was a kill shot,” my father says.
I feel a splash on my other hand and look over to see tears streaking down Anna’s face. I reach up and brush them away.
“I-it’s my f-fault,” she stammers as she lets the tears fall down her cheeks. “I should have stayed put in Lara’s room. I shouldn’t have gone after him. I’m so sorry, Logan,” she says. King Michael puts a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
“This is not your fault, sweet pea,” her father says.
“I agree with your father,” I say to her.
“What day is it?” I ask, realizing that I have no idea how long I’ve been unconscious.
“It’s Thursday. It’s been three days,” my father says.
“Lara?” I ask.
“She’s breathing on her own and continuing to show signs of improvement. She’s fighting to regain full consciousness. The doctors are hopeful that she’ll regain it in the coming days. She’s opened her eyes and moved her limbs on command. She’s struggled with speaking though, but we’ll see how she progresses in the coming day,” King Michael explains.
“Does she know?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “We haven’t told her yet,” he says, his voice laced with pain. I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to explain to my sibling that their husband had been shot and killed and was responsible for trying to kill their whole family.
Slowly, the events of that day start to come back to me as we talk. “The palace? Hans said there was a bomb or something,” I say, remembering Hans’s words on the roof.
“Jack was able to call in a bomb squad. It was dismantled just in time. No one was injured,” King Michael says.
“The others?” I ask.
My father puts a hand on my shoulder. “Everything is fine. The others involved were arrested. Anna shared all of her findings with Jack, who worked with her to find a few more players in this plot. Various staff and security members, who have all been arrested and charged with treason and attempted murder, among other things,” my father says.
“It’s who we thought it was. Victor was the one who moved my computer but he heard me coming and didn’t get another chance to get it,” Anna adds quietly, affirming our suspicions of Marcus, Gregor, and Victor.
I relax a little in the bed, looking around at the people in the room. It’s odd, having my grandparents here with my father. I stare at them.
“You came all the way here?” I ask my grandparents. Pops leans down and kisses my forehead, something he hasn’t done since I was a kid.
“Of course, we did, kiddo. We’ll always come to you when you need us,” Pops says.
“We’re so glad you are alright, Eddie,” my grandmother says, her eyes filling with tears again.
“Nana, I’m OK,” I reassure her.
She nods and wipes a tear from beneath her eye. I look back to Anna. My princess. I smile at her, and she smiles back through her tears.
“We should let you rest,” she says quietly.
I nod, realizing just how very tired this short conversation has made me. King Michael leans forward.
“You saved my daughter, Logan. And for that, I will be eternally grateful,” he says.
I look over at Anna. “Sir, I would die a thousand deaths to save your daughter because I love her with all my heart,” I admit out loud. There’s complete and utter silence in the room after I finish speaking. My eyes don’t leave Anna’s as tears well up in them again.
“I love you too, Logan,” she says to me. “I love you so very much.” And with that, she leans down, careful not to put her weight on me, and kisses me. The feel of her lips against mine is heaven.
“Get a room,” I hear from the doorway.
I pull back and look around to find Auggie and Chris at the door. Auggie’s grin is infectious and soon everyone is laughing and smiling. I can see Hendrick behind them in the doorway. I make eye contact with him. He nods at me and gives me a small smile before stepping to the side. I wonder for a moment if he’s been standing guard by my door this entire time.
My attention is drawn back into the room as King Michael looks over at my father. “I think instead of destroying our families, Hans’s plan ended up bringing them together,” he says as he shakes his head in disbelief.
“Our countries will be stronger for it too,” my father agrees.
I look back at Anna and lace my fingers through hers. She smiles down at me, the first look of happiness I’ve seen on her face in many days now.
She mouths “I love you, Eddie” to me as everyone starts to leave the room.
“I love you too, Suzy,” I say with a grin.
“Let’s leave the lovebirds alone,” I hear my nana say as the door shuts, leaving me alone with my princess. And for the first time in many weeks, I know in my heart that everything will be fine as long as she is by my side.
Epilogue
Susanna
I look at the photos of the summer palace that Shannon has left on my desk. My father didn’t waste any time having it restored after the explosion. It’s been four months since that fateful day.
I smile at how it is starting to look just as it did before the explosion. It’s being set right, one stone at a time. I set the photos aside and look back at my laptop.
My secret laptop is no longer a secret. While I do still help to continue some of my mother’s charity work, my father tasked me with a more important job. I helped him to vet a new security team. Pete is now our head of security. I oversee my father’s intelligence briefings and act as a royal liaison with our intelligence offices for Norddale and also for Interpol. I’m even working on setting up a joint intelligence taskforce between Norddale and Montelandia. While I may on occasion do some light hacking work, like fixing Sonya’s dating issue on her app recently, I don’t spend much of my time scouring the dark web anymore. Jack does on occasion ask for my expertise on some of his cases, but we keep that between us, and Pete.
The only secret I have left is the room. I flip the lid down on my laptop and run my hand over the stickers. I smile at it. For years, I put stickers I collected from my travels all over the lid. It’s filled with memories. I think about those trips as I make my way up through the tower and the secret bookcase door and finally into the secret room.
I run my fingers over carvings I discovered when I rearranged the room recently. Beneath a shelf, I found my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother’s initials carved in the floor. I, of course, added my own. It makes me feel closer to her, in some small way.
I scan the books on the shelf and find one of my favorites, The Secret Garden, and I decide to take it down to my mother’s grave and read it. It’s a nice day outside, and I want to feel the sun on my face.
I waltz down the steps and outside. The pebbles of the path rattle beneath my feet as I make my way through the maze of flowers and bushes until I reach her grave. I’m surprised to find Logan sitting there. He has a single rose in his hand.
“Hey,” I say to him. He looks up at me and smiles. He looks good. It’s taken him a few months to get back to his old self, but he’s finally looking like he did when we first met, happy and carefree. He’s remained here throughout his recovery. Although his father wanted him to come to Montelandia, he didn’t want to go until he was stronger. We have a trip planned for next week.
It was formally announced that he is the son of King Edvard, and his mother was the secret queen. It’s been a press field day. And I think that’s why Uncle Eddie allowed him to stay here to recover. We haven’t announced our relationship to the world yet. It’s been nice, to keep something between us for now.
“Come sit,” he says to me, patting the bench next to him. I sit, and we both look out at the grave and rose bushes.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“Talking to your mother,” he says. “You know, we never found her crown.”
“I know,” I say. “Maybe I will someday, but you know what?”
“What?” he asks.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. It’s the first time I’ve thought about the crown in weeks. “If it’s meant to be found, then someday, I will find it.”
“But it means so much to you. You’ve spent most of your life searching for it,” he says.
I shrug. “True, but maybe all that searching was just leading me to you. The crown won’t bring her back. You know what?” I ask.
“What?” he replies.
“I think maybe, it was fate. Fate made me look for it, but really, it was bringing me to you,” I muse.
He turns to me, and he looks so serious that it makes me frown.
“I’ve talked to every other member of your family. I only thought it right to speak with her, wherever she may be because I know how important she was to you,” he says.
“Oh?” I say slowly, confused by what he’s saying.
He turns to me and grips my hands in his. His hand trembles slightly, and I wonder if he’s overworked his muscles at therapy. He’s been pushing himself hard every day. And while I will say he looks amazing, I worry that he overdoes it.
“Anna, I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you.” He pauses. “Not in the Bahamas, but at camp, all those years ago. You are the most beautiful, bravest, smartest, kindest woman I’ve ever met. I don’t know if I would have made it through the last few months without you by my side.”
He pauses and draws a breath. “I don’t want to ever do anything again without you by my side.” He moves suddenly, and he’s on his knee in front of me, still holding my hands in his. “You may be the Princess of Norddale, but you’re also my princess, my Anna. But what I want more than anything, is for you to be my wife. I love you with all my heart, Anna. I want us to be together, forever. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?” he asks, as he pulls out a box from his pocket. It’s red, and he pops it up to reveal a sapphire surrounded by diamonds. It’s absolutely breathtaking.
“I was told that this was my mother’s engagement ring,” he says. “Only this time,
it won’t be given in secret. I want to shout my love for you from the mountaintops.”
I’m speechless, completely and utterly speechless.
“So, will you…be my wife?” he asks again, his voice trembling a bit on the last word. I look from the ring to his eyes and back again.
I nod, the words not coming from my mouth.
“Is that a yes?” he confirms.
“Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!” I finally manage to squeal as I leap into his arms knocking us both down onto the ground. He laughs and so do I.
He pulls the ring from the box and I hold out my hand so he can slide it onto my finger. I’m lying on top of him, and we are both grinning like fools.
“I love you, Logan Edvard Winters Hansen,” I say to him.
“And I love you, Susanna Lisbet Louise Alexander,” he says as he leans up and kisses me.
Logan
Susanna grips my hand as we walk into the royal palace of Montelandia. It’s even larger than Norddale’s royal palace, and it’s on a hill overlooking the city. I can’t believe I’m here. It’s been two weeks since Anna agreed to marry me. Tomorrow, we will announce our engagement to the world, and we fully expect the chaos to begin.
Auggie suggested we just elope and tell everyone about it later. I won’t say I didn’t consider that for a good few minutes, but my fierce princess wants a real wedding, so a real wedding she will have.
