Princess in Peril

by Rachelle Mccalla

  Isabelle hesitated. “Do we want to take their guns? We don’t want these guys to be armed when they wake up—especially if it takes us a while to get out of here.”

  Although he didn’t want to waste the time it would take to do so, Levi had to admit Isabelle’s idea was a good one. The men could very well awaken before he got the princess through the cathedral and safely across the street to the American Embassy. “Okay, but let’s be quick about it.”

  Levi grabbed the guns, stuffing several of them into the vault where Isabelle had hidden, before closing the stone seal. He then hurried to empty the soldiers’ pockets of anything that might be useful before slinging an assault rifle over his shoulder.

  Isabelle grabbed a flashlight from one of the prone figures. “These men are Lydian soldiers. I might have thought they were after me to protect me if they hadn’t fired a shot at us.” Her features clouded. The soldiers had betrayed their vow to protect the royal family.

  But why?

  Much as he didn’t want to think about it, he knew the question needed to be voiced. “Whose orders were they following?”

  Concern filled Isabelle’s face. “As king, my father is the head of the Lydian military, but if any of the commanders had turned—” Her words broke off, the situation clearly catching up to her.

  “Someone issued a command for these soldiers to come down here looking for us.”

  “Do you think they knew who they were looking for? Every soldier takes a vow upon enlistment to serve and protect the royal family. They must not have known they’d been sent after me.”

  Levi sensed her struggle as she considered what the presence of the soldiers meant. Did the soldiers know who they’d been sent after? He didn’t have time to sort it out.

  “We need to get moving. These men could wake up any moment.”

  With the bright lights shining down from the hallway ceiling above them, they ran the length of the hall, finding the door to the stairs still open where the soldiers had entered.

  “Do you think it’s safe?” Isabelle asked in a breathless voice.

  Levi listened carefully but heard no sound above them. “I imagine the men were dispersed in teams to search the area surrounding the ambush. The cathedral is only about three blocks from where the motorcade stopped. It will take them a while to canvass the area. I doubt anyone will come back to this building until they realize our men downstairs haven’t checked in.”

  “I hate to think they’d be organized enough to make that realization very quickly.” Isabelle’s intelligent eyes looked up at him intently, her loose lock of hair tumbling down and brushing his hand again. He doubted she was even aware of it, yet it did terrible things to his focus.

  Her determined expression took his breath away. He knew she was shaken by all that had happened—she’d wept not very long ago—but here she was, already dealing capably with the situation. And she’d saved his life with that shuttle.

  He swallowed, struggling to think what to say next. What had they been talking about? The woman was far too beautiful. As soon as he got her to safety he’d hand her off to someone else. She was difficult to work with—for all the wrong reasons.

  Before he could gather his scattered thoughts, Isabelle surprised him by scooping up one of his singed hands into her much smaller fingers.

  “Before we go any farther, we should pray,” she said softly, pinching her eyes shut and bowing her head without waiting for a response from him.

  “Lord God, Protector of Lydia, Sovereign of our Nation and Lord of the Universe.” In her royal way, she began with God’s majestic titles before pleading for protection—not just for them, but for the rest of her family. “Wherever my parents and siblings are, I know that You are with them. In Your infinite mercy, watch over them. Keep us all safe until You bring us together once again. Amen.”

  Levi also offered an amen and half expected Isabelle to linger after her prayer, but she didn’t even look at him before she headed through the doorway. It took Levi another second before he realized he would have to hurry to keep up with the woman he’d been hired to protect.

  Isabelle proceeded as quickly as she dared up the stone steps to the main back hall of the cathedral. She knew the way to the front entrance, having worshipped regularly at the ancient church since she was an infant. Not only did she want to make up for the time they’d lost already, but she felt the need to stay ahead of Levi. He’d begun to make her feel uncomfortable.

  She was used to having bodyguards. They’d gone everywhere with her all her life. They were a part of her life.

  But she’d never prayed with one before, never clung to one like she’d held on tight to Levi as she’d fought him, cowered in fear with him and wept with him.

  Sure, she was plenty used to bodyguards. But she wasn’t remotely used to getting that close to a man—any man. The very thought made her recall the final terrified minutes of her failed engagement. Tyrone’s face popped into her mind—the face of the man she’d wanted so much to love, the man who had only wanted to take advantage of her.

  The hard-learned lesson dug itself a little deeper into her heart. She hadn’t even suspected Tyrone’s true motives until it had almost been too late. Tyrone had been in love with royal power. He’d wanted to marry her for the prestige it would give him.

  Her desire to be loved had blinded her so much that she’d almost let him get away with his evil plans. Almost. She would never allow herself to make the same mistake again. She was a princess. Any man who pretended to love her was likely only in love with her royal title. Tyrone hadn’t even taken the time to get to know her.

  And she’d learned better than to waste her time chasing after love. She shrugged off the unfamiliar feeling of closeness that praying with Levi had caused her to feel. It meant nothing. As soon as she got away from the insurgent threat, she’d figure out how to get away from Levi, too.

  They made their way quickly down the ancient stone hallway, which was slightly more worn than the floor of the chambers below but otherwise remarkably similar. Light from the setting sun streamed in through the beveled panes of the antique windows, prisms of vibrant colors splashing them as they ran past.

  They reached the front doors, and both of them crouched back against the solid wood, peeking through the clear panes to the scene outside.

  The cobbled street and limestone walls looked innocent, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened in Sardis that day.

  Isabelle watched as Levi’s hand settled over the door latch.

  “Do you think it’s safe?” she asked, watching his bearded face carefully.

  He pulled his sunglasses from the inside pocket of his tuxedo jacket as she handed the garment back to him. It would be warm outside. “Safer than in here. The front door of the embassy is less than one hundred meters from where we stand. We’ll have to get down the cathedral stairs and up the steps of the Embassy, but we should be able to do it in well under a minute, maybe even thirty seconds if we hurry. That’s not long for us to be out in the open.”

  Isabelle swallowed. “Front door to front door then?”

  “That seems like the most expedient route.” The mirrored lenses of his sunglasses stayed trained on her face as he slipped on his jacket. “You don’t like the plan?”

  He could read her that easily? “I don’t like the idea of entering Stephanos Valli’s turf, even if he’s not there.” Although three years had passed since Valli had engineered her engagement to Tyrone Spiteri, and two years had gone by since the horrid ending of that engagement, the mere thought of seeing the two-faced ambassador brought her fears and anger back to the surface.

  Levi extended one singed hand toward her arm. “I won’t let Valli get near you,” he promised.

  Could it possibly be that simple? Isabelle looked down at the hand whose mere contact with her arm imparted a surprising level of comfort. “We never found any burn ointment for your hands,” she realized with regret.

  “It’s okay.
I’ve made it this far.” His hand stayed still on her arm, and Isabelle wished she could see his eyes behind his sunglasses or his face behind the dark outline of his beard. He leaned a little closer. “We should get going. Are you ready?”

  Isabelle nodded, clinging to Levi’s promise not to let Valli near her. As long as she knew she wouldn’t have to face that awful man, they could get to the Embassy and be safe. Finally.

  Maybe then she could learn what had become of her parents and siblings. At least she wouldn’t have to fear for her life anymore. And she could get away from Levi, whose presence had started making her uncomfortable for all sorts of new reasons, mostly because he’d gotten so close to her.

  She straightened and mentally prepared herself for the dash across the street. “Let’s go.”

  “On three,” Levi announced, his grip tightening on the door latch. “One, two—” The door swung wide and the two of them burst out, darting in a dead sprint down the steps.

  Levi kept one hand on her arm and one hand on the assault rifle he’d lifted from the soldiers. Her heeled pumps offered little in the way of traction, so Isabelle felt grateful to know Levi was ready to catch her if she slipped.

  They crossed the street in six strides and Isabelle hoisted the floor-length skirt of her gown as they vaulted the Embassy stairs by twos and threes. Levi swung open the front door and they stepped inside onto the glossy marble floor.

  Isabelle looked up, expecting to see the usual uniformed guards that protected the embassy. Instead, Lydian soldiers guarded the entrance. The one nearest her smiled broadly.

  “Princess Isabelle, what a pleasant surprise.” He and the soldier next to him stepped forward, reaching for their guns. “If you’ll hand us your weapons, we’ll personally escort you in.”

  “We’ll keep them,” Levi said, his presence close behind her reassuring.

  Something was wrong. She could feel it. There shouldn’t have been Lydian soldiers guarding the door. There shouldn’t have been Lydian soldiers in the building at all. Everything felt wrong. Scurrying soldiers stopped as they passed in the hall. What were Lydian soldiers doing in the American Embassy?

  Another man in uniform approached them. “You’ve captured the princess?” he called to his comrades. “Valli will be delighted.”

  No! Terror squeezed Isabelle’s heart as the two guards lunged toward them, their hands stretched out to take their guns.

  Levi spun around her, stiff-arming the men in the face with the butt of his rifle before sweeping his other arm around her waist and scooping her up as he shoved his way back through the door. Out of the corner of her eye, Isabelle saw the other officers rushing toward them, pulling out their guns. The heavy doors slammed shut behind them.

  Instead of heading back down the stairs and across the open street, Levi surprised her by scooting to the side of the marble landing and leaping over the balustrade into the bushes, taking her with him.

  Prickly branches grabbed at her dress as she fell, but the moment her feet hit the firm earth, the branches settled above their heads. Levi shuffled sideways under the cover of the lush Mediterranean foliage.

  Above them on the landing she could hear the doors bang open and soldiers shouting, wondering aloud where they’d gone. “Down!” Levi whispered, ushering her toward a window well deep behind the shadows of the landscaping.

  Isabelle gulped a breath and jumped. Levi landed silently beside her and immediately grabbed the window by its frame.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered, more than aware that the Embassy building was crawling with Lydian soldiers, who were apparently reporting to Valli. “We’re breaking back in?”

  “Shh.” Levi pulled the aging window frame from the time-warped wood. “You said you’d trust me.”

  A blur of responses passed through her mind, most of them involving their near capture moments before, but she bit her tongue and ducked, mindful of the darkness and the cobwebs. The stone room was similar to those in the basement of the cathedral, but instead of bones, it housed cluttered piles of old furniture, discarded desks and slumping stacks of boxes. Levi slid through the window and landed beside her, reaching back up and pulling the wood-framed glass into place behind them.

  “Where are we?” She pulled his ear as close to her lips as she could so she wouldn’t have to speak above the sound of a breath.

  “The basement of the Embassy.”

  “You brought me straight into the hornets’ nest?”

  “I’m keeping you alive.” He raised the assault rifle in front of his face, covering them as he moved toward the door. “Everyone is outside looking for us.”

  “So where are we going?”

  “The last place they’re going to look.”

  His words were ominous, and Isabelle swallowed, following him down the dark hallway. Unlike the underground mausoleum below the cathedral, the Embassy basement sat at garden level, and the dying sunlight filtered through windows, giving them just enough illumination to find their way through the cluttered space.

  They reached a staircase that bent even farther downward, another level below the earth. Isabelle swallowed, her heart thudding in fear. “Do you seriously know where you’re going?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Where?”

  “The dungeon.” He pulled her close beside him as he took the first step downward.

  Isabelle followed, not so much because she trusted him but because she knew for certain, thanks to the comment of the soldier above them, that Valli wanted her captured. If Levi could prevent that from happening, she’d follow him anywhere, even into a dungeon.

  “I just want you to know,” she whispered, pulling instinctively closer to him as the filtered light faded to utter darkness, “that I have no intention of hiding in another crypt. That was the most terrifying thing that’s happened to me since—” She broke off, thinking.

  “Since the soldiers tried to take you to Valli?”

  “That was afterward.”

  “You’ve had quite a day.” He pulled out the small flashlight he’d taken from the soldiers. Its beam cut through the darkness, landing on ancient chains that dripped from the walls. Isabelle tried not to think about the prisoners who’d been shackled inside the dungeon over the years.

  “So where are we going?” She couldn’t hear any soldiers following them and so assumed it was okay to speak in a normal whisper. It made the darkness feel slightly less oppressive that way.

  “Back into the catacombs. From there we can get just about anywhere.”

  “There’s an entrance to the catacombs under the Embassy? Why didn’t we come up this way earlier?”

  Levi cleared his throat.

  Was he buying time before answering? Isabelle wasn’t sure, but she didn’t like it. Why had he risked their flight across the street if they could have come up through the Embassy?

  When Levi finally spoke, his words were less than encouraging. “There’s not really an entrance to the catacombs under the Embassy. According to the hand-drawn maps I studied, there used to be one, but it was walled over to prevent the catacombs from being accidentally discovered by the Americans.” He reached the back corner of the dungeon and stopped, his light shining against the formidable bricks of the cold stone wall.

  Isabelle shuddered, acutely aware of the fix they’d gotten themselves into. The lines of mortar that ran between the stones were dark gray throughout most of the subterranean room, but in the space where Levi shined his light, the mortar looked paler. Fresher. “So what are we supposed to do? Dig our way out?”

  “Hold this.” Levi handed her the flashlight. “Stand back.”

  Isabelle obeyed, hoping that whatever Levi was going to do wouldn’t take long. What if the soldiers looked behind the bushes and realized they’d come back in through the window? They’d catch up to them quickly if that was the case.

  Levi ran his hands along the seams between the large stone bricks. A few grains of mortar crumbled out from bet
ween the seams, and he pulled a tool from his pocket, chiseling away at a seam between the stones. Mortar fell like dust. Several hacking motions later, Levi stood back, a satisfied look on his face.

  “I need something big and heavy,” he murmured, looking around.

  “What for?”

  “To use as a battering ram.”

  “You can’t possibly expect to force your way through a stone wall.”

  “It’s a false wall,” Levi corrected her. “I could probably kick it in, but I don’t want to risk an injury.”

  While he spoke, Isabelle looked around them at the deep underground prison. Like many of the buildings in the millennia-old city, the Embassy had been rebuilt and refurbished many times over the centuries, and discarded building materials cluttered the room. “Here’s a beam,” she offered, pointing with the flashlight Levi had handed her.

  “Good work.” Levi snatched it up, hefted the weight of it in his hands and balanced it on his shoulder. “Stand back.”

  Isabelle did so. She wasn’t nearly as sure of Levi’s plan as he seemed to be, and she feared that his efforts might bring the ceiling crumbling down on top of them or, at the very least, alert the soldiers to their presence.

  The thick end of the old wood thudded against the stones as Levi pummeled it a few times. Then he appeared to brace himself, took several steps back and came at the wall at a run.

  “Augh!” Levi exclaimed as the beam buried itself deep in the stones and he stumbled from the impact.

  “Shh!” Isabelle hurried to his side. “Are you all right?”

  The bodyguard looked stunned as he eased himself to his feet. “I’m fine,” he said, though he didn’t sound fine. He tugged at the beam and the stones shifted, crumbling away to reveal a round hole half a meter in diameter. The dust settled, exposing utter blackness beyond.

  Isabelle shuddered. “Do you think the soldiers won’t notice the hole and guess where we’ve gone?”

  Levi pulled off his sunglasses as he turned to face her. His blue eyes were piercing in the silvery beam from the flashlight. “Your father’s generals know about the catacombs,” he stated bluntly. “They were there when your father shared the maps with me. If Lydian soldiers are answering to Valli, he must have at least one general under his thumb somehow. This tells him nothing he doesn’t already know.” He reached for her hand. “Would you like to go first?”