by Riley Pine
“Blood doesn’t need to be spilled,” Benedict breaks in with his deep, commanding voice, as if sensing my murderous urges. A crucifix dangles from his wrist beneath his black clerical habit.
But I am not to be reasoned with. “Anyone here who makes the mistake of touching a single square inch of Kate’s body will be chewing on my boot.” My voice echoes through the hospital corridor.
The door behind us creaks open.
“Kate?” A fiery-haired woman with creamy skin and a smattering of freckles peers out. “What’s going on? You brought company?”
“Maddie!” Kate sounds on the verge of tears. “Is Gran—?”
“Still touch and go,” Maddie says, hugging herself. “She has moments of consciousness, but they are few and far between. Where have you been? You were supposed to relieve me hours ago. I need to step outside for five minutes. Feel fresh air on my face.”
“I said arrest them!” the queen shouts to Sven and Sval, but they remain motionless. “Or I shall make sure you are both the first volunteers in my new all-eunuch squadron.”
“I must insist that everyone listen to me,” Benedict says in a calm voice that silences the chaos. He has always been good at that. “Nikolai has been ordered to marry according to the proclamation, but I have recently learned of the Wagmire Defense.”
“The what?” Adele waves her hand. “Never mind—I don’t care. Arrest them all.”
“If true love can be proven...” Benedict catches and holds my gaze as if the queen hasn’t opened her mouth. “Then the marriage may proceed.”
Kate gasps behind me.
“Is this true?” I ask, unable to grasp the fact that I might be able to somehow get everything I want.
“I read all eight hundred pages of The Lesser Known Edenvale Royal Bylaws and Subcommands.” Benedict raises a finger. “There is one catch. To prove true love the couple must swim unassisted across the Bottomless Lake to the Island of Atonement, in accordance with our ancient customs, thereby passing a test of the heart.”
I flex my jaw. A mighty challenge awaits us, but I am determined we shall prove our love’s worth. After so many years in the darkness, I am ready to fight for this shot at the light.
“Did you just say swim?” Kate asks in a tiny voice shot through with fear.
An ominous medical device alarm sounds from the room Maddie has just emerged from. Two nurses run up the hall. Kate steps forward, the panic on her face from her fear of water twisting to an expression of pure anguish.
“Gran, no!”
Kate
The nurses rush past me and nearly knock Maddie out of the way. The queen and her two guards are forced to move as well. Nikolai doesn’t waste a breath, grabbing my hand and spiriting me inside the room.
I can’t see anything other than the nurses, a flurry of movement around my grandmother’s bed. My breathing hitches as I prepare myself for the worst.
“Sophia,” one of them chides, calling Gran by her first name. “You gave us quite a fright. Next time press the call button, and we’ll be in as soon as you need us.”
One of the nurses turns to face my sister and me, and her eyes widen when she recognizes Nikolai.
“Your—Your Highness. I didn’t realize—”
“Ignore me,” he commands. “Let the two Miss Winters know what has happened with their grandmother at once. That should be all that matters here.”
Her cheeks redden with embarrassment. “Of course, Your Highness.” She turns to Maddie, the one who’s been here all day. I swallow back the guilt. I should have come last night when she called. I should have thought about something other than my own fleeting chance at happiness. Then half the ruling body of Edenvale wouldn’t be waiting in the hall to take me from my family for good.
“Miss Winter, it seems as if your grandmother is ready to breathe on her own, and she took to telling us by turning off her heart monitor.”
Maddie gasps and covers her mouth. I let out a strangled sob.
“She’s—she’s okay?” I ask, tears of happiness overpowering whatever awaits me when I walk out this door.
The nurse nods, her warm brown eyes immediately setting me at ease. “Please, if you all step out for a few minutes, we can get the doctor in here so we can remove the tube and check her vitals. We’ll call you as soon as she’s ready.”
I nod eagerly, grabbing Maddie’s hand. Nikolai holds my other one, and I squeeze them both, two people I love dearly standing beside me.
We step out into the hall, where I find the Royal Police leading away the queen’s brutish guards.
“I’ve spoken with Father,” Benedict says to Nikolai. Both men shoot a glance toward Adele, who is also being detained by two officers. “It sounds as if much has gone on tonight that he was unaware of. He’d like to see you for a full statement when you’re through here.”
Adele growls at us and spits at Nikolai’s feet. “You don’t deserve happiness,” she says. “Not after any chance of it was taken from me because of you and your miserable family. I know people. Powerful people. This is not the last you’ll hear from me, Prince Nikolai,” she vows, her words dripping with both anguish and disdain.
“I’m sure it’s not,” he says. “But for now I want you out of my sight.” He eyes the officers. “Detain her somewhere safe—where she cannot harm others or herself. My father will be in contact with further instructions.”
The men nod and take hold of her under the arms, leading her away with heels dragging.
I understand her sadness. I’ve known great loss, too, as has Nikolai. I’d even shut myself away from the prospect of happiness again after Jean-Luc. For two years I played it safe, afraid to move on. But the queen—she is stuck in a cycle of hate and blame so big that it’s blinded her to the world around her.
I shudder.
“No, Pet,” I hear Nikolai say. Then my eyes meet his. “I know what you’re thinking, and no. I would not have ended up like that.”
A tear rolls down my cheek, not only because he’s read my thoughts but that he knows what I was thinking about him.
He cups my face in his palms. “It could have been me. I admit that wholly and completely. But it only could have happened had you not walked into my life—or had Adele truly sent you to your death.”
He kisses me, his lips fierce and insistent against mine. I can taste the salt of my own tears.
“No,” I say. “Your heart may have been dark, but hers is black and cruel. Yours was always salvageable.”
“Only by you, Kate.”
I smile. “Only by me.”
Benedict clears his throat, and I’m reminded that we are not alone.
“The Wagmire Defense,” he says.
My grandmother’s door opens, and the nurse ushers us in.
“Did someone just say the Wagmire Defense?”
Her voice is like the sweetest music. I keep from throwing myself on her frail body, but I grab Gran’s hand and press it to my cheek.
“Yes.” I laugh through falling tears. “The Wagmire Defense. Do you—do you know something of it?”
She huffs out a breath as if whatever she’s about to say she’s told me a million times.
“I knew your mother,” she says, and I frown as I realize she’s not lucid after all.
“Yes, Grandmother. I know. My mother was your daughter-in-law, remember?”
She waves me off, and the focus of her gaze fixes not on me, not Maddie, but—Nikolai and Benedict.
“I knew your mother,” she says to the two men. “Knew her when she was a commoner and even after she’d met the terms of the Defense. A great woman, she was—your mother. Pity her history couldn’t be shared, sworn to secrecy as we all were.”
Nikolai’s normally golden skin blanches while Benedict’s expression remains impassive.
“She did what
she had to do to protect her sons,” Gran says, and her gaze returns to me. “And you, my Katie. Love will carry you across the Bottomless Lake. I am sure of it as I’m sure their mother isn’t—”
She pauses, and a far-off look takes over her features.
“Nurse,” she says, eyeing the woman who’s wheeling the ventilator to the other side of the room. The woman turns to face us. “Nurse, would you introduce me to my visitors?”
“We’re just volunteers,” Maddie says, understanding that Gran’s memories have left her. We are once again strangers to her. “Happy to see you’re feeling well.”
Maddie puts an arm around my shoulders and backs me away from the bed.
“She’s gone for now,” she whispers. “But it looks like the worst is over.”
I nod and swallow back any more tears, for Gran’s sake.
“She knew Mother,” Benedict says, and I don’t miss the hint of bitterness in his voice.
“If your grandmother is telling the truth...” Nikolai starts, but I cut him off.
“She’s ill,” I tell him. “She could be confusing your mother for someone else.”
He shakes his head. “Confusion or not, she knew the Wagmire Defense. Our very own mother found the loophole,” Nikolai says softly. “And now Kate—”
I shake my head. “I can’t swim,” I remind him.
“You can,” he says and kisses me. “We can together. And then you’ll be my bride.”
“I’m terrified,” I admit. “And also, that was a terrible proposal. If we survive this Bottomless Lake, I want a real one,” I tell him.
He laughs. “And then you’ll say yes?”
I shrug but can’t fight the giddy smile taking over my face. “I guess we’ll see.”
He whisks me into the hall, where we hardly have any more privacy, but then, Nikolai loves to put on a show when he has a proper audience. He surprises me, though, with nothing more than a sweet, tender kiss that makes me positively melt.
“I love you,” he whispers. “Just so we’re clear on that.”
I swallow as the words sink in, the words I never thought I’d hear, words he now cannot stop saying. “I love you, too.”
“Then that settles it. You will be my queen.”
I can’t help but laugh.
“Still not a proposal,” I say.
But yes, I think quietly to myself. My answer is most certainly yes.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Nikolai
MY STEPMOTHER IS sent to recuperate on a private therapeutic island in the Indian Ocean. Father is still blinded by his love for her, trusting that her betrayal comes only from a place of grief. But I know better, as does X. He promises to continue a private investigation into Adele’s past. Something will turn up.
X briefs me on all the particulars as we race home at top speed. The Rolls-Royce screeches through the palace gates. It is time to face Father.
“Pet.” I take Kate’s hand between mine and kiss each fingertip. We step out of the car and into the palace’s grand entrance. “X can escort you to my chambers. Ensure you get a proper shower and that the cooks prepare a batch of fresh scones.”
Kate spent some time with her grandmother before we left the hospital. But now that she is off the ventilator, she and her sister no longer have to remain vigilant at her bedside.
“I don’t want to leave you alone to confront your father,” she says, setting her jaw in the stubborn manner that I love.
“I don’t need anyone to fight my battles for me,” I snap, harder than I intend to.
She is unmoved. “Of course you don’t. But you deserve to have the woman who loves you by your side no matter what. In good times and bad.”
“My father’s temper is worse than mine,” I warn.
“I don’t scare easily,” she says with a small smile. Given that she is still beside me despite everything that has happened, I can only choose to believe her. Love for this amazing woman ignites my veins. She is a spark of everlasting fire. When I am beside her the darkness doesn’t stand a chance.
X clicks his heels. “I’ll inform air traffic control that we intend to depart for the Bottomless Lake within the hour?”
I nod. “Yes. The sooner the better.” I squeeze Kate’s hand. “I want you to be mine.”
She squeezes back, but then I feel her go rigid.
“Something is wrong,” I say.
She worries her bottom lip between her teeth. “Won’t it—won’t it be dark when we arrive?”
The sun already dips beyond the horizon.
I nod. “Yes. But X will see to it that torches are lit so we can find our way. We can wait until morning, though.” I kiss her. “Patience is not one of my finer traits, but I can do it—for you.”
She shakes her head. “You’re right. The sooner the better. I don’t want to chance anything else getting in the way of you being mine, as well.” She offers me a nervous smile, and my whole being is set ablaze. What this woman has already risked for me—what she’s willing to still chance on my behalf—knocks the air straight out of my lungs. I’ve never known love like this, and I’m still not sure what I’ve done to deserve it. She needs to know I’d do the same for her.
I turn her toward me and settle my hands on her shoulders. She seems so delicate. Yet behind that fragility is a strength that threatens to bring me to my knees. “The lake, it is deep beyond measure.”
She mashes her lips. “Hence the name.”
“I will not force you to swim for me. This kingdom isn’t worth making you feel like you’re in danger for even a moment.”
She swallows. “You’d walk away from all this for me?” Her face is pale even as her blue eyes shine bright.
“Without a second thought,” I rumble. “Outside of telling you that I love you, these are the truest words that I have ever spoken.”
She dips her head. “You think I’m strong enough for this?”
I tilt her chin up and fix my gaze on her. “I think you are strong enough for anything. Never doubt that, Kate. Not for one second, my beautiful, courageous queen.”
Her eyes glisten, but she holds her head high and smiles. “Then I won’t back down. Not an inch. You and I shall rule this kingdom, and I will start demonstrating my future courage as a queen by not letting the Bottomless Lake stand between me and my dreams.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and presses her lips to mine. There is the sound of slow clapping.
I glance over, and Father stands in a nearby doorway, studying us with a sardonic expression. “Touching,” he says in his deep voice. “The best performance I’ve seen in years.”
Kate
I freeze. Yes, I’ve spoken to the king before, but it was for business purposes only. His voice hadn’t sent ice flowing through my veins then. It does now.
“Don’t, Father,” Nikolai says, his voice firm, but I’m so attuned to him now that I can hear the strain. The worry.
The prince has his father’s eyes, but King Nikolai’s irises grow dark as he takes a step toward his son. His salt-and-pepper hair is perfectly in place, his suit tailored to an older yet still ruggedly fit body. If he’s any indication of what I have to look forward to as Nikolai ages... I shake my head, banishing the thought. Because other than his distinguished good looks, the king stares at me with utter condescension and disapproval, his own gray eyes mired in distaste.
“How dare you speak to me as such,” the man says, standing inches from his son. “How dare you bring your whore into our home when you’ve broken it beyond repair. The queen is ruined, you selfish, ungrateful child.”
I gasp. The king opens his mouth to speak again, but Nikolai cuts him off.
“Enough, Father!” he roars, enough so that the man takes a step back. Nikolai’s hand still grips mine fiercely, enough so that I feel pain, but I stand m
y ground along with him. “The true queen was my mother. And I know everything. I know about the Bottomless Lake, about the Wagmire Defense, and that my own mother was not of royal blood.” He holds up his arm. “Look, Father. Take a good look at where common blood flows through my veins all because you wanted to marry for love. And you dare to deny me the same?”
Nikolai’s chest heaves with every breath. All of his words, his passion—it’s for me.
The king’s eyes widen. His skin grows pale, and he stumbles back another step. Yet he says nothing.
“If you ever, ever refer to Kate as my whore again, I won’t be so kind with you as I was with Adele. She is not fit to be queen, Father. And I think, deep down, you know it. But also know this. If you loved my mother enough to risk the kingdom for her, then you might understand a fraction of what I feel for Kate. We will swim the lake. We will make it to the Island of Atonement. And I will prove that I am worthy of her love.”
I take in a sharp breath. “No,” I finally interrupt. “Nikolai—I must prove myself to you.”
He lessens his grip on my hand and brings my palm to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against my skin.
“You never had anything to prove,” he said. “You and your sister have given everything of yourselves to take care of the only family you have left. I know this was never about money for you but about unconditional and unwavering love. I’ve spent too long surrounded by people who are with me for their own gain that I forgot what love was. Perhaps this test of will is meant to prove something to the rest of the royal court, but know that whether we make it to the end of this quest or not, we’ve already won.”
I let out a hiccuping sob, yet my smile is as broad as my love for this amazing man.
I cup his hands in my palms. “We’ve already won,” I echo.
X appears in the doorway behind the king, which is odd considering he should have had to walk past us to arrive there. Then again—as I’m beginning to learn—X is capable of far more than we know.
“Sire. My Lady,” he says. “The jet is fueled and ready to go. Are you ready?”
