by Kat Mizera
Xander had been quiet this morning, which wasn’t like him, but I wasn’t sure if I should mention it. I didn’t know how anyone could be in such a good mood in the morning, but he always was, so his silence on the drive to Parliament House would have given me pause if I hadn’t been so distracted. The building that was being used as a temporary home to Parliament while the original building was being rebuilt, was on the other side of Hiskale. It was somewhat remote, but well-guarded and with plenty of escape routes. Xander had made me memorize all of them, of course, which was a good thing now that Omar was making a nuisance of himself again.
Sometimes it felt like everything I said and did was mired in danger and I fucking hated it. A poignant and constant reminder of the past, of losing my parents, brother, aunt and uncle, and cousins. I remembered it like it had happened yesterday. I knew where I’d been when I’d gotten the news, what I’d been doing, and how much it had hurt. Then my remaining siblings and cousin Erik had gone underground, leaving me with no one. I had Erik’s parents, my Uncle Ben and Aunt Kari, and my cousin Skye was around, but it had been safer for me to stay out of the spotlight, to essentially disappear. Just in case my evil cousin, Anwar, who had ascended the throne, decided to finish off the rest of the royal family. I’d lived in darkness for so long, I wasn’t easily adapting to being back in the light.
“Well, there she is.” Senator Constantine Novak, my greatest foe in Parliament, gave me a smarmy smile. “The life of a princess is certainly not like that of a senator.”
“I had pneumonia,” I told him without missing a beat. “I seem to recall you being out for months after your heart attack.”
The man’s face turned red but someone called to him and he bustled in the other direction without responding.
“I’d like to snap his fat neck,” Xander muttered.
“I can handle him,” I told him.
“Whatever you say, Princess.”
I gave him a look and then walked into the main assembly room. I was greeted by a few people I called allies, including Daniil, but for the most part, it felt like walking into an executioner’s den. These men hated the idea of working with me and it had become abundantly clear over the last year that it wasn’t going to change. Hence my decision to start exploring other opportunities. I’d told Erik I would help him rebuild our country, and I’d given him sixteen months. I was still thinking about Erik’s teaching proposal, but I wasn’t sure that was what I wanted.
The truth was that I wanted this, to be a Minister in Parliament. I’d gotten disenchanted and frustrated, but in general, I liked the power, the ability to affect real change for my people. That these bigoted, old-fashioned men were trying to drive me away didn’t sit well with me and I had to think about that some more on a day when I didn’t have to give a big speech and get a bill passed.
I sat through three hours of the reading of minutes, the debating and passing of a new military bill, and the introduction of a new bill about tariffs. They wouldn’t get to me until after lunch, which was annoying, but I didn’t say anything and went to sit next to Daniil once I’d filled a plate from the buffet.
“Good to have you back,” he said, tweaking my nose. He’d been doing it since we were infants, so even though I hated being treated like a child, he was still my older brother.
“Thanks. How are things?” I didn’t see him often enough.
“Good. I’ll be out of town for a while, doing a tour of all the military camps in the country, so I probably won’t see you for a few weeks.”
“That’s a long time,” I told him. “Be careful.”
“I’ll try.” He glanced up as one of the pages came over to us.
“Elen, Senator Novak—”
“Excuse me?” Daniil cut him off. “What did you call her?”
The young man blanched. “Er…”
“Princess Elen, or Minister Gustaffson.”
“Senator Novak said Minister Gustaffson hasn’t earned her title in Parliament.” The young man was beet red, though he held his chin high.
“He’s mistaken.” Daniil gave him a steely glare and the page nodded miserably.
“Yes, sir. Prince Daniil. Er, there’s been a change in the agenda.” He practically threw the piece of paper at us before running in the other direction.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, now what?” I snatched up the paper and sighed. “They want to move the education bill discussion to next month. Well, that’s not happening.”
“I’ll vote with you,” Daniil said quietly. “I’ll motion for you to be heard today.”
“Yes, but if you’re the only one, they’ll say it’s because you’re my brother. Dammit, this is maddening.” I got to my feet. “Why isn’t Erik here? He’s supposed to preside over these damn things.”
“He’s late, but on his way.”
“He better be.” I blew out a breath. “All right. Let me go—”
“Elen, dear.” Senator Novak approached with a smile. “You don’t mind terribly if we move your little schoolhouse bill to the agenda next month, do you, dear? I’m sure you—”
“I’m not your dear,” I hissed under my breath, though I got right up close to him without breaking eye contact. “You will address me as Minister Gustaffson or Princess Elen. If you have a problem with this, you can take it straight to the king. And yes, I do have a problem with pushing my bill off another month. Aside from national security, education is King Erik’s number one priority, so we’ll hear arguments and vote today. As planned.”
“Miss—” His eyes narrowed.
“You know that by law of the land, you’ll address me by my title or I can bring formal charges against you? And I promise you, I will if you continue to disrespect me.” It was an old law that hadn’t needed to be enforced in decades, but I was hopping mad and ready to fight, using whatever means I had in my arsenal.
“Your cousin makes a mistake in bringing a woman to Parliament,” the man shot back, pressing close enough for me to smell the whiskey on his breath. “You are not welcome here and your title is but a formality. You have no power, no—”
“You’ll move away from the Minister,” Daniil said, slowly getting to his feet. “And watch how you speak to her.”
I was done with this bullshit. I whirled around and looked for one of the other pages, motioning to him.
“I’m first on the agenda after lunch,” I told him. “I’ll be speaking to the General Assembly, in addition to discussing my bill. Please make sure everyone is back promptly at one-thirty.” I turned and walked to the back, right past Xander, who immediately got to his feet and followed me.
I stopped at the ladies’ room to freshen up and when I came out, he was leaning against the wall.
“You okay, babe? Senator Novak got in your face, but your brother seemed on top of it. I don’t know how protective I’m supposed to be here in Parliament.”
“I’m not afraid for my physical safety here,” I told him, leaning on the wall beside him. “Senator Novak should be more afraid of me.”
He chuckled. “I believe that.”
“They’re just so damn prejudiced because I’m a woman. It’s maddening and I don’t know how to win them over.”
“I don’t think it’s something that’s going to happen overnight. You have to earn their respect and it will only happen with time. In the meantime, you can’t get overly angry or emotional, or they’ll use it against you. Be calm. Be articulate. Stick to the facts. That’s your best defense against bigotry.”
I smiled at him, reaching out my hand to close my fingers around his. “Thank you,” I whispered. “You’re a hundred percent right.”
“Your brothers, and Erik, have your back. Erik and Sandor will be here any—” He cut off as they came walking down the hall.
“Everything okay?” Erik asked, frowning.
“Senator Novak is being a dick,” I muttered.
“Ah.” Erik smiled. “Well, let’s see if we can knock him down a few pegs. You read
y to go in?”
“I’m ready.”
We walked back into the General Assembly Room en masse and I went straight to the podium. It was exactly 1:31 and these assholes were going to listen to me. “Welcome back, everyone,” I spoke into the microphone. “I have a brief announcement before we get to the discussion of the new education bill. And I want to preface this with something I hope I don’t have to address again. My name is Princess Elen Victoria Bellamy Gustaffson. I am to be addressed as Princess Elen, or, here in Parliament, as Minister Gustaffson. Unless and until the time comes that the king removes me from my post or I choose to resign, those are the only two options, unless we are personal friends talking in private. For those who think they don’t have to abide by the custom, simply because it’s not a law we’ve had to enforce for decades, I assure you it still applies. If there’s an issue with it, you can take it up with the king.
“Now, I’ve been waiting two months for these addendums to the education bill and my time is as precious as yours. We can discuss or go straight to a vote. But rest assured, if you vote against His Majesty’s number one priority beyond national security without even a discussion, I will make it my personal mission to thwart every single one of your bills, on every possible occasion, for the rest of my time in Parliament.”
There was twittering among the men, but I didn’t blink, didn’t falter. I was better than this, and while I was probably being spectacularly petty right now, I didn’t give a fuck. Erik, Sandor and Daniil had my back, so I planned to take advantage of that.
“Minister Gustaffson.” Daniil stood up. “I’d like to ask about the final paragraph on page three. The lines about providing busing to students in the most rural areas.”
The sound of papers being shuffled as people began searching for the paragraph he was talking about filled the room and I breathed an imperceptible sigh of relief. With Daniil’s question, they were distracted from my speech and back on task. Senator Novak looked irritated, but I didn’t care about him. I needed to get this done for Erik, and then I was going to think about what I wanted to do next. Life as a princess had lost its luster for me but now that I had Xander in my life, I felt stronger. Like his presence gave me a subtle support that made things easier. I didn’t need him, but I was enjoying being able to count on someone. Especially someone that made me so happy.
Maybe he’d even be able to help me make a decision about what I wanted to do next. Teach, stay in Parliament, or go lie on the beach in Tahiti for the next few years. The thought almost made me giggle and I smiled as I turned my thoughts back to the discussion at hand.
23
Xander
We headed to New York in the middle of May. The ladies were in full-on wedding-planning mode, but it was okay because I had Sandor and Axel with me. Chains was flying in today too, so I felt good about the protection available for everyone and we’d made a lot of arrangements in advance to minimize potential threats. We’d made reservations at three separate hotels, in case anyone was tracking us, and Axel was driving the extra-large SUV we’d rented. That way, we didn’t have to add anyone else to the group of people who knew what we were doing.
The dress designer who was making both Lennox’s wedding dress and the bridesmaids’ dresses, Alexa Humboldt, was an old friend of Casey’s and she trusted her completely, so she would come to us at the hotel, instead of us risking being at her studio, which was full of employees that we didn’t have time to vet.
We settled into suites at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan and got ready for a good night’s sleep. It was a ten-hour flight from Hiskale to New York, but since it was a private jet, we were a lot better-rested than had we been on a commercial flight. Lennox’s sisters, Harlow and Vivian, her mother, Michelle, and Casey’s oldest daughter, Sasha, were all meeting us in the morning for a whirlwind day of dress fittings. The following day would be a spa day for the ladies and then while Harlow and Vivian flew home to go back to work, the remaining ladies planned a big shopping day before we all flew home.
Elen seemed happy to be involved in something like this and since I had Sandor, Axel and Chains to hang out with, it wouldn’t be too bad. Personally, as someone who’d worked in both acting and modeling, I would have liked to be present for the dress fittings and such, but I was pretty sure I’d lose my man card forever if I voiced that. So I kept my mouth shut and stayed in my lane, for the most part.
“Will you take a picture of your dress for me?” I asked Elen as she got ready to go in the morning.
She glanced over her shoulder at me, a curious look in her eyes. “How come?”
“Because I like looking at you in a dress and I want to see what the bridesmaids’ dresses look like?”
She came over and ran her hands down my chest. “I’ll take some shots while I’m trying it on. I don’t think anyone cares if the guys see the bridesmaid dresses. It’s just the bride’s dress that’s an issue.”
“That makes sense.” I kissed her, gripping her ass as I pulled her closer to me. “I wish we had a little time together that wasn’t on the run all the time. Even when we’re at home, we barely have any time together.”
“I know.” She looked a little wistful. “I wish we’d had more time in Tahiti. I’m so much happier when I’m there.”
“Maybe after the wedding we can go back,” I suggested. “A lazy week on the beach, surfing and sunning and making love.”
“That sounds like paradise,” she whispered, meeting my gaze. “But that’s too far away. What are the chances we can stay in New York a few extra days? It’s not Tahiti, but there could be good food and sightseeing and lovemaking…”
I considered this. “I’ll talk with Sandor. As long as they get on the jet and head straight home, there isn’t any imminent danger for them and I can protect you here.”
“Then let’s make that a tentative plan. We’ll make sure everything goes smoothly while we’re here and go from there.”
“Sounds good.” I kissed her once more. “Okay, time to go.”
“What are you guys going to do while we do the dress thing?”
“Axel will be standing outside the door of the suite, Sandor will be monitoring stairwells and the elevator, and I’ll be on a constant loop around the hotel, checking the lobby and surrounding areas. Chains has surveillance set up across the street and he’ll be watching the entrances to the hotel and transmitting the feed to Joe, so there’s always someone watching.”
She made a face. “It sounds like such overkill. I understand why it’s necessary, but this is what scares me, what makes me worry about my future, about bringing you into this, everything.”
“Don’t worry about me,” I said quietly, reaching for her hand. “I’ll be completely focused on my job and we have plenty of backup. As far as the future, we’ll work on that together, okay? Please try not to worry.”
“I’m trying.” She pressed the side of her face against my chest, her strong but slender body molding against mine. “I trust you, but I would never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me.”
“You can’t think that way.” I stroked her hair. “I’m a professional, Elen. Even if we weren’t a couple, I’ve pledged my life and my loyalty to Erik and Limaj. As a Royal Protector, you’re part of my duties in that role. As a man, you’re the woman in my life, which brings it to a whole other level. With us as a couple, those two things are one and the same.”
“I know. I just wish they didn’t have to be. I wish we could be a normal couple.”
“We are.” I gently lifted her chin with my thumb and forefinger. “And maybe spending a few days alone together here in New York is just what we need to get to a place where we’re comfortable with that designation.”
“I…” Her voice trailed off. “You’re a special guy, Xander Holt.”
“You’re pretty special yourself, Princess.” I pressed my lips to hers. “Now go do girlie things.”
Sandor thought it would be safe for Elen and me to s
tay behind in New York for a few days, and Erik offered to send the jet back for us once we were ready to leave. I was looking forward to the opportunity to just be another couple traipsing around Manhattan. I had friends here and was going to see if they wanted to meet up for dinner, but I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject with Elen. I didn’t want to tell people who she was, so we could enjoy some semblance of normalcy and not be on alert all the time.
She rolled over on our first morning alone in New York, her naked body pressed to mine. “What shall we do today?” she asked, her blue eyes searching out mine.
“Whatever you want.” I ran my hands over the curve of her ass, loving the softness of her skin and the way she smiled at me whenever we were in bed. Unless she was screaming my name, of course, but that would happen soon enough.
“I was thinking about shopping,” she said with a grin.
“Didn’t you do that yesterday?”
“Yeah, but you weren’t with me. Since you seem to be a bit of a fashionista, I thought it would be fun to let you shop for me. Like you did for Lulu, but more fun.” Her eyes twinkled playfully.
“Why do I feel like I’ve just been insulted?” I asked, pulling her on top of me. “But if you want me to shop for you, there’s a lingerie shop in midtown that I think would have some excellent options.”
“Are you a lingerie man?”
“It’s one of my favorite things.”
“You’ve never asked me to wear it.”
“I don’t feel like I should ask… If you want to, it’s an excellent bonus, but it’s not mandatory. You turn me on in anything—or nothing.”
“I have a few pieces you might like,” she said thoughtfully. “But I’ve been single a long time. I haven’t thought about lingerie in ages.”
“You’ll be thinking about it plenty once we go shopping.” I leaned up and kissed her. “But that can wait.”
