“Taylor, what is it!?”
“There are two reports, but they conflict.”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“It has been reported that an American man was killed and spiked in the Capitol square.”
My mind reeled and I nearly vomited my empty stomach. Spiked had only one meaning: his head was severed, shoved on a pole, and placed on display as a dire warning and as an act of shaming an infidel.
“No Taylor, NO! Please tell me that's not Michael!” I trembled uncontrollably.
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to verify its veracity or the victim’s name. The second report, Perri, is that Michael is working with your parents’ armies to resolve the country’s conflict. It is said he is acting as an advisor to the general and was designated by them to bring this to a swift end without harm to the people or loss to your father's reign.”
My stomach raged again, as I was now torn between the two polar opposites, not sure which one was true if either were. Could he be the doomed American? Or, could they have honestly empowered him to mediate peace?
I shook my head and tears ran freely down my face.
I looked to Taylor beseeching him.
“How can we confirm the truth?”
“We can't, Perri. Not until after we get there.”
Chapter 6
“Bring me up to speed.”
I knew the general would not like a commanding presence foisted upon him, particularly by an outsider, but my recent physical challenges, the emotional intensity of what needed to occur, and the small window of time I had to work within provided me with no patience for courtesy or diplomacy. We had to get this done and we had to get it done now.
I would not lose the love of my life before I had her.
General Ahmad, unwilling to take orders from me, pointed to his Lieutenant General and motioned for him to answer my questions. He would delegate, but not assist.
Lieutenant General Malik pointed to the map on the table in front of us that was illuminated from below it, and gestured toward three places.
“We have to move our army to these checkpoints, the Navy has positioned themselves along all of the ports, and are preventing passage out as well as deliveries of munitions and people in. The air brigade is in full strike mode ready for instructions.”
“What? You are prepared to attack your own people?!” I was shocked. They had moved from protecting the Crown to vilifying their people – the people that the Crown served. This was not a solution. This would not end in peace. This would end in generations of unrest, with brothers fighting brothers. The land would be a sea of flowing blood. That was not good for the people, was not good for the Queen or King, and it was most certainly not good for the future I had hoped to build with Perri.
“No! We need to speak to the people. We need to address them directly and provide them with a narrative that makes sense and settles their hearts.”
General Ahmad stood up aggressively and moved into my space. As if he was ready to chest bump me back into submission.
I held my ground.
“We will not remove our forces. We will not use words. These are subjects of the Crown that must obey! They must be shown that they are subjects. They have no power, their will is not that of the Crown, and they must subject themselves to the monarchy's choices. End of subject!”
I stepped forward about two inches, bringing my chest almost up flush to his, and looked down at him.
“We will NOT treat the beloved people of this country with disregard or disrespect. We will not convey that the King and Queen do not care for them or their welfare. We will not communicate that the monarchy is not to be trusted, deceiving the people from the truth or threatening their lives over blind faith.
“We will present a message to them that eases their concerns and unifies them. We will show them that we have space in our hearts for their concerns and their lives. We will address them directly and ask for their cooperation. We will show OUR strength through our ability to negotiate peace. Not in becoming bullies!”
Chapter 7
I read through the script several times. I need it to be precise, and as accurate as I could make it, while still being both powerful and loving.
Rondenia looked at me as I handed it to her.
“You honestly think this is going to work?”
I nodded.
“I think it is the only option we have that does not end in bloodshed. It is definitely the only one that preserves your reign. And it is the only option that restores trust.”
Rondenia nodded.
King Hallella growled at me as he scowled.
“You understand that you lose more than my daughter if this doesn't work.”
“Yes, sire. I am keenly aware of that.”
Chapter 8
The flight was becoming maddeningly long. I felt trapped; caged; silenced. A feeling I swore I would never feel again, and here I am, subjugated to it as I pace in silence. Unable to get news updates at this speed or altitude in this region.
Was he dead? Will I see the face of the man I loved ravaged and bleeding atop a pole in the public square, humiliated?
I had to believe it was not true. I had to hope. But I could not quit crying.
One of the stewardesses exited the cockpit and came over to me before squatting down.
“Princess?”
I nodded, giving her permission to speak.
“He is alive. He is working with your parents. He has been assigned to resolve this.”
As if I had never breathed before in my life, I expelled the breath I had been holding for hours in one long outrush of air. I bent over, hands to my face, pressing against my knees as I sobbed.
He's alive! HE'S ALIVE!
Chapter 9
My sobbing was disrupted by an urgent wave of nausea. I ran to the bathroom and barely made it before I was heaving uncontrollably. Food had not set well on my tummy lately and I knew it was likely from all the stress. Maybe from some of the food in Singapore. But this … this was violent retching. The expulsion of my stress and the expulsion of my fears.
I felt lost; unanchored to my body as I waited without reassurances that further updates could give me.
“Taylor!”
I called out as I wiped my eyes still trying to recover my composure. I blew my nose as my hands shook.
In an instant he was outside the door, acknowledging his presence.
“I am not feeling so well. Could you have someone bring me my toiletries kit?”
“Of course.”
Once it was delivered, I tried to touch up my makeup but the weeping continued and with each application of mascara came more smudges.
Finally, I gave up and washed my face clean. Reflecting back in the mirror at me was a scared little girl who had seen so much more of the world than she had ever expected in such a short period of time. Less than two months it seemed.
I lowered my eyes in the reflection and took in my figure, grateful to be back in the clothes of my choice. No longer shrouded in my Catacombs disguise.
The stress, bad food, and inability to run while we were on the cargo ship had taken their toll. I had put on a few pounds for the first time in my life. My breasts seemed slightly fuller, my hips wider, and my tummy softer.
I resolved to renew my fitness routine once this madness was over.
For now, I shrugged, I would just have to look the ingenue, and brave the world without armor.
As I exited the restroom Taylor caught my eyes and his eyebrows drew up in a question.
“I’m okay. Mild food poisoning maybe.”
I shrugged weakly.
“I am going to lie down for a bit. Will you promise to wake me if there is any news?”
“Yes. Of course. You can trust me.”
“Very good.”
I made my way to the rear cabin, tossed my kit on the dresser, and pulled back the soft sheets before climbing in.
My last t
hought before passing out was how grateful I felt for Egyptian cotton. Then it occurred to me I had not realized there was any other kind until I had entered the scratchy-sheet hell of the Catacombs.
Oh, how life could change so suddenly.
Chapter 10
“My People, I come to you with a hopeful heart. We are one, you and I. My lineage has been charged by the Almighty to govern you and rule this great nation, and I have embraced that sacred charge with the oath of my life and all the generations of my line.
“In these last days you have been given false information intended to deceive you and burn your faith in Allah to the ground. You have embraced this falsehood and used it to fuel fighting with those you love and those you should love.
“We are peaceful people. We are faithful people. We have given our hearts and our lives to Allah and have endured many tests.
“I warn you my people, do not fail this test.
“Listen to the words I bring you. Let your heart take them in and determine their value and their truth. Let your faith be the test of my words.
“I will say it again. We are a peaceful people. We are a faithful people.
“If Allah comes to you in the night and instructs you do as He commands, will you not listen? Will you not trust?
“Our beloved Qur’an states, ‘Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds will have gardens beneath which rivers flow.’
“In 2001, the night before my third child was born, I was visited by the Archangel Gabriel in my sleep. The message he brought me was that I would soon receive the bounty of two kingdoms, but between them I would have to choose.
“One would represent the past and all the gloriousness that our people have attained. The other, all the change that lies ahead.
“In choosing, I would be given space called The Interim. A place where I would be required to protect both worlds with equal fervor, while neither was ready to coexist with the other. If I was willing to be a great king and follow Allah’s tidings, I would have to place one behind a veil until such a time as it was made known to me to present it to the other world.
“‘Between them is a barrier which they do not transgress,’ is also in our holy book.
“These two worlds, the twin daughters that were born to me the next night, were my sacred charge to keep parted.
“I am a king but I am also a father. Any man with children understands the great cost I was asked to undertake to place one of my children outside our beloved world in the shadows of silence. To develop and strengthen her until the time came to bring her into the light.
“To bring her into the future Allah envisioned for her.
“Tonight, I introduce to you news of Jannah, the heart of our people’s future. Sequestered away until her time had come. To help us, as the ambassador of our future, to grow and change so that we remain the mighty and faithful people we are to remain.
“In the coming weeks she will be brought to you, and our elders, to advocate for the full retention of our culture’s beauty and the honorable paths we have ingrained, while offering up the gentle chords of our potential in the world to come.
“I did not deceive you.
“I did not hide her in fear.
“I shielded her as Allah willed it.
“I was faithful to His call.
“‘And let there be from you a nation inviting to good, enjoining what is right.’
“This, our new nation, from me, will invite you to good, and enjoin all that is right.
“I remain this nation’s guardian, the sentinel of this great country.
“Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of Allah.”
The red light over the camera clicked off. The King stood, turned to Queen Rondenia who sat behind his left shoulder – the first time any queen had been intentionally televised on a public address – and held out his hand for her to stand.
They walked over to me as my stomach clenched and I waited to be addressed.
“So, it is done.”
I bowed slightly. He nodded and walked away.
Chapter 11
King Hallella had the staff show me to the rooms I normally stayed in when I visited, which meant I had at least redeemed myself momentarily. But this would not be fully over until they agreed to let Perri be mine.
That was nonnegotiable while I had breath left in me.
I dialed Taylor and it went directly to voicemail.
Damn.
I headed for the shower and was grateful to find a fresh suit, shirt, and underclothes in my size and style waiting for me.
Rondenia was always so thoughtful.
What I wouldn’t give to fill her lap with grandchildren.
Chapter 12
I slept fitfully. When I finally woke my mouth was dry, the nausea had returned, and my hands and feet felt swollen. I was uncomfortable in my body and that was not an experience I could recall having before.
I made my way to the en suite bathroom and splashed my face with cold water and decided a shower might be a better option.
Twenty minutes prior to landing I joined Taylor and the others, feeling much better and more freshly presented. I wanted to feel more myself when I finally reconnected with Michael. I just prayed he was still alive and we could reach him. So far Taylor had not had any luck.
When we touched down another wave of nausea hit me and this time, I knew I had picked up a bug. I felt hot, sweaty, and my temperature was elevated.
The last thing I need is a contagion or to be hospitalized.
And the King’s children were always hospitalized for the mildest symptoms.
Chapter 13
I opened the door to my suite of rooms hoping to find I was unguarded, but no such luck.
The two suited men turned to me.
“Good evening. I would like to take an evening stroll. Could you escort me?”
They looked at each other briefly, and then back to me.
“Very good, sir,” the older one nodded.
I closed the door and we headed out to the south gardens, which boasted the broadest views in every direction except the palace’s front, where guests arrived. I knew it would be the most beautiful, but also the least threatening. There would be no concern that I would try to escape as there were no roads for miles on that side of the property.
On the central section of the south gardens was an English rose sanctuary with several tiered water fountains, each with romantic statuary finials: a cherub, a lion cub, and a childlike vestal dancer. The aroma was intoxicating, the sounds of tinkling water orchestrated for maximum aural pleasure.
But these were not the gardens designed for a man alone, deprived of his beloved’s presence. No, I needed to go further.
The next level of the south gardens was filled with whimsical topiary sculptures. A path of meticulously groomed trees shaped into giant columns, led the tiled pathway that eventually opened up to a roaming herd of brilliant green topiary elephants, affectionately playing with their young.
There was a 30-foot inchworm, a pair of dolphins entwined mid flight, a stunning peacock twice my height, a field of rabbits near two sleeping lions, a unicorn nuzzling a mouthful of grass, and a pair of swans in the middle of a small pond that seemed impossible for groomers to reach whose necks arched as their beaks met to form the shape of a heart.
No, these did not even register, because beyond them was the place my beloved Perri would have played had she been allowed access to these grounds.
The treehouse. It was at the furthest edge of the south gardens, almost a third of a mile out, just before the grounds became a small transplanted forest.
The treehouse was situated on the most massive tree I had ever seen, groomed from youth to split out and open with a base to build the foundation upon. The tree, easily a hundred years old, was planted on a grassy knoll to give it even more height and had winding paths of glittering gold bricks leading up to it. The structure was entirely white, shaped like a domed temp
le, with a single short steeple that boasted the family’s crest at its top. It jutted out on four sides where the alabaster stone formed an arched awning for each path leading up to it.
Inside the open walls were heavy brocade curtains pulled open to each majestic column that held the temple upright. These curtains must certainly be handwashed several times per week since they remained open to the elements. The floor was a stunning mosaic map of the country and its surrounding lands, trimmed in gold and blue with Swarovski crystals littered everywhere to make the entire thing shimmer.
There were two Princess thrones where tea could be taken, and one dark blue velvet chaise where a young girl could read. The boys were not indulged in such whimsical fantasies, so this was for the girls alone.
The pièce de résistance, and central focal point of the entire space, was the ceiling. It was one massive concave aquarium, hovering end-to-end under the entire dome, with a brilliant blue crystal chandelier poised within it.
The effect was magnificent and one could lay beneath it for hours, endlessly fascinated, lost in the amalgamation of exotic and colorful fish of which I may never know all the names.
Yes, this holds the energy of my girl. This is where she would have come.
The guards let me wander up and in alone, while they waited at the opening of the path, which I appreciated. It seemed Rondenia had coached them to be kind and give me a bit of grace. She must know how deep the blow Perri’s absence had been for me.
I sat on the chaise and put my head in my hands.
Perri, my love, please be safe. I am doing everything I can to make you mine.
Chapter 14
Landing was difficult on my upset tummy but I willed myself to quell the nausea and not give into the raging virus or infection that had overtaken me. Now was not the time to fall ill.
As we deplaned, I asked Taylor for a phone, which he gratefully gave me.
The Obsessed Billionaire: Boxed Set (Complete Vols. 1-5, A Billionaire Romance Series) Page 15
