Arianna & Finn (Royals of Valleria #3)

by Knightly, Marianne

  Arianna handed Carolina back her phone and returned to brushing her hair. “It’s none of our business what Prince Finn does, is it? Did you need anything else? I need to get dressed.”

  Cat sighed and shifted off the bed. “No, we don’t need anything else.” Cat walked over to Arianna and leaned down to give her a hug from behind. They locked eyes in the mirror. All of the siblings shared various facial features; with Arianna and Cat, it was same slim nose and full lips, courtesy of their mother.

  “Take care, Ari,” Cat said and gave her a kiss on the head. “We know something’s going on with you and Papa. You don’t need to tell us if you don’t want to, or if you can’t, but we’re here if you need us.”

  “Yes, we are,” Carolina said as she joined the hug.

  “Definitely,” Sarah said as she also joined the hug.

  Arianna smiled when she saw them all in the mirror, clinging to each other. Arianna’s heart may be breaking right now, but her family would see her through. She would be okay. She’d have a good cry after they all left, and then move forward with what she needed to do. There was no going back now.

  As she said good-bye to her sisters, she missed the message coming into her phone, as the soft notification pings were no match against the voices of four sisters. In fact, Arianna didn’t even think about her phone until after she’d finished dressing, and by then it was already too late.

  Chapter 18

  Finn had already finished packing by the time Alex arrived a few hours later through the same passage Arianna had used. She still hadn’t messaged him back, and he was growing concerned. Did she believe the lies? He had to know.

  “Finn,” Alex said tersely. “Do you have any new information?”

  “I didn’t ask you to come here for that. I apologize if I made you believe otherwise.”

  “Are you sorry? Should I even believe you?”

  So, Henry had gotten to Alex. Since Alex hadn’t thrown him out of the palace, and was giving him time to explain himself, he may still have a chance. “You’ve seen the lies in the papers, then?”

  “Lies? Are you saying that wasn’t you in the photos?”

  “It was me, that much is true, but it was me five years ago. That club closed down not long after that picture was taken. If you bothered to do any research before making accusations, you’d know what the truth was.”

  “I’m not talking about the papers this morning, though we’ll get to that in a minute. I’m talking about the afternoon paper. Are you a traitor?”

  “I am as much of a traitor as my brother is honest, which is to say, not at all. He planted both of those stories. I hadn’t realized the other one had come out yet.”

  Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Then how did you know about it?”

  “My former brother.”

  “Former?”

  “Yes. My brother came to me this morning, told me he’d planted the articles in the paper, and exiled me from Brazenbourg. He also went on to state that he would ensure I’d be exiled from Valleria, too. Is that why you’re here? To kick me out?”

  Alex ran a hand through his hair. “I was tempted, but I needed to confront you first. What the hell are you doing with my sister?”

  Finn was startled by the abrupt change in topic. “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me. Arianna wasn’t in her room last night, and the secret hallway to your room smells of the perfume she usually wears.”

  Finn pushed his shoulders back. “She was with me last night, that’s true. I told you when we met I wouldn’t lie to you, and I won’t.”

  Alex cursed. “I should pummel you for that.”

  “It takes two to tango, Alex. You should know that I’m in love with Arianna, and that I’ll do everything in my power to keep her from marrying Henry.”

  Alex considered Finn for several moments. “Does she love you back?”

  “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “Henry may have gotten to her today, hoping to sway her by the article this morning, about all the women I’ve supposedly been with. She’s not returning my messages. I’d hoped to see her before I left.”

  “Left? I haven’t exiled you, at least not yet.”

  “I have to go back to Brazenbourg. It’s my home, and it’s not safe. There are a few who will help me, and my contacts there may be able to help you. One of them hasn’t checked in as we’ve arranged to, and I’m worried something may have happened to him.”

  “Are you helping Valleria because you want to get back at your brother? I won’t have my country and my people caught in the middle of a revenge plot.”

  “Henry’s not my brother anymore. I doubt he ever was. We’re not like you and your brothers, Alex. There was never anything between us but Henry’s ego.”

  Alex nodded. “I don’t know if I can take you to see Arianna. She’s called a meeting with both my father and me this afternoon. I have a feeling we’re not going to like what she has to say.”

  Finn’s gut clenched. “Do you think she’ll agree to the marriage?”

  “I think if she’s seen that article, she’s doubting you and herself right now. She’d think of it as her past repeating itself.”

  “I know. She told me about that asshole she used to date.”

  Alex’s eyes widened. “Did she? She never mentions it unless she trusts the other person. She must trust you.”

  Finn sighed. “Or at least she did, until this morning.”

  Alex put a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “I’ll talk to her about it. Not for your sake, you understand, but for her own.”

  Finn nodded. “I just want to see her happy. I know I don’t have anything to offer her, especially not now, but I don’t want her to make a mistake she’ll regret. She deserves better than that.”

  “Yes, she does,” Alex murmured. “What’s your plan from here?”

  “Sneak into Brazenbourg, find my contact, and go from there.”

  “It won’t be easy.”

  “My life has never been easy, so why start now?” Finn reached into his back pocket and took out an envelope, then handed it to Alex. “It’s for Arianna. I understand if you don’t want to be a go-between, but I’d appreciate you delivering it to her.”

  Alex tucked the note inside a pocket to the suit jacket he wore. “I’ll pass it along, Finn. What do you think we should do about Henry?”

  “I don’t care about Henry. Just keep Arianna safe.”

  “You didn’t even need to ask me for that one.”

  Finn nodded as he picked up his bags. “I’ll be in touch. I may change my number as a security measure. If I do, look for the phrase ‘church’ in my first message.”

  “All right. God be with you,” Alex said as he shook Finn’s hand.

  “And you,” Finn said, and walked out. Each step farther from Arianna felt like a dagger to the heart, but he knew this was best. He had to fix this, and help Arianna. If he was very lucky, he would also find a way to help his people in Brazenbourg; they deserved a ruler who cared about them, not just the power he had over them.

  ***

  Arianna sat in her father’s office and listened while he tried to talk her out of her scheme. Both Gabriel and Alex stood towering over her, unintentionally intimidating. She would not, however, be deterred.

  “Our own spies are working on this, Ari,” Alex said, his voice pleading. “We could know something as soon as this evening.”

  “You said the same thing yesterday and nothing happened. I’ve made up my mind; I’m marrying Henry.”

  Gabriel sighed. “Let’s take a step back. If you want to marry Henry, you can wait until at least tomorrow to make a final decision or announcement.”

  “It’s too late.”

  “What do you mean?” Gabriel’s sharp voice cut through her resolve, but she held firm. “Have you gone off and eloped with him or something?”

  “No, of course not. I have told Henry that I’m accepting his proposal, and he’s sending out a press release
. It will hit the news soon, if it hasn’t already.”

  Gabriel cursed, causing both Alex and Arianna to look at their father with wide eyes; Gabriel rarely cursed. “You defied me, Arianna. I’m disappointed in you.”

  The heat of shame flushed her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I did what I needed to do. Now we can stop this whole charade and move on with things. Henry said he’d give you what you need soon.”

  “But at what cost?” Gabriel muttered. “You’re to stay in the palace, locked in your apartments until someone comes to get you.”

  Arianna slowly stood. “You’re punishing me?”

  “I’m protecting you.”

  “I’m not a child anymore. You can’t just lock me away when I do something you disagree with.”

  “You will always be my child, Arianna. You locked yourself away for too many years, and now that you’ve finally opened yourself up again, you’re running away.”

  “Running away? But I said I’m marrying Henry.”

  “But you should be considering marriage with someone else.” Gabriel cupped his daughter’s head, her wide caramel-colored eyes looking up at him. She’d always felt lost, he knew. Lost in a sea of siblings, unsure of her place. As a father, he supposed he had failed her; he should have made sure she knew how desperately she was loved by all of them. Well, he wouldn’t fail her now.

  Gabriel kissed the top of Arianna’s head and she was pulled into the warmth of his arms. Tentatively, she hugged back. She heard his heart beating beneath her cheek, a sound so comforting she blinked back the hot tears welling in her eyes. After a few minutes, Gabriel kissed her the top of her head again and pulled back.

  “Think about what I said.”

  “I will, Papa.” How could she think about anything but his words? Did he really think she should be considering marriage with Finn? How did he know?

  “I’ll come to you later. Go now. I must speak with Alex.”

  Alex reached out to her. “Wait.”

  She looked warily at him. “What?”

  Alex pulled an envelope from his pocket. “It’s from Finn,” he whispered.

  Finn? Alex had seen Finn this morning? Despite the fact she had made up her mind about Henry, her heart still wanted Finn. She wondered if he was okay.

  “Take it, Ari. Don’t throw it out. Just read it when you’re ready. Please?”

  Arianna took the envelope and nodded, then she turned and walked away without looking back. She had made her decision; there was no going back now. Had she looked back, she would have seen her father slump into his chair, and Alex put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

  Chapter 19

  Finn spent the rest of the day traveling through Valleria. Because he wasn’t a wanted man in this country, it was easy enough to take trains through the countryside and into neighboring France. From there he made it to the French-Brazenbourg border just as night fell. Knowing his name so close to the border would be easily recognizable, he chose instead to use one of his contacts and found lodging in a discreet chateau. From there, someone from Brazenbourg would help him cross the border.

  He had remained tense the entire journey. He wasn’t naïve enough to assume that Henry wouldn’t have him followed; in fact, it had been easy to figure out exactly who it was. By the time Finn had transferred from Metz to the local bus system, he had managed to shake them off, hopefully for good.

  The chateau boasted an extensive golf course, and he’d arranged to sleep in the course’s clubhouse. The chateau itself was hosting a wedding this weekend, and it was best for Finn to stay away from the crowd. The wedding, however, had meant that food would be readily available and, having not eaten even breakfast that morning, Finn was running on fumes.

  All of his thoughts centered on survival and Arianna. All through his journey, he had kept rereading the false articles about him, and wondered what Arianna thought about him. They’d only spent about a week together, but they’d come to mean so much to each other in that time, at least he thought they had. Did she have so little faith in them? In him?

  Perhaps if he found out who was scheming against Valleria, then he would prove to her that he loved her. He hoped it would be enough, as he wasn’t sure what else he could do. If she didn’t want him, he knew there would be no one else.

  He still hadn’t received a reply from her. He just hoped Arianna was okay.

  ***

  After a restless day in her apartments, Arianna was ready for escape. Though her royal apartment boasted several rooms for her to wander in, including a full kitchen, she felt trapped and caged.

  She could have ignored her father’s edict; it would have been easy enough to escape the palace, and he knew it. But her father’s words had kept ringing in her ear all day: I’m disappointed in you.

  She had dinner in her room alone, and had a scary feeling that this may be just what her married life would be like, though she refused to believe it. She and Henry may not care for each other, but they could grow to love each other. She would become a mother one day, and then that would change everything. It could work out, she assured herself. She would make sure it worked out.

  She was about to give up waiting for her father and ready to bed instead when the knock came at her door. When she answered it, she was startled by the person behind it.

  “Henry. Whatever are you doing here?”

  He pushed past her and entered. “Shouldn’t a man see his fiancée?”

  “I suppose, but it’s not very proper, is it?”

  Henry’s lips contorted into a grim smile. “Proper? Oh, I think it’s highly proper.”

  “Why don’t we call Alex or my father as a chaperone?” There was a hard look in his eyes and she didn’t want to be alone with him. She didn’t feel safe.

  “I don’t think we need a chaperone.” He glanced around the foyer. “I think you should show me around your apartments.”

  She wondered what he was up to, and how he’d found her apartment in the first place, but didn’t ask. Later, she would wish she had. “All right, I’ll give you a brief tour.”

  She took him around the living room, kitchen, offices, and other rooms before turning back towards the foyer.

  “The bedrooms? Surely, you have one of those,” Henry asked.

  “Of course, but I don’t think you need to see it.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” He turned and walked farther down the hall, opening the doors to linen closets and guest rooms before finding her bedroom.

  “Henry, I really must ask that you leave.”

  He ignored her, instead just wandering around and taking in the room. She had always been a fairly neat person, so thankfully there wasn’t any mess or random undergarments lying about. He stopped in front of her dresser, and picked up the amethyst and emerald necklace she’d worn in Brazenbourg but not to the ball.

  He turned to face her, his hands full of jewels. “I’ve just had dinner with your parents. I’ll be glad once you come back to Brazenbourg for good and we won’t need to see them again.”

  “What are you talking about? Just because I marry you doesn’t mean I’ll never see my parents again. We discussed this.”

  “I never agreed to that. You’ll need to show your complete allegiance to Brazenbourg.”

  “Of course Brazenbourg will become my home, but I couldn’t give up Valleria; the public wouldn’t understand and it wouldn’t be right.”

  “Right? Right? You don’t have the first clue what’s right.” He walked over to her and placed something in her hand. When she looked down, she saw they were Finn’s cufflinks; she had never returned them, but instead had placed them in her jewelry box, which sat atop the dresser. “These belong to my useless brother, don’t they? Don’t they?”

  Arianna couldn’t speak; she just shook her head, unable to believe she’d been found out.

  “Have you slept with him? Have you?” He was moving even closer, forcing her to take a step back, then another, and another. She stopped only when she
felt the bed behind her.

  He pushed her down. “If you’ve slept with my brother, then you won’t have any trouble sleeping with me right now. Although, I don’t think we’ll be doing much sleeping.”

  “Stop,” she cried and quickly slid back, eventually stepping off the opposite side before his hands could get to her.

  “I won’t have a whore for a wife.”