by Dee Benson
Everyone quieted down at the sight of him.
"Good morning, fair maidens," he said. "I'm Henry Ballard, the keeper of the women."
A host of elegantly dressed women filed in after him.
"And these lovely ladies are my assistants," Henry announced. "They will prepare you for the king's selection ceremony."
The man nodded towards the women. They stepped forward, one at a time, called a name, and then left with the girl whose name they'd called.
Katie jumped when her own name was called. She fixed a smile onto her face as she went to the woman.
The woman smiled. "I'm Alice," she told her. "I'm going to make you look like a queen. Follow me."
Katie followed Alice through the foyer. Alice opened a door and Katie could only stare as they walked through the palace. Every surface was gleaming gold. High ceilings and bright lights enhanced the effect. She couldn't believe this was where Prince Dresden had grown up.
She caught sight of a large portrait of Prince Dresden, his father, mother, and his brother Darius. Her gut tightened. Prince Dresden had ordered the killing of so many innocent people including her brother. Bitterness filled her heart. She had to look away from the picture.
Vigilance, she told herself, remembering Aeric's words.
As they walked, she noted every exit and tried to memorize them.
MICHAEL ADJUSTED HIS PROSTHETIC nose so that he could breathe better as he and his men waited for a courtier to emerge from the palace.
"Ring the bell again," he growled into his mouthpiece.
Over at the porch, Desmond, one of his soldiers, rang the bell again.
A few seconds passed, then Desmond spoke under his breath into his mouthpiece. "Someone's coming."
"Stay out of sight, everyone," Michael said.
The door to the servant's quarters opened and a courtier stepped out.
Desmond shot him point blank. The gun only made the faintest of clicks, due to the silencer.
Michael cringed. He hadn't told Desmond to shoot. Shooting was for later.
Desmond hefted the man over his shoulder and then ran to where the rest of them were waiting, while two other soldiers, John and Robbie, entered the servant's quarters.
"Why the hell did you shoot him, Desmond?" asked Carl, an older gentleman who'd been in the army for over thirty years. "We can't take his clothes. They've got blood all over them now."
"Oh." Desmond paused. He looked at Michael. "I was supposed to use the syringe to knock him out?"
"Yes," Michael replied. "Why else do you think I handed out syringes?"
Carl scowled. "The general shouldn't have to spell everything out for you, dummy."
Desmond scowled back. "I'm sorry, okay? It's one uniform condemned. John and Robbie are getting us some more."
"Use the syringes I gave you," Michael said into his mouthpiece, just in case John and Robbie weren't clear on that. "No killing." He looked at the rest of the men with him. "Where are your maps?"
They all immediately dug out the maps and floor plans of the palace that they'd spent the night memorizing.
Michael looked at his watch.
The selection ceremony had started at ten and was to last all day. It was already noon now. No doubt, the king would anticipate trouble and would have made arrangements. As a result, Michael deemed it best to attack later in the day when they were no longer on high alert and would, hopefully, be thinking that maybe The Firemaster was saving his attack for the coronation tomorrow.
They waited for five agonizing minutes before John and Robbie emerged from the servants' quarters silently, holding stacks of courtier apparel.
When they joined the rest of them in their hideout among the trees of the palace gardens, they all began to throw the courtier clothes on over their combat suits.
Their disguises were complete.
KATIE HELD HER BREATH as the King entered her section of the hall.
"Sit straight," Alice snapped.
Katie obeyed. Alice, she'd discovered, wasn't somebody to be messed with.
If Katie got chosen, Alice would receive some kind of promotion. Therefore, she was determined that Katie would get chosen.
This morning, when they got to Katie's preparation room, she'd asked Katie to remove all her clothes, including her underwear. She'd been shocked to see that Katie hadn't waxed certain areas in preparation for the ceremony.
Katie had immediately been sent for waxing, a full body scrub, and a bath in perfumed essential oils.
When she returned, Alice had trimmed and styled her hair. Katie had never seen her hair so shimmery.
Then, it had been time for makeup. The makeup artist took hours. Katie had wondered why it was taking so long, until she saw herself in the mirror afterwards. She looked so incredibly elegant and posh, especially when she put on the gold dress she was wearing, that she didn't even look like herself anymore.
She was glad the dress covered enough for her to wear her Super suit under it.
The king was looking around at all the girls in this section of the hall. Each girl had a booth to herself, where she sat in a throne-like chair, on display like goods at a market.
Katie pushed away the rogue thoughts. She had to get chosen. For some reason, Aeric wanted her to get chosen.
She rose to her feet. Immediately, the king looked her way.
"What are you doing?" Alice hissed. To anybody else, Alice would probably look like she was smiling. Only Katie was close enough to see that the smile was forced, and that her teeth were clenched.
"What am I doing?" Katie asked under her breath. "I'm getting the king's attention. Isn't that what you want me to do?"
The king headed towards her. He was smiling. Katie gave him a demure smile in return.
He stopped at her booth. "Katie Frankel. What a pleasure."
Katie noted that his gaze was on her face. Whenever Prince Dresden looked at her, his gaze always slid over her whole body. His brother, obviously, was different.
"I know this situation must be awkward to you, since my brother had his sights set on you," the king said. "I'm sorry to put you in this position. I was advised to do this."
So she was just a pawn in the king's tug of power with Prince Dresden.
It was an effort to keep the smile in place. "I understand."
The king held her gaze for a moment. Then he nodded to the men flanking him. "Shortlist her."
As the king walked away, Alice began to do a happy jig. The king glanced over his shoulder, and she immediately stopped—only to resume once the king turned around again.
Katie sighed. She'd been shortlisted. That meant she was invited for a one-on-one session, sort of like an interview, with the king later in the afternoon.
MICHAEL STARED AT THE camera feeds on the computer tablet in his hands. They'd hacked into the security cameras of the palace, and had been able to watch the selection ceremony.
However, the cameras didn't cover all angles, so there were many blind spots. That was good. It meant they had many positions in the room from which to slip in unnoticed. Unfortunately, it also meant he didn't know where Katie was. She wasn't showing on any of the feeds.
He needed to find her position in the room before they attacked. He needed to be sure that he'd able to get her to safety.
"Why the delay?" Carl asked.
Being so much older than the rest of the soldiers present, he was the only one who dared question Michael.
"Change of plans," Michael said. "We will attack when the king selects a wife. That way, we will know who he plans to make his bride and kill her too."
Carl frowned. "We're going to kill them all anyway, so what does it matter?"
Just then, some of the women showing on their screen were called away by elegantly dressed courtiers. Michael glanced at his watch. "These must be the shortlisted women. They must be going for their one-on-one sessions with the king. I think it's best to attack during these one-on-one sessions. The king's attention will
be occupied, and he will be slow to react with orders when we attack."
His reasoning seemed to mollify Carl, because he fell silent.
Michael's heart skipped a beat when a woman in a long, clingy, gold dress appeared on the screen.
Desmond leaned in closer. "Is that Katie Frankel?"
Michael said nothing. Katie looked like a regular goddess. She was a knockout. She must have been one of those shortlisted. His heart sank. She must have done her best not to be chosen, but she was just too gorgeous. He'd known this would happen. He took comfort in the fact that they might very well succeed in killing the king in a few minutes. Although, that thought was hardly comforting. If he was honest with himself, he was sick of killing, despite the honor and prestige that his military prowess afforded him.
"The Firemaster is going to be so glad when we report her death," Desmond said. "I volunteer to be the one to kill Katie."
"I will kill her," Michael replied.
Desmond immediately bowed his head in deference to him.
Michael watched as the women were ushered out of the room. He looked at the soldiers who had hacked into the cameras for them. "Go into the security cameras again. I want to see which room they're being taken to."
They immediately got to work. Soon, a new room was showing on the screen. It had a large lounge area in which all the shortlisted women were waiting. The king was in a smaller, adjoining room. The women were called, one at a time, to speak with the king.
"We'll attack when Katie Frankel is with the king," Michael told his men. "I will go straight for the king and Katie. Desmond, you take half the men to overthrow the people in the main selection ceremony hall. Carl, you take the rest of the men to get all the shortlisted women."
Michael's gut twisted at the thought of his men killing so many women, but what could he do?
"Katie Frankel is third in line to be called in to see the king," Robbie said.
"How do you know?" Michael asked.
He held up a small gadget. "I have hacked into their schedule."
"Excellent," Michael said. "That means we don't have much time. Let's go."
With their disguises, getting into the palace was easy. Everybody was so busy that nobody looked at them twice.
Michael made sure everyone knew which way they were going, and then left the palace. He made his way to the window of the room where the king was currently interviewing his second candidate. The window was open a crack, and with the king and his prospective wife or concubine sitting so close by, he could hear every word they were saying.
He was complimenting her on her appearance. She was laughing softly.
"We're in position," came Carl's voice over Michael's earpiece. "We await your command to strike."
"Ditto," came Desmond's voice.
Michael exhaled silently. Kissing sounds were floating out through the window. Eww!
If the king was kissing her, that meant he wasn't going to let her go. She would have to be at least a concubine now.
He thought of the test they gave the women to ensure that they were virgins and hadn't kissed anybody. He would have worried on Katie's behalf, but they weren't going to have the luxury of testing her. All hell was about to break loose.
A few minutes later, the girl left the room. The king discussed her with his advisers. He liked her, but he was most interested in Katie Frankel. He didn't want to make any decisions until after he'd met with Katie.
Michael's chest tightened.
"Bring Katie in," the king said.
"Yes, sir," came a man's voice.
There were footsteps, and then the sound of the door opening. "Katie Frankel," a voice announced. "Please come in and see the king."
Michael held his breath as the click of high heels sounded on the floor. That must be Katie entering to the room.
"Katie is in with the king, now," came Carl's voice over the earpiece.
Michael didn't reply, because an unmistakable sound was coming from the room. Kissing. Again.
What a beast the king was! He hadn't even spoken to her yet!
He was just mauling her like some kind of caveman.
Poor Katie.
"Katie Frankel," the king drawled, his voice low and gravelly.
"Your Majesty," Katie replied.
Lightning flashed in Michael's heart at the tone of her voice. She sounded...suggestive. Like she was flirting.
Michael shook his head. That couldn't be. Katie just had one of those sexy voices.
"Please sit," the king said. "No, don't sit all the way over there. Come and sit here beside me."
There was a giggle from Katie.
Michael frowned. Shouldn't she be acting all stiff and uninterested? Not giggling.
Maybe she was just afraid.
"So," the king said. "This situation is pretty awkward. I didn't expect to feel attracted to you. My advisers had me select you, to send a message to my brother. However, here you are, and you're…amazing."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"You're two years older than me."
"I know."
"Is that an issue for you?"
Michael lifted his brows. The king was asking her? Did that mean he was willing to release her? That would be pretty noble of him. Kings weren't known for considering other people's feelings.
"I…don't know."
"Michael?" came Carl's voice over Michael's earpiece. "Do you want us to strike?"
Michael didn't reply. Katie should have said the age gap was an issue for her. But he couldn't blame her for playing it safe.
"I really like you," the king said. "In fact, I want to make you my queen. But I'm not going to force you to marry me if you don't want me."
Michael held his breath. The king was giving Katie a free pass to freedom? He couldn't believe it. He really was a man of character. No wonder the late king and the forces had chosen him.
All Katie had to do now was accept his offer to release her.
She was silent.
"I mean that," the king said. "You seem like a great girl, but it's not fair of us to put you in this position, to use you just to get at my brother. If you don't want to marry me, I will set you free right now."
"I'll marry you."
Michael almost collapsed. Shock wracked his whole body.
Hadn't she said she was going to perform poorly? Try to make the king reject her? And here the king was, willing to set her free, and she'd refused to be set free.
"Michael?" came Carl's voice.
Michael thought back to last night. Had he imagined it? The depth of emotion shining in her eyes? The passion of her kisses? The whispered 'I love you's'?
"I seem to have lost communication with Michael," came Carl's voice again. "Can you hear me, Desmond?"
"I'm here," Michael murmured. "Attack."
Chapter 9
KATIE'S LIPS WERE LOCKED with the king's. Her heart was crumbling in her chest at the fact that she'd just waived his offer of freedom, when there was a thud behind them. They broke apart and spun around.
A courtier stood behind them. He must have come in through the window.
"What do you want?" the king asked. He pulled out a gun from his pocket and held it to the man's face. "Wait a minute. Who are you? I don't recognize you. State your name."
Katie noticed that the man was staring at her. There was something familiar about his dark eyes.
"My name is none of your business."
Katie almost collapsed. She would recognize Michael's voice anywhere.
But she didn't have time to think about the fact that he'd just caught her kissing the king when she'd told him she would try to put him off, because a blood curdling scream from the other side of the door made her freeze. The door to the room banged open and women ran in screaming.
"What's going on?" the king asked.
He got his answer when men charged into the room after the women, shooting and killing them.
White noise roared in Katie's ears. H
eat rushed through her veins. Something else seemed to take her over and she ran to the window and jumped out. She ran around the palace tearing off her dress to reveal her Super suit. She put on her mask and then looked at the palace.
She was startled when she found herself able to see through the walls and locate all the infiltrators.
She ran into the palace. Debris fell around her as she did. She realized she'd blasted in through a thick wall.
She was in the hall where the main choosing ceremony had taken place. She flew up into the air and waved a hand. The infiltrators began to drop to the floor. She was glad to see that none of the women did.
She noticed Desmond looking up at her. He dove for cover under a table.
Katie decided to leave him. She needed to help the king.
"A masked Super is on the premises, fighting against us," she heard Desmond scream frantically.
He must be alerting Michael.
In a flash, Katie found herself back in the king's room. Many of the girls were already dead. Michael and an older man were tying up the king while the other soldiers shot the women.
They all looked up when Katie appeared.
They gasped.
Katie waved her hand.
Soldiers dropped like flies. She didn't know how she was hitting only soldiers and not the women.
Were they dead? She couldn't tell.
Michael took out a gun and pointed it up at her. A scream tore up her throat as he fired. She managed to hold it back. She couldn't speak, couldn't make a sound in case he, or anybody else, recognized her voice.
She dodged, and the bullet missed by a hair's breadth.
He fired again. She zipped out of the way and then flew down and grabbed him.
He slugged her hard in the face. Pain exploded in her nose. There was the loud crack of breaking bone. Immediately, that roaring sound she'd heard before filled her ears again, and something cold filled her face. The pain vanished.
Michael was about to punch her again. She caught his fist. Pain exploded in her hand as she did so—such was the force of his punch—but she heard the roaring sound again and then the pain was gone.
