The Pledge (31 page)

This
was the girl she’d been searching for.
This
was the heir she’d hoped to discover.

She would have to tread carefully to ensure the girl’s cooperation, and to be certain she made no mistakes. If she played things right, this girl could buy her another lifetime as ruler. A new beginning.

If she was wrong, if what she’d discovered about the girl was untrue, then it was over. All of it.

Alexander materialized then from the vehicle and she stiffened, her heart momentarily stuttering as she was transported back in time to the days when he had her favor, the only boy child who ever had. He was the firstborn of her son’s offspring, a mischievous child with an eye toward righteousness, even then. He’d always been immune to her impervious facade
and icy stares. When he’d smiled and climbed onto her lap, something no other child had ever dared, her frosty heart had warmed. She’d offered him sweet treats and gifts. She had allowed him unparalleled access to her inner sanctum, and he was schooled and housed within the walls of her wing of the palace. She’d kept him close.

She’d loved him.

And he’d turned his back on her.

And now here he was, an enemy to her throne, standing at the girl’s side. The sight of her once beloved grandson made her heart freeze in place.

She was suddenly eager to see his expression when she shared the
surprise
she had in store for him.

And then there was Maxmillian—just another of her grandsons, no more unique than the rest. He, too, stood beside this new royal heir. But he wasn’t the reason her resolve slipped. It was his loyal protectors, flanking the girl, who concerned her. Their devotion would always be to Max, the child they were born to protect, and if his allegiance had already been decided, if he’d been swayed by a pretty face, then so had theirs.

And the royal guards were not a force to overlook.

Fortunately, the queen had her own agenda. A plan already set into motion that would rock them all.

xxi

My ears were still ringing with the echoes of Max’s shouts as he was dragged away by Her Majesty’s guards. None of us had anticipated that we’d be separated upon our arrival. And while not one of the armed guards who’d surrounded us had dared to touch either Claude or Zafir, it was clear that they, too, were included in the forced detention that had taken place . . . they were simply allowed to go quietly.

I wondered how many bones would have been broken had it gone down differently.

It had taken me far too long to adjust to our changed circumstances. I hadn’t expected Queen Sabara to hold us captive in this way.

It was supposed to be a meeting, I argued silently in my head. All I wanted was my opportunity to reason with the queen.

But what surprised me most of all was that Zafir had refused to go with Max, the prince he had vowed his life to protect, and instead had insisted on remaining with me. I didn’t
understand clearly, and he refused to explain his reasons to me, but no one questioned the giant when he grabbed hold of my arm, refusing to leave my side. Apparently I had Zafir’s protection, whether I’d asked for it or not.

I paced to the window, wearing a path in the thick rug beneath my feet. “How much longer does she plan to keep us in here like this?”

Zafir didn’t respond. He’d stopped answering my questions when I’d begun repeating the same ones again and again.

I stared out onto the grounds that we’d passed on our way to the palace. The same ones I’d at first thought were idyllic now felt isolating. One more barrier between us and the city we’d left behind.

Tears welled in my eyes, but I forced them back. Had there really been a meeting planned at all, or was this whole thing just a trap? And, if so, who had she meant to capture? Me or Xander?

I felt guilty for agreeing to let Xander come at all. He had responsibilities to those who supported and counted on him. I had no business allowing him to escort me to the palace. I should have forbidden it.

I ran my hand along the sill of the window, marveling at the artistry that had been put into even the most insignificant details of the room. The carvings appeared handcrafted and expertly done. In the hours we’d been held here so far, I’d memorized nearly every opulent detail of the bedchamber in which I was being held.

It was the most luxuriously furnished room I’d ever laid eyes on, or even imagined. Every fabric, right down to the
linens on the bed, was finely woven and hand-stitched. Every piece of furniture was meticulously constructed. Every metal was of the purest form, expensive and polished to a blinding shine.

It was a well-appointed prison.

“Do you think Max is nearby?” I turned to face Zafir, unable to ask about my parents just yet, worried my voice would break under the strain.

Zafir stood in the exact spot he had since we’d arrived, just inside the door, never moving, barely blinking. His gaze fell on me, and I wondered if he felt pity for me when, at last, he answered, “His chambers are on the next floor. I’m sure that’s where he’s been taken.”

“He has his own room?”

“He’s a prince. This is his home.”

I took a step backward, grasping the back of a tall chair.
Home
. How had that thought never occurred to me? I felt as if the wind had just been knocked out of me. This didn’t feel like anyone’s home.

“What about his parents?” I asked, knowing I was prying but unable to stop myself.

Zafir didn’t seem to mind revealing Max’s history. “His father—the queen’s son—died in a hunting accident shortly after Max’s birth. When the queen realized that Max’s mother could no longer bear royal heirs, that a princess was no longer a possibility, she was paid off and sent away. She hasn’t been heard from since.”

I tried to imagine what that must have been like for Max, and for Xander. To grow up without their father, knowing that
their mother had abandoned them for a price. To live in this palace without their parents.

I looked up again, and this time I could feel the tears threatening to spill. My voice shook. “What of
my
parents, Zafir? What about Aron? Where do you think they are right now?”

“They’re here,” he stated flatly.

The scraping noise that came from the other side of the enormous carved canopy bed sounded like one heavy boulder sliding over the top of another. It wasn’t until Zafir left his post at the door and grabbed my arm, dragging me close, that I could see the opening in the wall itself. A hidden doorway.

I peered inside the hole and saw Xander’s wide smile. Claude stood by his side, no smile. And then I saw Max pushing past them both. He reached for me, hauling me close and kissing my hair, my cheeks, my lips.

“You’re safe?” he breathed against my forehead, and I nodded, self-conscious to have so many eyes on us.

I could scarcely believe he’d come for me.

“Hurry,” Xander urged. “I don’t know how much time we have before they realize we’re missing.”

“What is this place?” I asked, looking around at the narrow opening—a hidden hallway behind the walls of the castle—as Max was already pulling me along. Behind me, I heard that shrill grating sound once more as Zafir resealed the cavity.

“We used to play in these passageways when we were boys,” Max explained, and as the flame from Xander’s lamp flickered over their faces, I could see the grins that he and
Max exchanged. “They run throughout the palace, connecting almost all of the rooms and running belowground. Xander and I would sneak into the cellars and hunt for treasure. There’s an entire chamber filled with artifacts dating back to your family’s reign.” More quietly, he added, “It’s where I found the locket.”

Xander led the way. His steps were sure, as if he could have negotiated his way without any light at all. Mine were less so, and I clung to Max, following his physical cues. When he moved, I moved. When he halted, I did as well.

Zafir remained at the rear, guarding our backs. And ahead of Max and me, Claude looked ready for attack.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

It was Xander who answered, as we turned and turned again, traversing a twisting maze of tunnels. “I was afraid Sabara might pull something like this, so I had Brooklynn gather some men to follow us. Of course, they didn’t have the luxury of a royal transport, but they should be here soon.”

“And then what?”

Max squeezed my hand. “Then we get your parents and your friend, and we get the hell out of here.”

Everything changed the moment we emerged from the narrow passages into a dungeonlike cellar. Oil-filled sconces lined the hallways, making everything just a little too clear as we found ourselves face-to-face with an armed contingent of at least twenty men, all dressed in bloodred—the color of the queen’s guard.

Xander reacted first, moving slowly as he placed his lamp
at his feet. Max gradually drew me behind him, away from the others, until our backs were braced against the wall.

One of the queen’s men stepped forward from the rest. His uniform was decorated with the glittering gold stars and tassels of a commanding officer. His expression was formidable. “Stop where you are,” he ordered. “I want to see your hands.” And then he leveled his gaze on me. “All of you.”

I obeyed, lifting my hands in front of me, but Max pushed them back down again, refusing to surrender. “We’ve done nothing wrong,” he stated, his voice unwavering as he positioned himself to stand in front of me. “Back down now and no one will get hurt.” A meaningful glance was exchanged among all four of the men I traveled with. I seemed to be the only one who thought we were outnumbered.

There was a charged silence, a moment when twenty men in red stood like an impassive, imbreachable wall staring back at Max and Xander and Claude and Zafir. We had size on our side. They had sheer numbers.

“Xander! Watch out!” It was Max’s hoarse bellow that drew my attention as one of the queen’s guards broke away from the ranks and was advancing on his brother.

Xander moved like a blur, reaching for his ankle and whipping back up again with a knife that had been hidden in the side of his boot. He slashed a wide arc through the air, quickly and efficiently, and the guard fell to the ground, thrashing violently while his fingers tried in vain to seal the open wound at his throat.

Claude and Zafir were in the fray before my heart could beat again.

Max pressed me farther back, refusing to leave me even though I knew he longed to join them.

Three men assailed Claude at once, and just when I thought he’d drop beneath their weight, Claude’s fist crashed upward, striking one man’s jaw with a sickening crack. A second man dropped to his knees when Claude snapped his arm like it was no more substantial than a child’s. The third screamed when his nose was shattered.

Xander’s blade easily cut down two more guards, blood staining the floor all around them.

Zafir fought like nothing I’d ever seen before, using his feet just as agilely as he used his hands, lashing out in powerful, sweeping chest kicks. He incapacitated several men before they learned to watch out for the rib-crushing maneuver.

“Help them,” I whispered, but Max just turned to look at me over his shoulder, his brows raised.

“I won’t leave you again,” he vowed. “Besides, they’re doing just fine on their own.”

A guard holding a sword to Claude’s throat was disarmed effortlessly when Zafir lunged behind him and wrapped a thick arm around his neck. After about twenty seconds, the man dropped to the ground like a sack of flour.

It was then that I saw Xander. He was assaulted by two men at once, caught offguard when one of the men pulled a dagger from his belt and sliced Xander’s arm. Blood oozed from the wound, and Xander dropped his blade, instinctively closing his fingers around the injury. The guard with the knife sneered, positioning his weapon at Xander’s neck.

I saw the muscles in Max’s jaw clench.

“Go!” I urged in a rough whisper, and that was all it took.

Max sprang forward, crashing into the armed guard and knocking him to the ground. The sound of the man’s skull hitting the solid floor rippled through the air, echoing off the walls. His eyes rolled backward in his head.