Courted: Gowns & Crowns, Book 1 (18 page)

He opened one eye. They were both moving in the water almost lazily, the combined strength of their legs keeping them afloat. “Our military training is very specific. Anything that allows us to come in contact with beautiful women, we consider to be a tactical advantage.”

“I’ll bet you do.”

She looked so impossibly perfect that he was tempted to show her a few more of his training maneuvers, only his body felt like it had been shot full of some kind of drug. If he’d had to walk right now instead of merely float, he didn’t think he could have managed it.

Instead, he drifted, reveling in the feel of Emmaline as she sighed and snuggled close. He’d met this woman only a day before. In another day’s time, he would return her to her friends. In two, he would see her—probably for the last time—at a ball where he was supposed to play host to the daughters of allies and family friends who actually thought they wanted to marry him.

It was all completely insane. But for now, he didn’t have to worry about any of it.

“Kristos.”

He looked down at Emmaline, his heart shifting oddly at the frank admiration in her eyes as she gazed at him. “What is it,
koukla mou
?”

“Why do you love it so much, specifically? The work you do in the military?”

He could deflect the question, he knew. There was no reason for her to know, none for her to pry, and her natural reticence would flare up immediately if he showed the slightest irritation. But he found that he wanted to share something more with this woman, some piece of himself that was his alone to give. He tightened his hold on her, turning them both in the water.

“My entire existence is made possible because of Garronia. Because of all who have come before me. I owe my life, the lives of every one of my family and friends, to people I will never meet. Serving in the military, pledging my life to ensure the safety of my country, it’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do, to honor those who’ve fought before me. The thing I was meant to do.”

“You’ve suffered a lot because of it, though.”

“I’ve not suffered anything.” His arms firmed around her body, but she didn’t try to break away, didn’t try to shut him down, even though the conversation was perhaps not what she expected. “The scars on my back were the exit wounds of gunshots I took on a day where a third of my unit died. They and their families were the ones who suffered. I lived. My leg was clipped by shrapnel in another firefight, but I walked away from that battle too. Others didn’t. Still others remain in harm’s way even now, while I come home to a castle filled with
photographers
.” He didn’t fight the snarl in tone as he said the last word. “To smile and dance and bow. I have no purpose here. I will never have a purpose here.”

“So why are they asking you to do it? Isn’t there anyone else who could serve as prince? A cousin or—”

“Frederick.” Kristos grimaced, imagining Cyril having to train the crown cousin in matters of diplomacy. Then again, how did it make more sense to allow Frederick to rise within the military ranks, where he could cause real damage versus just upsetting some minor diplomat visiting on holiday. Still, even as Kristos imagined that possibility, he saw again the weariness of his father, the almost manic cheer of his mother. They believed Kristos’s role was as a figurehead.
How do I know they aren’t right?

“Frederick, then.” Emmaline leaned up and kissed Kristos firmly, her bright manner instantly pulling him out of his gloom. “He’s probably a handsomer Prince Charming anyway.”

Kristos barked his laughter as Emmaline darted away from him. They splashed once more through the wall of water and angled back toward the ATV, Emmaline’s voice so filled with joy that he didn’t wait for her to order him out of the water to reclaim her clothes. Their bags were suspiciously close to the water’s edge, and he shook his head as he pulled on his shorts, not bothering to look for Dimitri. The guard was many things, but subtle wasn’t one of them. His reasons for coming on this adventure had nothing to do with testing equipment, Kristos knew, and everything to do with not letting another prince out of his sight.

How long had Dimitri stayed up, sleepless, in the days and weeks following the disappearance of Ari? How much had he blamed himself for not anticipating that the crown prince of Garronia would take off in a plane filled with experimental gadgetry, not willing to wait for his bodyguard to return to escort him?

It had been a long, hard year for Dimitri, and one devoid of happiness. Kristos was not about to make things difficult for him now.

Well, not any more difficult than the man deserved on general principles.

He returned to the edge of the water, setting down the bag and tossing Emmaline’s shift to the rock. “It will dry fast if you want to dress in the water.”

“Such a gentleman.” Emmaline snagged the shift and pulled it over her head as she scrambled out of the water, giving Kristos only the briefest of glimpses of her bikini-less hips as she did. She finished dressing as he lay back on the rock. “What will you do when your neighbor accuses you of littering his property with partial bathing suits?”

Kristos shrugged. “He’s used to it.”

They sat there talking a good half an hour more, a surprise to Kristos, since he damned well knew that Dimitri was near. Still, he would take it. By the time the bodyguard did finally arrive, coincidentally just as Emmaline was pulling out food for their lunch, the sun was high in the sky. It was another gorgeous summer day, so typical of June in Garronia, and Emmaline seemed to have come alive—as if the water of the Estral Falls had worked their magic on her, finally drawing her out. Then again, how was he to know that this was not her natural way? Perhaps her nerves and embarrassment were a shield until she felt comfortable, but once she let her guard down, she was laughter and sunshine and music.

Even now, she was looking at Dimitri as if he was some kind of superhero. “You’re the actual captain of the guard
and
a bodyguard? How do you do both?”

“Poorly,” Kristos put in as Dimitri waved him off.

“He is jealous. The Crown sees fit to put me where they have the greatest need. I am currently stationed in the capital city and have had to slow my pace to keep this one out of trouble for the past year. Now that he is moving into his royal status, I will be able to focus on my own men.”

Kristos snorted. “You’ll be able to focus on my useless cousin, you mean. So don’t get too comfortable.”

They stayed longer than they intended in the beautiful sunlit park, though Dimitri’s eyes continually scanned the horizon. Still, no one disturbed them. It looked like the place hadn’t been visited in years, though Kristos knew that wasn’t true—he’d come here himself recently, after all. But their mood grew increasingly more somber as they drove back through the heavy forests, and he felt an uneasiness creep over him that was only partly due to Dimitri’s vigilance.

Something didn’t feel right suddenly. Something was coming up on him too fast.

Emmaline seemed to notice it too. She chattered brightly for half the way home, demanding to know the history of Garronia, its greatest accomplishments, and the prowess of its military. She stared wide-eyed when he explained that some of the people in the mountains never ventured down to the sea, as if defining the borders of their tiny kingdom would somehow shatter their understanding of their place in it. She nodded sympathetically when he talked about the brain drain of universities calling Garronia’s best and brightest students abroad—some of them only to return many years later as tourists to their own birthplace. She made him see Garronia through the eyes of a newcomer, which made him love it all the more.

But even she fell quiet as they broke out of the forest to the more well-used track that led onto Theo’s land. Evening had fallen on the mountains, and the night pressed close, but the sounds of the darkening forest were lost to them as the ATV ground its way along. Then the trees cleared for a moment, and Emmaline turned her gaze to the chateau.

Her eyes flew wide. Behind him, Dimitri cursed.

“They’ve lit it up like a signal flare.”

Without saying anything further, Kristos angled back into the forest, killing the engine as they stared at Theo’s home. A helicopter with its call letters slashed across it in English and Garronois circled the area, shining a light down on the beautiful mountain home.

“I don’t suppose that’s the GNSF coming to check in on us?” Emmaline’s hand was tight on the roll bar of the ATV, though they’d stopped moving.

“Those call letters are from the main network in Garronia.” Kristos scowled at Dimitri. “Who leaked?”

“Maybe no one. The story was dying, but it’s such a good one, it might deserve an extra shot at coming back to life. Imagine the coup if a reporter found the missing prince and mermaid princess after all.” He slid Kristos a wry glance. “We do have a habit of misplacing those two.”

A second helicopter lifted over the horizon, and they all reflexively ducked. But the pair suddenly banked and angled away to the northwest. “A sweep, then, nothing more,” Dimitri said, satisfied. “They’re probably hitting every chateau ever associated with the royal family. But though they have left, we can’t be certain it’s for good. They’ve doubtless left a drone or two behind.”

“Drones?” Emmaline gaped at him. “In the air? To spy on us?”

“It’s not so surprising. A sweep with a reporter makes sense because you can report on the spot if you find something. But leave a drone behind to record images, and you can keep eyes on a location for a lot longer.”

“But how is that legal?” she asked, aghast. “This is private property.”

Kristos tightened his jaw. “The laws haven’t kept up with technology,” he said. “Theo owns the ground, not the sky above it. He’s a private citizen, not government.” He passed a hand over his face. “But if you are right, Dimitri, then what? We make a run for it?”

Dimitri pulled the blankets aside, revealing two additional containers snugged into the ATV. “We have enough gas to get us wherever we need to go. But the best location is Melios, two clicks down the mountain. I’ll call ahead. Think you can get us there in the dark?”

Kristos popped the center console of the vehicle, hauling out Dimitri’s night-vision goggles. “You weren’t the only one who came prepared.”

Chapter 13

Em dug her fingers into her seat harness, trying not to grab for the roll bar every time Kristos swerved from one patch of utter darkness to the next. Dimitri, behind them, was working an app on his satellite phone that seemed to be some sort of a special-edition compass, warning not only of directional changes but of major topographical features, which Kristos recited back to him as he saw them come up. They were crashing down the far side of the mountain without the benefit of roads, but her dread had less to do with fearing they’d end up dead in a ditch, and more with returning to the real world.

It wasn’t fair. She wasn’t ready yet.

She turned her head resolutely away from Kristos and stared into the utter blackness, unsure of how much detail he could pick up with his otherworldly night goggles. She knew she should be happy to be reunited with her friends, but today had been so extraordinary because it had actually seemed
normal
. Just three people enjoying a day at the lake. The fact that the lake had been the private property of a multimillionaire, and her picnic mates had been a prince and his bodyguard, was beside the point. Kristos and Dimitri had talked about their shared battles, the work they were doing with the new recruits, their plans for upgrading the military’s training and technology. He’d come alive with his friend, and she’d never seen someone so unselfconsciously passionate about his work. She’d reveled in his excitement, and thought she would never tire of his stories—his sudden, bright laughter, his thoughtful silences. By the time they’d left the falls, she’d felt more relaxed than she had in years. Since her parents’ accident, surely. Probably quite a while before.

She rubbed her thumbs over her fingers, which, as Kristos had noted, were still callused despite her now only occasional play. She’d spent most of her early life bent over her bow, letting the music take her to places she’d one day expected to follow with her feet. The endless practices had seemed worthwhile, however, because she could see her own improvement. There was always more that she could learn, more music yet to discover. Then high school had merged into college, and, almost before she realized it, that had ended too. When she’d been faced with the idea of competing for a professional orchestra, her music had quieted within her. So she had opted for university instead, and only a few short months later, the call about her parents had turned everything upside down.

She’d never looked back, but she’d stopped really looking forward too. She’d stopped performing, she’d stopped practicing. In many ways, she’d stopped dreaming.

And now she was being rushed back into the reality of her life before she could fully process what had happened between her and Kristos these last two days.

Nothing has happened between you
, she reminded herself.
You were two people who took advantage of an impromptu vacation from your lives. Enjoy it for what it is, then suck it up. Like you always do.

And yet, what if she
didn’t
have to suck it up this time? What if she could find some way to make this fairy tale real?

Impossible
. She knew it was impossible, and the heaviness of her heart was just something else she was going to have to get used to.

Even the best pieces of music came to an end, after all.

“Am I scaring you?” Kristos’s voice shouted over the grind of the ATV, and she turned back to him, peering into his weirdly distorted face with its gleaming red eyes.

“Only by how you look.”

Dimitri snorted as he leaned forward. “He gets that a lot. Watch out, Kristos—water.”

Kristos whooped as the ATV lumbered across a small stream, but the forest was already beginning to thin, and within another few short minutes, they were rolling into the village. Their ATV was covered with mud, they
all
were covered with mud, yet the few people out on the streets didn’t give them a second glance.