Winter Blockbuster 2012 (53 page)

“I know.” She made a face. “I don’t mean to be your constant
scold. That’s not much fun for either of us. And you deserve to have fun.” She gave him a silly grin that just oozed affection. How could she help it? She adored him and adored the way he told her what he was thinking all the time. There was very little about Max that was inscrutable.

And then she sobered. “Just don’t forget how serious these times are. The war may be officially over, but there is more work to do. This truce with the Granvillis is going to lead to us taking over their area soon and who knows how that will go?”

He looked at her carefully. “You’re sure of that, are you?”

“Of the Granvillis surrendering? Everyone says it’s about to happen.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Funny thing. This old flying buddy I met last night? He has some ties to the Granvillis and he thinks they are getting ready for a new surge.”

Her heart sank. “Oh, no.”

“He seems to think they’re getting some international help they didn’t have before.”

She shook her head, knowing how terrible it would be if the war heated up again. “You’d better tell Monte,” she said anxiously.

He looked away and shrugged. “I might,” he said slowly. “I’ve got to think it over first.”

“What?” The very thought that he might hesitate to tell his brother and king something that might be vital to national security floored her.

He glanced back, looking defensive. “It was a private conversation. Just talking with a friend. I can’t back any of it up. I’m not sure if he was on the level or just trying to recruit me.”

“Recruit you!”

He nodded. “They need flyers.” He looked at her, hard.
“That’s what I do, Kayla. I’m a flyer. It’s what I love. I told him I’d think about it.”

“But …” She bit her tongue and turned away, horrified. Didn’t he see that doing something like that would be tantamount to treason? She had to find a way to make him understand that he was now a part of the heart and soul of the Ambrian people, and of this royal family. Their destiny was his destiny. All the rest would flow from that.

Turning back, she looked at him, so handsome, so rebellious. She thought of Eddie. He’d been the kind of man who always did the right thing without effort. He was never tortured by doubts the way Max was. But he’d loved the vulnerability in Max as much as she did, and Eddie’s own certainty was part of what drew Max to him, as she knew well. Two men, so different, yet both such quality guys. Max just didn’t know the extent of his virtue yet. But he would work it out. She had faith in him.

“Max, you’re representing the DeAngelis royal family now,” she said quietly. “And the nation of Ambria. That has to be your highest priority.”

He gave her a skeptical look and the corner of his mouth jerked down. She sighed, thinking about what she would say to him if only she could.

Max, you didn’t really grow up here. You have love of country in your blood, but not in your experience. You need both in order to understand what the others take for granted. You will. But you need to be introduced first. How am I going to make sure that happens?

She ached to say those things, but she knew he wasn’t ready to hear that right now. He was still feeling resentful.

“No matter what, I won’t be a spy,” he said, turning to look into her eyes. His jawline hardened. “I won’t rat on my flying buddies.”

She was so tempted to launch into a lecture on duty and patriotism and how those things had to come first, but she stopped herself. She was acting enough like a schoolmarm to turn Max from a best friend into an enemy. She had to learn a few things herself—things about when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em. So she bit her tongue and smiled brightly instead. After all, they were still trying to convince him that he should stay.

She knew one thing. Everyone who came in contact with him wanted him to hang around. But he was so bored with the whole thought of being a prince. She was afraid one of the other offers that kept pouring in would tempt him and he’d be gone.

CHAPTER EIGHT

H
ALF
an hour later, Kayla and Max were taking the elevator down to the main floor, where the gymnasium was located. The gym had a marquee, like an old-fashioned movie theater, and today it was advertising a basketball game that night. But as they walked in, half of the pictures posted in the display boxes had to do with minor sports and most of those were fencing.

“Have you ever studied fencing?” Kayla asked him as they entered the cavernous room. All the princes had been trained and Max would have to learn as well.

“Never.” He pretended to wield an imaginary foil. “We didn’t do much of that in the crowd I ran with.”

“Well, take a good look,” she said with a sweep of her hand. “Because you’re going to have to learn.”

“This lame stuff?” He looked down over the edge of the railing and suddenly hoped his voice hadn’t carried that far. Down below were numerous men in white clothing, holding very slender swords.

“Why don’t you put on a suit and go in and give it a try? It might just open your eyes.” She snickered. “Or kill you.”

He gave her a baleful look, but before he could make a rejoinder, someone hailed him from the floor.

“Hey, Max. Come on down here and give me some competition.” The fencer pulled up his mask and slashed the air with his foil.

Max laughed, realizing it was his brother Joe. “I don’t know one end of a sword from another. I’d probably end up stabbing myself,” he called down.

“I was just like you a few months ago,” Joe said. “Hey, I spent most of my growing up years on a surfboard in California. What did I know about these ancient ritualistic sports?” He grinned. “But I learned. And it’s a lot of fun, actually. Gives you a good workout, too. We’ll have to get you set up with lessons.”

“Cool,” Max said back. “If a surfer boy can learn, I guess a seat-of-the-pants flyer can.”

“Absolutely.”

“Though I don’t know if I can fit it in,” Max added, teasing Kayla, though he was still talking to Joe. “I’m real busy learning how to be a prince, you know.”

“You have somebody teaching you?” Joe cried. “Hey, how do I get in on that gig?”

“I’ll tell Pellea you’re interested,” Kayla told him with a laugh.

“Do that.” He saluted them both. “See you later,” he added as he pulled his mask back down and took the ready position.

“He doesn’t need any lessons,” Max said in admiration. “Look at him.”

She did, then she turned back, eyes sparkling. “Max, you ought to look at yourself. You look just as good as he does. It’s only a matter of time until you have the confidence to carry it off without a waver.”

“Sure,” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth. “Whatever you say, teacher lady. I’m here to learn.”

Next stop was at the tailor. Mr. Nanvone’s father had been the royal tailor thirty years before, and now his son had taken over. Max was less enthusiastic about this visit.

“Why don’t we just wait awhile and see if we’re really going to need formal wear and all that stuff?” he suggested as they reached the shop. Mannequins in tuxedos lined the show windows. “After all …”

Just then a smartly dressed man emerged from the shop doorway. It took a double take for Max to realize it was another of his brothers.

“Max,” Mykal said jovially. “Come to get your fancy formal wear ordered?”

Max made a face. “Unfortunately, it does seem to be the goal here.”

Mykal laughed. “We all have to do it. You want to play, you’ve got to wear the gear.”

Max looked him over and blurted out, “What made you decide?”

Mykal looked wary. “Decide what?”

Max shrugged. “Whether you wanted to play or not.”

They stared at each other for a long moment and then a grin broke through Mykal’s reserve. “So you’re still at that stage, are you? Wondering if it’s all worth it.” He patted him on the shoulder. “Been there, done that. And as you see, I’m still here.”

He gave Kayla a wide smile, winked, then turned back to Max.

“Listen, come see me one of these days. We’ll talk.” And he was off.

Max watched him go, still favoring one side of his body
over the other. Max sighed and then turned and followed Kayla into the tailor shop.

“I guess that motorcycle accident really did a number on him, didn’t it?” Max murmured to her.

“Yes. He almost died. He had shrapnel in his back, very close to his spine, and they didn’t want to operate because of that. But Mykal decided he would take any chance to be whole again, so he insisted on surgery.”

Max nodded. “Brave guy.” He squared his shoulders. “If he can do this, so can I. Where’s the man with the measuring tape?”

Kayla laughed as Mr. Nanvone instantly appeared from behind the curtain barrier into the back room, a measuring tape in his hand.

His session didn’t last very long, but by the time the measuring and other necessary particulars were finished, he seemed exhausted.

“The questions were the worst,” he told her as they left the shop. “‘Which do you prefer,’” he mimicked, copying the tailor’s accent, “‘ostrich-or pearl-gray, teal or military green, oxford or gold-ore brown.’ Too many decisions!”

“Hold it,” Kayla said, reaching for her phone. “There’s a message from Pellea.” She read it quickly. “She wants us to come in right away. They’ve had a response from Mercuria.”

Her gaze met his and he reached out and took her by the hand.

“Let’s go.”

But as they walked toward the elevator, Max’s mood grew more somber.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Kayla looked up at him, curious. “What do you expect to go wrong? Things like this usually go on forever. We send our ambassador, they send theirs, they talk, they negotiate,
they go back to their respective corners and it all starts again. You hardly ever see anything actually resolved.”

He considered her description as they got onto the elevator and punched in the right floor. “I’d feel better if I knew what that historical artifact they think I took was. I mean, one person’s historical artifact could be another person’s used piece of trash. I wish I had some idea of what we’re looking for.”

Pellea’s face wasn’t giving away any clues as they walked into the office.

“Thank you for getting here so quickly,” she began. “I feel like things are escalating and I don’t want them to spin out of control.”

“Of course not,” Kayla agreed. “What have you heard?”

The queen waited while they took chairs, then continued. “I think I explained to you how the charges were addressed by our ambassador. He handed our letter to King Juomo personally. Here is the king’s response.”

She held up a large, embossed and very official-looking document.

“‘The plane and the horse are nothing to us. We are willing to let them go. The artifact is everything. We must have it back. There is only one way we will accept its return. Max Arragen must himself bring it back to Helgium Castle and offer it by hand to the Princess Nadine. No other method will suffice.’”

Pellea looked up and cocked her head in Max’s direction. “Princess Nadine?” she said questioningly. “A new element has been added. Care to elaborate?”

Max sighed and looked guilty. “I should have told you about Princess Nadine.”

Pellea’s eyes flashed. “Yes, you should have.”

Quickly he told her the same thing he had told Kayla, explaining
how crazy this was, at least in his opinion. “She’s just a teenaged girl with a teenaged crush. Nothing more.”

“A teenaged girl with the power to start a war.” Pellea glared at him. “And possibly have you executed.”

Executed. That was an ugly and very serious word. Everyone in the room seemed to reverberate to the vibes coming off just the sound of it for a moment.

Pellea was the first to break out of the spell. “All right, here’s the rest. ‘You have only three days left to comply with our demands. We are preparing for an invasion.’” She looked out at the others. “An invasion. The man is crazy, but then, those who invade other countries often are.”

There was a long silence, and then Max looked up.

“Why don’t I go? They can’t hold this whole country responsible for me if I’m not here and haven’t officially been made a part of the royal court. Just call me the black sheep, the one you can’t control, the one you can do nothing about. They can’t expect you to pay for my crimes.”

“Impossible. You are a prince of Ambria. We can’t let you go.”

He looked down again, then up. “You know, I didn’t do anything,” he said softly to Pellea.

She half smiled. “Max, if I thought you had done anything at all with a fifteen-year-old girl, we wouldn’t even be talking here anymore.”

He looked relieved. “Of course not.”

Kayla moved restlessly. “I think you should tell the queen about what happened to your rooms last night.”

Pellea turned a questioning face Max’s way. “Yes?”

“When I got in late last evening, I found my apartment ransacked. I think it was probably Mercurians after that darn artifact, whatever it may be.”

“Interesting.” She frowned. “Why weren’t you better guarded?”

He shrugged. “I’ve talked to the captain of the guard. I think conditions will improve.”

“Good.” She frowned again as he told her the situation and what had been done to his things.

“You’re sure nothing was taken?”

“As far as I can tell.”

“And you think it was the Mercurians?”

He nodded. “I’m sure of it.”

“Well, I guess we all had better be on our guard,” Pellea warned. “Those darn Mercurians.”

“Mercurians!”

That was the first thing Kayla thought when she opened the door to her own apartment later that afternoon. Everything looked normal at first, but she could tell. She had the distinct feeling that things were different. Strangers had been in her place. Nothing seemed to be missing. But there was a sense of invasion. Her personal space had been violated. She was sure of it.

She called Max right away.

“They tried hard to put everything back just the way it was,” she said. “But I can tell. These creepy people have been all through my things. Ugh!”

“Did you call the security guards?”