Page 37 of A Fierce Princess

“We’ll follow you back to the compound,” Pete says to Lucas.

I throw down my earphones and run to the front door. The second the cars pull up, I run out, not caring that the gate is still closing, just caring that my brother and Logan are safe.

Pete barely throws the car in park when he runs at me, essentially shielding me with his body as the gate closes.

“Anna! What the fuck were you thinking?!” he yells at me. But I’m not listening, I’m staring at a rather shaken Auggie and Logan who are emerging from the other car. I break free of Pete and run to my brother, throwing my arms around him.

“Are you OK?” I ask them, pulling back and then hugging Logan.

“We’re fine,” my brother mutters. “Not the first time a crazy has tailed us.”

I glare at him.

“We’re fine,” Logan reiterates, giving me a squeeze before letting me go.

Pete comes back toward me. “Change of plans, are you packed?” he asks.

“Aside from a few items, yes. Why?” I ask him.

“We’re leaving now,” he states.

We’re ushered back into our uncle’s home and within minutes our staff has us packed up into different cars, and we are heading toward the airport.

“We’ll get you sorted with your bank when we’re settled in Norddale,” my brother reassures Logan. Logan just nods and stares out the window.

We pull up to the private jet belonging to a friend of my father’s and board it. It’d been a last-minute switch, as my uncle’s plane wasn’t yet ready for us. I take in the opulent surroundings of the aircraft. It is extravagant even by my standards.

I feel like everything moves in fast-forward as the flight crew readies the plane. And then, we’re airborne. I’m sitting next to Shannon. Auggie and Logan sit across from us. Mia and Chris sit with Paolo and Pete and the rest of our security detail sits behind us.

A flight attendant offers us food, but not a single person accepts it. The adrenaline rush has people tapping their legs, drumming their fingers on the tables, and staring out into the clouds. When I finally feel my body lose its energy, I fall fast asleep.

Chapter 18

Arriving home is not in the least bit peaceful. Thirty minutes before landing, I hear a murmur from our security team. I turn around, and they are all on their phones. I look at my brothers who are also taking in the sudden uptake in action behind us.

“What’s going on?” Chris asks.

It’s Cain that comes forward to speak with us.

“There’s a situation. We’ll need to transport you all immediately to the summer palace when we arrive. The king will be meeting us there as will your aunt and uncle,” Cain says.

I feel the color drain from my face because the last time our entire family was whisked away to the summer palace, my mother had been killed in a car accident. Cain sees my face and touches my arm to soothe me.

“It’s alright, Your Highness. No one has been killed. Your uncle’s plane, the one we were meant to take home today, exploded on the runway a little while ago. Local authorities are still at the scene, but it appears that explosives were used,” Cain explains. Something about his American accent makes his news seem less official, less horrendous. It takes a few seconds for his words to sink in, but when they do my eyes go wide.

“Oh, god!” I exclaim. “That could have been us!” I am overcome by profound guilt at the thought that I may have caused this.

“I know. That’s why everyone is going to the summer palace. We’ll have your staff bring over any belongings that you’ll need for the foreseeable future. I’m warning you now, security will be very tight. The normal shenanigans”—Cain pauses and looks between Auggie and me—“will not be condoned.”

Auggie nods his understanding, as do I.

“I’ll debrief you further once we land, but right now our team has work to do,” he says as he turns and walks back to the rest of our security team.

We all stare at each other for a moment as we contemplate the information thrust upon us moments ago. Chris is the first to turn his cell phone back on. I hear the pings of messages popping up on it. Then it rings. Chris picks up immediately.

“Yes. Yes, Father. I understand. Cain alerted us. No, we were all sleeping. I don’t think anyone had turned their phones back on. Yes. Right. We’ll see you shortly then,” Chris says as I hear the one side of his conversation with our father, the king.

“Apparently our father was a bit concerned,” Chris says with a huff.

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