Page 69 of A Fierce Princess

“Be careful,” he whispers before crashing his mouth to mine.

“I will. I promise,” I say to him. “Well, as careful as I can be,” I add with a wink. He returns the eye roll.

“Anna, why do I think that you might be the death of me?” he asks. I grin.

“Why are people always asking me that?” I say in my most innocent voice.

He cups my cheek, and all humor is gone. His eyes penetrate my soul as he stares into them. I swallow hard.

“I’m serious. Be careful,” he reiterates as he leans his brow against mine. I close my eyes and breathe in that oaky cologne, which I immediately commit to memory once more. I feel the strength of his muscles under my grasp on his upper arms, that too is immediately committed to memory. His lips brush against mine, and I sigh with contentment. For a split second, I wish I could stay here in his arms forever, safe from the world. But then I open my eyes again, resigned to the fact that I have to face the future. I can’t rest until I know who’s behind all of this, and I don’t trust anyone but myself to solve that mystery.

“OK,” I answer, seriously this time. I kiss him once more and then go to the door and pop it open. I turn as I go through, and I see that he’s watching me. “I’ll be right back,” I say as I hurry into the passageway. It doesn’t take me long to sneak through Auggie’s room, which he is thankfully not in as I use another hidden passage to get to the butler’s pantry. I find my laptop, undisturbed this time.

I look down at the screen. My fingers pulling up my search. There’s a new message.

“It’s been taken care of. You are relieved of your duty.” I frantically follow the trail left by the message, hoping that’s it not too late to track it down. I home in on it, tunneling through the dark web, mapping out the signal, until it stops. I stare in complete and utter shock.

The signal is coming from the palace. And it’s live. I look again and then again. It can’t be right. I double-check once more, but there’s no denying it. Whoever it is, is here, right now. My stomach lurches as I ponder who. Is it Sten? My mind races through the faces of my family, of Logan’s family, of our staff. I’m not sure who I can trust, anyone in this palace could be a killer. When I was a child, I loved to play the board game Clue. Only right now, I don’t know who, or with what, or the biggest question of all, why?

I back up my data to my server and slide the laptop back into my new hiding spot, which is a loose board in the bottom of the cabinet. I head toward my father’s study. I need to talk to him. My father has nothing to gain from Logan’s death, so I know he’s not behind this. I stop mid-step and shake my head. I can’t even think he’d be behind this. I continue walking. I have to trust someone. And that someone needs to be my father. I’ll tell Logan as soon as I can. I make it to the study and knock on the door. There’s no answer, so I peek inside to find the room empty. I sigh. I turn to walk back up toward my father’s chamber when I feel the ground shake and a loud boom.

Chapter 27

The sound is deafening. The building shakes for a few seconds. And then for half a second…silence…utter, eerie silence before there are screams and shouts. I shake my head to clear it. My ears are ringing, and I look around. There’s so much smoke that I’m momentarily disoriented. The smoke stings my eyes and burns my lungs. I cough and sputter as I look, but I can’t see through the haze in front of me. There are flames in the distance and pieces of wood and stone on the ground. I get down on my hands and knees and crawl toward what I think is the front door. When I arrive, I use my shirt to turn the metal handle and push it open. I stumble down the front steps and land on the pebbles, gasping for fresh air. A moment later, Gerard is standing next to me.

“Are you alright, Princess?” he asks, crouching down to examine me. I lift a hand.

“Yes,” I choke out. I wipe my face with my hand and sit up, looking around. I only see Gerard. “Where is everyone?” I cry out as I stumble to my feet.

A second later, Chris emerges carrying Mia in his arms. I run to them.

“Is she OK?” I yell.

I notice her arm is bloody.

“She fell; I don’t know,” Chris says, his eyes wild. I hear sirens in the distance. I realize there are security guards running into the palace, my gaze follows them, scanning up to see flames shooting out of the top of the palace. Movement at the door draws my attention back down. I see Logan, his eyes scanning until they find me. He runs toward me and crushes me to me.

“Thank god!” he yells. “I couldn’t find you.”

“Where is everyone?” I call out. The sounds of the flames, sirens, and shouting of security permeate the air. It’s like a fuzzy background noise in my ringing ears, and I can’t exactly pinpoint the volume of my voice over the other sounds.

“I don’t know,” he says, looking back at the chaos.

I see Tessa and Auggie stumble around from the back. They seem OK, and I assume the kitchen area was not compromised by the explosion as the flames are shooting out toward the wing where my father, King Edvard, and Lara and Hans’s chambers are located. My mind freezes at the realization, and I shudder.

I take off running back inside. I hear the calls of my brothers and staff. I turn for a brief moment, Shannon and Marcus are now coming from around the building behind Auggie, Tessa, and Liza, who has stumbled out of the building as well.

I lock eyes with Logan. He gives me a pleading look, and then I turn and run inside.

The spray of the fire sprinklers is going now and coats me in a fine mist of water. I rip my shirt and wrap it around my mouth and nose to keep my lungs from inhaling the pungent, smoky air. I see staff running out with priceless antiques, paintings, and such. I yell at them to get out of here. They tell me to turn back, but I continue up the stairs. The smoke becoming thicker with each step.

“Anna, stop,” I hear Logan’s voice behind me.

“I won’t let them die,” I say. I recall him saying I was brave and reckless, and at this moment, I feel very much both, but I also feel determined. I won’t let anyone die without a fight.

I continue on, I hear Logan behind me, but I sprint in the direction of my father’s chambers. I know I’m close to Lara and Hans’s door. I feel for it and push it open. I’m pushed back by flames.

“Aunt Lara!” I yell.

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