Page 1 of Royal Shark
Chapter One
The Pact
Thirteen years ago…
Adrian
“I bet you’re too chicken to race to the big rock!” The big rock is much farther than we usually swim. I rip off my T-shirt, tossing it on the sand. I’ve got her. Sara Travers can’t resist a bet.
She stands in her blue swimsuit and plants her hands on her hips, making the bottom of her tank lift. “You wish, Adrian!”
I stare at her smooth tanned stomach, and I get thisfeeling. I’ve been getting it all summer whenever her top lifts. It’s strange because it’s the same stomach and curve of lower back I saw last summer and all the summers before. It must mean I’m ready for a girlfriend like my older brothers. I am twelve, practically a teenager, and being the youngest, I’ve always worked hard to keep up with my four older brothers. Oscar told me it’s easy to get a girlfriend. As soon as they hear you’re a prince, they practically throw themselves at your feet.
She marches up to me, her long blond hair swinging in a high ponytail, her green eyes flashing. “I bet I win the race, sucker!”
Then again, I may have known her too long for the prince thing to have any effect. Me, Sara, and my twin, Silvia, have spent every summer together since we were eight. Sara’s father is from France and used to visit Villroy as a child. That’s why they rent a cottage here. Her mother is American, so they live back in New York City.
I smirk. “Here’s the bet. When I win, you give me your cookies for the rest of the week.” Her mother bakes chocolate chip cookies and sends them in Sara’s packed lunch on beach days. We never get those at the palace. Sara only shares a tiny crumb normally.
She crinkles her nose, the sprinkle of light freckles across it catching my eye. There’s seven freckles, my lucky number. “WhenIwin, I want dibs on the front seat for the rest of the week.”
Usually I get the front seat of the car because I’m the tallest at five feet nine. Silvia, Sara, and Sara’s little sister, Chloe, get the backseat. Our driver/guard picks them up and drops them off at their place. There’s a second car with another guard and Silvia’s maid, Marie, who isnota babysitter for us. Marie keeps an eye on Chloe, who’s a five-year-old terror.
“Hi-yah!” Chloe shouts at the top of her lungs and then kicks her way through the sand castle that Silvia spent the last hour helping her make.
“Chloe!” Silvia exclaims, plucking Chloe up and out of the way.
“I’m Godzilla!” Chloe shouts, kicking wildly. Her ponytail band must’ve lost its grip because all I see is a crazy blur of blond hair.
Sara shakes her head. “I told you she’d destroy it.”
Silvia puts Chloe down, who goes right back to destroying the sand castle with wild kicks and karate chops. Silvia sighs. “I made it extra special, too, with a moat and everything.”
“You wanna race me and Adrian?” Sara asks. “Winner gets the front seat.”
“I’m going to read,” Silvia says and takes a seat under the white canvas cabana. Her dark brown hair hangs straight to her shoulders instead of in the neat bun our mother insists on. Lately, Silvia has been making “personal fashion choices” away from the palace. I’ll never tell. We’re closer than best friends, being twins.
We’re on the north shore beach, which is great because of all the fish. Anyone could come here since it’s a public beach, but they usually go for the south side beaches closer to the port, where the public ferry comes in.
“Come on,” I say to Sara, heading toward the water.
“Don’t you think Silvia reads too much?” Sara whispers as soon as we’re a distance away. “I only read on rainy days and during school when they make me.”
I lift one shoulder. My twin has always been a big reader. I like math a lot better; numbers always make sense.
We wade in up to our knees, the waves splashing us. Sara turns to me, a gleam in her eye. She thinks she can win. “On the count of three.”
I nod once.
She narrows her eyes, looking at our goal, the big black rock. “One.”
I crouch low, ready to dive under the waves.
“Two.”Splash!She went on two!
I dive in after her, swimming furiously to catch up to her. I should’ve known she’d cheat. She wants to win as bad as I do.
I pull ahead easily. My arms and legs are longer, and my shoulders are bigger and stronger now that I had a growth spurt. I slow down, keeping pace with her so she’ll feel like she has a chance. I’ll pull ahead at the very last minute. Girls hate when you win by too much. My twin taught me that.
