Page 69 of The Abandoned Princess

“I thought they were delightful!” I protested.

“You would,” she muttered. “Of course you would.”

“They do seem a little outside the normal Northhelmian mold,” Xander said with a chuckle. “I can well imagine the court must find them a challenge.”

We all went to bed early after a supper delivered by the trio of young royals. They brought the food with the same furtive air they might have used to pass royal secrets to an enemy agent. But even Lori was grateful for the feast and shared the best delicacies with them before sending them off so we could have an early night.

Any nerves about the next day were easily overcome by the incredible comfort of the bed and pillow.

“Ahhh…” I stretched out, closing my eyes and reveling in the luxury. “I’ve missed this. My bed in the tower was better than the forest ground, but it wasn’t like this.”

“It’s a fine room,” Lori agreed. “And we’d best be getting what rest we can.”

I agreed and fell quickly into a blissful sleep.

Lori woke me the next morning when she opened one of the curtains, letting light flood into the room.

“Mrghblgh,” I groaned, covering my eyes with my arm.

“Princess Danielle said the coronation jewels will be removed from the vault early,” Lori said crisply, pulling open the second curtain.

I sat straight up, my eyes flying open. “The coronation!”

We had saved some bread and cheese from the meal the night before, so we quickly completed a simple breakfast. Xander joined us halfway through, and we were all ready and waiting when the door opened.

I had been expecting Arabella, but it was Danielle who stood there, beckoning for us to come out.

“Ara was needed for whatever mischief they have planned,” she said by way of explanation. “This makes more sense anyway, since I need to go to the vault too.”

She led us unerringly through a series of corridors, eventually turning into one that held only a single, familiar set of double doors. Four new guards stood in the same arrangement as the guards the previous day, and two of their eyes flicked in our direction.

I had an unsettled moment when I thought they could see us, and then I remembered that the girl in the lead was perfectly visible to them.

She kept walking until she was standing directly in front of them.

“Lieutenant,” she said respectfully.

“Your Highness.” He gave a half-bow, looking clearly uneasy.

“I see I’m early,” she said. “I’ll wait for the captain.”

The guard instantly relaxed, and Danielle stepped back to wait against the opposite wall of the corridor. She flicked her eyes down the corridor, and we obediently followed their direction to an alcove further down the hall. It was a tight fit to get the three of us behind the plinth that held a large, decorative vase, but at least we were out of obvious view for when Eulalie appeared.

I was so tense waiting to see if it would be the captain of the guards or Eulalie who arrived first that I barely noticed that our cramped quarters meant I was practically in Xander’s arms. But I couldn’t help but notice when his arms actively curved around me. It was a subtle movement, but when I looked up, I found him looking down at me with a warm expression that held a hint of mischief. I froze, heat rushing into my face as I forgot all about Lori pressed awkwardly against my other side.

Xander angled his head slightly to breathe words into my ear that were so quiet even Lori couldn’t hear them.

“Would I be breaking my promise to avoid surprises if I kissed you now?”

My eyes flew back to his, a strange feeling washing over me. He’d spoken of surprises before—had that not been a dream? Had he really…The palm of my hand tingled while his eyes laughed at me.

I was saved from answering by sound and movement from the corridor. We all squirmed around as we tried to get a view of what was happening, and Xander’s arms dropped away from me.

I told myself it was a relief and directed my brain to focus on the important happenings by the vault. Even so, it took me several seconds to absorb what I was seeing.

By the time I realized that it was a large collection of guards in formal uniforms with no sign of Eulalie, Xander was already looking down at me with both eyebrows raised. I shrugged.

I had no idea why she wasn’t here yet, but her absence would certainly make our task a lot easier. The princess would be disappointed, though. She was ready to identify the correct jewels for us, but we weren’t going to be able to identify Eulalie for her.

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