Page 20 of Royal Caleva: Luis

Grace accepted the pen Mikel held out to her, signing her name so it was clear and legible on both pages.

Mikel tucked the forms back into the folder before he pulled out a white plastic box. “With your permission, Bridget will administer the test. She is trained as an EMT.”

“What do I have to do?” Grace asked as Bridget opened the box and took out a couple of long swabs in sterile packages, along with two plastic vials.

“You just let me swab the inside of each cheek for forty seconds,” Bridget said. “May I wash my hands?”

“Of course,” Eve said. “Go right in the kitchen.”

“His Majesty asked me to convey his gratitude for allowing us to administer the test so quickly,” Mikel said to Grace. “He looks forward to meeting you once the results are confirmed.”

Grace nodded but said nothing. Eve suspected her daughter’s throat was tight with nerves.

When Bridget returned, she unscrewed the top of one of the vials and tore open a swab’s envelope. “Would you mind standing up? It will be more comfortable for you.”

Grace stood and opened her mouth so Bridget could twirl the swab against the inside of her right cheek. Mikel started a timer on his phone. The room grew very silent as they watched Bridget roll the swab to gather Grace’s saliva. The timer chimed, and Bridget withdrew the swab, inserting the absorbent end into the vial.

Bridget repeated the procedure on Grace’s left cheek and packed the vials into another plastic box, this one smaller and flatter, before she handed it to Mikel. He laid three labels in front of Grace. “Would you sign these as well? I will use them to seal the box. It will not be opened again until it is in the testing lab, but the labels will prove your DNA has not been tampered with.”

“How long will it take to get the results?” Grace asked as she wrote her name on the labels.

“We will have the answer by tomorrow morning.” Mikel stuck one label over each seam of the box.

For a moment, Eve’s gaze rested on the box. It seemed so small and unassuming to bear the weight of her daughter’s future.

“I will transport this to the lab personally.” Mikel placed the box in the briefcase. He closed the lid and then pressed his thumb against the locking mechanism. “The lab is a private one, and Grace’s identity will not be anywhere in their records. Once the test is completed, her samples will be destroyed under my supervision.”

Not just for Grace’s benefit, but for the king’s. He wouldn’t want any extraneous royal DNA floating around.

Mikel picked up the briefcase. “We will not impose upon you any longer.”

“Please call me as soon as you have the results,” Eve said. “No matter what time it is.”

“I will be in touch immediately after I inform the king,” Mikel said, but a gleam of understanding showed in his eyes. “He also wishes to hear the moment the analysis is complete.”

Eve nodded as they all stood and went to the front door.

Once again, Mikel bowed. Grace eyed him for a moment. “Are you going to bow every time you see me?”

His lips quirked into a half smile. “On official occasions, yes. It is your due as the daughter of my king. If you prefer to dispense with the gesture in less formal settings, I will follow your wishes.”

“Good.” Grace nodded. “Let’s do that.”

As soon as the door closed behind them, Grace burst into tears.

“Oh, sweetheart, it’s okay.” Eve wrapped her arms around her sobbing daughter.

Grace burrowed into her. “It’s…it’s insane! People are bowing to me! My father might be a king, and I might be some kind of princess! I don’t know what to do with all that.”

Eve let her daughter wail a little longer before she drew her to the sofa. Grabbing a box of tissues with one hand, she set it beside Grace. “Let’s wait for the DNA test results before we plunge into the princess issue.”

“Wait, Luis wasn’t married to my mother, so I’m illegitimate. Even with a DNA match, I might not be a princess,” Grace said, mopping the tears off her face. “Except that Bridget curtsied, and Mikel bowed. By the way, is it just me, or is Mikel a little scary?”

Eve heaved an inner sigh of relief. If Grace was trying to analyze the ramifications of her birth, she had gotten past the emotional overload…for now.

“Mr. Silva is the king’s head of security,” Eve said, “so it’s probably an occupational requirement that he strike fear into the hearts of evildoers. As for you being illegitimate, it seems that there have been other royals born without benefit of married parents who were still considered full members of the royal family.”

“Huh.” Grace twisted around to face Eve. “I’m never going to be able to sleep tonight. There’s too much spinning around in my brain.”

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