Page 71 of Desperately Yours

“No!” I tried to shout the warning, but it was too late. He threw the vial at the floor. Glass crashed and orange liquid spilled out in every direction. I sank in my dress, reaching out to what was left of the antidote that would have saved the king. I stared up at the prince’s advisor, eyes glassy. “How could you?”

Reginald’s face twisted into a malevolent smirk. “And you thought you’d won.”

So arrogant.

So confident in his victory…

“You don’t know it,” I whispered at Reginald, “but you just blew it.”

He pulled close enough that his voice couldn’t be heard beyond my ears. “It takes that girl eight hours to brew the antidote and I made sure his Royal Majesty received a dose of the poison large enough to take down an elephant. Long live the king.” With a wave of his hand, he ordered the guards, “Take her.”

Rough hands seized my arms and dragged me backward as Fitz called out to me. I dug my heels in and fought back, determined to free myself. I wasn’t going down this easy, not when—

“Guards!” A deep voice resonated from the double doors. “Unhand her!”

For a moment, I thought it was Fitz, but no, his time to rule would come, but thankfully not today.

Every head in the ballroom, plus the seven cameras, turned to face the open doors. There, leaning heavily on Kabir, stood the King of Nolcovia. “Arrest Reginald on charges of treason.”

The clamor in the room rose to deafening levels. Guards turned on each other, allegiances to factions clear in a moment’s time. Reginald ran for the doors, his aged body faster than I expected. Kabir passed the king to one of his men and tackled the traitor to the ground. Pandemonium unleashed, not that different from the first attack during the choosing ceremony. Women screamed. Bodies slammed into each other, trying to escape. In all the chaos, the hands holding me tight released and I collapsed to the floor. I curled into a ball, protecting my head, and hiding from the stampede of feet that thundered around me.

Last time Fitz’s security had escorted him from the room and I’d been left to save myself, Sadie and Blair had come to my rescue, but considering the judgment I’d just brought down on her head, I didn’t expect Sadie’s help.

I was on my own.

Fitz

“Coco!” My voice didn’t carry. In all the mayhem, my royal status meant nothing. She’d thwarted some disaster they’d planned and in all the chaos, no one could tell friend from foe. Michaelawent down moments after it broke out. The fleeing masses fought against me like a river’s current. I called for her again. “Coco!” Feet stampeded around her, obscuring the pale blue fabric that worked as my target and goal. She wasn’t moving. Why hadn’t she stood yet? I pushed through the surge of people, shouting commands that fell on deaf ears. In the face of terror, no one cared about your rank. They were out for their own survival.

Guards slammed the guilty parties against walls. Shouts rang out around us. My own father’s voice carried above the rest. I located him quickly outside the throng. Though Kabir held him upright, he shouted at Reginald, my betrayer.

I couldn’t focus on them. My whole world lay in a heap of pale blue fabric on the ground at the mercy of thundering feet. With only twenty feet left to fight until I made it to her, my heart picked up speed as hope called for me to hang on a little longer.

A face rushed mine, eyes desperate, motions frantic. His shoulder-length hair whipped side to side as he searched the crowd. Recognition struck as I realized he was the one with eyes only for Sadie and my grip locked around his shoulders. I held fast, despite the way he pulled to be free.

“Who are you?” I demanded. “What are you doing here?”

“Please, Your Highness, release me. I beg you.”

“Then answer me. Who are you?”

His darting gaze finally ceased and connected with mine. “I am but another man, anxious to get to the woman he loves, desperate to keep her safe.”

“Sadie?” My brow creased. Questions filled my mind. “You love her?” I shook my head, recalling the story I’d heard. “She said you died.”

“And so I shall if any harm should befall her.” He broke the connection between us. “Please, let me pass.”

What promise did I have that he wasn’t responsible for this catastrophe? If Sadie was behind my father’s sickness, wasn’t this stranger just as culpable? I opened my mouth to call attention to Kabir, but his next words stopped me short.

“Is my arrest worth her death, Your Highness?”

My breath caught in my chest. I locked my eyes on the bit of blue that still beckoned me. No longer bright but dull with the dirt of too many feet. My heart exploded with anguish over her pain. I shoved the stranger as hard as I could, not caring what became of him. With the fury of a wild animal, I parted the sea of rushing bodies until I arrived at her side.

Afraid to touch her, my hands hovered above her skin, trembling with the agony of seeing her broken on the ground. “Coco?” Strangled and choked, my voice didn’t sound like my own. Her arms covered her head, tucked under because she had to protect herself, but the tension in her muscles had vanished, no longer a constant thought, but the afterglow of past decisions.

She hadn’t moved. Was she unconscious? I dug my fingers under her shoulders, pulling and lifting until she was tight against my chest, wrapped in my arms. “Coco,” I whispered against her hair. “Coco, I’m here. Come back to me.”

I braced myself against her weight, her body forcefully sagging against mine. Limp and weak, her muscles offered no resistance. The world raged on. Screams turned ragged. But nothing mattered to me beyond the woman I rocked in my arms.

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