Page 58 of Royal Rising

It pulls away from the curb and I still stand there.

Mathias wants me to visit because there are “things to discuss.”

There can’t be much to say, since we’ve only had one dinner. To invite me for a family visit seems quick, and out of place.

And then I remember Odin and Camille had planned for a six-week engagement.

Kalle just asked me to marry him out of nowhere.

Things move fast in the royal family, but that doesn’t mean Mathias…

No. There’s no way.

I glance back at Kalle and he’s still staring at me. He gives me a lopsided smile, and I smile back because that’s what you do when a man like Kalle looks at you like that.

And then the lights in the bar go out.

18

Kalle

The generator I boughtlast year, the one Edie insisted I get, kicks in twenty seconds after the lights go out. The darkness is just long enough for a few shouts, a scream, and a few glasses to fall and break, and then the power is back.

The first person I find is Edie, eyes wide. I know she doesn’t like storms, but just as I start across the bar to her, she gives herself a shake.

“Everything is okay,” she calls out. “Generator works. But let’s ring up your tabs so you can get home.”

“Buddy system out there,” I add in a loud voice. “We’ll call some cabs, and I don’t want to take your keys, so leave your cars if it’s not a good idea to drive.”

It’s chaos for the next half hour as we close the tabs and get people into cabs. Battle Harbour has a surprisingly large taxi fleet, but it’s still not enough as some who walked here now refuse to go out in the storm. I call Jonathan McKibbon and promise free lunches if a couple of police cruisers can ferry people home.

Still, it’s quick to clear the place out as everyone rushes to go home to check on pets and parents and children.

Except for a few—Lyra and Kate among them. “Who’ve you got for security tonight?” I ask Lyra, looking around the bar for her security detail. Now that I think about it…

“Ah, well… no one,” she admits with her best beguiling smile.

That smile might work on some, but not me. “What are you talking about?” Each of the royal siblings has a security team in place that accompanies them everywhere.

Lyra shifts with a flash of her guilty expression. It’s only there for a moment, but as her big brother, I can always tell when she’s done something wrong. “I left without telling them,” she admits.

I cross my arms and glare down at her. “Which you’ve been told not to do.”

“I felt bad dragging them out in the rain.”

“That’s what they’re paid for.” This growl is from Dillon, who stands at my back, mirroring my stance and expression.

“Mathias left in one of the castle cars,” Edie says, stepping forward to play mediator as usual. “It’s too bad you couldn’t have gone with him.”

“And now you’re going to have to call and drag somebody else out in the rain,” I glower.

“Can we deal with this tomorrow?” Edie suggests. “There’s enough to deal with the power being out. Can you put her under your protection for the night?” she asks Dillon before turning to me. “And maybe let them crash at your place?”

Dillon doesn’t like it, but he sends Chase to my apartment with the girls.

“How do you do that?” I ask Edie as she makes quick work of the floors. I was ready to leave the clean-up until tomorrow but Edie has already said if the power stays out, we should open early.

“Mop the floor?” she asks with confusion. “I’ve seen you do it a few times.”

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