Page 21 of Take My Throne

“Which brings us back to the original question,” Romy says. “How do we kill him?”

“Ivy could put poison in his food,” Declan suggests.

“Won’t work.” I shake my head. “Everything’s prepared by his cook under supervision. I can’t get anywhere near his meals.”

“Ivy shoots him,” Declan suggests.

“I get where you’re coming from,” says Archer, “and I love the irony of her shooting him after he made her shoot Claude, but Ivy’s already shown what a terrible shot she is. Even up close and personal, I don’t think we can rely on her being able to take him out before the guards pile in on her. Best case scenario, they’ll disarm her, but there’s every chance they’ll simply kill her to keep Solomon safe. I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to risk Ivy’s life like that.”

“I’d do it,” I say. “It’s the least I can do to make it up to Declan. But Archer’s right. I’m a really bad shot. I’m not confident even holding a gun. I could barely take it from my father’s hand. I hated the way it felt. I knew it was a lethal weapon and the thought of it made me feel sick. I just don’t think I can pull it out and kill my father before the guards step in. Plus, I think my father would sense that something was up. No, you can forget about guns. Or knives, for that matter.” I look around pointedly, making it clear I’m being serious. “I’m totally down with killing my father, but I’m not sure that I hate him enough to do it myself.”

“Which means we need another way of getting to him,” says Romy. “Ideally something from a distance.”

“What about a bomb?” I suggest. “No, forget about it. That’s a dumb idea. It’s not like any of us know how to build one.”

“I do,” admits Archer, surprising us all. “My father wanted to be sure that all his children were well versed in a number of different ways of dealing with our enemies. It’s one of the reasons Solomon wanted me working with him-–to figure out just how much I knew so he could decide how big of a threat I was. I was wise to him, though. I only let him know what I wanted him to know.”

“What are you thinking, Ivy?” Declan asks.

“My father’s private plane,” I say. “He’s going on those trips to Italy all the time. If I can get a hold of his schedule, I can figure out when he’s due to leave and we can plant something on his plane. It’s heavily guarded, but if we are able to watch the guards for a few days, I’m sure we’d be able to figure out a way to get close to it.”

Romy nods slowly. “That could work. How soon do you think you could get his schedule?”

“I’m not sure,” I reply. “His study is like a fortress within a fortress. It’s almost impossible for me to get in it.”

“What if you didn’t have to go into his study?” asks Archer.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Isabella knows everything that’s going on. She’d be able to tell you when he was due to travel. Can’t you try sweet talking her?”

“Or even turn your charm on your father,” Romy suggests. “Tell him something like you want him to bring you back something from Italy so it would be helpful to know when he was travelling next.”

“I can do that.” I feel an excited little tingle in my tummy. We are planning to take out my father and it might actually work.

“Do you think you can do it without Lucas figuring out what you’re up to?”

Declan’s question brings me back down to earth with a bump.

“I don’t know.” I bite my lip. “Lucas isn’t stupid and I still haven’t been able to figure him out. Sometimes I think he’s an arsehole who’s got his nose permanently fixed up my father’s backside and other times he does sweet things like getting my favourite people in a room together and leaves me on my own with you. I’d like to think I could get away with finding out my father’s schedule without him figuring out there’s something going on, but I can’t guarantee it. Nor can I promise that he wouldn’t go to my father if he did hear about our plan. For all I know, he’s being nice to lull me into a false sense of security. He could be plotting against me. I mean, we’re married. If something were to happen to me, he’d be the new Archaic heir.”

Declan pales at the thought. “You really think he could be planning something like that?”

“I’d like to say no, but I just don’t know him well enough to be sure.” I shrugged sadly.

“All right. So for now, we have to assume that Lucas would be against us if he found out we’re going to make a move against Solomon,” says Archer. “So we need to come at this from a number of angles. Ivy, you try and find out your father’s schedule without raising any suspicions. We’ll scout out the plane and see if we can figure out a way of getting a bomb on board without anyone noticing. Timing’s crucial-–if we put it on there too soon, they’ll find it when they do a security sweep before the flight.”

“Unless we can figure out a way of camouflaging it so no one notices it,” Romy puts in.

“Maybe.” Archer does a half nod, half shake of his head. “We don’t want to over-complicate things though.”

“What about if I could get the bomb in his luggage?” The thought suddenly hits me. “That way we don’t have to know about his schedule or anything like that. Archer can just give me the bomb and I’ll keep it until I see my father packing. I’ll figure out a way of smuggling it into one of his suitcases and he’ll take it onto the plane himself without realising he’s carrying his own death in his hands. It’s a private airport, so he doesn’t have to go through the security checks you usually get, so his case will be right by his side when the bomb detonates.”

“Ivy, you’re a genius!” Archer kisses me full on the lips. “That’s the perfect solution.”

“Yeah, good idea, Ivy.” Declan smiles. “Simple is best, and that’s so simple nobody will suspect a thing.”

“So, Archer, you need to make the bomb as soon as possible,” Romy says.

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