Page 4 of The Prince's Castaway Baby

“You got it!” I yell back with a wink.

I put the engine in gear, and on George’s thumbs-up, I cast off, leaving my best friend waving on the dock, holding the rope that had been tethering me to land. He waves, and I wave back.

Then I turn to my task, setting off into the darkness of the sea.

CHAPTER 2

JENSEN

It turns out that this sailing thing is easy after all. I don’t know what George was making such a fuss about — the boat practically sails itself. I spent all morning driving in a random direction, then stopped for lunch, and I’ve been chilling ever since.

I wish I’d packed more appropriate clothes in my rucksack, but I didn’t really stop to think about what I would need before I got out of Sólveigr.

But whatever. I’m all by myself, so it’s not like anyone even cares about me lounging around in my underwear.

This was a great idea.

I get no cell service out here, no internet, no messages. I have nothing to do except enjoy the vast collection of movies George has on board, sit on the deck and stare at the water, sunbathe, and generally just relax.

This, as they say, is the life.

After two days of movie watching, I’m starting to get bored. Picking a random direction to sail in has started to lose its appeal, so I’m basically just sitting here, vibing. I figure that I’m saving fuel, at least, by hardly turning the engine on.

See? I’m not totally stupid.

God knows I can take a bit of boredom because nothing is as boring as royal dinners. I don’t think I could stay out here forever without losing my mind — it would probably be less than good for me to go more than a week without speaking to a real human being. But for now I’m just enjoying the alone time. I don’t get very much, usually; everyone always wants something from me. Whether it’s to appear at their school charity event or to endorse some product, someone always wants something.

And because I’m the prince of Sólveigr, but not the important one, that means I’m the one who gets shipped out to all the events no one else wants to attend but that we need to have a presence at so people don’t start hating us. It’s all political and I don’t care for it. It feels like such a waste of time.

I know I should be grateful or whatever for having been born special, but being special is so tiring. Just once, I’d love to benormal.

Whatever. I’m not here to think about real life.

I’m here to watch the eighth installment of the blockbuster spy film seriesJane Green Strikes Back. The first one was a stupid parody, but it was so popular that it’s been built into its own franchise. I can’t confess to anyone else that I actually enjoy these movies, but while I’m all on my own, it’s the perfect time to get caught up.

I’m just finishingJane Green and the Cavern of Crystalswhen the boat jolts underneath me.

“What the hell?” I mutter, crawling over to the porthole to see if I can see anything. It just looks cloudy out there.

The boat shakes again, and it almost feels like we ran over something.

I pause the movie and head upstairs, where I’m immediately buffeted in the face by a huge rainstorm.

I yell out a string of expletives, spluttering and trying to wipe my face.

This wasn’t forecast. Well, it might have been, but I haven’t looked at the forecast recently. I just assumed the weather was going to be good.

I dive into the cockpit and stare at the controls. I’m not really sure what to do now. I feel like there’s probably a setting I should press, some sort of lever I should pull —something.

Instead of figuring it out, I start pressing buttons at random. The windscreen wipers come on, thrashing back and forth like a dying bug. Outside, a great crack of lightning makes the sky a blinding white, followed by the low groan of rolling thunder, which is then followed by an enormous wave that rears up like an open mouth before it crashes down over the hull.

I’m thrown forward, smacking my head on the window and catching my arm on a corner, tearing a chunk of skin out of it. I swear hard, my vision blurring and my arm throbbing.

Outside, plumes of smoke have started rising, and an alarming amount of water is filling the deck. This is bad.

This isreallybad.

I make a last-ditch effort to save myself, pushing the directional controls as far forward as they go, but all that does is throw the ship nose first into another wave, which starts sinking it properly.

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