Page 38 of A True King

Christian’s eyes search my face, his fingers cradle my head. When he pulls them back, I see blood. His head turns to look in the direction from which the bullets came.

“Can you stand?” he asks me. My hand shoots to my head. I find a cut along the side of it, just above my ear. A scratch is all it is. I must have scratched my head when I fell.

“I…yes,” I stammer.

“We’re going to crawl over there,” he points to a small outcropping of rocks near two large trees. “Once we get behind them, we’re making a run for it back to the stables. Do not run in a straight line. Do not stop until you get inside the office. No matter what you hear, do not stop.” His words scare me, but I nod. He helps me up to a sitting position and then follows behind me as I crawl. It’s only a few meters away, but it feels like it’s a mile. With every snap of a twig, my head jerks to look behind us. Eventually, we make it there and crouch against the rocks. I can see the stables in the distance, just beyond a field and a small row of pine trees. The metal roof of the building stands out from the surrounding natural greenery. If I thought the rocks were far, the stables seem a million miles away. Christian’s hand grips my arm and then it’s gone again.

“Run,” Christian whispers.

I do as he says, and I don’t look back, running in a zigzag across the field with all my might. I make it to the pine trees faster than I thought possible and follow a trail up to the back door of the stable office. I can hear Christian’s footsteps behind mine as I throw open the door and fling myself inside the confines of the small room. A moment later, Christian does the same and slams the door closed. He pats his pockets.

“Fuck,” he says. “I dropped my phone.”

I reach for the phone on the desk and hand him the receiver.

“It’s Cub. There’s been gunfire. … Yes, south woods by the stream. Straight out from the stables. … I can’t imagine it’s a hunter this time of year. … Yes. Well, get someone down there now. My phone is out there. I’ll need that as well. … You can tell Pete that we are packing up and heading home.”

My mouth drops open at his last statement. Home. We’re heading to the Royal Palace, the exact place Jack didn’t want us to go.

“But…” I trail off as Christian glares at me. Yes, I was just advocating that we do exactly this, but that was before we were just shot at.

“No buts. We are going home. You just said we need to do something. Well, we’re going to. Do not fight me on this. You will not win,” he says from behind clenched teeth. His stare penetrates me, and I don’t say another word as I follow him into the Summer Palace. Why do I feel like we’re going into the lion’s den?

Chapter Twenty-Two

Christian

Anger is an understatement. Fury is a better description of how I feel. Vince and Cain have called in backup and security are now combing the forest. They won’t find anything. I know that. They know that. But they now have a job to do and that is to make sure no one is out there with a firearm, ready to kill the future king.

My bags are packed in record time and are now being loaded into a waiting car. I’ve been on the phone with Pete, Jack, Auggie, Anna, and my father in the span of thirty minutes. They all have their own concerns and ideas about what just happened. Jack and Anna want me to stay put. Pete says to come home. Auggie says to go visit a friend’s estate. My father wants to leave his meeting and take me to his friend’s lake house. But right now, all I know is that we aren’t safe here and that means we’re leaving.

Tessa comes up to me and pulls me into one of her giant hugs. “Oh, my sweet, sweet boy. I’m so glad you are OK. I packed you both a dinner to take with you.”

“Thank you, Tessa. For everything. Are you sure you won’t come with us? It’s not safe here,” I say to her as she releases me. I immediately miss her comforting arms. Tessa is one of the few constants in my life. I don’t get to see her nearly as often as I’d like to, and leaving her right now pains me more than I’d ever admit. I know she’s worried. I’ve already beefed up our security here after she refused to leave twenty minutes ago as my things were being packed.

“No, child. I’m not leaving my home. No one cares much about a little old lady who bakes cookies in the kitchen. I’ll be fine. You take good care of my girl, OK?” she commands as she looks up toward the second floor. I swear if I didn’t know better, I’d bet that Tessa is still attempting to play matchmaker between Mia and me.

Mia comes down the steps, a bag slung over her shoulder. Staff carrying her one suitcase. I’ll give it to her, my future queen travels light.

“What?” she asks as she joins me at the front door.

“Nothing. I’ve arranged for added security. Jack is sending more men to the Royal Palace. They will meet us there. Pete has sent an additional car of security to drive us back. Can you follow orders, or should I be worried that you’ll run off into the woods again?” I ask. I’m out of line and I know it, but I’m pissed off and part of my irrational anger is at Mia. If she hadn’t picked a stupid fight with me and run off into the woods, none of this would be happening. But now, everything has changed.

“Yes, I can follow orders,” she answers in a clipped voice. If looks could kill, I’d be dead. Mia appears as furious about all of this as I am. Her dark eyes bore into me, and I’m momentarily caught off guard by how fucking hot she looks when she’s angry.

“Sir, the car is ready,” a footman says as he opens the door for us. I break my gaze with Mia and head to the SUV parked outside. There are three of them and we are put in the first one. Mia doesn’t look my way as we drive through the winding countryside roads toward the city. It only takes us thirty minutes, but the ride feels longer with the silence between us.

I watch Mia out of the corner of my eye as Cain opens the door for her. She doesn’t look back at me but instead walks straight inside. Cain’s eyes follow her and then look back at me. I don’t say a word as I exit the vehicle and make my way to my apartment. Before Mia left, we never fought. Our staff doesn’t know what to make of it. And quite frankly, neither do I.

There’s a noticeable increase in security at the palace and I take note of that as I walk through the hallways and climb the back stairs.

I walk past the staff that are already unpacking my suitcase and head to the veranda. My apartment has an entire terrace, and it overlooks the city. I never tire of the view. I sit back against the wall where I can’t be seen. I can hear the honking of car horns, sirens, and the normal hustle and bustle of the city streets, yet it’s all muted by the trees and walls surrounding the fortress that I call home.

“Your Highness,” Pete’s voice calls out from the door before he steps out next to me.

“Pete, any word on who fired the shots?” I ask, standing as I walk toward him.

He looks around us. “I’d prefer you stay inside.”

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