Page 14 of The Heart of the King

Jasmine closed her eyes and lowered her head. “I forgot. I only met her twice, I think. I know it’s been nearly a year, but I don’t think I’ve seen him since.”

“She was an amazing woman,” Thor said quietly. “To go back to the more pressing issue, I don’t think any of the countries would have let that slip through. He’d be most likely to try it with younger monarchs and not seasoned ones. He had to know Edward wouldn’t go for it. He might hope that it would slip past someone like Benjamin or Esme. That they wouldn’t understand the legalese.”

“So he likely has nowhere to go.” David stared at the table. “But I need to be in country before the ruling comes down. How do we make that happen?”

The three Eyjanians shared a look.

“We have two options,” Benjamin told him. “We put you on a flight with packages, parcels, and mail from here to Auverignon.”

David didn’t like the sound of that. “What’s the other option?”

“Katrín and I make an unexpected trip to Auverignon with you on board and hope we’re allowed to fly into Auverignonian air space.”

5

Even though she had no idea who Katrín was, Jasmine suspected the other king didn’t really want to attempt to travel to Auverignon and risk being turned away. That would likely be an international public relations nightmare.

“Mail plane,” she said quickly. It shouldn’t be one of them making the official decision. “It seems safest and most circumspect, and least likely to implicate the upper echelons of your government being involved. For all anyone else might know, David bribed the employees on the mail plane.”

The older of the two security men from Eyjania grinned. “For a new member of the family, you catch on quickly.” What was his name? Ironman? Loki? Thor! “I’m inclined to agree with the newest member of the Auverignonian royal family. We put you on the overnight flight, and Randall can coordinate the security on the other end. Maybe Daniel? He was Gabriel’s head of security, and I never got the impression he was overly loyal to the king but rather to the monarchy itself and Auverignon as a whole.”

Randall nodded. “Daniel is a good man. He’ll help us or if he can’t help us himself, he’ll get it taken care of.”

“Then that’s our plan.” David gave a decisive nod. “When does the flight leave? And, I suppose most importantly, how can we know the crew is to be trusted?”

“It won’t be the normal crew,” Justin told them. “Some of our men will do the flying.”

“And they won’t talk?” Jazz had watched too many movies where someone double crossed the good guy.

Justin answered. “The regular crew will be told there is a technical issue with the plane and to stay home. It happens from time to time. The only people who know are a couple of the upper echelons of the company, none of who would talk.”

“Good.” She leaned back in her seat. “So how long do we have to wait for this flight?”

“About four hours.” Justin sounded sympathetic, but Jazz didn’t dare ask if it could be changed. “The flight is about three-and-a-half hours.”

“So seven hours before we land and need to be presentable?” Great. It was going to be bad enough if she had a full bathroom on the royal plane.

Randall shook his head. “No. We’ll take you to a secure location. You likely won’t be seen in public until tomorrow evening at the earliest.”

King Benjamin stood. “I wish I could offer a place to rest and some good food at the palace, but it’s best that there’s no chance you’re seen here.”

Jazz simply nodded.

David stood and shook the other man’s hand. “Understandable. Thank you for your hospitality and your help with transportation.”

A minute later, Jazz and David were alone in the conference room.

“Do you need a nap?” he asked her. “If so, you can rest aboard my plane. That’s likely the most comfortable place anyway. There’s food on board as well.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

David held the door for her then walked at her side as they headed for his plane. “The other plane likely won’t be comfortable,” he warned her. “I’d think they’ll be jump seats and no windows.”

“That’s all right. I’ll be fine, especially if I don’t have to be overly presentable when we land.”

He stood to the side so she could board first. “Presentable, just in case, but I wouldn’t expect there to be photographers around.”

“Just as well.” She stood next to the chair she’d been sleeping in and took the scrunchie from around her bun. Once it was around her wrist, she regathered her hair and twisted it back up, using the scrunchie to secure it.

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