Page 102 of A Girl and HER Prince
Livvy pushed the toes of her shoes into the crumbling depressions left by the spans of time. Perhaps once this watchtower had been impenetrable to foreign invaders, but now it was vulnerable to attack, and it shook with her every movement. Praying it would hold, she threw her leg over the top, staring out into the sea and beach below her.Ah man, it’s so far!
Her eyes went to Deedee on the other side of the mountain. The firm set of Deedee’s shoulders was unmistakable as she reached up to pat Bris’s back. “Please, don’t get hurt in all this,” Livvy whispered.
Deedee had come for her. After every disagreement they were still friends.
“Deedee!” She screamed. “Bris!” Her voice got caught by the wind and echoed right back to her. She groaned. Every noise was swallowed here. Odd, because she could actually hear wisps of Deedee’s voice carried through the air.
Her friend trekked to the Paradise in the Clouds alongside Bris’s bodyguards, innocently believing that the emergency medical team trailing behind them wasn’t ready to turn on them at any second.
Filled with renewed urgency, Livvy scrambled over the top and pulled out the phone, followed by the matches, out of her pocket. She’d brought gauze and bandages to use as tinder. Her jacket she’d taken from Turner’s boat might be used to make the smoke billow out.
Honestly, she had no idea what she was doing as she snatched at the weeds, clearing them onto one spot on the ground. She found herself nervous narrating to Deedee’s audience. “Three billows of smoke,” she said. “Like SOS—I’m pretty sure that’s how that started. Anyway, Deedee had a hard time making it happen in that video I edited for her last July. You all remember? Hopefully she recognizes what I’m trying to do. She’s in danger and she doesn’t even know.”
Livvy’s fingers fumbled with the matches as she struck them against the stone. She carefully poked them into the pile of bandages in the middle of the weeds. They quickly caught fire, faster than she’d thought. Luckily the walls on either side of her in the tower kept the wind from dashing out the fire.
She shrugged off her jacket, still talking to her audience. “Here goes nothing. I’ll wait a bit after doing the three smoke signals and go again, I guess.” She pulled forward with her jacket, feeling like she was making a crème brûlée for the first time and every move couldn’t be taken back.
Livvy flapped the jacket over the smoke and whipped it back up, watching the smoke flow to the other side. She made a sound of frustration. “I don’t know, guys. Deedee’s not going to know what this is.” In a way, talking to this online audience made Livvy feel like she wasn’t alone in all this. “It just looks like a fire!”
Steeling herself, Livvy tried again. Gripping her jacket more firmly, she whipped it at the flames. This time the billows of smoke came out more evenly. Her gaze shot to Deedee across the way.
Nothing had changed. Deedee marched upward.
“Look behind you!” she yelled and tried again, over and over. The weeds that fueled the fire were burning out. She wasn’t sure how much smoke she’d have left for this to work. Taking a deep breath, she flapped the jacket again and heard a cry across the way.
Had Deedee seen or were they getting attacked?
Deedee pointed at the watchtower. She’d seen, but would she understand? Livvy tried one more time and, glancing back at her phone, saw a message slide across the screen from Bris. “Venice? Why do you have Deedee’s phone? Who are the traitors you’re talking about?”
Livvy scooped up her phone and, sliding Deedee’s audience to the side of her phone, texted back. “They’re behind you!”
A scream on the other side of the island came from Bris.
They knew! Livvy gasped in relief, though it was far from over. She dashed to the side of the watchtower to see the guards standing between the princess and the threat of assassins. Bris and Deedee rushed up the mountain straight for Atreus Mnon’s stronghold.
No, this couldn’t be happening! Grabbing the phone, she tried to call Bris this time. She wasn’t picking up! Scrolling back to Deedee’s audience, she could only stare helplessly at them. “They know about the traitors, but they’re going towards danger.”
Only one person could stop them now… Venice, and he was hurt. If he didn’t arrive in time, there wasn’t much he could do if they were taken.
Glancing down at the ground where Turner had sprawled seconds earlier, she realized he was gone.
Her stomach dropped.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Venice was fast losing speed and energy. The adrenaline that had coursed through him when he’d taken out Turner was nearly spent and in its place was nausea and a fog of despair. His every movement sent a shock of pain through his body.
This was an absolute nightmare.
He’d reached the beach. The white sand sprayed behind his feet, and he heard the braying of donkeys.
No one had let Steve and his rat pack out of the boatyard? He leaned against his knees, breathing hard. The twisting trail that led to his sister above him might as well be a million miles away.
Steve’s signature honk echoed inconsolably to the side of him.You and me, buddy.The plucky donkey should’ve broken his way through by now and rushed up the mountain to his sweet hay and apple stealing… and there was no reason Venice couldn’t hitch a ride up with him himself.
Venice limped around the white cement boatyard. “I’m coming. I’m coming.” Wrenching open the door, he stepped back when the donkeys came barreling through.
Steve bumped him with his head. He could swear that donkey was glaring at him. Venice held up his hands to stop the impish creature from taking a bite out of him. “I’m sorry! Livvy isn’t here!”
