Page 63 of A Girl and HER Prince
And what about Bris?
He almost scoffed aloud. His mind had really gone off the deep end. That was the most ridiculous “what if” of all.
If his sister wanted him dead, she would’ve done it by now.
He was grasping at straws. There was no use entertaining any of his suspicions until they could truly investigate this, just like he’d told Livvy, so why wasn’t he following his own advice?
Because I hate not knowing.
His whole life he’d jumped at shadows, and when they finally came for him, it was someone he loved…
This final betrayal cut him as surely as the knife that assassin held. Their feet sank into the cold, wet grass of the meadow as they approached a circular tower of stones overlooking the desolate beach. The white sands ahead were overrun by foamy silver waves. Despite the punishing storms against this island for centuries, the stone tower was remarkably intact.
“A watchtower,” Livvy said.
He glanced down at her, and noticed a blue tinge to her lips that he didn’t like.
“You think they have blankets in there?” he asked.
She laughed like he hoped she would—he was desperate to get her to show some sign that she was still okay. “They just worked with smoke and mirrors to send their messages to the city,” she said. “Those messages would pass on from tower to tower until it reached their rulers. There won’t be stairs—they had to climb up a rope to get inside.”
He noticed the shambles that made up the back. It might be easier to get up there now, though not an easy task. He supposed it had been made to be impenetrable so the enemy couldn’t find a way up and give them the wrong signals.
“Deedee talked about them once,” Livvy said. “She did a whole documentary that I edited.” Those pale lips tipped up. “She even did a demonstration on what all those signals meant. The smoke ended up a disaster, but she wasn’t bad with the mirrors.”
Strange to think that their mutual “acquaintance” was actually such an egghead, but then again, Deedee had surprised him sometimes with her little tidbits of knowledge she’d occasionally spurt out, though she’d quickly cover it up like she thought he wouldn’t approve.
She never really knew him at all.
Livvy was shivering in his arms. He was starting to get worried about her. He ran his hands down her cold skin, not sure how he could warm her up.
Kissing her was a little cliché, but he’d take one for the team if it worked.
And she didn’t look like she was in the right mind for his teasing right now. His poor girl!And when did I start thinking of her like that?He squeezed her tightly. “Are you okay?” he whispered into her ear.
She nodded, like she always did, always trying to be brave—I guess that means she is.
“Look,” Livvy said. She squeezed his shoulder as she peered over it. “It’s a rainbow. The Greeks had a legend that it was a message sent from Mount Olympus from their gods.”
What message were they giving them?
Turning, Venice saw the windmills silhouetted against the sky and past that… a cable car that traveled up into the mountains where he’d spied those buildings from the water. From here, he could see theywerehomes—well, perhaps they were actually elaborate white mansions cloistered high up in the clouds in a setup similar to the Greek monks.
They’d found their salvation… if they could reach it.
Chapter Twenty-One
Paradise in the Clouds. That’s what Venice had called these clusters of mansions where they were presently headed. The cable car lurched and jerked on their way up the mountain to the island’s suspended little villa. Livvy held onto the sides, surprised that there was still any electricity to keep it going. Whoever had this transportation designed had tried to keep the Greek theme, and the inside of the jittery boxcar was a cute little setup with a bench seat carved out of wood then painted white.
No soft cushions to speak of—good thing, or she’d be tempted to rip it up for bandages and blankets. She was stuck in survival mode.
Pushing up against the vents, she warmed her hands… her legs, her arms, her knees, her elbows, everything.
It hadn’t taken much for Venice to convince her to pile into the tiny shelter, especially when she’d discovered there was a heater they could turn on from the inside. He’d assured her if there was a malfunction caused by the storm that the emergency settings wouldn’t allow them to go up, and she had no choice but to trust that he knew what he was talking about.
Neither of them would’ve made it by foot.
Though Venice was being so absolutely sweet about making sure she got the heater first. She noticed the bruised shadows under his eyes and how pale he was turning from his lack of blood. It didn’t take a genius to know the cable car was the only way they were getting into their Paradise in the Clouds.
