Page 89 of The Royal Throne
Since her guards were with her, she decided to follow to see what, exactly, Axel considered fun. He led her past two doors to the end of the corridor and down a stairwell. At the bottom, the moon illuminated the room which contained a pool similar to the one in Rainer’s suite. Half of the pool extended under the floor they’d just come from, while the other half stretched out beyond the roofline. The moonlight reflected off the water. In a land such as Lynk, where it never got cold, having a room with one wall missing made sense. Although, from where Sabine stood, it looked as if the pool hung out over the mountain. She shivered from the mere thought of it.
Axel began removing his shirt.
“What are you doing?” Sabine demanded, glancing back to make sure her guards were still nearby. Both remained at the bottom of the stairwell.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m going for a swim.” He tossed his shirt on the floor. Wearing only his pants, he jumped into the pool, water splashing Sabine. When Axel surfaced, he laughed, wiping the water off his face.
Even though she had two guards with her, she didn’t think it appropriate for her to swim in a pool with Axel at night. Instead of joining him, she sat at the edge of the pool, sticking her legs in the water.
Axel floated on his back.
“Why’d you bring me here?” she asked, trying to figure out his angle. It could be anything from actually caring about her as a sibling to wanting to upset his own brother. She honestly didn’t know with him.
“You looked like you needed to get away,” he said, still floating. “Like you could use a friend.” He rolled over and went under the water, swimming toward her. When he surfaced, he was a foot away from her legs. “Are you going to come in and join me?”
She shook her head.
“Suit yourself.” He came to the edge of the pool, next to her, placing his arms on the side as he watched her. “Do you want to talk about anything? Like what made you so upset?”
“I’m not upset.” Just irritated and sad. Her mind had been going crazy trying to come up with a plan to stop the war. One that might actually work.
“I know my brother can be difficult,” Axel said. “I’m sorry for everything. If you ever want to talk, I’m here.”
She raised her hand to gently touch the bruise on her neck. Difficult wasn’t a word she’d use to describe Rainer. And talking about him was out of the question. She’d decided that as soon as she figured out how to stop this war, she was leaving. Staying here with Rainer wasn’t an option. It was only a matter of time before his temper snapped, and he killed her. If only Lottie had been found guilty of treason. Then Lottie and Rainer would be dead. Sabine’s problems would be solved. Instead, things were even more of a mess than before.
“Thank you, Axel. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. If you don’t mind, I’m just going to sit here and think.” The soft breeze, the moonlight, and the water were calming.
Axel lifted himself out of the water. He walked over to the wall where a shelf held a handful of towels. Grabbing one, he dried his face. “I’m going upstairs to change, then I’m leaving to meet someone. Stay here as long as you like.”
“Thank you. For everything.”
“Any time. Goodnight, Sabine.” He left.
Sabine sat there, kicking her legs in the water. “Drew?”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Are the rest of my guards standing outside of Prince Axel’s room?”
“They are.”
“Can you have them move so it’s not obvious I’m in here?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” He turned to head up the stairwell.
“One more thing,” she called out after him. “I’m going to swim.”
“Then we’ll give you some privacy.” Drew and the other guard left, leaving her alone in the pool.
This reminded her of being home. Of her and Alina swimming late at night in the small lake outside their castle. Her parents had forbidden them from swimming in it, saying it was unladylike. However, after watching their four older brothers swim, Alina and Sabine had decided they would too. So they wouldn’t get into trouble, they waited until their parents had gone to bed, then went out at night and swam.
Smiling at the memory, Sabine undid the holster around her thigh, setting it and her dagger aside. She slid into the cool water, feeling an instant relief from the muggy weather. She swam out to the end, to the part not covered by the roof. Since her dress material was thin, it was easy to swim. At the edge, she peered over, seeing the mountain drop straight down.
An arm snaked around her waist and a hand slid over her mouth. Sabine frantically grabbed at the hand, trying to pull the fingers back so she could scream.
“It’s me,” Evander whispered in her ear. He released her. “I didn’t want to scare you and have you scream.”
“Well you did scare me,” she hissed as she turned in the water to face him. “What are you doing here?”
