Page 24 of Revelations of A Secret Princess

Relief drifted across her face, making her expression unusually easy to read. It was another reminder of how rarely she let down her guard with him. So she really was invested in this job. ‘I love caring for Ariane. I—’

She swung her head around at the sound of the toboggan approaching, then froze. A second later she was sprinting away from him across the flat little plateau towards the steeper slope at the edge of the clearing.

Jake looked up the hill, his gut curdling.

While they’d been talking Ariane had taken the toboggan high up the slope. Far higher than the track of her previous run. Now, with the added momentum, she was skidding downhill dangerously fast and at an angle that took her in a collision course with a stand of trees.

Jake’s legs were already pumping, driving him through the snow towards the far side of the clearing, even though his brain told him he’d be too late. He was too far away.

His heart sank. So was Caro. She was stumbling, trying to make headway in the snow, but, as in a nightmare, seemed to be moving in slow motion.

His ears rang when Ariane’s squeal of delight turned into a cry of fear as she torpedoed towards danger. He pushed himself faster, lungs burning, but knew it was impossible he’d make it in time.

The toboggan flew towards the trees and unspeakable visions filled his head. As a one-time soldier and peacekeeper he’d witnessed terrible injuries. But this was Ariane...

At the last moment, as impact with a tree seemed inevitable, there was a blur of blue as Caro threw herself at the toboggan. Snow sprayed as it spun, there was a resounding thump and a fall of white from the branches, obscuring his vision.

As he covered the last couple of metres Jake found himself praying.

Caro lay winded, her arms wrapped tight around the small, still body.

‘Ariane! Talk to me.’ The deep voice was raw with fear. A fear that matched her own. For the life of her she couldn’t open her eyes and face what awaited her. Had she lost her daughter again? Permanently this time?

Anguish tore at her soul.

She thought she’d known fear before but it was nothing to the terrible yawning blackness that threatened to engulf her.

All she could do was hold on,willingher little girl to be all right. A tightness in her chest reminded her to breathe. She drew a ragged breath that sounded like a sob. Caro should never have taken her eyes off her, not for a second.

‘Ariane!’ The deep voice sliced the frigid air.

Large hands covered Caro’s, pried them loose. She tried to resist, opened her mouth to cry out, when a little voice said, ‘Uncle Jake?’

Caro’s eyes snapped wide. Above her Jake Maynard filled her vision, surrounded by cerulean sky, like an angel in a painting. Except this dark angel’s face was distorted with fear and, as she watched it transform, relief. Caro felt the same emotions unfurl within, so strong nausea punched her.

Her embrace weakened as her arms turned to water. Ariane moved out of her hold.

‘Are you okay, Ariane? Where does it hurt?’ That resonant voice was stark with emotion.

‘I don’t hurt anywhere.’

Caro could swear her heart dipped and lifted on the words. Ariane was okay, she was all right.

Her own eyelids flickered shut as emotion rose like a tide, filling her chest, closing her throat, forcing her to bite her lip against the sudden, appalling urge to cry.

‘Caro?’ That large hand was back again, this time lingering on the pulse at her throat then skimming up to her cheek and forehead. It was hard and surprisingly callused but incredibly gentle. Who’d have thought a man with such cold eyes could have such a tender touch?

‘Is she...dead, Uncle Jake?’

The fear in Ariane’s voice snapped Caro out of her reverie. After what had happened to Ariane’s adoptive parents her fear of death wasn’t surprising.

‘I’m very much alive, sweetheart.’ Even if Caro’s voice didn’t sound like her own, far too raspy and uneven.

When she opened her eyes this time two faces peered down at her. Dazed, she took in her daughter’s hopeful expression and smiled. Her skin felt stiff, as if drawn too tight, but seeing Ariane smile tentatively back was worth the effort. Her heart thudded a double beat.

Then her gaze shifted to the broad-shouldered figure beside her daughter. Had she really thought Jake Maynard’s eyes cold? They flared with a heat she felt all the way to her bones. For one suspended instant everything inside her stilled then burst into flame.

‘Are you injured? Can you move?’ His eyes belied his terse tone.

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