Page 27 of The Last Strike

Abi brushed her lips over his. “It’s you and me against the world, Asher. And our million and one security guards.”

He grinned. “Don’t tell the world you can handle a gun better than I can, Abi. It won’t be good for my reputation.” Asher winked and Abi laughed.

“Deal, as long as you get some rest. Everything will still be here for you to deal with in a few hours. And, you don’t want black circles under your eyes for your press conference.” It was true, but not for reasons of vanity.

Asher needed to maintain Santina’s hope. The people needed to believe Santina could win, and they needed to believe Asher could lead them to victory, because their sons, their husbands, and their friends were going to die in this war. It was inevitable Santina would lose soldiers and Asher needed them to believe it wasn’t for nothing—that it wasn’t a decision he’d made lightly. If their king looked tired so early in the game, what would that say to the world? No, he needed to look vibrant and full of energy, and he needed to fight—today and every day he faced the media.

He nodded and all but fell on the bed. He closed his eyes and Abi swore by the time she walked around to the other side of the bed he was asleep. But as she slid in, Asher turned to her, drawing her into his arms. His eyes remained closed.

Relaxed, and content in his embrace, she opened the internet browser on her phone and began work on her new project.

Abi searched:Adani Queen.

Millions of results showed up. She clicked to theNewstab and opened the first article.

Adani in Mourning: The People’s Queen Dies at Age Fifty-Six.

Abi scanned the article, noting the date she died.

Queen Alila had been feeling unwell prior to her death and was being tended to by the royal doctors. Her condition was not considered grave before she suddenly died.

Abi knew it could happen—people did suddenly die—but still she couldn’t ignore her gut instinct.

She flicked from one article to the next, but they were all the same. She hadn’t expected to uncover incriminating facts in the articles—the Adani royals had media teams to handle their publicity and make sure those accidents didn’t happen—but still...

Abi read article after article until her eyes burned from the glare of her screen.

Asher moaned beside her and her gaze dropped to him. His eyes were shut, his eyebrows furrowed. He didn’t look peaceful; he looked worried.

Abi chewed on her cheek, watching him for a moment—but when he didn’t stir, she returned her attention to her phone. She was oddly fixated on Queen Alila’s death.

Another hour passed as Abi scrolled endlessly, scanning articles. She had just concluded she’d wasted almost two hours of her life when she paused on a sentence.

Princess Theodora was unwell and unable to attend the funeral.

Abi sucked in a breath—she hadn’t noticed she wasn’t in any of the funeral images.

She clicked on the first page of results again and opened them one by one. Each article had either an earlier photograph of the queen or nothing at all.

But Abi was sure she’d seen some images of the funeral.

She went through all of the articles again, stopping when she found the picture of Queen Alila’s casket being carried out by pallbearers with the king walking behind. He was at the edge of the frame, so it was impossible to tell who was beside or behind him.

Something about this didn’t sit well with her. How unwell would you have to be to miss your mother’s funeral—assuming they weren’t estranged?Hospital ill, Abi thought.

She sent Samuel a text message:

Can you see hospital admissions? Was Princess Theodora hospitalized at the time of her mother’s funeral?

Of course, it was possible the royal doctors had attended to her in the palace and so there wouldn’t be a record of attendance. But it seemed ...strange.

If Abi’s mother died, she would have to be unconscious to not attend the funeral.

Samuel replied,Of course I can. She was not hospitalized. She had one admission six months prior for a broken jaw. Her notes say she was mugged.

Abi frowned. Mugged? The Adani security teams weren’t known for their incompetence.

Abi responded:She wasn’t mugged. Thank you, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

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