Chapter 3
Erica checked her watch. She should head back to where she had left the prince. If he hadn’t been in the company of two bodyguards, she wouldn’t have dared to go off on her own like this. Even then, she knew Raul might frown upon the unexplained absence of his expedition leader.
She just wanted to follow the trail of broken branches a little farther into the woods. As she hesitated, she heard men’s voices. She tensed and held her breath, but then Raul called her name, letting her know the voices belonged to him and his bodyguards.
“I’ll be right there,” she responded, turning back toward the small grassy meadow she had just left.
When she came out of the trees, Raul stood in a patch of sunlight that gleamed on the blond streaks of his hair and painted the aristocratic angles of his face in gold and shadow while some lingering tendrils of fog swirled behind him.
With his trekking poles held together in one hand, he looked like a wizard drawing power from the volcanic heart of the mountain.
Her crazy thoughts fled when he gestured toward the sign he stood beside. “Are you checking on dragon nests?” he asked.
The sign warned hikers not to venture any farther because this was a nesting ground for the giant frilled Calevan dragons. Evidently, the soil in the meadow attracted females because it was easy for them to dig deep holes, and the moisture level was optimal for hatching.
“I made sure there were none around before I entered the area,” she said.
He waved a hand around the field. “What are you here for?”
She didn’t know exactly. She had simply noticed that the side trail showed evidence of repeated and recent use.
Since the trail came to a dead end at the meadow, it made no sense that someone would tramp back and forth on it, especially because no one—except for the prince, of course—was supposed to be hiking in this area while the dragons were nesting.
“I saw signs of recent activity on the trail,” she said. “That seems strange.”
Dario and Pascal were always alert, but now they quivered with watchfulness, both of them moving closer to the prince.
Raul frowned. “Could it be a park ranger or maybe a researcher checking on the dragons?”
“Maybe.” But they wouldn’t come repeatedly to the same spot. That might scare the dragons away.
“I’ll have someone look into that possibility.” Raul searched her face. “But you don’t think that’s the answer.”
“I might, except that whoever it was also went into the forest there, just before the sign.” She pointed to where she had been exploring. “I’m not a tracker, but even I could spot the line of broken twigs and branches. I was following it when you called to me.”
Raul wrapped his hands in the loops of his trekking poles. “Let’s go find out where the trail leads.”
“ Monseigneur , that’s not a good idea,” Pascal said. “We don’t know if someone is hiding here. It is easy to find places of concealment in the trees.”
“Either you go with Erica while I stay here with Dario or we all go together,” Raul said. “Which would you prefer?”
She was surprised that he offered his bodyguards a choice since Raul plainly wanted to go with her. Her opinion of the prince went up a notch.
Pascal exchanged a long look with Dario. “We’ll all go,” he said. “ Mademoiselle , if you would take the lead.”
Erica nearly snorted aloud. Naturally, she would go first. That way, she could be the sacrificial lamb if they came upon a madman in the woods. Dario and Pascal would hurl their bodies in front of the prince and leave her to defend herself.
That was their job. And hers.
As she began to thread her way between the trees again, a prickle of unease crawled up her spine. Before Pascal had gotten all security-minded, she had felt nothing but curiosity.
She retraced her steps swiftly before slowing to follow the unfamiliar path of their quarry.
It ended about ten yards beyond, and she stopped to survey a small clearing where someone had tried to conceal signs of a campsite.
The fallen detritus of the forest’s floor had been disturbed and then rearranged in an attempt to make it look natural.
Erica could see where a tent stake had left a hole and the faint square where the tent floor had pressed down the dead leaves and needles.
“Someone was camping here. Illegally,” Raul said from beside her.
Erica sighed. There were always some people who felt the rules didn’t apply to them. She glanced around, a sense of incongruity nagging at her.
“You’re frowning,” Raul said. “What is it?”
The reason dawned on her. “Why would they choose to camp here? There’s no water and no view. Most people choose a site with one or both of those features.”
“Maybe they were hoping to see the dragons nesting,” Raul suggested.
“I guess we’ll never know because they’re gone,” Erica said with a shrug.
“And they left in a hurry,” Dario said, prowling around the site to snap photos with his phone.
“Maybe they heard the prince was coming,” Erica said as a joke.
“I wonder.” Raul was serious. “I’ll find out.” He pulled out his satellite phone and typed at high speed before stowing it back in his pocket. “Yvette will get me an answer about who would know that we planned to hike in this area. And if any rangers visited recently.”
“Okay, time to get back to the main trail,” Erica said. This little detour would put them behind schedule to arrive at her chosen campsite.
“Good catch on noticing the trail had been used,” Raul said with a nod. “And on checking it out.”
Erica was surprised at how gratified she was by his praise. “I was curious because it seemed odd.”
And because she was escorting a prince into the wilderness. The weight of that settled heavily on her shoulders.
“Anything odd is worth investigating,” Raul said.
Erica started back through the trees, the route easy to follow now that so many of them had taken it. Despite having found no one at the campsite, she still scanned the area more vigilantly than usual.
The rest of the hike passed without signs of illegal intruders. Erica felt only mild concern as she veered off the trail to the site where she planned to set up camp for the night. However, when she neared the edge of the clearing, she held up a hand to stop her companions.
“I want to check for dragons before we all burst out of the woods,” she explained. “They might be sunning on the rocks.”
Once again, Dario and Pascal tightened their positions around the prince while she walked silently to the last line of trees and skimmed her gaze over the boulders that dotted the wide ledge on the side of the mountain.
She glided closer to the cliff face to check a couple of crevices where dragons might be sleeping.
“No dragons!” she called. “You can come out of the trees.”
The three men emerged through the shadows cast by the low afternoon sun. Raul walked without noticeable fatigue, which was a relief. Of course, she had called a couple of extra rest stops along the way and forced more water and protein bars on her royal charge.
“Do I hear water nearby?” Raul asked.
“There’s a mountain stream on the other side of this ledge,” Erica said.
The prince gestured to the vista that offered a view all the way to the ocean.
“Unlike our unknown trespasser, you have found a campsite with both water and a view.” He gave her the flashing smile that lit his blue eyes and had been captured in many a media photograph.
It was only the second time she had seen it that day.
Unusual for the prince who was known for his charismatic charm.
Of course, he didn’t need to waste it on her, so maybe not surprising.
“They hired me because I know things about these mountains.” She answered his smile with one of her own. It was impossible not to when she felt like basking in the warmth of his approval. “Now we should set up camp. It gets dark fast when the sun drops behind the peaks.”
“Right.” Raul unslung his backpack and propped it on a rock before unzipping it. He rummaged around and pulled out the tent stuff sack. He looked puzzled as he hefted it.
“I have your tent poles in my pack,” Erica said. “They fit better there.”
That was because the prince had a two-person tent for his own use, as well as a much heavier sleeping bag and thicker sleeping mat than the rest of them. She smiled to herself as she thought of the fairy tale about the princess and the pea.
“Something funny?” Raul asked as he unfolded his tent and laid it out on the ground.
She ignored his question. “Why don’t you set up here?” She pointed to the prime spot for both view and grass cushioning.
He slanted her a penetrating glance that said he knew she was favoring him. “I’m good where I am. You take that spot.”
She pulled his tent poles out of her pack. “I’ll give you a hand.”
As she unfolded the poles and connected them, he eyed the tent corners. “It looks like it’s color-coded.” He scowled. “Even a useless prince can figure that out.”
“Okay, it’s all yours.” She handed him the framework of poles.
Dario and Pascal gave her slight smiles of sympathy before they went to work on their own tents.
To give Raul credit, he had his tent almost fully set up by the time Erica had unrolled her pad and sleeping bag in hers.
Hers didn’t have a full vestibule or large rain fly, so it wasn’t surprising that Raul’s had required more time.
But it was clear he didn’t want to be coddled, so she left him alone to manage the rest.
“I’ll get some water for dinner,” she said, retrieving a collapsible water bucket from her pack.
“I’ll go with you,” Raul said as he straightened from clipping the last tent corner to its foot.
She glanced toward Dario and got a nod of permission. He and Pascal had scouted all around the site before they unpacked their gear.