Chapter 25
Chance
Chance had never liked waiting, but he had learned over the years that there was a particular kind of patience required of men who intended to take over something. It was the kind of patience that demanded stillness even when everything in him strained toward action.
He stood in the outer courtyard of Sven’s castle with his hands clasped behind his back.
The couriers had taken the copies of the letters Randi had written that now represented the first real ripple of resistance to end the reign of terror within Noriveille’s borders.
Considering how far that fear had spread, the various provinces needed to take note that they could be next.
Sven stood beside him. His posture was more relaxed but there was nothing casual about the sharpness in his attitude about the whole situation.
“They should be getting those letters delivered right about now,” Sven said after a moment, his voice calm but certain. “Neither mine nor Jakob’s men take assignments like this lightly, especially not when the message carries the weight that yours does.”
Chance nodded once. “It’s a risk,” he admitted. “If even one of those provinces chooses to side with my father instead of with me…”
“They won’t,” Sven interrupted with a quiet confidence that made Chance glance at him. “Not all of them, anyway, and not the ones that matter most. Gunner has spent years ruling through fear instead of loyalty, and fear has a way of collapsing the moment people are given another option.”
Chance exhaled slowly and the tension in his shoulders easing just slightly. “You sound very certain.”
Sven’s mouth curved faintly. “I sound like a man who believes in what’s right.”
“I feel useless,” Chance admitted. “You have men. Jakob and Lucas have men. I have water parks. I don’t have an army or a castle. Other than the evil here happens to be my father, I don’t even have a dog in the fight. Not like you guys.”
Sven chuckled. “You may not have a dog in the fight as you so eloquently put it, but your father brought the fight to you. Between trying to harm Randi and trying to conquer all of the Northlands, he has put you in the position to rely on us.”
“I appreciate you more than you know.”
“Look at it this way, Chance. Your father is so cocky that I don’t even think he realizes the connection between Randi and my throne. He has done no homework because he feels there is no threat. That’s a huge advantage to you with or without your own men.”
“I still wish I had an army of my own.”
There was a brief pause before Sven’s expression shifted. “I believe that those letters of hers will do more work than half an army ever could.”
Chance nodded. “You have a lot of faith in them.”
“I have faith in her,” Sven corrected easily and turned his head just enough to meet Chance’s gaze. “Which, if I’m being honest, is something you should probably get used to, because you’re going to spend the rest of your life relying on that whether you realize it yet or not.”
Chance let out a quiet breath. “You make it sound inevitable.”
Sven’s look sharpened with amusement. “Isn’t it?”
Chance didn’t answer immediately. Randi’s face surfaced in his mind, her quiet determination she carried so naturally when she thought no one was watching.
“She has a life,” he said after a moment. “In Tampa. A career she is trying to build, something that belongs entirely to her. I can’t ask her to walk away from that just because my world is… this.”
Sven considered that and folding his arms loosely across his chest. “And have you asked her?”
“No,” Chance admitted.
“Then you’re arguing against a decision she hasn’t made,” Sven pointed out.
Chance’s jaw tightened slightly. “It’s not that simple.”
“It rarely is,” Sven agreed, “but for what it’s worth, now that Bryn has taken the two of them baby shopping, Randi will get a better firsthand experience with royal life at its most persuasive.”
Chance lifted a brow. “Persuasive?”
Sven chuckled. “There are very few people who walk out of a royal shopping excursion untouched by its advantages.”
Despite himself, Chance chuckled. “That sounds like a unique adventure. I was never around the royal life much to experience it myself.”
“It is,” Sven said easily. “And she also said Randi doesn’t look entirely out of place in this world. You have to remember that she lived here for a while before she moved to Tampa. The difference now is that Bryn has gained a little experience as queen.”
Something in Chance’s chest tightened at that, though he wasn’t entirely sure why.
“People have a way of finding where they belong,” Sven continued. “Sometimes it just takes them longer to see it.”
Before Chance could respond, the first of the returning couriers appeared in the courtyard.
“As far as I know, Your Majesty, all of the letters have been delivered. We’re still waiting on final confirmation for the provinces the furthest away.”
Chance’s shoulder stiffened. “That was fast.”
“There was no resistance encountered and all messages were acknowledged.”
Sven glanced at him. “Well,” he said lightly, “it seems your opening speech is next on the list.”
Chance nodded once, his mind already moving ahead. “Let’s do it.”
Within the hour, every available channel carried the same message, delivered with unmistakable clarity and intent as Chance formally challenged his father’s rule and declared his return.
He stood before the cameras with Sven and Jakob at his side, along with a proclamation of support from Lucas. Their presence was a statement in itself because their support was impossible to ignore with the weight of three kingdoms settled behind him.
“My name is Chauncy Parelli,” he began, his voice steady and unyielding, “and I am the rightful heir to the throne of Noriveille.”
The words carried, amplified far beyond the walls of the palace to reach cities and villages alike. His speech slipped into homes and gathering places, right into the hands of those who had waited far too long for something to change.
“For years, the people of Noriveille have lived under a reign defined by fear and cruelty,” he continued, his gaze unwavering. “That ends now.”
There was no hesitation, no room for doubt.
“With the support of the kingdoms of Stagholt, Crystafalls, and Onyxheim, I am declaring my intent to reclaim the throne from my father and restore justice to the people who have been denied it.”
He paused, just long enough for the weight of that declaration to settle.
“This is not a call for destruction,” he said in a voice losing none of its strength. “It is a call for change.”
Chance kept it short, and when he was done, there was no applause or celebration in the streets. There was only a quiet understanding that something irreversible had just begun.
By late afternoon, the tension had shifted into something else entirely. It wasn’t gone, but it was tempered by the undeniable momentum of what they had set in motion.
Sven suggested they leave the castle for a bit to clear their minds and Jakob agreed readily. They walked a short distance to a nearby pub where the air was thick with conversation. It was the kind of place where news traveled fast but not always accurately.
Chance wasn’t sure what he had expected, but the homey feeling in the hole in the wall place and the comfortable weight of a mug placed in front of him soothed his frayed nerves.
“To declarations that cannot be undone,” Sven said and lifted his drink with a faint smile.
Jakob followed suit. “And to the man bold enough to make them.”
Chance exhaled as he raised his own mug. “To whatever comes next.”
They drank as did half the pub. Chance wondered how many of them were actually guards keeping an eye on things.
He spun around when the door burst open. Conversations faltered as a woman rushed inside, breathless and pale. Her eyes scanned wildly until they landed on Sven.
“Your Majesty,” she gasped. Her voice shook as she pushed forward. Every eye in the room was on her.
Sven stood instantly. “What is it?”
“It’s the queen,” she said as she struggled to catch her breath. “Queen Bryn, and the woman she was with. They were in my boutique…”
Chance was already on his feet. His pulse spiked as something cold and sharp cut through the calm.
“What happened?” he demanded.
The woman swallowed hard. “Men came in,” she said, her words tumbling over each other. “They blocked the exits, and before anyone could react, they took them.”
For a single, suspended moment, everything seemed to stop before it hit.
Hard.
“Where were the guards?” Sven demanded.
“I don’t know, Sire. I really don’t. I didn’t see anyone else.” The woman burst into tears.
Chance’s grip tightened around the edge of the table as a surge of fury and fear collided in his chest, so intense it left no room for anything else.
“Which way?” he snapped. Guilt that he hadn’t been more cautious to protect almost brought him to his knees.
The woman pointed with a trembling hand. “Out of town. I don’t know where after that.”
Chance didn’t wait for anything more. Sven was right at his side, closely followed by Jakob.
Because whatever this was, and whoever had done it, had just made the worst possible mistake.
They had taken Randi.