Chapter 26
Sander
Considering I have a painting in my bedroom that cost me thirty thousand euros, you’d think I would be more interested in the arts than I am.
At the moment, I can’t even pretend to have paid attention to what the orchestra has been playing for the last forty-five minutes.
I’ve been too focused on Astrid and Lady Vardane and every person who gets out of their seat for a trip to the toilet.
Lady Vardane. I haven’t gotten over my shock about that one yet.
She was at Bellgaard’s dinner but mostly kept to herself, and she only had good things to say about the monarchy when I spoke to her at Markell’s party over a week ago.
At no point in her praising the crown did I ever catch a hint of deception, and I like to think I’m good at catching lies.
Then again, I’ve been off my game and putting most of my energy into channeling my brother. It’s not like I’ve had much of a chance to get my thoughts straight and focus on anything beyond the obvious.
When Blackmere gets up before intermission, I’m almost glad, desperately hoping he comes our way and is the bearer of whatever test Lady Vardane has planned for us, even if they’re sitting nowhere close to each other.
At this point, I’d rather get things over with so we can finally figure out what we need to do next.
“Hey,” I murmur and nudge Astrid’s arm, pulling her attention from the stage and gesturing toward Blackmere’s box as he disappears. “What are the chances he’s coming over here?”
Astrid takes a deep breath and sits up straighter. “Greater than I’d like, but I’m operating purely on assumption right now, and I don’t like it.” At least she has calmed down a bit. She’s the brains of this operation, and I’ve done enough panicking for the both of us.
Hoping to help her relax more, I quirk an eyebrow up and say, “If he does make an appearance, I’m more than happy to send him packing and request a different anarchist to test us.”
Snorting a laugh, she gives me a warm look of affection that I feel down to my toes. “You’re going to get us killed one of these days, Prince.”
“That’s not part of the plan.”
“Let me talk to him,” Astrid says, turning her head like she’s listening for the sound of footsteps outside the box. “Knowing you, you’ll be at each other’s throats if you say more than a few words.”
“I fail to see an issue with that.” I played nice with the man when he invited me for a drink, but I take umbrage with the idea that he intentionally got me drunk. Made me vulnerable.
I can only imagine how Hex would act around Blackmere, and I’m glad he didn’t fight harder to be here tonight in my place.
He’s still exhausted, and his mind has been somewhere else all day, so I doubt he would have had the capacity to learn everything he would need to know.
I didn’t have the capacity to teach him.
As much as I want to help him, my mind has been fully focused on Astrid.
Smiling with forced confidence, Astrid pats my cheek, then slips her other hand free from mine and gets to her feet.
She must have been calculating how long it would take for Blackmere to walk to our side of the theater because she lets out a little “Oh!” of false surprise right as she reaches the corridor.
“Lord Blackmere. Fancy running into you here.”
“Storme. What great timing.” Blackmere’s voice is rough and almost too low for me to hear him properly beneath the crescendo of the music. “I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you tonight without so many eyes on us.”
I want to move closer so I can better hear their conversation, but one glance at Lady Vardane’s box keeps me in my seat. She’s unabashedly watching me, and my gut says to watch her right back.
“Strange,” Astrid says. “I would have thought you’d enjoy the attention of an audience.”
“Depends on the audience,” Blackmere says, “and what they can do for me.”
Vitte, does the man have no shame?
Lady Vardane says something to the woman next to her, covering her mouth with her fan, and I can’t help but wonder if she realized that I could read her words even from this distance.
“If you were hoping to hire me for your next hunting weekend, Lord Blackmere, you’ll have to go through my company,” Astrid says, and I can’t hold back a smile at her dismissive tone.
Lady Vardane’s expression tightens, eyes on me again. She noticed my smile, but I can’t tell if she’s displeased or intrigued.
“I had bigger things in mind,” Blackmere says, even quieter than before.
I have to turn my head and point an ear toward the back of the box to hear, which means there’s no hiding that I’m listening to the conversation.
How can I not listen? “But I have to ask. Are you here with the prince or with the prince?”
Astrid scoffs. “Why would you care?”
“Simply curious if tonight is a matter of business or pleasure. I haven’t seen you at the symphony before.”
If he’s asking if she’s available, I might really have to punch the bloke in the nose. No, technically I’m not—Hex isn’t—dating her, but Blackmere doesn’t need to know that.
The orchestra finishes the symphony with a sweeping line of rising notes that end in an instant, and I’ve never hated silence more as I wait for Astrid’s reply. Thunderous applause breaks out, followed by the house lights glowing bright.
“Yes,” Astrid says, and my breath catches in my throat. “I’m here with the prince. Sorry if that’s disappointing.”
“It is, but the prince needs someone with a solid head on her shoulders to keep him out of trouble. I suppose if anyone can handle him, you can.”
Breaking Blackmere’s nose sounds like a fantastic idea right now, and I’m halfway out of my seat when Astrid’s words bring me to a halt.
“He’s a good deal more than you think he is.”
“And you’re a good deal more than you let people believe,” Blackmere replies. “You missed that shot on purpose.”
Cursing, I sink back into my seat as I realize Blackmere is a lot more observant than I’ve given him credit for. Astrid’s rifle shot at Fennor’s was nearly perfect, and no one else seemed aware that she adjusted her aim to be slightly off. But if Blackmere figured it out, what else has he noticed?
Too much, I’d wager. Everything he says is intentionally cryptic and vague, which means he always controls the conversation. Just how much has he been pulling the strings from the start? He may not be the source of money, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be the one in charge.
But why would he want to take down a monarchy?
“What of it?” Astrid asks, sounding so calm and self-assured that I press a hand over my heart like I might be able to hold in my admiration for her strength. If I hadn’t seen her nerves up close, I never would have guessed she was anything but fully confident.
“Someone with that level of control,” Blackmere says gruffly, “is someone able to fight for what she believes in.”
“I think a lot of people fight for what they believe in,” Astrid says airily.
“What matters is if they’re on the right side of things when they do.”
“What are you asking?” Astrid says with more force than she’s used so far.
My phone buzzes, and I reluctantly look at the screen, telling myself that Astrid can handle herself and doesn’t need me protecting her. She’s plenty strong.
Callum:
Communication is booming among Parliament members tonight.
If they’re not at the symphony with you, they’re calling each other.
Commons isn’t so chatty. Just Lords.
I look up, scanning the audience. Two of Lady Vardane’s companions hold seats in the House of Lords. Several other boxes contain Parliament members, many of whom have filtered into each other’s boxes and are talking with darting glances and worried looks. Yes, it’s intermission, but…
They know something. And Lady Vardane looks unfazed as she fans herself and reads something on her phone.
Callum:
Boss says it’s normal, but you’re politically minded. More than your brother, anyway. What are your thoughts?
Hex isn’t politically minded, though. He’s intelligent and understands politics just fine, but I’m the one who—
“Vitte,” I swear, realizing I wasn’t just paranoid whenever I wondered if Callum knows who I really am.
“I’m asking if you’ve picked a side, Storme,” Blackmere says, and my blood runs cold.
Did I miss something while I was focused on Callum’s texts? Blackmere has never been that direct before. I look back, noting the glowing phone in his hand before I take in his hard expression.
Blackmere leans closer to Astrid. “There’s no more time for you to dance in the middle unless you want to become a casualty.”
“A casualty of what?” Astrid asks boldly. “If I have to choose a side, you can’t skirt around what we’re really talking about here.”
Blackmere’s gaze jumps over to me, narrowing in something close to a challenge. “You’ll see soon enough. In or out, Storme?” He holds his hand forward.
Astrid takes it.
Blackmere tugs, pulling her off balance and into the crowded corridor.
“Astrid!” I’m on my feet and out of the box before I can take another breath.
I crash into a man walking past, nearly tackling him to the ground, and spin in a circle as I frantically search the crowd for— “Astrid,” I say again, weakly this time when I realize I barreled right past her.
She’s just outside the box, Blackmere stooped over her hand like he just kissed her knuckles.
Both of them are watching me with oddly similar expressions of amused confusion.
Blackmere recovers faster, laughing and shaking his head like he can’t believe what he just witnessed.
“You’re worse off than I thought, Alverra.
There’s protective, and then there’s whatever that just was.
But it’s nice to see you’ll do anything to keep her safe.
Miss Storme, I expect I’ll be seeing you again soon.
” He squeezes Astrid fingers, bows his head to us both, then makes his way through the crowd.
“Hex,” Astrid says, but her eyes are on Blackmere’s retreating form.
When she narrows her eyes, I turn to see Lady Vardane purse her lips at Blackmere, like she’s disappointed.
“Was that the test?” I ask, far more breathless than I’d like to be.
Crossing the space between us, Astrid slips her hand into mine. No matter how many times we’ve done this, it still surprises me how quickly my heart rate slows with contact from her. “I think so.”
“But what were they testing?”
She shrugs. “How easily we can be trapped? How we’ll react to attacks? Our loyalty toward each other?”
A man bumps into me as the crowd jostles around us, and I tug Astrid closer to my side. I won’t be able to let go of her anytime soon after watching Blackmere drag her out of sight. She can defend herself, but I don’t like the idea of her needing to. “Did we pass?” I ask and meet her eyes.
She looks as confident as I feel. As in not at all. “I don’t know.”
“That seems to be a common answer with us.”
“I know,” she says with a groan. “I’ve never been so…”
“So what?” When she doesn’t finish her thought, I follow her gaze to my jacket pocket, where the corner of a white piece of paper pokes out. “That wasn’t there before.”
Pulling me back into our box, Astrid snatches the paper from my pocket and frowns at the unmarked envelope in her hand. She breaks through the seal and pulls out a card with a handwritten string of letters and numbers in blue ink.
S P E B R 0 4 1 O D T E T 0 A C M A O E
“What is this supposed to mean?” Astrid mutters, turning the card over. The other side is blank.
“You’re the spy.” I squint at the numbers, trying to find a pattern or any clue to what sort of code it might be, but I’m coming up blank.
She rolls her eyes. “Do you expect me to be crack at ciphers?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Not off the top of my head. But give me a sheet of paper and an hour, and I might be able to break the code…”
I rub my jaw before a smile breaks free. Of course she’s a codebreaker on top of everything else she does. “But why give us something in code in the first place? No one should know you’re RIA, yeah? An average bodyguard wouldn’t have the skillset to decipher something like this.”
She wrinkles her nose, glancing out toward the crowded corridor.
“There’s always the chance my cover has been blown.
” Blowing out her breath in a long stream, she taps the card against her hand, then pulls out her phone and takes a picture of it.
“Let’s hope that isn’t the case,” she says as she hands the card back to me and groans.
“I don’t know if I can handle any more tonight. This is maddening.”
I wince, suddenly remembering Callum’s texts about the members of Parliament. “Did Callum text you as well as me?”
“Callum?” She looks down at her phone, frowning as she opens her texts. “Chatty?”
I nod. “The members of Lords I could see from here didn’t look very calm.”
“What do they know that we don’t?”
I wish I had an answer.
When I remain silent, Astrid shakes her head and sighs.
“If Callum thought tailing any of them would be useful, he would have told us. Maybe…” She clearly doesn’t like her own idea as she says, “Maybe we should call it a night. We took Lady Vardane’s test and ended up with…
whatever that is.” She points to the envelope I’m holding.
“Unless we’re given more information, we can’t do anything else tonight.
I suggest we get some rest while we can. ”
Though she must be as tired as I am, I narrow my eyes at the glint in her eyes. “You’re going to follow your own advice, yeah? I’ll allow an hour to try to break the code, but no more than that.”
She raises an eyebrow. “You’ll ‘allow’ an hour?”
“You’re spectacular, Astrid, but you’re still human and need sleep as much as anyone.”
She rolls her eyes, but another emotion pulls at the corners of her lips, a silent question that tugs at my heart. Yes, I want to tell her. I see you, Astrid, and you’re spectacular. I doubt anyone tells her that often enough, and I wish she could see herself through my eyes.
More than that, I wish I was the person she really wants with her right now. I wish I had told her the truth from the start. I wish…
“Come on,” I say and offer my arm. “I’ll take you home.”
I can’t do much, but I can ensure she gets home safely.
Even if leaving her side is the last thing I want to do.
I’ve been sinking deeper and deeper into my feelings for this woman for the last week and a half, but seeing Blackmere pull her from my sight felt like an arrow straight to my chest. In those seconds that I couldn’t find her, I wasn’t sure I would survive if I lost her.
The problem is I’ve never had her to begin with.