24. Chapter 24
Michaela
I closed the passage door behind me, not exhaling until I heard the click of the latch locking into place. With a quick glance at my watch, I drew in a sharp breath. I only had seven minutes before I was supposed to meet Bishop, but I still didn’t know where to go.
I walked to the door quickly and slipped into the hallway. Hesitation took hold as I closed the door.
If I left it unlocked and Dahlia came early, she would know I left my room. If I locked it, then I wouldn’t be able to get back in.
Was I planning to be gone that long?
In reality, I didn’t know. The queen was a wild card. I wavered, contemplating the choices as I faced my door.
“Are you quite ready, then?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Spinning to face the shadows, I barely made out Bishop’s silhouette, arms crossed, leaning against the wall as if waiting for a bus, not sneaking out for royal espionage in the dead of the night. Palm against my chest to calm my racing heart, I started toward him.
“What’s with you Nolcovian men, scaring me half to death?”
As I drew near, his smirk became more apparent than ever. Bishop pushed off the wall to fall in step with me. “I suppose we’re rather adept at leaving beautiful women breathless.”
My feet stalled. I gulped back any nerves and glanced over my shoulder at my door. My engine hadn’t had time to cool since I’d been with Fitz. The warmth of his lips still lingered on mine. It took no effort at all to recall the sensation of his touch, but with it all so recent, Bishop’s words cued up the same emotional response. After all, he looked a lot like Fitz, but lacked the royal obligations that kept us apart. Was it a mistake to go with Bishop?
“Let’s crack on, then,” Bishop prompted, while nodding to the shadows that dominated the hallway.
I banished my worries. This went deeper than attraction and crushes. If the queen was doing something to hurt the king, Fitz deserved to know, and as his friend it was my job to help.
We moved quickly and without sound through the deserted halls and into the empty galleries of the palace. Bishop’s sure pace left no time for second-guessing. We dropped down a staircase I’d never seen and for the first time, Bishop’s arm shot out to stop me as his feet stalled. At the base of the stairs, an archway separated us from another room.
Through the arch, I spotted a door, different than the others I’d seen. Heavy and wooden, but not ornate. Cold air tickled over my skin like the breath of a ghost warning me to go back. Deep voices rumbled from the other side of the arch. I couldn’t make out the words but felt positive they were the reason we’d stopped. Bishop reversed a step, closing the distance between us to almost nothing. “The guards are changing,” he whispered.
Fumbling a bit, he took my hand in his. “Stay close.” As the voices moved away, Bishop led me through the arch and out the door. Frosty air slapped my face, stealing my breath in an instant. Ice left my quick steps slippery. Bishop’s grip tightened on my hand as he shot me a concerned glance. One of us grew up where sunshine thrived, and the ice left me off-kilter and wobbling. With Bishop’s help, I found my footing and we resumed our pace.
We moved across the grounds quickly. I hadn’t seen this side of the palace. Not ornate or decorated, but rather nondescript storage buildings and gated areas. Bishop took the next corner too fast, and my balance tipped. I reeled, narrowly smothering a scream from the shock of tipping all the way forward, face headed for the ground. Strong arms caught my center and held me steady. As if I weighed nothing, he pulled me back to my feet in one sweeping motion and held me against his chest.
“Easy there. Can’t have you dashing your head on the ice, can we?”
Indignance rose in my chest. While I was grateful for his help, I also didn’t need to be pulled up against him like a sucker fish on an aquarium wall.
“I lost my balance.” I pushed back from him, setting my hands on my hips. “I didn’t need—“ My feet slipped right out from under me again, and Bishop’s arms swooped around me.
“I’m sorry,” he quirked an eyebrow as he hovered over me, “what was that about not needing me?”
“Well, I don’t,” I asserted like an idiot.
“Fine then.” Bishop’s grip released and my body fell faster than The Drop Zone in 2003. My stomach jumped up my throat as I sank. I flailed my arms out, gripping any part of him that I could. Fingers latched into his sweater just as his arms tightened around me again. His cocky stare burned into me. “Care to revise your statement, Lady Michaela?”
My chest rose and fell with my short, choppy breaths. I hated losing, but between the angle of my body, twenty degrees off the snow, and the dropping temperature, I wasn’t in any position to argue.
Literally.
“Fine. I need you,” I admitted.
“Oh,” Bishop practically crooned, “music to my ears.”
“Hush.” I tried to get my feet under me, but I looked like a cartoon character trying to pedal in the air, slipping and sliding without any traction under me.
“Allow me, milady.” Pressure increased on my lower back as Bishop brought me to my feet, this time keeping some space between us. “Perhaps a compromise?”
I frowned, sure that any compromise from him would be more than skewed to his favor.
“What do you have in mind?”
“I’ll keep a hand around your waist.” He pointed to a building ahead of us. “It’s how I keep my younger sister on her feet as well.”
As much as I wanted to scold him for comparing me to a little girl, a part of my anger melted at the thought of Bishop tenderly caring for his sibling. Without a word, I nodded to give permission. Arm around my waist, we began again, carefully picking out the thinner ice that crunched underfoot. Yes, it was louder, but we didn’t have time for my ice escapades.
“Through here,” Bishop instructed as he pulled back an exterior door.
I peered into the darkness, pulling away from Bishop’s grasp, unsure of what waited inside the building. But time wasn’t on my side, and I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. My first steps felt like walking into midnight personified, only worsened as Bishop let the door close behind us.
A second later, a small flashlight sprang to life in Bishop’s hand. He moved ahead of me, all flirty teasing set aside for the moment. He picked his way through the boxes and crates that cluttered the space. By the way he moved, I gathered he’d planned this out in advance. As though confirming my suspicion, he motioned to a small space near the closed rolling exterior door. Without so much as a smile, he motioned for me to get in first. I didn’t argue and pressed into the tiny cubby he’d built from a few crates that would give us a shielded view of the door. He slipped in behind me, body tight against mine, but he didn’t act on it like he had earlier. Instead, his eyes remained fixed on the doors, eagerly waiting for whatever the queen had demanded from her mysterious contact. As much as Bishop played around most of the time, something about this had him spooked. I had to admit, the queen’s warnings still echoed in the back of my mind.
My husband will get what’s coming to him if it’s the last thing I do. He won’t be king forever.
Bishop’s body heat made me all too aware of how close he actually was to me. When his muscles twitched, I felt every single contraction. My mind raced with thoughts I had no business entertaining. The kind of thinking that had more to do with a biological response than actual desire. Could I help it that being close to a gorgeous almost-royal left me a little breathless?
I shivered at the thought but failed to keep it internal. Bishop turned to face me, concerned once more.
“Are you cold?” Bishop caught himself. “Criminy, what am I thinking? It’s positively brass monkeys tonight, innit?” Before I could stop him, he stripped his sweater from his body and passed it to me, leaving himself in only a tight tee. “Bleeding bitter outside. Can’t have you freezing to death on my watch, can we?”
My breath caught as our hands brushed. I pulled the sweater over my head, and his stored body heat transferred instantly as if he’d put his arms around me. My head popped out of the top, and Bishop took hold of the hood to pull it around my ears. Hesitating as his hands paused on either side of my face, his gaze locked on my features as if transfixed.
“I don’t understand,” he whispered, voice dripping with wonder, but he made no hurry to pull away.
I didn’t follow. “Understand what?”
His thumb brushed against my cheek, maybe a couple millimeters of movement, but my eyes fluttered unconsciously. When I opened them again, the faintest smile teased at his cheeks while the majority showed in his eyes, as if my reaction was exactly what he’d wanted. Bishop ducked closer, stealing some of the space between us as he kept hold of the hood and, in essence, me.
The air waited on his response, silent and still as he considered whether or not to spill his confession.
“I don’t understand why he won’t give it all up for you.” His tongue swiped the inside of his lip as puffs of vapor escaped his mouth with each breath. “I would.”
More chills raced over my body and up my spine. It was a game, a play for him. I knew it from the first time we met that he was a silver-tongued devil, but in light of everything that had happened with Fitz, I felt the ache of my prince’s denial soothed by Bishop’s words.
“Is that better?” His hands shifted to rub my arms and chase the chill away.
“Yes,” I agreed, relieved we’d changed the subject. “But now you’ll be cold.”
“It’s okay.” His grip fell away as he shifted back into position. Midnight had arrived and we needed to be ready. “I’m Nolcovian. We’re born with ice in our veins.” He shot a sideways glance paired with a wink that reminded me of Fitz. “Besides, you can warm me up later.”
My lips parted, mostly in shock, but some part of me knew I owed him an objection. The sound of the rolling door cut me off. The delivery had arrived.
The small warehouse sparked to life with activity as light flooded the space. Fear took hold as I realized how impulsive my decision had been. My breathing doubled and a tremble burst to life in my hands. If they caught me… If she was involved in something… My friendship with Fitz wouldn’t be enough to save me. If the queen had enough power to take out the king, erasing one American girl, who hadn’t taken the time to tell anyone but her roommate back in the States where she’d gone, would be a piece of cake. Fear shifted to panic. I became lightheaded and dizzy as the consequences crashed in like an avalanche. How would I—
Warmth captured my hands. Bishop’s grasp wrapped around them until not only they disappeared, but the tremble became swallowed up in his strength. Our eyes locked for a moment, the current between us palpable and strong. I knew what he was trying to tell me, even if he didn’t say a word.
He would protect me. I was safe in his hands.
“She’s arrived. Get the back open,” one of the men shouted at the others. “She’ll want to inspect it.”
The moment between us broke apart as our attention turned back to the truck reversing into the opening of the warehouse. The red glow of the taillights caught the mist of fog that had started to gather in the air. It spread easily, crossing like fingers stretching toward us, threatening to expose our hiding place. Bishop’s grip tightened as if to say he understood. I copied his breathing, slow, steady, unafraid of the future that waited for us.
Our view between the cracks limited our interpretation, but as a cloaked figure arrived, I knew instinctively it was the queen. Her hood pushed back and her milky skin caught the light of the moon, highlighting her flawless features.
“Is it here?” she asked the leader who’d barked orders.
“Yes, Your Majesty. But it wasn’t easy. You know how regulated—“
“That’s not important.” She snapped her fingers and her royal guard stepped from the shadows. “You’ll be compensated for the delivery.” Her guard placed a case in her hands and she, in turn, extended it to the leader, but not without pausing first to give her final terms. “And for your silence.”
The bearded man nodded solemnly. “No one will know, Your Majesty. It’s our service to the true ruler of the kingdom.” She released her grip, and he pulled the briefcase to his side as his opposite arm crossed to his shoulder and he took a knee. “Our allegiance, Your Majesty.”
Bishop sucked a breath in through his teeth, like a hiss of pain. Something about that had gutted him. I turned my attention back, still unsure of what was happening. The workers shifted inside the truck and wrestled a crate free.
“Your hand in this is appreciated. You know that, right?” The queen wasn’t speaking to the leader but had turned her attention to the shadows behind her.
Another figure took a step forward into the moonlight. “It is my honor to serve, Your Majesty.” I knew the voice this time, but as she pushed back the hood on her cloak, revealing her golden locks, to bow at her queen’s feet, I still couldn’t believe it.
It was one thing to betray the kingdom…
But how could Gwendolyn betray Fitz like this?
Fitz
The fire had long since gone out. Strange the way it had raged only a half hour ago and yet I couldn’t keep it alive any longer.
Helpless.
Always stuck somewhere between duty and desire.
I clenched my jaw tighter, fighting the emotions that threatened to rage like the fire once had. When I closed my eyes, I went back there again. Her lips on mine had fulfilled me in ways I hadn’t anticipated. The faintest sweetness of syrup and rich butter still lingering even after she’d left.
I was falling in love with her. If I was being honest, I found myself wondering if I had loved her all this time and had only just started to admit it to myself. I knew her kiss would be unforgettable, but I hadn’t expected it to transform me like it had.
But where could I go with it?
How binding was it when I made her a lady? Blast my impulsive decisions. I should have taken time to consider the ramifications and the legality of it all. And did it matter? If I loved her, wasn’t that all that counted?
I glanced to my left, knowing beyond the darkness a kingdom begged me not to give in to my selfish desires without considering them. My palm rubbed over my mouth as I tried to make sense of my options.
There had to be a way out.
There had to be a path.
I thought of Drysden and Nolcola. If they could beat the odds, couldn’t we?
A deep, thudding knock at my door brought me out of my thoughts. For a moment, my heart raced, hopeful that Michaela had come to the same conclusion that I had. But rationally, I knew she wouldn’t risk the palace halls when she could take the passageway.
No, this was likely a matter of the kingdom. With my father needing rest, more would fall on my shoulders as his end drew nearer each day. I pulled the door back, surprised to find Kabir standing at the ready, face tense with concern. Immediately, my heart twisted. I’d given him charge over Michaela’s safety. If he was here now, then she was—
“What’s wrong?” I demanded. “Is she hurt?”
“Not yet, Your Highness,” he drew in a breath as he considered his words, “but there is something you must see.”