I woke to knocking on my door.“Just a minute,” I called, trying not to sound too sleepy.I couldn't tell what time it was, only that it was light outside. Who didn't put a clock in the bedroom?I sat up and stretched, then grabbed my phone to check the time. My goodness! Being pregnant was making me tired. It was almost nine.I climbed out of bed and put on my clothes from the night before. I hadn't even opened the closet. I didn't care to see whether it was empty, awaiting my things, or whether the king had given me clothes that he expected to see me in. Either way, the contents weren’t anything I wanted.I opened the door, prepared to face whatever punishment the king was going to dish out at me, and instead was greeted by a rough hug from Charles. He pressed kisses all over the top of my head, drinking in the scent of me.I pushed him away and then squirmed out and underneath his arms. “They let you come see me?” I gasped.“I didn't ask,” he replied. “As if they could stop me from
I made a face at Charles and scrambled for my clothing, yanking it on. Instead of getting dressed, he twitched back my covers and took a seat inside my bed, covering himself with the sheets.Someone pounded again, and I jerked open the door, surprised to find myself face the face with Theo. He didn't wait for an invitation, instead pushing me back inside by the shoulders and shutting the door behind him.The look on his face, I couldn't quite read, but it was intense.“What's going on?”Theo crossed his arms over his chest and eyed me. “What did you do, Elena?”I put my hands on my hips. “What do you mean ‘what did I do?’” I wanted to avoid having to tell him that I had sent the conversation between the king and me to Jasmine.The muscles in his neck twitched with tension. “They've arrested the king.”“What?” both Charles and I yelped at the same time.Theo gave a short nod. “So, I'll repeat myself,” Theo said. “What did you do?”I pressed a hand to my forehead, willing the room to st
Evidently, the law moved a lot faster for the king than for anyone else I’d ever heard about because it was less than an hour later when the mousey chamberlain showed up.He gave me a low bow. “Lady Elena,” he said. “I'm here to escort you to the opening proceedings of the trial.”“Already? I guess the lawyers don't need any more time to prepare.”He shot me in an incredulous look. “The lawyers have been working tirelessly on this case since, somehow, a recording of your private conversation with the king got admitted into the public sphere last night. They are at least prepared to take opening statements. Make sure you have yourself ready,” he said disdainfully.“For what I demanded. I haven't even had time to consult with a lawyer or anything.”“When making a blatant power grab, one ought to be prepared for the consequences.” The Chamberlain turned on his heel and started walking down the hall, not waiting for me.Charles started after him, fury on his face, but I caught his arm and
The king and his lawyer scowled, but the judge continued. “In addition, I will be appointing all of the necessary staff for Miss Laurentia's well-being. Ahe will be housed in a location of my choosing. And I will not be releasing that information to anyone.”The king scowled even further, and from the row behind me, I heard Charles and both bodyguards let out sighs of relief.The judge eyed me. “Who's your current security?”I pointed at David and Theo.The judge focused an intense gaze on me. “I will see you alone in my chambers after the court is adjourned this morning. And we will talk about your personal safety.”I nodded. “Thank you, your honor.”“Now, does anyone have anything else to add here?” The judge looked at both lawyers.They both shook their heads.She raised her gavel again and banged it down on her desk. “Then I declare this court adjourned.”Theo stood and hopped over the rail between the desk where I sat and where he was sitting in the gallery.“I'll escort you to t
I grinned back at him. “I vouched for both of you with the judge, and I'm glad I did. You prove my faith in you at every turn.”David and Theo, with Charles and I, entered into the bowels of the courthouse and then through a panel that looked like a blank section of wall, simply by pressing an outlet. I would never have thought that someplace as boring and unassuming as a plugin was actually a secret door.Once we were inside the passage, emergency lights flickered to life. David went first, and Theo followed behind Charles and me, sandwiching us in the middle. They led us through quiet, empty passages full of thick, warm air.It was clear that the ventilation down here was minimal because it had a dusty taste to it, which coated my tongue every time I breathed in. David took us around several sharp turns and then behind a set of pipes. There, we had to go through a low opening covered by a grate on our hands and knees.He replaced the grate when all of us were inside, and after crawl
When I exited the bathroom, the importance of the day hit me in full measure. Today I was going to court. What and God's name was I supposed to wear?Someone knocked on the door, and I wrapped my towel tighter. “In a few minutes,” I called.“Elena?” I recognized Gwen's voice. “I brought you a suit for today. May I come in?”“Yes,” I said.She opened the door and entered the bedroom.“I'm just fresh out of the shower.” I bit my lip, feeling foolish. As if she couldn't gather that by my wet hair. But I seem to need something to fill the silence.She held up a garment bag. “You'll want to look your best today,” she said.I let Gwen dress me, taking comfort in the fact that she knew her way around important functions as a luna. When she finished, she grabbed my face and gave my forehead a kiss.“Do exactly what the lawyers, Charles, and I tell you to,” she said. “I don't want you to leave my son a widower before he's even officially married.”I patted her hands, which still rested on my c
All of a sudden, a whisper of a breeze rippled through the courtroom and around my head, whispering reassurance in my ear. This breeze wrapped itself around me and then swirled out into the courtroom, where it produced an answering wind of murmuring whispers. Suddenly, everyone was shaking their heads, turning toward one another. Members of the jury shook their heads as if trying to clear them.Again, I heard a whisper in my ear, and I recognized the voice of the moon goddess. “Don't fear,” was all she said. And then her presence was gone. But the entire courtroom, everybody in the gallery, the jury, the judge, the lawyers, and even the king had all relaxed.The judge brought her gavel down and dismissed the jury to go deliberate. But this time, I wasn't frightened. The goddess had never steered me wrong yet. And she told me not to fear, that I needed to trust her and the fate surrounding her and me.I scurried out of the witness stand and back to my spot beside Mr. Wilcox. “What was
I kissed Charles, and he pulled back, eyeing me. “Should we be careful or anything?” he asked. “You know, for the baby.”I shrugged. “It's not like I've been pregnant before, but I would guess not. The doctor didn't say anything about that.”“And you haven't even searched things like that online yet?”I shook my head. “How could I? I've been so busy, not to mention the fact that I'm trying to keep certain people from finding out.”“Then we'll go slow and be careful,” he said.His kisses came soft and gentle, and his caresses all over my body were the same. Keeping secrets from him had been a bad idea. Now that they were out in the open, just these small touches made the connection between us feel so much more real as if I had closed some invisible distance between the two of us.This drove me to smash our lips together, desperately seeking the rest of the connection that I hadn't even realized I'd been missing.He chuckled and pushed me back. “What happened to taking it easy?” he teas