I grabbed one of the staff, a young man who seemed relatively calm. “What’s the fastest route to the queen’s bedroom?”
“She isn’t there. We looked. We already looked.” He looked confused, like his own words didn’t make sense.
“And Allayna? Lilliana?”
He shook his head. “No. It’s empty. No one is there.”
Shit. I looked at Mal. “Do you think he kidnapped them? Took them for leverage or ransom?”
Mal shook his head. “No. We know who he is now. He has nothing to gain by allowing them to live. If he’d found them in their rooms, they’d already be dead.”
Comforting. “Is there any way to get on or off this island quietly? Without being noticed?”
Mal considered, then shook his head. “No. The docks are monitored by satellite as well as manned stations. No ships are allowed to fly overhead. It’s one of the reasons this was chosen as the capital.”
“Then they must still be here. Somewhere. Where would she go?” Where would I go with two scared little girls? Somewhere a bad guy would most likely never think to look.
And then I knew.
“Mal! Follow me! Come on! I think I know where they are.”
Mal fell in behind me, as did several others who had been standing around the foyer looking lost. Good. If we were going to run into VSS goons I’d take all the help I could get.
Cornered rats were dangerous. They had nothing to lose.
When we got close to the throne room, I put up my fist in the air and hoped they would all know what that meant. Stop. Be quiet. Wait.
Mal and I moved to opposite sides of the door. We made eye contact and understood one another perfectly. “On three,” I whispered.
I did a silent countdown with three fingers and we moved in, checking the corners, covering each other’s backs.
“Clear.” I gave the signal and the rest of the guards who’d come with us moved inside. I looked them over. They would do.
Mal must have agreed with my assessment. “Guard that door. No one comes in unless it’s the three kings themselves. Understood?”
They accepted Mal’s command and moved into place, most likely glad to have an assignment, something to do. I tilted my head toward the private garden where I’d met the queen and Lilliana before. This area was separate from the sprawl of the main grounds—grounds that were now on fire. This was meant to be a personal sanctuary, a safe place for the royal children to play. Tall walls enclosed the large space. It was basically the royal family’s private park and was more than large enough to hide a woman and two little girls.
Mal and I approached quietly.
“Don’t freak her out. She’s probably armed and ready to shoot anything that moves.” I would be, if it were my children I was protecting from lunatics who wanted them dead.
Speaking of, I pulled my Glock from its holster and held it in ready position.
“Leah? It’s me.” I called out into the darkness several times as I followed one of the garden paths. Each time, I made my voice a bit louder. “Leah? Are you out here? We’ve got the throne room secured. Mal is with me. Are you here? You can come out now.”
There was a quiet rustle of leaves.
I moved closer. “Leah?”
“I’m afraid not.” A tall Viken male stood up slowly. He was much older than Mal, but still moved like he was a trained fighter. Gray hair and a few wrinkles didn’t fool me. Sometime the older ones were the meanest. They had to be. They’d lived longer than everyone else around them, and it wasn’t by accident.
“I assume you’re Vikter?” I still had my pistol in my hand, gun their S-Gen machine had blessed me with right after I arrived. It was black, not shiny and silver like the ion blasters. I put the weapon down along my thigh and angled my body away from him, hoping he wouldn’t see it.
“And you are the annoying bitch from Earth the queen set about sniffing at my heels.”
I’d been called worse things than a dog. Much worse. His words didn’t concern me, it was the blaster pointed at the center of my chest. No dodging that.
“Leah, if you’re here, hide! Don’t come out,” I shouted, much louder than anything I’d yelled out before.
