Sarah kicked herself for being stupid. She should have found a guard and let them investigate the sound that obviously was not a child. "Did you poison the king, too?" She turned to the guard. “Or did you? You’re obviously a traitor.” He shifted nervously from foot to foot.
Kayleigh giggled. "Nope, I did not do that."
"But you know who did," Sarah responded. She could tell by the glint in Kayleigh's eyes that she was being toyed with.
Kayleigh shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't matter. This plan has been in place for a long time. You just happen to be a detail we weren't totally expecting, but it works out so perfectly."
"We?" Sarah asked. "You and your goon over here?"
"I'm done talking." Kayleigh nodded to the guy. "Put her on ice."
The first fear crept up Sarah's spine. "Ice?"
"Not literally. I'm not going to kill you." Kayleigh giggled. "I would, except apparently that baby you're carrying is worth a lot to someone."
Pure terror replaced the fear. Sarah wrapped her arms across her belly protectively.
"And just in case you think that your dragon can save you, it can't. It took a while to figure out how to make this room shift-proof."
Sarah reached inside herself and tried to shift. Anger mixed with the terror when she realized she was good and trapped.
And in big trouble.
The man guided her into a small room off to the side. Sarah thought about resisting, but she couldn't risk the baby getting hurt if things became physical. She slowly walked through the door in the wall.
Concrete walls surrounded her, and only a thin cot was in the corner. There was a large window on the door, but bares replaced the normal glass. Sarah looked at Kayleigh. "You don't have to do this."
"Oh yes, I do. And don't worry. I'll comfort Luke when he's heartbroken that you left him."
This time, her temper took over. "You stupid bitch. You can't land a man yourself, so you have to lie, cheat, and kidnap to get one?"
"You do have a spark," Kayleigh taunted. "I can see why Luke has an interest in you. Too bad that same spark is how I'll convince him that you couldn't handle the royal life so you ran away."
The door clanged shut, and hot tears blurred her vision. She paced every inch of the small room before she sat down on the cot.
They're never going to find me.
That didn't even bother her the most.
They're going to steal my baby.
Chapter Twenty: Missing
Luke Ardec
Luke slumped on the throne as he heard case after case. When he finally made the last ruling, he perked up as the room emptied. With a big stretch, he grinned at his guard.
"Is it wrong that I'm so excited this is over?"
"No, your Majesty. Court can be quite, um, cumbersome."
"I'm going to my chambers. Please see to it that no one disturbs me." He could finally go and do all the things he had been daydreaming about that included Sarah.
He ran up the stairs and burst through the door, totally expecting Sarah to be sitting there waiting for him. "Hello, my love. I'm back."
When there was no answer, he frowned as he wandered through his rooms. He paused in the bathroom and stared at the tub. Still full of water, he stuck his hand in to find it cold. "Why didn't you drain the water out?"
Still no answer. He found her towel on the bed. The first curl of concern tickled his spine in a bad way.Maybe she got hungry.
