“I don’t need—”
“Do you want Lilly to suffer?” Ottar asks, his voice stern, nearly menacing.
“Why the fuck would you even ask that?”
“Because you refused protection. If something happens to you, she suffers. I know this is different for you, and it will take some getting used to, but you will not go against the king’s orders. That’s final.” Ottar rests his beefy arms on the table. “As for Lilly, she will be covered. Lara has mentored and trained the finest to be by her side. We are bringing you into this conversation as a courtesy because of who you are, who you’re marrying, and the unmatched guard you have over your future wife. Don’t lose that privilege by going against what we’ve been told to do.”
I run my tongue over my teeth, letting his words sink in. As much as I hate to admit it, the man is right. I’m no longer in a position where I can participate in the intricate details like security and protection. And if Theo were here, he would be reprimanding me for turning down security detail. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but Ottar has a point. I don’t want Lilly to suffer, and if something happens to me, I know she’ll never get over it.
I run my hand over my mouth and finally say, “Fine, I’ll accept the added detail, but I would like to stay in the loop on the details when it comes to who is manning Lilly and myself as well as the investigation into this letter. I’m assuming it’s being investigated?”
“We don’t take threats lightly. You know that,” Ottar says. “An investigation is already underway, and we have our top security detail on it. We will brief you when we know more. As for right now, whoever wrote this has been very cautious with covering their tracks, which brings us to the wedding.”
Lara hands me a map with a parade route. “Due to the threat, we’ve cut the parade route in half. To avoid thinning our coverage of rooftops and the crowds, we’re going to limit the route. King Theo wasn’t pleased because he wants to celebrate your marriage, but he’s also very wary about your safety, so he agreed that this is the best option.”
I take in the map and trace the route with my eyes, looking for blind corners and high buildings. “Will we have spotters at Norse Temple?”
“Yes,” Lara replies. “On top of the building as well as around it. And we’ll also have drones flying over the parade route, looking for any suspicious activity.”
“Good,” I reply. “Are we adding protection to King Theo and Queen Katla?”
Ottar shakes his head. “He doesn’t believe there’s a threat to him, and we agree. But we have settled on extra security detail on the day of the wedding.”
Henrik steps in. “According to their schedule, they don’t have any outings until the wedding day, so we don’t have to worry about them too much.”
I nod. “Okay.” Blowing out a heavy breath, I ask, “What are you going to tell Lilly? I don’t want to frighten her.”
“We’re going to tell her the truth.”
I shake my head. “No. Don’t. It will scare her, and she’s already dealing with so much. We can tell her it’s protocol as we get closer to the wedding.”
“I don’t know,” Ottar says as Lara presses her hand to Ottar’s.
“I have to agree with Keller on this one. Lilly has been a ball of stress. I think we should leave it at a protocol issue. We don’t want to scare her. If we tell her about the letter, there’s no doubt in my mind that she’ll overthink it, and it will affect her public appearances.”
“She’s right,” I say. “Lilly wears her heart and expressions on her sleeve, and she won’t be able to hide the fear if she knows. And I don’t think Henrik wants a scared prospective queen at public engagements.”
“It would worry the public,” Henrik adds. “We don’t want to give the public any inclination that she’s having second thoughts because that’s how it would be perceived.”
Ottar drags his hand over his bald head. “Fine. We won’t tell her about the letter. But if there comes a time when we need to, I make the executive decision. Got it?”
I nod as I stare him down, communicating that I appreciate him and the passion he has for keeping my girl safe. Because above all else, that’s what matters most.
Lilly matters most.
* * *
“We are sopleased to have you at our school today,” Carina Olsen, the head administrator at the playschool we’re visiting today, says in greeting. One of the initiatives Lilly has taken on is early education since she’s shown great passion for the subject. She used to volunteer with her mum at the local YMCAs in Miami, so when we asked her where she thought it would be best to spend her time, she was quick to answer. Not only does she love children, but she wanted to carry on the tradition that her mum instilled in her.
We actually had to have a sit-down with Theo, Katla, and Henrik and talk about what we would be focusing on when it came to our community outreach. Since Lilly doesn’t have a vast knowledge of the country’s traditions, she opted for something more universal like early education. I’ve stated that I would be more than happy to take on maintaining the traditions of the country, with Lilly by my side of course. We’ve been told that making public appearances together, especially right now leading up to the wedding, would be more favored than separate appearances. Fine by me. The more time I can spend with Lilly, the more comfortable I am in this new role.ThisI can do. With Lilly, without the pressure of anyone vying to uncover my deeply held pain.Thisfeels right.
“We’re honored to be here,” Lilly says.
Dressed in a pair of brown tweed pants and brown turtleneck with a matching brown coat, she looks regal, nothing like the woman I picked up in South Beach. She’s been choosing more sophisticated looks, and it’s taking me a second to get used to it, but she looks good nonetheless, especially with her hair curled at the ends and just enough mascara on her eyelashes to make her blue irises pop.
With the extra security, the hallways seem infinitely smaller, and moving around is cumbersome, but as we established, it’s necessary. When we told Lilly about the added security, she was completely unfazed and didn’t even ask any questions. Then again, she hasn’t been her normal self. She’s lacking some energy as of late, and I’m blaming it on the recent demand with the wedding and the classes. There’s an evident strain on our relationship too. She’s been a little cold and not as affectionate. I haven’t tried to make up for her lack of affection because I’ve been in my own head about the recent threats.
It will be fine, though. Once all is said and done and we’re married, we’ll be completely fine.
