"We love you too, sweetheart.And no matter what anyone tells you about your birth family, you're our daughter.Nothing changes that."
I ended the call and looked up to find the Grand Duchess watching me with an unreadable expression.
"They seem lovely," she said.
"They are."
"I'm glad you had people who cared for you.Who gave you a good life."She returned to her chair, moving slowly and carefully."I wish things in Valdoria were more stable right now."
"Yeah I heard something about NATO and Putin on the plane.That’s never a good combination."
“No, it certainly isn’t.”She was silent for a moment, studying my face like she was trying to figure out how much to tell me."Valdoria is in a precarious position," she said finally."We're small, wealthy, and strategically located.That makes us both valuable and vulnerable."
She opened one of the folders on her desk and showed me a map of Europe with various shipping routes marked in different colors.
"These are the energy supply lines that keep Europe running," she said, pointing to the routes that passed through Valdorian waters."Oil from the Middle East, natural gas from North Africa.Alternative supplies that bypass Russian-controlled pipelines."
"And Putin wants to control them."
"Putin wants to control everything.But specifically, he wants to ensure that European countries have no choice but to buy energy from Russia."She flipped to another page showing naval positioning.Another cough escaped her, and she reached for her water glass."We don't have months to negotiate and plan.We have weeks before Putin moves.Every day of delay increases the risk."
"What kind of action?"
"The kind that would give him de facto control over shipping lanes."
I studied the maps and charts, beginning to understand the scope of what was at stake.
"We’re not the only European country that Putin is looking at. Solmarina is facing a similar threat from Putin’s forces. A union between our two nations would have made both countries stronger, but not strong enough.”
“Okay,” I said not sure where she was going with this.
“There are some people in both our governments that think we should protect our people by allying with Russia or their allies.”
I shook my head. “They’re the bad guys.”
She gave me a small smile. “I’m glad you agree.Valdoria is now in a unique situation. The heir to our country has been raised in America and has American ties.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “So?”
“So if the heir of Valdoria marries the heir of Solmaria, it gives the world the idea that America is not invested in our two countries.”
“Hold the phone,” I said, raising my hand.
The Grand Duchess spoke over me. “The American Congress has pre-approved a defense pact with Valdoria and Solmarina.But in order to not squander resources, they want a royal marriage that demonstrates permanent commitment between our nations."She closed the folder and looked directly at me."Your marriage to Prince Archibald Falcieri of Solmarina creates that alliance."
The silence stretched between us while I processed this information.
"You want me to marry a complete stranger ten seconds after I find out that I’m a princess and heir to the throne of Valdoria?"
"I want you to marry a prince to protect both our countries from Russian aggression."
I thought about the fragments I'd overheard on the plane, about Captain Steiner's increasingly urgent phone calls, about the weight of centuries of history and politics settling on my shoulders.My shoulders, which until this morning had only been responsible for carrying a coffee tray.
"What if I say no?"
The Grand Duchess's expression hardened slightly."That would be terribly unfortunate."
"Unfortunate how."
