“You literally can’t die, because I will burn Buckingham to the ground if Henry becomes king. We all know he wants it too much, and that’s bad for business,” Victoria says to Theo.
“I do not!” Henry protests. Even I can tell he’s lying.
The currents have pushed Theo and me farther from the group, and we doggy-paddle back to the others while Henry and Victoria squabble. I lift my arms out of the water and rest my cheek on a floating piece of junk.
Theo scowls at me. Whatever affection he felt for me during the crash has eroded in the salt water.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask.
“You’re bleeding.” He lifts my arm to inspect my injury. The silk blouse provided by the royal stylist has torn from shoulder to elbow, and I have a long, jagged gash running the length of my upper arm.
Naomi gasps. “Are you okay?”
“It looks worse than it is. It’s already numb,” I tell her.
“That’s because you’re in shock,” the pilot says. “Same with Winston and his broken leg.” He claps the bodyguard on the shoulder. Winston whimpers. “Once the shock wears off, the pain will set in.” He leans closer to my wound and pinches the edges together with his fingers. “We’ll figure that out when we get to shore. You’ll be all right until then.”
“If she doesn’t kill us by attracting sharks,” Victoria mutters,justloud enough for everyone to hear. She smiles in a way that makes me think she’d summon a great white if she could.
“I’ll live.” I pull my arm from Theo’s hand. “And if I don’t, it’ll be because we drowned at sea, not because of a scrape.”
“We’re not going to drown,” Theo says.
“Cocky, are we?”
“I’ve got eyes, Wheeler.” He points over my shoulder. “We’ve made it to land.” I follow the line of his finger to a rocky shore in the distance and wilt with happiness.
We’re going to be rescued, and everything will be fine.
“Brilliant!” Henry claps his hands together. “We’ll be home in time for Theo’s coronation.”
“On second thought—” Theo makes a show of swimming toward the horizon.
“We’ll be home in time for dinner if you lot listen to me,”the pilot says. “By my count, every passenger is here. Is that correct?”
Theo nods.
“Good. I’m Reggie, and if you listen to me, wewillmake it out of this alive, I promise.” Reggie has a strong British accent, short gray hair, and a handlebar mustache. He makes eye contact with each of us individually, and I think I love him. Inthislife-or-death crisis, I don’t have to plan anything. No one is counting on me to rescue them. I don’t even have to count on myself. The relief is staggering.
Reggie continues. “Winston will need help getting to shore, obviously, and her arm is in bad shape.” He points to me. “Does anyone else have injuries that will prevent them from swimming to land?”
Theo and the others shake their heads.
Reggie barrels on. “The shore is farther than it looks, but the tides are in our favor and we’re not in a rush.”
“I’mkind of in a rush, mate.” Winston speaks for the first time, his eyes screwed shut against the pain of his broken leg.
“Me too,” Naomi says through chattering teeth. Her lips are turning blue.
He points to Naomi. “You, Victoria, and Henry are responsible for getting Winston to shore. Take turns towing him, don’t let yourself get too tired, and stick together.”
“I’m in charge of Comet,” Victoria says quickly.
“No, I’ll take him,” I correct her.
Theo groans. “Not the time.”
“The dog will go with the first group, but he’s not a priority,” Reggie says.
