Elias’s voice is steady, as he demands, “Let her go, and we’ll spare your life and the lives of your remaining fighters.”
The man’s grip on me tightens. I can feel its sharp edge press harder against my skin. The goon’s breath is ragged and quick against the side of my face.
“My boss, too!” he shouts, his voice cracking with the strain of the situation. “Your princess will live if you give me Monsieur Ozzi. No boss, no princess!”
All the attention is on Elias now.
Will he agree to those terms?
Except,it isn’t his decision to make. It’s mine!
I level my gaze with his. “No.”
His eyes narrow as he searches my face.
My quiet, one-syllable word acts like a detonation in the stilled room. Mouths fall open. Gasps escape parted lips.
“Eliminate Kurt,” I say to Elias. “This is our chance.”
“But, Your Highness—” he begins.
I cut him off. “Do it. Save my family, our country. It’s an order!”
“Are you really prepared to die, little Princess?” the man with the knife murmurs, pressing the blade enough to draw blood from a spot under my chin.
The agents around the room grip their weapons. The tension is like a taut wire ready to snap.
My heart races, each beat a loud drum.
Hush now, don’t overthink it! It’s done.
Elias holds up his hand, signaling his team to stand down. “We can work this out,” he says to Kurt’s man.
“No! I outrank you. Do as I say!” I shout at Elias.
“With all due respect, Your Highness, my chain of command doesn’t include you,” he counters. “I report to Adam Von Dietz. Besides, Reigning Prince Richard, Crown Prince Theodor, Prince Maximilian, and Princess Felicia all outrank you. That’s four people.”
I snarl with frustration, predicting his next statement.
“I’m absolutely certain that any of the royals I mentioned would order me to swap your life against Kurt’s,” he concludes.
“Kurt has never before put himself in such a vulnerable position, and he sure as hell won’t do it again,” I plead without much hope that Elias will listen. “We won’t have another chance to neutralize the threat hanging over Mount Evor.”
Nor will I have another chance to avenge Father’s murder!
Elias shakes his head. “Kurt’s death won’t remove the threat. The process he put in motion has been validated by international experts and the UN. Our only hope is to find the remaining keys and retrieve the authentic document before the deadline.”
“Lovely!” the knife-wielding mercenary interjects. “With that point clarified, let’s discuss the exchange.”
As I watch Elias negotiate the terms of the exchange with them, a storm of emotions rages inside me. Relief at the prospect of living. Frustration that we’re letting my country’s publicenemy number one slip through our fingers. Anger that justice won’t be done.
“Bring Kurt,” Elias commands into his radio to his team elsewhere in the château.
His voice is calm and controlled. His eyes, however, betray that the situation is far from resolved. The knife is still at my throat.
Moments later, Kurt is brought in, flanked by two MESS agents. He looks unharmed and infuriatingly composed. My eyes meet his cold gaze for a split second. I swallow the lump in my throat and look away.
The exchange happens swiftly. Kurt is handed over to his remaining men. The smart aleck at my side lowers his knife. As soon as my hands are untied, I rub my bloodied throat where the blade was. Even though it’s gone, the dreadful sensation still lingers like a ghostly apparition.
