“Magalie is a bit of an omen around here,” Leo joked, but there wasn’t any light in his eyes.
“We have an additional problem, Alexander,” the commander said, niceties over.
Leo looked nauseous again. “What is it?”
“The guards who were on duty outside last night are missing. Anyone who was assigned to patrol the grounds or external doors overnight is gone.”
“Someone removed the guards so they could kill my father without beinginterrupted?”
“It would appear so. The scene outside was only discovered when the morning shift arrived at dawn.”
“How many guards are missing?”
“Seventeen, sir.”
“How is that even possible? Where the hell did they go?”
“We don’t know yet. We’re working on it.”
Leo tugged on his hair and took in a breath. “I need one guard assigned to Princess Evelyn and another to Princess Hannahat all times.”
Magalie pointed to one guard who immediately rushed downstairs, presumably to find Hannah. Then she pointed to another guard Evelyn recognized from outside. He had messy brown hair and a neat beard.
“This is Simon,” Magalie said to Evelyn. “He will be with you for now.”
Simon moved closer to Evelyn and bowed.
Leo brushed a curl away from her face. “Simon is going to take you back to your room so you can get dressed. When you are ready, please meet us downstairs.”
Evelyn blushed, realizing she was still in her nightgown, robe, and slippers. “What will you be doing?”
“Waiting for you.”
27
Scavenger Hunt
Rory was waiting outside of Evelyn’s room when she arrived with her newly appointed guard, Simon.
“Oh great, there are two of you now,” Evelyn said sarcastically.
The guards whispered updates to each other while Evelyn rushed into her room to change clothes. There wasn’t any time to process the horrible things she had seen.
What right do I have to panic, anyway? Leo lost his father and now he’s supposed to run a kingdom. All I have to do is stay nearby and keep my shit together even though my own home was also threatened. No big deal.
Rory and Simon walked Evelyn downstairs.
This level of supervision is going to get old in a hurry. But… would I be safe without them? How much danger are Hannah and I in?
The ballroom turned into a command center. Leo was talking to King Tristan and General Savatier. Commander Magalie wasgiving directions to various guards from both kingdoms, and an officer was addressing a group of soldiers.
“Do the two of you need to check in with Magalie for orders?” Evelyn asked her guards.
“You are our only orders, Princess Evelyn,” Simon said seriously.
“Surely I don’t need both of you. Wouldn’t you be more useful somewhere else instead of babysitting me?”
“Your Highness, the two kings are extremely concerned with your safety,” Rory explained. “Our job is to limit one source of stress today so they can focus on everything else.”
