Korba shook his head and stood more in position to defend himself. "No one likes assault, Princess." Korba commanded the soldier toward Kristin. "Gether."
Footsteps marched in the hall. The soldier grabbed her shoulders and held her captive. The door swung open and this time Babik and two of his men pointed guns at them. "I command you to stop,Henri."
The strong boy holding her neck must be Henri. Antonio had sent a rescue. She stilled in thatmoment.
Korba then said, "Not a chanceBabik."
She reached up and got her hand underneath his and used that as momentum to swing out of his grip. Henri wasn't expecting her move. "Whatthe..."
Babik grabbed her and pulled her behind him. "Princess, come whereyou'resafe."
More guards marched into the room and immediately controlled Henri and Korba, handcuffing both men, despite their vehement struggles. Babik walked with her away from the scene so she didn't see much else. As they went down another hallway, she couldn't stand the silence anymore. "They were trying to kidnap me and wanted Antonio to marryanother."
Babik didn't blink. "Princess, it's best if I take you to your room. His Highness will meet you there, but on a personal note, I hope Prince Aussa marries you. You’refearless."
"That was adrenaline." She shook her head as her heart still beat wildly. The panic hadn't gone away. They neared her door and she massaged her forehead. "You can tell..." This political situation wasn't good for anyone in Antonio's family. She'd talk to him about that, not his general. She nodded and opened her door. "Okay. Thank you. Itrustyou."
"Good." Babik closed the door behind her. She walked into her room and stared at the dresses still on racks and sat on the chair she had her makeup done in anhourago.
Everything had changed. Antonio targeted her specifically and lied about it, which gnawed at her from the inside. Then he had a political mess where there was clearly a plot for a coup. She should go, pack her bag and get outofhere.
Her lips still tingled with his kiss, which shouldn't make a difference, but to her it did. If she went home, no one would make her feel like that again. But a kisswasn'tlove.
Her head began to ache though at least her heart slowed to its normal pace. The door opened and she rose to her feet, expectingAntonio.
Her eyes widened and she bowed her head and curtsied when she saw it was his mother. "YourHighness."
Queen Anna Camilla stood in front of her. "I thought you were about to be my daughter-in-law. Why did youleave?"
Kristin wasn't sure what to do. She glanced up and saw the queen was about to sit where Renee had her hair done with her. Kristin returned to her seat. "I thought you wanted Sophia to wedAntonio."
The queen motioned for her to sit and once she did, she turned her knees toward her. "I want my son to inherit the throne and help us squash this coup in our smallkingdom."
Foreign affairs weren’t her cup of tea. She’d studied enough history to know monarchs tended to lose their heads against the will of the people. "If that's what the people want, democracy isn’t a bad waytogo."
"It's not." The queen spoke with such assurance that Kristin accepted it as truth. “But you’re under a bad impression at the moment. The citizens of Avceloveus.”
Kristin lowered her head and let the sense that Antonio was not going to die here wash over her. She could breathe easier as the queen said, "We are a constitutional monarchy and we were brought back by the majority over a decade ago. There are splinter groups loyal to other nearby countries, but they are not “the people.” You have already been told our attackers wereoutsiders."
"Antonio said he’d lose his ability to see his family ever again if he doesn’t marry in two weeks. Would you really banishyourson?"
“No.” She sighed and leaned closer. "The laws are ancient and meant to preserve bloodlines that he didn’t know about until it was almosttoolate."
“But…” Kristin pleated the red fabric in her fingers and tried to figure out how she felt. She chose her words carefully. "I don't know if he shouldmarryme."
The queen’s chin lifted in a royal manner but she reached out and patted Kristin’s hand. "You make him happy. I see it on his face and you look happy nexttohim."
She lowered her lashes. "I was, but he doesn’t love me or believeinlove."
“From what I understood, you don’t believe in love yourself.” The queen stood, straightened any nonexistent wrinkles her ball gown might have and then said, "Argue about semantics later. He gave you a contract outlining duties you would perform for a fee, correct? Right now we have the press here and it's time we all doourduty."
If she married him, then she needed to speak with him, alone, about his computer search. If people knew the playboy prince was actually looking for a wife, he would have been inundated, and he had no time to waste. Antonio was always so logical about everything. She swallowed her pride. "Where isAntonio?"
The queen stopped at the door. "Antonio and Babik had to speak, but... well, hereheis."
Kristin's gaze locked on his. A different sort of rush pulsed in her veins now. She couldn't look away as she asked, "Can you give us aminute?"
The queen answered, "Of course. Kristin, do not wash your knuckles or change out of that dress. I want the press to see that you can take care of yourself. FeistyAmerican."
