Walther hadn’t been lying.
For a second, Elle couldn’t move. Then the adrenaline kicked in, and she dashed across the bathroom, pushed her way to the back of the linen closet, secured the door, and shoved against the false wall. It gave. She stumbled into the darkness, her lungs burning. Taking the barest amount of time to press the wall back in place, she hurried down the cobweb-lined hall, getting as far as she could before releasing her breath and inhaling the clean, if stale, air.
Step one, done. Now to find Walther before he found her.
It was obvious from the cobweb cities visible in the pale light of her flashlight that no one used the servants’ hallways much anymore, if at all. Still, she kept her eyes peeled for security cameras as she hustled through the dimly lit halls.
Left. Right. Left again. She hadn’t been inside these walls since she was a girl, but playing defend the castle in them had been one of her favorite games growing up. Another few feet and there’d be another turn and then, finally, another door. She’d end up outside her father’s chambers, near his private balcony overlooking the inner courtyard garden. At that point, it was a simple case of sneaking down and mixing in with the crowd no doubt already starting to gather in the garden for the Kronig. The pajamas would make her stand out in the formally dressed crowd, but she’d learned long ago that the key to any situation was to brazen her way through with her chin held high.
She turned the corner. There it was. Daylight peeked out through the small space between the door and the wall. The knob felt cool against her palm as she turned it and slowly inched the door open. A cool, fresh breeze tickled her nose and brought the sound of voices into the hall. But they weren’t talking. They were…singing. She opened the door enough to confirm she’d come out by the garden as expected and peeked out to make sure no one was in the mezzanine leading to the king’s chambers. Confirming the coast was clear, she gave in to the draw of the song.
She stuck to the shadows but came near enough to the balcony overlooking the garden to get a look at the children’s choir singing the folk song that was the unofficial Elskov anthem. It was a love song about star-crossed lovers who were separated by distance and a bitter family feud but who managed to sneak off and make a home on a barren island. Their love turned the island into a paradise, and that paradise become Elskov. Children sang it in school. Adults raised their glasses in pubs as they sang it together. Often at weddings, newlyweds walked out of the church to an instrumental version.
Pursing her lips together, she closed her eyes and for a moment allowed herself to imagine walking out of the national cathedral with Dom as a violinist played the song. It was a pretty dream that ripped apart her insides. It couldn’t have happened, and now it never would. Swallowing past the emotion, she opened her eyes and began to turn to—
An arm locked around her waist, jerking her back into the shadows, and a hand clamped tight over her mouth.
“You shouldn’t be out wandering around, Your Highness,” Walther whispered against her ear, evil clinging to his every word. “I see we’re going to have to get you through the day using the power of chemistry. I have just the right drug to make you the perfect, pliant princess for the Kronig coronation ceremony.” He buried his face in her hair and inhaled. “Of course, with any luck it will have worn off by the time I have you tonight. I like it when women try to fight back.”
Good, because that’s exactly what he was about to get. Recalling Dom’s advice in the training room, she stomped down as hard as she could on
Walther’s instep. His hold on her loosened just enough that she could throw her head back and smash the back of her skull against his nose. The sound of bone cracking bounced across the high ceiling, and something wet sprayed the back of her neck.
“Bitch,” Walther said, his voice quiet and weirdly muffled because of his broken nose but no less dangerous for it. “You’ll pay for that.”
His hand went from her mouth to her throat, his fingers curling around her windpipe and squeezing hard enough to make black spots appear in her vision. She clawed at his iron hold but couldn’t break loose. He kept his feet out of striking distance and kept her tucked close against him so she couldn’t get in another head butt or other defensive hit. She tried to scream for help, but only a strangled whisper came out as her limbs grew heavy and her ears rang.
“Don’t worry, little princess, you won’t die…yet.” He dragged her back toward an open door that led to the king’s former chambers. “But you are about to learn an important lesson.”
The Hulk twins appeared in her peripheral vision.
Oh, shit.
One replaced Walther, picking her up with a beefy arm while ensuring her silence with a hand over her mouth. Elle kicked. She punched. She gave it everything she had, but it wasn’t enough.
Chapter Fifteen
Dom adjusted the comm unit disguised as an iPod earbud in his ear and approached the castle’s servants’ entrance. With his conservative suit and plastic ID badge identifying him as part of the sound crew, he was able to slip into the flow of additional help brought in for the Kronig. Their agent on guard duty waved him inside without checking Dom’s black duffel, which was filled with guns and ammo.
Sticking with the crowd, he made his way through the twists and turns toward the gardens where the Kronig would be starting in an hour.
“Sir,” the major’s voice crackled in his ear. “The princess is on the loose.”
He slipped into the supply closet and shut the door behind him. “What in the hell do you mean?”
“Just got the report. She ditched her guards. Whereabouts unknown.”
The whole world slid from under Dom’s feet, but it was just like her. The woman excelled at disrupting plans—good to see her talent worked against the bad guys, too. He couldn’t help the proud grin that curled his lips upward.
“Get all eyes on this. I need a location, stat.”
Knowing running around the castle like a madman wouldn’t help, he unzipped his duffel and took out the shoulder holster. They had fifty agents in the castle at that moment. At least one would spot her, and if not, the major had already hacked into the castle’s security feed and was feeding it into his facial recognition program. They’d have her location within a minute.
He tucked a nine-millimeter into the holster, pocketed extra ammo, and double-checked the five throwing knives secured in his suit jacket. Everything was in place. Now he needed a location.
“What the fuck, Bendtsen,” he said into the comm unit as he squashed the empty duffel into a ball and shoved it behind a stack of toilet paper rolls. “I need that location.”
“We’ve got eyes on her,” the major said.