Chapter ten
Do not cry.
Do not cry.
Do.
Not.
Cry.
The first tear slid down my face, letting me know my emotions were traitors. Then another. And another. Until my lungs were tight and the back of my throat stung.
Royals didn’t show weakness, and I wasn’t about to start now—even if I’d been kidnapped.
Kidnapped.
And I didn’t even put up a fight. I just hopped on a plane and flew across the world.
God. How naïve was I?
After I turned the light off and climbed back into bed, I clenched the comforter to my chest and settled my head into the pillow. My knees curled up against my stomach as I squeezed my eyes closed. Anger, disappointment, and sadness all rolled through me at once. Anger at the way Chandler blatantly dismissed me as some kind of nuisance—and that it bothered me so much when he did. Disappointment that I’d let myself trust the wrong people. And sadness because I just wanted to be home. I wanted to lie in my bed and read one of my books. I wanted to see my father’s face and hug my brother.
The tears fell harder now, and I let them. But this was it. I allowed myself this moment and nothing more. Tomorrow morning, I would wake up with my head held high.
Tomorrow, I would find a way out.
The next morning, I woke to bloodshot eyes and tight skin where my tears had dried on my cheeks in my sleep. I climbed out of bed and slipped on a pair of shorts.
The floor was cool under my bare feet as I made my way past Chandler’s room. My heart thundered at the sight of his closed door. Not that I expected it to be open. Still, some part of me wondered if he was somewhere on the other side. Was he sleeping? Was he lying awake staring at the ceiling?Was he wondering about me?
Another part of me hoped he was gone.
I held my breath and tried the knob.
Locked.
And then panic set in.
What if he heard? What if he saw the knob move?
Quickly and quietly, I ran to the stairs, taking them one at a time on my tiptoes until I reached the bottom.
The shades were raised, letting the morning sun flood the downstairs rooms and warm my skin. I looked out the window, steadying my breath as I watched the city scurry to life on the streets below and waited for Chandler to burst out of his room any second. Back home, I would have been watching the sunlight reflect off the morning dew and the blooms of bright flowers open up to its warmth. There was nothing like that here.
There was no warmth other than the sunlight.
There was only coldness.
I curled up in the corner of the sofa and waited.
I planned.
And waited.
I thought about a way to get past the elevator code. If I got downstairs, one of those people on the crowded sidewalk had to have a phone. Grey said my father was in New York. I just needed to find him. How hard could it be to find a king? The big burly guy probably wasn’t going to help me, but maybe someone else would. I just needed to get down there.
I thought.