“Anyway,” she said. “What’s the news? What is this all about? I have zero free time with my business, so it better be worth it.”
“It’s most definitely worth it,” I said. “And since I’m getting the impression that you’re not one for beating around the bush, I’ll get right to it.”
She nodded, signaling for me to go on.
“Are you familiar with the nation of Edoria?”
“Edoria?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. “Is that a real place?”
I smiled, amused. “Yanks have never been ones for geography.”
She narrowed her eyes, clearly annoyed. “The point, if you don’t mind getting to it.”
“Edoria is far from a well-known kingdom, and that’s by design. Edoria is small, about half the size of your Rhode Island, and tucked into the side of Switzerland. We do our best to stay out of the affairs of greater Europe. Edoria is a beautiful nation of rolling, emerald-green hills and shimmering lakes, villages dotting the landscape. But we have our urban life, too. Lausanne, our capital, is home to nearly a million people.”
“This all sounds like great copy for a travel brochure,” Ava said. “But get to the point of telling me why you’re explaining this to me.”
I smiled once more, eager to get to the heart of the matter.
“Because, Ava, Edoria is your home. More specifically, it’s your kingdom.”
Ava regarded me for a long moment, as if she weren’t sure that she’d heard me right.
Then she laughed. Ava tilted her head back and let out loud peals of laughter, the noise so loud that she managed to attract the attention of nearly everyone in the place.
I sat patiently, waiting for her to finish. Finally, when she’d wiped the tears from her eyes, she turned her attention back to me.
“You’re screwing with me, right?”
“Not at all. You’re Princess Ava of Edoria, next in line for the throne.”
Ava shook her head, throwing her hands up as if she’d just heard all she’d ever need to.
“Alright, thanks for the laughs. I’m kind of annoyed that you wasted my time, but this was probably a little more entertaining than spending the morning bumming around my apartment.” She began to stand. “Nice to meet you, Luc. I think.”
Luckily, I’d anticipated her disbelief.
“Before you go, let me show you something.” Without waiting for her response, I leaned over and opened my leather briefcase, taking out my tablet and turning it on. After a few swipes, I had the photo I’d been looking for on the screen. “Here.”
I held the tablet up to Ava, who was now standing over me. A suspicious expression on her face, she took the tablet from my hand and checked the screen.
The color drained from her already fair face the moment she looked at it.
“What is this?”
I rose, placing my hand on her shoulder.
“Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll tell you all about it, your Royal Highness?”
Chapter 5
Ava
The coffee shop swirled around me, my breath short and my heart beating fast.
I couldn’t believe what I was looking at.
The photo on the tablet in my hands was off a gorgeous castle made of gray stone, mountains reaching up into the blue sky behind it. The structure looked like something out of a fairy tale—gorgeous and stately.