Erik
Hearing our baby’s heartbeat a couple of days later was the most magical thing I’d ever experienced. Casey seemed enthralled as well, which was a huge relief since she’d been spectacularly depressed the last few days. I hadn’t pushed her to talk or anything, but I’d been worried. Seeing her smile when we heard that fluttering beep coming out of the machine gave me hope that everything would be okay. I couldn’t help if she didn’t tell me what was wrong, but I understood her well enough to know she needed to work through this just like everything else in her life. I was getting used to this about her, but she’d been honest about needing a little space, so we were compromising.
“The twenty-second of May,” she said as we walked out to the parking lot hand in hand. We’d come alone, in her Corvette, which she’d graciously let me drive. She’d said no one could possibly know where we were going or when, so the danger of being ambushed was minimal, and she’d insisted this had to be private. So, although my father and Sandor both nearly had heart attacks, my mother had sided with Casey and we’d made the trip without Sandor.
It was odd, because I rarely drove and had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. Casey, however, took the keys from me and moved to the driver’s side.
“Hey,” I protested. “What’s the deal?”
“You’ve been driving on the wrong side of the road too long,” she replied with a grin. “I nearly had a coronary on the way here.”
“It was just the first few minutes,” I mumbled, getting in on the passenger side.
“I’m kidding.” She started the engine. “But I need to drive right now. Would you mind if we went for a ride?”
“Not at all. Where are we going?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to get on the highway and open her up.”
“Really?” I didn’t dare object, but I was a little nervous about it since I’d never seen her drive.
I shouldn’t have worried. Like most things with Casey, she surprised me, handling the vehicle like she was born to drive it. She didn’t talk, merely found her way to the interstate and headed south.
“Are we having lunch in the Mojave Desert?” I asked as she accelerated.
“We might be in L.A. before I’m hungry.” She zipped around a few slower cars and didn’t let up until we hit the California border. Though it made me a little nervous to be so far from Vegas without anyone knowing where we were, I figured she had a reason, and I was willing to go along with it on an emotional day like today.
“Now I’m hungry,” she muttered, taking the exit ramp into a town called Baker. “I think there’s a Denny’s here. You game?”
I stared at her. I had no idea what Denny’s was. “Um, sure.”
“You’ve never been to Denny’s, have you?” she asked, giving me a quick look.
“Don’t even know what it is.”
She started to laugh. “Okay, Your Greatness, time for a bit of an American education.”
“Casey…” I didn’t know how to voice my concerns without upsetting her. It wasn’t about where we were eating, but merely the fact that no one knew where we were.
“Oh, come on, one cheap meal isn’t going to kill you.”
“No. It’s just… No one knows where we are. If we were recognized and people got agitated…” What else was there to say?
“You think it’s dangerous to stop and eat here?” She looked at me, frustration etched into her pretty features.
She pulled into the parking lot of a building with a sign that clearly said “Denny’s.” It looked harmless enough, so I felt a little better, but Casey was hesitant now, parking the car but not turning it off.
“You don’t think it’s safe?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t ever go anywhere without at least Sandor. I never have, my entire life. I know it’s probably strange to you, but today was literally the first time I went anywhere without some type of security, with the exception of a few classes when we were at university. It’s been drilled into my head for as long as I can remember that I’m a target. Even if someone isn’t gunning for me, my presence could lead to a crime of opportunity, like kidnapping because my family is wealthy.”
“Fine.” She put the car in reverse. “I’m sure there’s a drive-thru we can hit. I have to eat.”
She seemed annoyed, and I didn’t blame her, but safety had to come first. Not only was my life possibly in danger, so was hers because she was with me. And she was pregnant, dammit. I hated to use that as my trump card, but I was going to worry about her, whether it upset her or not.
I grimaced when she pulled into the drive-thru lane at a McDonald’s and ordered. She looked at me. “Do you want anything?”
“Sure.” I told her my order and we drove to the next window. I tried to hand her some money, but she waved me off and gave the woman a twenty-dollar-bill.
We didn’t talk again until we were back on the highway.
“If you’re mad,” I said quietly, “will you at least talk to me about it?”
“I’m not mad,” she responded. “I’m frustrated. Having someone with us twenty-four seven is hard for me. I’m super independent and that feels like someone keeping tabs on me. I get the need for protection, but today was emotional, private, just for us. The idea that we can’t have an impromptu, private lunch date is hard to wrap my head around.”
“I know.” I reached for her hand. “I’m truly sorry about that. I grew up this way, so it’s just how it is for me. In time, I hope you’ll get used to it. Now that there’s a baby, we have to think about his or her safety as well as our own.”
“I know.” She stared straight ahead, eyes on the road, her burger uneaten in her lap.
“You want to pull over so you can eat? It’s a long way home.”
“I’m good.” She popped a few fries in her mouth.
“Is this our first fight?” I asked, grabbing a few of her fries.
She smacked my hand. “No, but if you keep stealing my fries, it will be.”
I laughed. Hopefully, this meant she wasn’t mad anymore and we’d moved on.
When we got back to the house, my father asked me to join him in his den, so Casey headed to our room while I went to see what my father wanted. He had what looked like a velvet jeweler’s case on his desk and he motioned for me to close the door, which I did.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Jewels.” He opened the top. “These were some that I took with me when I abdicated, and I’ve been saving them for you and your sister. If you’d like one to make into an engagement ring for Casey, your mother and I would be honored.”
“Wow.” I stared at the stones in fascination. I’d had no idea my father had them. One in particular caught my eye and I reached for it. “That one,” I said. “That’s the one.”
“The pink dragon.” My father smiled and pulled it out of the case. “A pink diamond, both rare and exquisite. It got its name because of the fiery bursts of color, like flames from a dragon’s breath. It’s flawless, twelve carats, radiant cut. It would make a stunning ring.”
“I’m honored to have it. Thank you. She’ll love it.”
“Do you know whether she wants white or yellow gold?”
“Platinum.”
“I can have it set for you. I have a jeweler here that I trust.”
“Can it be done soon? I want to propose sooner rather than later.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“You’re very welcome.”
I hadn’t even officially proposed, but my mother was in full wedding-planner mode. When we came down for dinner, she had a stack of catalogs and brochures for us. She talked nonstop while we ate, and though I expected Casey to be annoyed, she merely smiled and nodded a lot, probably more overwhelmed than annoyed since she adored my mother. My sister, on the other hand, was cranky as hell, muttering under her breath and generally being a nuisance. We hadn’t had much time together since she’d left Omar, but she hadn’t made any attempt to talk to me since Casey and I had moved in.
“Have you thought at all about a dress?” my mother asked Casey. “Or bridesmaids?”
“Honestly, I haven’t,” Casey said, “but Erik and I are going to talk about all that in the next few days. We had to find out the details about the baby first.”
“Perhaps we could go dress shopping one day,” my mother suggested. “Skye, would you like to join us? It would be good for you to get out of the house and—”
“Mother, I have zero interest in weddings. Especially hers.”
“You mean ours,” I cut in dryly.
She gave me a dirty look but didn’t say anything.
“Have it your way.” Our mother shrugged, going back to the brochures in front of her. “I just thought it would be a nice way to spend the day together and possibly get your mind off your troubles.”
Skye rolled her eyes. “Mother, it’s not really any fun to plan a wedding when I’m in the middle of a fucking divorce!”
“All right, Skye. I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“No, you’re not. You’re just trying to rub it in because you never wanted me to marry Omar. So, go ahead—say you told me so. Go on, I know you want to.”
Mom took off her reading glasses and looked at her daughter quizzically. “Skye, I understand that you’ve been through a terrible time, but—”
“You don’t understand anything! If you did, you wouldn’t ask me to help plan the wedding of a woman who’s beneath us and undoubtedly going to embarrass Erik at every turn. She’s never been anything but a—”
“That’s enough!” My father slammed his crystal water glass down on the table with such fervor that our plates bounced. “I know your husband hurt and embarrassed you, but that’s not our fault, and it’s certainly not Casey’s. You’ve done nothing but brood for weeks, and frankly, I’m over it. If you’re so unhappy, by all means, go back to Limaj, go back to Omar. I don’t care either way at this point.”
Everyone was stunned into silence.
“I just want my life back,” Skye whispered. “I don’t know anyone, I don’t have any privacy unless I’m locked in my room, I don’t even have Saraya. Why hasn’t she joined me yet? I’ve been trying to call her, but I can’t reach her, and I need her. It’s so uncivilized here… Can’t I even have my maid with me?”
“Skye, Saraya can’t come to you. Not now, and not ever again.” My father seemed tired and I cringed when I realized that my sister didn’t yet know that her lifelong companion and personal maid had been killed.
“Why on earth not? It’s not as if Omar needs her in the household. She was mine to begin with and—”
“Saraya is dead,” I interrupted blandly, waiting while my words sunk in. I hated to be an asshole, but she certainly hadn’t hesitated to insult the woman I loved, so maybe it was time to give her a taste of her own medicine.
Skye stared at me. “What are you talking about?! How can she be dead?”
“It was Saraya who called me,” my father said sadly. “After we took you from the hospital, Omar beat her until she told them whom she had called, and then she was executed.”
“No.” Skye stared at him. “You can’t be serious. She was just an old woman…”
“An old woman who loved you very much. She died very proud that she was able to save you.”
“How do you know?”
“Daniil found her. She’d been left on the steps of the palace.”
“Oh god.”
“She’d been badly beaten, but used her last breath to tell Daniil what had happened.”
Skye’s eyes welled up with tears. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“We thought you’d suffered enough, between the beating and the impending divorce.”
“Oh my god. I’m so sorry.” Skye buried her face in her hands. “I knew it. I knew he was going to do something terrible. I just didn’t know who to tell.”
“Who, Omar?” My father looked worried.
“He’s dangerous. And so is Anwar.”