Erik
We drove to the Grand Canyon, and Sandor followed a few feet behind us as we explored the West Rim. This was my first time here, though Casey said she’d come with her family a few times growing up. It was beautiful, and I took a moment to enjoy the majesty of nature before remembering the task at hand. It was going to be a beautiful backdrop to what I was about to do, and I wanted to memorize all of it. We were getting married, that was already a given, but I still wanted her to have a proposal she could remember. It wouldn’t be the same as one she wasn’t expecting, but I don’t think she was expecting it to be today, and she definitely wouldn’t be expecting this particular ring. The pink dragon was the perfect stone for her—so fiercely exotic while feminine and beautiful at the same time.
“Let’s get a few pictures,” Casey said, nudging me back to reality. “Will Sandor take them?”
“Of course.” Sandor took Casey’s camera from her and snapped a bunch of shots of us with the canyon and its view in the background.
Casey climbed up on a high, uneven rock, giving me a heart attack, as she threw her arms in the air. It was a great picture, but I couldn’t wait for her to get down again, making her laugh as I grabbed her.
“Overprotective much?” she asked, leaning against me.
“A little.” I looked at Sandor and gave a little nod of my head.
We were on the trail that tourists walked along to enjoy the view but it was relatively quiet here, so it seemed like the time was right.
“Hey, do you have some water?” Casey was asking.
“Just a second,” Sandor hedged, looking at me.
I took her hand and dropped to one knee. This wasn’t quite the backdrop—or clothing—I’d planned for this, but the view made up for a lot. The shock on her face made up for the rest.
“I know things have moved at warp speed,” I said quietly, looking up into her gorgeous blue eyes. “And you’re already pregnant. But I never thought you’d love me the way I loved you. Now that you do, I don’t plan to ever let you go. So, in light of the enormity of my love for you, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“I, oh…” Her eyes rounded as I opened the jeweler’s box. “Erik! It’s beautiful.”
“Doesn’t hold a candle to you.” I held out the ring.
“I… Yes.” She smiled as she bit her lower lip, holding out her left hand, which I noted was shaking just a bit.
I slid the ring on, and she dropped to her knees to throw her arms around me. I’d told Sandor to take pictures but I wasn’t looking to verify whether or not he was doing it because the woman I loved was kissing me like we weren’t at a tourist attraction in front of a shit ton of people that had appeared out of nowhere. They were all clapping and cheering and I instinctively sensed Sandor was beginning to panic.
“We’ve drawn a crowd,” I whispered against her mouth.
“No one knows it’s us,” she whispered back. But we got to our feet and I slid my arm around her as we made our way past the well-wishers that had gathered.
“I love you so much,” she said softly as we moved away. “This is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s called the Pink Dragon, and it reminded me of you the moment I saw it.”
“It’s huge, but I’ll wear it forever.”
“You’d better.” I bent down to kiss her again as we continued to walk. “Because I’m going to love you forever.”
“I can’t wait to be your wife.”
“I can’t wait to be your husband.”
We laughed at how cheesy we were being, but it felt too good to stop. Seeing my ring on her finger was a dream come true for me and I was going to bust my ass to be everything to her and our baby.
“One of you has been recognized,” Sandor said, coming up behind us and whispering in my ear. “There are cameras. We need to go.”
“Dammit.” I didn’t dare look but Sandor was good at his job, so I trusted what he said.
“It’s fine, babe.” Casey nudged me. “We’re going to have all kinds of engagement sex when we get back. In fact, maybe we’ll start in the back of the SUV on the way home…”
“Oh, dear god, no.” Sandor groaned. “Never mind, let’s stay. I’ll let you two take your chances with the paparazzo…”
He was kidding but I punched him for good measure as we hurried out to the parking lot.
After several rounds of what Casey called engagement sex when we got home, she fell asleep, and I went to find Sandor. He was supposed to have gotten his brother’s phone records and spoken to him as well. If Daniil was involved with Omar, we had to be very, very careful, because we were close and shared almost everything. Although I couldn’t put my finger on why I had a feeling there was something bigger going on, I felt it down in my bones and I didn’t want any surprises. If there was a link between Omar and Anwar, something bad was going to happen. I didn’t know what or when, but I knew it was coming.
“All done with engagement sex?” Sandor asked as I joined him in my father’s den.
“For now.” I sank into a leather armchair and stretched out my legs, winking at my best friend, who rolled his eyes.
“I need a new job,” Sandor muttered.
“What do you have?” Dad asked, ignoring our banter.
Sandor’s hazel eyes immediately sharpened, and he opened a file. “I have three months of Daniil’s home and cell records. If he’s communicating with Anwar or Omar, it’s through a very back channel. I’ve verified all of these numbers as friends, family, or businesses. Unless he’s talking to them via the tailor he’s been using for years or one of his university buddies, I don’t know what Skye was talking about.”
“Anwar isn’t stupid,” Dad said thoughtfully. “If he’s up to something, it won’t be as easy to find as phone records, but this is Daniil we’re talking about. I don’t believe he would be involved with anything Omar or Anwar are cooking up.”
“I spoke to him after I went through his records,” Sandor said. “Early this morning, before we left for the Grand Canyon. I randomly asked him how Omar was, and his response was, ‘Who?’ followed by ‘What are you talking about?’ I know my brother quite well, and he’s a shit liar and an even worse actor. There’s no way he faked surprise that well. Then I told him there was a rumor that he and Omar had gotten chummy, and in light of Skye’s beating, I didn’t think he was on the right side of the situation. Daniil wasn’t at all shocked, but he was furious. I haven’t heard him use that many curse words in a long time. Personally, I think either Skye misunderstood, or Omar planted those ideas for a reason.”
“To drive a wedge between us, because we’re all so close,” I murmured. “At the end of the day, it’s us and him. Though I don’t think Rafael and Yusef are necessarily on Anwar’s side, I also don’t think they’re as aware of what’s going on as they should be.”
“There were always three teams, so to speak,” Dad said. “Anwar, Yusef and Rafael; the girl cousins; and you, Sandor, Daniil, and Vardan. Those alliances haven’t altered much over the years. I don’t believe Daniil randomly switched sides, either, and that means Omar purposely fed Skye false information. Now we need to know why.”
“Shit.” Sandor threw the file on the desk and shook his head. “This is ridiculous. We’re all blood members of the royal family. We’re supposed to be united. I don’t understand any of this. Is it because of power? Is that what drives people like that?”
“Power. Greed. Superiority. There are a million reasons.” My father looked sad, which was rare for him, and I briefly wondered what kind of king he would have made.
A good one, no doubt, but would he have been happy without my mother? Now that I had Casey in my life, the idea of trading her for the throne, no matter how enticing, was unacceptable. I understood my father better now than I ever had before, even though the throne wasn’t mine and I didn’t have anything to give up. Just the thought of having to choose made me a little queasy and I quickly put it out of my mind.
“There isn’t anything we can do,” I said finally. “Unless we find proof that Anwar is planning something terrible, and I can’t even think what that would be, Uncle Isak isn’t going to give the throne to anyone else. As the firstborn, Anwar is going to ascend. The trick is whether or not we can live with him in that position.”
“I’ll never pledge allegiance to him,” Sandor said in a tone I’d never heard him use before.
“Sandor.” My father stared at him. “You can’t mean that.”
“I think he does.” I looked at my father. “Because I won’t either.”
“That’s treason,” my father said quietly.
“I didn’t say I would do him harm, I merely said I wouldn’t pledge allegiance. There’s a difference.”
“There isn’t.” My father looked pissed. “It’s what we do as part of the royal family.”
“The times are changing,” Sandor said. “It’s hard to explain because you’ve been out of the game for a long time. You’ve never seen Anwar in a casual setting with his friends, with women, when he’s not putting on airs for important members of the country or heads of state from other countries. He’s petty, selfish, and downright mean. We’ve watched it for years, thinking he would grow up, take his duties seriously, but it’s only gotten worse. Erik never said anything because it looks like sour grapes, the man who should have been king talking badly about the man who will be. But I was never in the running for king, nor will I ever be with his brothers ahead of me in the order, so I have nothing to lose. I won’t be at his coronation, and I won’t ever go back to Limaj once he ascends unless Erik asks it of me. And even then, I won’t pledge my allegiance. Even if it means prison or death.”
“Once Anwar is king, I won’t feel safe enough to go home,” I added. “Not with Casey and our child, who would be the next in line after Anwar’s children based on firstborn sons of firstborn sons. My father’s abdication ends with me—any children I have fall back into the order of ascension.”
“How do you know it’s a son?” Sandor asked, eyeing me.
“I just do.” I gave him a grin. “I’m cool like that.”
“This disturbs me greatly,” my father said, even as Sandor and I relaxed back into our typical easy banter.
“I’m sorry, but this is a decision you made and should be familiar with,” I reminded him. “You chose to abdicate for a woman. I choose to separate myself from a leader who will undoubtedly be the ruin of our country, our legacy, and our people.”
“Then you should stay and fight!” my father said in a steely voice.
“You didn’t. Why should I?”